Dive Brief:

• Full-time employees most desire fair pay, according to a new Clutch survey of 540 employees. In What Do Employees Value Most in Their Job?, 55% of respondents ranked fair compensation as the first or second most valuable employer attribute, closely followed by fair treatment (54%). Ethical standards (38%) ranked third.
• Breaking the results down by generation, the report shows that Baby Boomers value fair pay the most, slightly ahead of Gen X and Millennials. Of all the generations, Millennials cared the most about an employer's ethical standards.
• Clutch recommended that employers work to compensate employees fairly to better attract, retain and engage them. "Companies can also promote high ethical standards by creating a code of ethics, rewarding positive behavior in the workplace, and using management to signal the importance of accountability," Clutch said in a statement announcing the report.

Dive Insight:

Studies show that compensation continues to top workers' wish lists, both in terms of higher pay and fair pay. However, employees have said they'd be willing to trade some money for more meaningful work or a job with benefits. Employers can leverage these findings when pay raises just aren't an option.

Other research has shown that pay perception matters, too, sometimes more than pay itself. A 2017 Payscale study revealed that how employees felt their employer's approach to pay and transparency had more of an impact on job satisfaction than salary.

The Clutch survey's breakdown by generation also may be useful in understanding what the workforce of the future will value. But for now, experts continue to recommend that employers avoid age stereotyping.