In its Managing Tomorrow's People survey of 5,000 business professionals across the globe, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that while 44 percent of respondents wanted a salary that matches their responsibilities, 36 percent put work-life balance at the top of their career goals.

"Our survey indicates that employees may be feeling the pressure, with large numbers of respondents hoping for better work-life balance in the future, and around a third saying they would prefer to work for themselves," said Michel Rendell, PwC global head of human resources.

Nearly 40 percent of respondents found flexible working arrangements to be most valuable, followed by bonuses, paid training, and exposure to networking and social activities. And about half of those surveyed wanted to work for companies whose values matched their own. Those include social consciousness ideals and environmental responsibility.

Survey results varied regionally around the world. Workers in Western Europe and North America were most interested in flexible working arrangements. Latin American workers were most eager for learning and development, while employees in Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia Pacific area wanted more social networking opportunities.