Pay matters.

A new national survey of office workers makes it clear that salary trumps any other factor that might be important to employees.

Seventy percent of 3,991 workers surveyed in November said pay was the key factor to keep them on the job.

That may sound like a no-kidding result, but it emphasizes a trend that’s been building for several years. In the late 1990s, pay often ranked behind other workplace perks when employees were asked why they stayed or left.

According to a CareerBuilder report released Tuesday, 58 percent of workers said better benefits is the best way to keep employees, ranking significantly behind pay in priority.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive among full-time, non-government, non-self-employed employees.

A companion survey of 2,611 human resource professionals found that one-third said top-performing employees had voluntarily left their companies last year. Nearly four in 10 said they were concerned about losing more top talent this year.

According to the employee survey, about one in four said they intend to change jobs this year or next year.

Flexible scheduling was the second-biggest enticement behind salary to stay on the job, followed closely by increased employee recognition and putting employee feedback into action.

Asked for the most important contributors to their job satisfaction, employees said a higher job title ranked far behind salary. They ranked all these behind job title in importance:

Flexible schedule, 59 percent; being able to make a difference, 48 percent; having challenging work, 35 percent; being able to work from home, 33 percent; getting academic reimbursement, 18 percent; having a private office, 17 percent; and having a company car, 14 percent.

Ask to select one employee perk that would make them more likely to stay on the job, the workers said half-day Fridays, 40 percent; on-site fitness center, 20 percent; casual dress (jeans), 18 percent; daily catered lunches, 17 percent; massages, 16 percent; nap room, 12 percent; rides to and from work, 12 percent; office snack cart, 8 percent; private restroom, 7 percent; on-site day care, 6 percent.