High salaries less important than home life, says survey

IRISH people’s ‘positivity shines through’ as home life and relationships are prioritised over work and a high salary, a new survey has revealed. More than two thirds of Irish people feel successful and 68% are confident in their life choices, according to a LinkedIn survey.

Ireland was the fourth highest out of 16 countries surveyed in terms of success and the most confident in Europe. But when it came to what success meant to people, a happy home life came top.

Spending time with family was a sign of success for 62% of people and having good friends was success for 58% of those surveyed.

Strikingly, a high salary was a definition of success for just 15% of people but this percentage rose to 32% for 18- to 25-year-olds, according to the online survey of 502 adults.

Just 6% saw earning more money than friends as a sign of success and only 16% though a pay rise was a positive milestone.

Sharon McCooey, Head of LinkedIn Ireland, said: ‘Many would assume we associate success in life to our finances, where as in fact, as people get older, they put a much heavier emphasis on their relationships and their passions in life.

‘Despite emerging from a recession in relatively recent times, our positivity shines through with the Irish public standing out as one of the most confident nations in the research.’