Taking a Leap of Faith
9th January 2023
Ireland’s male employees are more likely to “back themselves” when it comes to applying for a job, even if they don’t have all the experience and qualifications required. This is according to the latest Workplace Wellbeing Survey from Taxback.com.
The tax refund giants surveyed the attitudes of 1,200 employees in SMEs throughout the country and found that
when applying for a new role, 25pc of females believe that they would need 90pc or more of the experience and qualifications outlined by a prospective employer, compared to just 15pc of men.
The survey also found that 6 in 10 employees (58pc) would opt for joining a growing business rather than a long-established firm (42pc), preferring opportunities for professional development over security; a finding which was supported by the fact that 25pc of respondents selected workplace advancement opportunities as the most important workplace incentive.
Marian Ryan, Consumer Tax Manager at Taxback.com commented on the findings: “The results suggest that women are less likely to take a leap of faith when applying to jobs compared to men. Which gives rise to questions like – in the main, are women simply less confident in their abilities? Are they more prone to imposter syndrome?”
The results also found that 1 in 10 people believe that they must have 100pc of the experience and qualifications detailed in the job spec before they would put themselves forward for the role.
Marian added: “When applying to a new role, you need to bear in mind that the job spec is the employer’s wish list. As a manager, I know that I won’t find the person who ticks every single box. I am looking for the person with the most potential for the role – perhaps they won’t have certain skills or experience but there’s a good chance that they will be able to bring different attributes to the role and indeed to our business as a whole”.
Taxback.com Survey respondents were asked:
The Taxback.com survey highlighted that flexibility around working hours (28pc) as well as, the place of work (26pc) were the most popular workplace offerings with slightly less interest in health and wellness programs at 18pc.
Marian commented: “This highlights the importance of a healthy work-life balance to today’s workers. Both employers and employees have made great strides in this regard in recent years. Whether this means being able to work remotely or starting the weekend early on a Friday, Covid has shown us that there is more to life than an 8-hour workday coupled with a 2-hour commute to the office”.
