- New research released today by Crowne Plaza® Hotels and Resorts shows that only one in ten now rate a high salary as a key indicator of success
- Status symbols such as expensive cars are no longer important, with less than 2% saying they signify success, compared to one in five who believed it did in similar research conducted in 1989
- One in three people now rate work/life balance as more important than climbing the career ladder, while traditional relationship goals are changing with only 1% listing marriage as a goal
LONDON, 7th OCTOBER 2014: Nearly a third of Brits rate a good balance between work and home life as the single most important factor in leading a successful life, with only 10% placing a premium on salary, according to new research released today by Crowne Plaza as part of a wider report called Evaluating success: placing a value on values’.
The results represent a significant evolution from 10 years ago, when one in four Brits listed salary as the key indicator of success.
According to the research, in 2014 only 1.8% of this demographic consider owning an expensive car to be a signal of success, compared to 20% of their peers in 1989.
One in three people go further, stating that they do not believe that any ‘status symbols’ denote success and an additional 27% reporting that they do not seek to evaluate their own success or that of others – a clear departure from the professionally ambitious, materially-focused 1980s.
In a further move away from 80’s culture, the notion of power dressing was also rejected by 65%, with eight in ten stating that the way someone dresses could never denote success – a clear victory for the dressed down generation of Mark Zuckerberg-style moguls.
The findings informed Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts’ coloured paper, ‘Evaluating success: placing a value on values’, released today and outlining what constitutes success for the Millennial, post-yuppie generation.
Sleep (72%), quality time with friends and family (42%) and regular exercise and healthy food (38%) instead form the top three factors which enable Brits to stay on top of their game.
Flexible working hours and remote working are also crucial to professional success for 69% of us, with seven in ten rejecting any correlation between working longer hours and getting ahead at work and 63% believing that they could complete their work in four days rather than five.
Claire Chapoulet, Brand Director Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts at InterContinental Hotels Group, parent company of Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, commented:
“The world of business travel and guests’ needs are constantly evolving.
“While success will mean something different to everyone at Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts we know that our guests want a hotel that values them, values their time and makes it easy for them to get their job done. Our guests are busy professionals and we want to do everything we can to give them that performance edge that helps them be on top of their work and at the top of their game.”
Contributing Editor of Vogue and lifestyle expert Calgary Avansino added:
“Success is no longer about payslips, corner offices or fast cars and big watches: it’s about living a life in accordance with our values – which Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts’ research shows are increasingly aligned with healthy eating, exercising and spending time with loved ones.
“Furthermore, the research shows that to a little over 62% of us, personal and professional success is of equal importance.
“Yet despite this huge evolution in our attitude to successful living, the notion of success remains a nebulous concept and one I was keen to work with Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts to define. In this way, we hope to aid today’s generation of aspirers to establish and then strive to meet their own individual interpretation of what success represents.”
