To attract, engage and retain quality staff, a study by business-to-business ratings firm Clutch found that fair pay tops the list of important workplace values. Its survey found that 55 percent of full-time employees surveyed ranked “compensates me fairly” as the first or second most important workplace attribute. Behind fair compensation, Clutch found “treat workforce fairly” came in at 54 percent, “maintain high ethical standards” placed third at 38 percent, followed by “be profitable and growing” at 29 percent and “make the world a better place” at 24 percent.

The company noted some generational differences in its survey. While every generation ranked fair pay as the most important attribute, they differed on their level of emphasis. Baby Boomers value whether their company compensates them fairly the most at 42 percent, ahead of Generation X (32 percent) and Millennials (29 percent).

Clutch noted that ranking aside, nearly all of those surveyed said that fair treatment (94 percent), fair compensation (93 percent) and high ethical standards (93 percent) are ‘“very” or “somewhat important.” And most employees, 72 percent, say their company has a positive impact on the world.

To emphasize the importance of understanding employees’ workplace values, Clutch points to Gallup research that found disengaged workers result in 16 percent lower profitability, 18 percent lower productivity and 37 percent lower job growth, while organizations with engaged employees receive 100 percent more job applications.

The full results of Clutch’s study can be found here.