Women choose happiness ahead of salary increases

WE all know the saying — men are from Mars and women are from Venus. And a new survey has revealed distinct differences when it comes to making choices about our lives.

The Your Choice survey conducted by Carphone Warehouse showed massive differences between men and women with regard to decision making around careers and relationships.

‘The whole thing is about making choices which are good for you,’ according to Dr Eddie Murphy.

The findings revealed that 60% of men say they make decisions and stick to them, compared to 44% of women, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

‘While men say they are more decisive, this doesn’t necessarily mean they tend to make better decisions,’ says Dr Murphy. ‘What this shows is that men tend to be more impulsive.’

Salary is more likely to influence men with 35% saying that would be the main factor when choosing a career, while 34% of women say personal fulfilment is more important than salary.

‘Men will make choices on careers based on salary, while women will make choices based more on personal fulfilment,’ says Dr Murphy.

‘So while a guy could be on a higher salary, he might be desperately unhappy and a woman who is on a lower salary could be perfectly content. ‘You have to ask yourself what you want — which is of course a higher salary and personal fullfilment.’

When it comes to picking the perfect partner, the poll found women were more choosy than men. But again Dr Murphy believes this is more to do with the impulsive nature of males.

‘Women are more choosy than men when it comes to relationships,’ he explains. ‘But you could argue that women take a more medium-term view with regard to finding the perfect partner. They take the view of a more life-long commitment in terms of relationships — marriage and children and forming a loving bond together for life. Men seem to think in the more short-term, more often than not.’

And when it comes to the dating game, the poll results revealed women are still not making decisions.

Dr Murphy says: ‘For some people, when it comes to your first date, women are more likely to let men choose — 80% are asking men to make the choice about where they go. I think this shows women still wait for men to ask them out.

‘But I reckon more women should take the plunge — if you are looking for a life partner, don’t hang around.’