NGA Human Resources finds London based workers demand non-monetary benefits and company culture in exchange for longer working hours.

On average, Londoners work the longest days in the UK with one-third (33%) working over 9 hours per day. However in exchange, Londoners are the most demanding when it comes to non-monetary benefits, company culture and responsibility at work. This is according to research conducted by OnePoll1 on behalf of NGA Human Resources.Four in ten (40%) Londoners believe it is reasonable for their employers to ask them to work beyond their contracted hours, the highest level of acceptance in the UK. As a trade-off however, Londoners are the highest (32%, national average 23%) for rating non-monetary benefits as important when looking at a job role. In fact, they are the least motivated by salary (76%, national average 80%), despite London being the 11th most expensive city in the world2. 

Additionally, they are least likely to be motivated by work/life balance (59%, national average 67%). Instead Londoners are motivated by the cultural fit of a company (30%, national average 21%) and travel opportunities (19%, national average 13%).Ian Dowd, marketing director, NGA Human Resources UK, said: “Our research highlights the differences between employees in London and those elsewhere in the country. Imagine a company with offices in London and Glasgow; they simply cannot have a uniform HR policy across the two.”

Londoners are the most certain about finding new work with over one-third (35%) feeling ‘very confident’ about finding a new job if they decided to leave their current position.

Dowd continued: “Employers can’t get complacent. If a Londoner is not happy, they may well simply move on. This is a crucial consideration for HR departments, as it demonstrates the importance of getting things right – from the office culture to the extra benefits. It’s simple: employers need to invest in their employees if they want to keep them. Additionally, regional differences should not be ignored when looking to implement HR strategy across a company.”

¹Research Methodology

OnePoll conducted this research on behalf of NGA HR. It comprised of 1,500 respondents, working full-time in organisations based in the UK.

²Source

The Economist Intelligence Unit's latest Worldwide Cost of Living, March 2015 http://www.eiu.com/home.aspx