If I were to ask you about how well your company pays you, (and you were to trust me enough to tell me), what kind of information might you give? Assuming the trust existed, you might well tell me the annual, monthly or weekly figure and then wait for me to say something. This is the normal, everyday response we would be inclined to give. In reality though, you are likely to have more or less than you think - a hidden salary.

What do you do with the income that you are currently aware of? Where does it go? What do you spend it on? It is more than likely, that with proper review and tight budgeting, you could save money or make payment arrangements so that you could begin to save money sooner than you think, but this article is not really about the money you make from your job, it is about the pay you get from your job. What do I mean? Read on...

I have personally worked in both the public and the commercial sector of business. In so doing, I have run the gauntlet of employer demands. I found that working in the public sector gave me more as I was working for the benefit of people rather than for profit. There does tend to be a disadvantage in working for the public sector rather than in the private commercial one - the salary tends to be lower. At one particular point in my career, I was working for an international private company in the I.T. industry. I had a company car and a reasonable salary. Then one day I had a phone call offering me a position working for a medium size council - no company car and the salary just about scraped to the level I was currently on. When it was offered to me, I jumped at the chance. How could I do that? How could I make such a rapid decision? The answer? I knew what was important to me. I knew my personal values.

Knowing what your values are is a crucial ingredient to discovering the hidden element (or elements) of your salary. The first question to bring up here, is: "What is worth more to you? The money or your environment?

What within your work environment is important to you? The type of office or work area? The friendliness of the people? The "benefits"? The kind of boss you have? The car parking spaces? I know that some of these items might seem a bit trivial, but I am reminded of a puzzle my daughter is currently putting together. She bought it second-hand i.e. it was pre-owned. How important is it for all the pieces of the puzzle to be available and for them to fit together perfectly? Without those factors, the puzzle would not be producing the correct result, right? It`s exactly the same with your job. Indeed, the principle could be applied to many areas of your life.

As a professional life coach, I talk to people with a view to ascertaining what they are looking for in life - where they want to be in (say) ten years time. Ask yourself the same question in relation to your job and you will discover one of two things: either 1) your pay has hidden aspects that you love, or 2) That you are in the wrong job! So, in essence the "pay" you receive for your job should consist of more than the financial aspect. If you are feeling brave, try this little self-assessment that will give you some indicator as to what your hidden salary may consist of and just how much job satisfaction you may have. Oh, by the way, in case you haven`t cottoned on yet; "job satisfaction" is another name for "hidden salary"! Anyway, here we go:

1)What is the greatest thing you enjoy about your job?

2)When you get up knowing you are heading for work, how do you feel about it?

3)How would you feel if, through no fault of your own, and your employer was reluctant, they told you that they had to let you go?

4)How do you feel when a colleague you know leaves the company?

5)How do you feel about the majority of people you work with?

6)Where do you see yourself in regard to your job, in (say) five years time?

We could go on with pulling this type of question out of a hat, but it isn`t necessary as by now you should be getting the point. The real question is "Just how important is it for you to have those elements of hidden salary each and every month?" In other words, are you simply in the job for the money? Or do you have other values that dictate your presence in the company?

A person`s values do not simply involve you in your working hours of course. What happens when you go home? Do you leave work behind? Or do you bring it home with you? If you bring it home with you simply because you enjoy your work so much that your brain continues to kick ideas around in your head, then to a point, that`s okay, (though, if you have one, your spouse/partner may not think so!). If you find yourself bringing it home nothing but moans, groans, and complaints, then I think you will agree, you have a problem! In such a scenario, your personal values are being abused. A question though: Who is permitting the abuse? Who has control in such a situation? Guess what? You are always in control - if only by implication. Think about that statement for a while. It emphasizes an important concept of self-control vs. toleration.

So if you want to discover your hidden salary in your job, it is within your control to do so. It has always been within your control.