More than half of employees said they’re unlikely to quit their job in 2023 either with or without a new role to go to. Similarly, 51 per cent said they’re unlikely to actively search for a new job.
The data comes from the latest ELMO Employee Sentiment Index that found more than a third of employees said the fear of a recession is encouraging them to remain in their current role with a further 16 per cent saying they plan to look for a new job internally, favouring the security of their existing employer to find their next role.
The survey found that four out of five employees are concerned about a recession in Australia this year. Female employees are more concerned than men (83 per cent; cf 79 per cent). It isn’t just a domestic recession that concerns workers as 80 per cent of employees are also worried about a global recession.
Older workers are more likely to be concerned about a recession in Australia (Gen Z, 72 per cent; Millennials, 80 per cent; Gen X, 83 per cent; and Baby Boomers, 84 per cent) that isn’t surprising, given it shows that those who were employed or entering employment during the 1991 recession in Australia (Baby Boomers and older Gen X) are more likely to fear the prospect of another one.
The report found that in the last quarter of 2022, Australian workers put in 33.7 hours a week — just over a quarter of an hour more than in Q3 and over half an hour higher than this time last year.
Gen X employees are working the most hours on average (35.7 hours) followed by Millennials (35 hours), Gen Z (29.2 hours), and Baby Boomers (27.1 hours) with Queensland workers on average putting in more hours than any other state.
However, sick leave has increased, with the number of employees taking a legitimate sick day jumping by 8 per cent. This could be due to higher levels of COVID-19 and other illnesses circulating compared to the previous year when restrictions were still in place. There was also a rise in the number of employees arriving at work feeling unwell, which again correlates with the reduction in financial support for employees suffering from COVID-19.
The proportion of employees looking for a new job, whether in their existing company or elsewhere, has remained largely the same as the year before. When split by gender, women were more likely to have actively searched for a new role in another company compared to men.
The most notable change for quarter four is the increase in the number of workers who said their industry is prone to job losses, which has reached a record high of 44 per cent compared to 37 per cent for the same period last year.
The result was particularly high for those in the retail (61 per cent) and construction (56 per cent) sectors.
Meanwhile, the proportion of workers who believe that greater technology will assist them in their role has declined; however, younger generations, especially Millennials, remain the most supportive of technology (Gen Z, 70 per cent; Millennials, 74 per cent; cf Gen X, 58 per cent; and Baby Boomers, 54 per cent).
Workers are also looking for stability in their workplace more than they did last year.
Meanwhile, over one in five (21 per cent) Australian employees think it is likely they will take a career break in 2023. Interestingly, the younger the employee, the more optimistic they are about taking a career break (Gen Z, 33 per cent; Millennials, 25 per cent; Gen X, 16 per cent; and Baby Boomers, 15 per cent). The number of employees who think it is likely they will request a pay rise or promotion has increased to close to half (44 per cent) which is a 22 per cent increase on this time last year. That is highest among men (49 per cent; cf women 39 per cent) and Millennials (54 per cent).
Over a third of Australian employees think it is likely they will work from the office more frequently in 2023, with Gen Z leading the way (43 per cent; cf Millennials, 39 per cent; Gen Z, 33 per cent; and Baby Boomers, 21 per cent) The number of employees who said they’re likely to work from home full-time and part-time also fell, compared to this time last year.
