Over half of Australian workers are unhappy in their jobs

56% of the Australian workers surveyed are unhappy with their jobs according to the 2005 SEEK Survey of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Australia, released today. The annual survey collected responses from over 7,100 participants about how they view their work.

According to Matthew Rockman, Executive Director of SEEK, ìAustralians are unhappier in the workplaces than they were last year, with over 56% saying they are unhappy with their current jobs compared to 45% in 2004. These figures come at a time when Australiaís unemployment rate has hit a twenty eight year low, meaning that employees are now faced with more choice than ever before.î

With unemployment being so low, Australian companies are sitting on a potential powder-keg, unless management begins to address staff issues, to keep morale high and employees satisfied with their roles,ì said Mr. Rockman.

The survey found that those in the insurance and banking industry were the least happy, with 65% of those surveyed being dissatisfied with their job. This was closely followed by the media and manufacturing sectors with 63% of those surveyed being unhappy.

The report findings from SEEK indicate that the factors that are leading to a lack of job satisfaction are largely tangible. Management issues were at the core of much dissatisfaction with employees surveyed, such as:

69% do not believe that their management is open and honest

48% state that management is not listening to employees

45% say that their management is not inspiring trust

69% do not agree that their management is providing regular feedback.

71% do not believe that their management responds to suggestions and criticism

ìThe SEEK survey showed that a large proportion of the management issues identified by employees can be easily addressed. Managers who can walk the talk and offer career paths to their people will be rewarded with staff loyalty.î said Mr. Rockman.

ìOur research suggests that providing feedback to employees and ensuring that staff know they are appreciated can have a huge impact on keeping people happy at work. These steps cost nothing, and in a tight employment market where employers may find it difficult to increase remuneration, it would seem logical for management to ensure that such low cost retention strategies are in place.î

While employees hold certain management qualities in high esteem, it is clear from the survey that their managers donít meet these standards. According to the survey, the two management traits that employees respect the most are ëthe ability to follow up their words with actioní and ëopenness and honestyí. However most employees do not believe that their own managers perform well on these factors, and rated each of the six management indicators lower than in last yearís survey. Indeed, in occupations where staff members are largely unhappy, the rating of their immediate manager is lower than the overall average.

Managers judge their own bosses even more harshly
In addition, employees who are actually managers themselves, hold an even lower view of their own bosses. Managers judged their own immediate managers lower on almost every aspect (5 out of 6) compared to the overall employee average. Management judged their immediate managers lowest on their ëability to encourage and listen to suggestionsí, and on their ëability to provide regular feedbackí.

This management rating trend continued on a downward trajectory from last yearís survey, and shows just how entrenched a problem management remains in the Australian workplace.

An employees market
With the number of new jobs posted in September standing 36% higher than at the same time last year (according to the September SEEK Employment Index figures), the power is more than ever in employeesí hands.

With such a high number of employees being unhappy when the economy is so buoyant, the time for change for a lot of people is now. However the flipside of this boom time for employees is the undoubted impact on Australian businesses.

ìHigh staff turnover is disruptive, bad for morale and comes at a significant cost to organizations.î said Mr. Rockman. ìWhen the ability to address so many of these issues can be quickly and easily resolved, the onus is on Australian businesses to offer the best environment for their staff to retain employees and attract the best recruits.î