It wasn’t so long ago stories about City workers swapping their stressful lives to become happier well paid plumbers were in the news. 
But as two conflicting reports into Sell Your Story UK over the past few days show, the job scene these days is anything but simple. On the one hand, a report out today reveals 46% of workers who are not self-employed want to be their own boss. It also claims earning more money doesn’t always equal career satisfaction …
Yet another report we’ve received gives some shocking news about freelancers, who are of course their own bosses. It says 28% are effectively unemployed as they have little or no work.
Taking the first study – commissioned by Train4TradeSkills, it questioned 1200 British workers. It found…
* Only 39% are in their ideal job.
* 64% believe a decent salary is top for career satisfaction followed by a sense of achievement in your work (59%) and being able to work the hours you want (46%). However it notes only 24% of those earning £25,000 to £29,999 are dissatisfied in their job compared to 27% who earn between £35,000 to £49,999. The survey doesn’t give any suggestions as to why this might be but at Sell Your Story UK we believe the higher up the ladder you go the more responsibility you might have – and therefore the more stress. This might be why those earning more money are more inclined to feel dissatisfied with their job.
* You are most likely to happiest with your lot if you live in the South West and West Midlands (79%) whereas workers in the South East and East Midlands (68%) are not as satisfied. Again, particularly if you live in the South East, the cost of living is higher and so your salary might not stretch as far…
* Although 84% of British workers agree there are things they don’t like about their current job, 64% worry about changing career. Reasons cited include not being able to take a pay cut, not being able to afford to retrain and many simply not knowing what other job they could do.
Mike Head of Train4TradeSkills, a specialist company offering courses that enable students to qualify as Plumbers, Electricians, Gas or Renewable Energy Engineers, comments: “There are many people working in Britain who are not satisfied in their current job and while pay is deemed important, it’s interesting to see that big salaries do not always equal career satisfaction. People are looking for flexible hours, being their own boss and doing work they enjoy and are keen to find a career that offers these benefits.
Meanwhile a different survey from the Manchester based Enterprise Freelance Fair cites research that some freelancers are finding the current economic climate tough going. They claim their research demonstrates 28% of freelancers have little or no work. On a brighter note, however they discovered a third are getting by on less work and in fact 35% are either over-worked or busy.
