Happy little Vegemites - Seven in 10 Australians proud to work for their organisation.

Australia is the overwhelming home to positive, inspiring workplaces, a new Ipsos report has revealed.

The results are part of Ipsos’ latest landmark report, titled What Australia Thinks, Feels and Does at Work, which offers the latest insights into workplace trends across Australia for 2024, including culture, behaviour, and talent attrition.

Post-pandemic, Australians are reporting high satisfaction with their employers, with 72% of Aussie workers saying they experience a positive workplace culture, and 67% saying they would recommend their organisation to others.

The results demonstrate a significant shift in Australia’s attitude to employee satisfaction, with many workplaces prioritising employee wellness, amid ongoing recruitment and retention struggles.

However, nearly a third of Australians (28%) said they still experienced a negative workplace culture, describing their workplace as ‘hierarchical’, ‘controlling’, and ‘bureaucratic’, with a track record for ‘long hours’.

For workers planning on leaving their current employer in less than 12 months, nearly four in 10 (38%) put the decision down to feeling underappreciated and invisible in their role.

When considering a new job, 63% said the most important factor was pay/benefits, while 44% said flexible working opportunities was most important factor, demonstrating the continued desire for hybrid working arrangements following the pandemic.

Key national insights from the report include:

• Overall, seven in 10 Australians (72%) experience a positive workplace culture – five points above the global average.
• However, nearly a third (28%) said they had a negative workplace culture, describing their workplace as hierarchical, controlling, and bureaucratic, with a track record for long hours.
• 65% of Australians in leadership roles felt their employers welcomed honest feedback. • Nearly seven in 10 Australians said they were proud to work for their organisation.
• 67% said they would recommend their employer as a great place to work.
• Nearly a quarter said they would stay working for their employer for the next three to five years; another 23% said they would stay for more than five years.
• For those planning to leave in less than 12 months, nearly half (46%) put the decision down to pay/benefits; while 38% said it was because they didn’t feel appreciated or recognised.
• When considering a new role, 63% said the most important factor was the pay/benefits package; while 44% said they considered flexible working opportunities important.

Wendy McInnes, Ipsos Australia Employee Experience Director, said: “Australian workplaces have significantly shifted their priorities post-pandemic, in an attempt to retain their workforce. The worker of 2024 is committed to achieving a work/life balance and is looking for an employer who understands and supports this balance. Organisations that continue to drive positive workplace culture from the top down will be most successful in 2024 in both attracting new staff and retaining talent.

“As the cost-of-living crisis continues, workplaces will need to review their pay/benefits packages to remain competitive, as Australians seek out roles with higher salaries to offset their rising mortgage and other financial costs. Additionally, flexible working arrangements continue to be a key employment driver and remain a critical part of overall workplace operations.”

Ghassan Karian, CEO of Ipsos Karian and Box, Ipsos’s specialist in employee culture and engagement, said: “This study highlights the need by Australian employers to tackle young or new starter attrition, and the associated costs. There is also a need to deepen the experience of an open, trusting and listening culture - all of which are factors critical to driving workforce engagement and performance.”

About the survey

The survey was conducted online among a representative sample of 1,000 Australian employees in December 2023.

The precision of online surveys is measured using a credible interval. In this case, the results reported are accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points of the views and perspectives of Singaporean employees (at 95% confidence interval). Credible intervals are wider among subsets of the population.