What is more important to you salary or working conditions?

takman

Working conditions are important and I would never work somewhere I hated just to get more money, but I also would never work in a job that is only paying £1 above minimum wage after 30 years!.

But if you can live comfortably on that wage and really enjoy the job then i would say you should stay put. But you never mentioned you enjoyed doing the work? If it's boring or repetitive then that could be a good reason to leave no matter how long your breaks are!.

Also I like how you say no overtime is a positive, at my workplace people generally complain there isn't enough overtime and some people can't do enough.

n1guy

takman wrote: »

Working conditions are important and I would never work somewhere I hated just to get more money, but I also would never work in a job that is only paying £1 above minimum wage after 30 years!.

But if you can live comfortably on that wage and really enjoy the job then i would say you should stay put. But you never mentioned you enjoyed doing the work? If it's boring or repetitive then that could be a good reason to leave no matter how long your breaks are!.

Also I like how you say no overtime is a positive, at my workplace people generally complain there isn't enough overtime and some people can't do enough.

I hate overtime. I work to live not the other way about and in an ideal world I'd win the lotto and not have to work at all. You know folk who say "Oh I need to work, I couldn't sit about the house all day" I'm not one of them. I'd be happy enough doing nothing.

Truth be told my heart lies elsewhere, I'm saving up funds to do my PT certification.

System

Working conditions more than salary. I've chased the money, done the long hours. I'm now working for a very small company where I've taken a massive five figure kick in the nuts with the salary however it pays the bills and most importantly I've got my life back, I have a regular sleep pattern, I'm not stressing about the following day, if I need to take time off for an appointment or a family emergency I can take it and I don't have to pay it back - hell one guy just took 3 days off because his child was really ill and his wife couldn't get the time off work and it wasn't an issue, nobody complained. I raised an issue I had and it was dealt with and I wasn't told to just suck it up and get on with it. The company consider themselves a small family and its a workplace environment I have never experienced in the 30 odd years I've been in the workplace. As a result even though the pay sucks staff turnover seems to be basically non-existent and both myself and the last person to be taken on only got our jobs because of company expansion. In fact I think that most of the positions in the company seem to have arisen because of that or retirement.

ohreally

Working conditions, however conditions of employment don't pay the bills or enable life choices, so not black and white.

Gavin83

Genuinely not sure I can answer this question, they are both as bad as each other. I've seen and experienced first hand the damage poor working conditions can do, leaving you stressed, affecting your health and leaving you hating a big aspect of your life. However earning a poor salary long term is also likely to cause issues and stress in your private life too and generally leave you with a fairly unfulfilled life outside work. You'll likely have to work until you drop as well to pay the rent and make up for your low pension.

The key is striking a balance between the two. I'd lean slightly towards working conditions but I'd want to earn enough to have a good lifestyle.

n1guy

Tarambor wrote: »

Working conditions more than salary. I've chased the money, done the long hours. I'm now working for a very small company where I've taken a massive five figure kick in the nuts with the salary however it pays the bills and most importantly I've got my life back, I have a regular sleep pattern, I'm not stressing about the following day, if I need to take time off for an appointment or a family emergency I can take it and I don't have to pay it back - hell one guy just took 3 days off because his child was really ill and his wife couldn't get the time off work and it wasn't an issue, nobody complained. I raised an issue I had and it was dealt with and I wasn't told to just suck it up and get on with it. The company consider themselves a small family and its a workplace environment I have never experienced in the 30 odd years I've been in the workplace. As a result even though the pay sucks staff turnover seems to be basically non-existent and both myself and the last person to be taken on only got our jobs because of company expansion. In fact I think that most of the positions in the company seem to have arisen because of that or retirement.

That sounds very much like my current job. I remember when they interviewed me, they said "The longest you've been with an employer is 6 years" it was said like it was a negative, In jobs I had previously with high staff turnover 6 years was amazing, I seen many not even lasting a week. But then I got the job and discovered guys there 30+ years, the guy there before me was already there 12 years. Basically no staff turnover, them guys are there for life which I guess says a lot about the employer being fairly decent.

I think what I'll do is apply for other jobs and try and use it to try and get a higher salary in my current job, I don't really want to go but the reality is the salary covers the roof over our heads and food, no real life outside work, no holidays etc.