Australians are often recognised for their laidback attitudes and sunny disposition – while this is no doubt a bit of a stereotype, there is some truth at its core. This positive, easy-going attitude doesn’t seem to be reflected in Australian workplaces in recent years: many Australians describe a lack of contentment with their jobs, and the Condeco Workplace Report 2018 found similar, with Australians routinely reporting the lowest levels of satisfaction with workplace productivity, creativity, privacy and enjoyment.
At a glance, it looks like Australia’s workplaces might be experiencing a crisis in morale – but why?
Limited opportunities
According to a 2016 survey by the Australian Institute of Management, more than half of Australians feel they have limited career opportunities, with 81.9% of them looking to leave their current role in search of new challenges.
The survey also found that pay was an increasingly important and problematic issue down under. Analysing the data from 25,000 employees across Australia, it found that 44.4% of employees leave their roles to look for better financial reward elsewhere. National salary growth rates are slowing, and are expected to follow a downward trend in future. We know that salary can have a significant impact upon office morale, so the fact that finance isn’t looking particularly rosy correlates with a downturn in job satisfaction.
Slow to adopt
Just 26% of Australians surveyed by Condeco felt their workplace provided the right mix of amenities for their employees, as compared to 40% in the US, a country that generally has higher levels of job satisfaction. According to a survey of Australians and New Zealanders, 73% of Australians feel their workplace is too slow to adopt the latest technology, while Condeco found that 21% of Australians are unhappy with their video conferencing setup. Not providing employees with suitable amenities or technology could easily cause enthusiasm at work to drop, not to mention increased stress levels.
It’s not all bad news for our Aussie friends, however. Research by Curtin University found that happiness at work varied by industry, with those working in agriculture, forestry and fishing and arts and recreation reporting the highest levels of happiness.
Ultimately, the reasons behind Australia’s perceived lower rates of morale and satisfaction are likely more complicated than we imagine, and are often influenced by outside factors. The only thing we can be sure of is that most Australians haven’t quite found the magic formula that ensures a happy and effective workplace – but let’s be honest, most of us haven’t quite found ours yet, either!