Salary may not be as critical as first thought when it comes to workers choosing a company, with stability and great management being more desirable for many Australian workers.
That’s according to new research released this week by Slack, sharing insights into the psyche of Australian workers and highlighting ideas on what businesses can do to adapt and retain talent.
The digital HQ surveyed 1,000 knowledge workers in Australia to get a look at the current working environment, how workers perceive their leaders and opportunities for improvement.
As businesses reflect on 2022 and look ahead to the next year, this report Leadership and the war for talent, shares more on the ‘quiet quitting’ trend, the continued pressure on job satisfaction and workers’ views on whether their industries are thriving or struggling.
Slack finds that employees have been irrevocably changed by the impact of the pandemic and the uncertain economic environment, both of which have contributed to the burnout that nearly two-thirds of Australian workers have experienced in the last year.
This employee burnout means nearly half are considering switching jobs in the next year, and 12 per cent have admitted to ‘quiet quitting’, meaning they’ll fulfil their job requirements but won’t go above and beyond.
Slack’s Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Nicole Woodley said on the findings that employers should do more to meet the changing feelings of employees.
“The rhythm of work already had an irregular heartbeat before the pandemic – we just weren’t aware of how much time we were, and still are, spending on non-productive tasks,” she said.
“We are continuing to go through one of the biggest workplace experiments in the last 100 years as we move from offices to hybrid work, and see factors like trust, wellbeing and soft skills take on as much meaning as financial success and salary.”
On talent retention, Slack’s survey shows Australian workers look for stability and good leadership over salary when choosing a company.
Fifty-one per cent note stability as being important in their work and 29 per cent want to have a good manager, while only 28 per cent noted a good salary as top of what they look for.
Survey respondents also identified the top factors driving their success, with 47 per cent marking teamwork and collaboration, 38 per cent wanting flexible work, 37 per cent valuing employee wellbeing and 36 per cent want transparent and trustworthy leadership.
It seems that teamwork and collaboration should be a strong focus for employers as the survey also showed a strong correlation between workers who hold their leaders in high regard and those whose leaders lean-in to the use of collaboration tools and platforms.
Nearly two-thirds of Aussie knowledge workers surveyed view the use of collaboration tools in their organisation as extremely important.
Going along with this value on collaboration, Aussie workers find the office environment important for social connection (40 per cent) but still see certain activities like progress updates and planning sessions as better suited to remote work– flexibility in working arrangements seems to be key.
Leaders should also pay attention to the generational differences of Australian workers. Sixty-three per cent of generation Z , for example, are more likely to be inspired by their leadership, while only 45 per cent of Generation X feel the same. And 57 per cent of millennials are most likely to feel a disconnect from their leaders.
The industry employees are in has a big impact on their needs and attitudes as well. For example, finance workers have the highest rates of burnout (64 per cent), while tech workers are the least likely to burnout (48 per cent). Retail workers also have the lowest levels of confidence in their leadership and government employees are most likely to churn, or leave a company (46 per cent).
“The rewards are clear,” said Woodley. “Greater productivity, a reduction in burn out and better staff retention. We are not at our final destination yet, and what this survey reveals are key areas where leaders can get on the front foot.”