BETTER THAN A PAY BOOST

ALMOST half of Queenslanders (47 per cent) would give up a pay rise for more meaningful work, with the average white collar worker spending 62 hours a month – or about 15 hours a week – on mundane tasks.

A survey from software company ServiceNow reveals Queenslanders are so tired of menial tasks that 52 per cent would rather sit in peak hour traffic than call the IT department. Two-thirds (68 per cent) would rather go without caffeine for a whole day than deal with a complex HR process.

ServiceNow Australia and New Zealand vice president and managing director David Oakley says the data points to the importance of purpose.

“People want to be able to link the work they are doing to a greater purpose, whether impacting on a global scale or their local community,” he says.

The research finds this is a trend among Millennials in particular, as two-thirds wish for more meaningful work compared to 45 per cent of Baby Boomers.

“The generation is more educated and more socially aware in many ways,” Oakley says.

“Millennials have more opportunity to go to university, do more travel, and are more in touch with social issues so want every aspect of their life to have purpose.”

DHL Express national account manager Michael Reid says a major appeal of his job is the meaningful work he contributes to.

“We work with a lot of small start-ups and larger online retailers, working with them to help them grow internationally and grow their business,” he says.

“In some cases it has a huge impact on people’s lives.

“We have seen people go from heading in the wrong direction to being successful internationally.”

He is not surprised so many people value purpose over pay.

“For six or seven years (earlier in my career) I went job to job looking for that meaningful feeling,” Reid says.

“(Purpose is) a big contributor for me.”