Nearly half of all finance professionals would relocate tomorrow if they could, according to a recent survey.
But only 1% of workers said they would move for financial reasons.
About half of the finance professionals questioned said that striking a better work-life balance would be their main reason for wanting to move and 16% said family would be the primary motive.
Nearly all (95%) of the 1,400 workers who took part in the research, by jobsite eFinancialCareers.com, were currently based in London. Edinburgh and Dublin proved to be a popular choice for relocation.
More than 20% of finance professionals, including front-office workers, investment bankers and asset managers, said they would like to move to Edinburgh, 9% said Dublin and 6% cited New York as their favourite choice.
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Ian Brown, editor-in-chief of eFinancialCareers.com, said: “Financial institutions should pay attention – money alone no longer seems to be the sole motivator for City employees.
“The perception in the markets, however, is that work-life balance is for wimps. These poll figures could be as high as they are because employees wanting to strike a balance are frustrated by the demands placed on them by employers.”