The key to happiness?

In the last 14 years of headhunting I’ve spoken to enough people to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that beyond the basic requirements of shelter, warmth, food, health, clothes, retirement provisions, some leisure / hobbies etc…

…even more money is NOT correlated with more happiness.

From the many conversations I’ve had, the novelty wears off VERY quickly.

Some people love expensive/ powerful cars for example, and that’s fine. But a huge amount of people who have no real passion for cars, blow a massive portion of their income on a fancy vehicle, mearly to act as a status symbol of ‘wealth’...or a justification for career grinding/ sacrifice.

You’re still sitting in the same traffic as everyone else, listening to the same radio station, wasting the same time, travelling to a job that possibly drains all the energy you have.

If you’re not enjoying the work you do, what’s the point?

Figure out your net earnings per hour. That’s what you’re selling each working hour of your life for. Still worth it?

Don’t be so quick to leave a company/ job with satisfying tasks/ projects and great people, just for a few extra quid. Your family/ partner won't thank you for it in the long term if you're burnt out and miserable.

When our 3 children randomly ask for an expensive toy...we ask them if they still want us to buy it knowing that we will have to work more time/ harder to pay for it.

Without tantrums or dramas, they always say no, and that they instead want the maximum time with us. (For context, we're not complete Scrooge's, they do have plenty of toys).

More often than not, unnecessarily big salaries are to fuel egos, not happy families. So don't kid yourself that you're chasing the £££ for someone else's benefit.

Now, I know I’ve made my headhunting life harder when trying to convince you all it’s worth considering a new job opportunity occasionally. But, if you are toying with the idea of a change, please do it for the right reasons.

Just saying.