Dive Brief:

• Seventy-seven percent of people in a new Glassdoor study would consider culture before applying for a job at a company, and 56% said they believe culture is more important than salary in gaining job satisfaction. Study results showed that culture was especially important to young adults; millennials were more likely to place culture over salary than those age 45 and older in the U.S. and U.K. The global study polled more than 5,000 adults in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany.
• Company mission also factored into job satisfaction in the study. Nine in 10 respondents said they think employers should have a clear mission and purpose, a result that was similar across all four countries. Two-thirds of respondents said workers are more motivated and engaged when their company has a strong mission, and 64% said the main reason for staying with their company was its mission.
• After culture and mission, Glassdoor data found that quality senior leadership and career opportunities were indicators of employee satisfaction. In a Glassdoor statement, Andrew Chamberlain, the platform's chief economist, said that employers wrongly think pay and work-life balance are among the top drivers of employee satisfaction. "We find little support for this notion in Glassdoor data," he said in a statement. "Instead, employers looking to boost recruiting and retention efforts should prioritize building strong company culture and value systems, amplifying the quality and visibility of their senior leadership teams and offering clear, exciting career opportunities to employees." 

Dive Insight:

Workers in study after study say they want more from their jobs than just a big salary and a great title. Many say they would swap a big paycheck for better benefits and perks. Millennials and Gen Zers, in particular, value more intangibles, such as more personal time off via flexible schedules, clear career paths, remote work options and meaningful work. Despite this clear interest in improved benefits, however, employers can't overlook money as a key driver in attracting and retaining talent, either.

Companies might attract job seekers with the benefits and perks they value, but retention might require offering employees competitive salaries over the long haul. A report released in May found that while employees value benefits, they're still motivated most by money. And a Mercer report, also released in May, found that the key to retaining millennials — the largest segment of the labor force — is solid base pay and strong management. But wage growth has remained fairly stagnant across industries, save for the tech industry, partly out of concern over market stability, experts previously told HR Dive.

HR can review their compensation policies, flag disparities, research competitive pay rates and make adjustments when possible.