CHANCES ARE, YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE DISSATISFIED

CHANCES ARE, YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE DISSATISFIED

FOUR out of five Australians feel unfulfilled in their workplace, according to new research by the Australian Institute of Management (AIM).

The 2016 National Salary Survey shows the majority of Australians are unhappy in their roles with more than 81.9 per cent of people choosing to leave to look for new challenges.

More than half of those who partook in the survey cited limited career advancement opportunities and 44.4 per cent were looking for better financial reward.

The survey also found 66.8 per cent of Australian employees left a current job to start a similar role at another organisation.

Meanwhile, the survey shows the Australian living standard is now under more pressure than ever before with wage growth falling in line with the rate of inflation, a statistic rarely seen in Australia over the past three decades.

The 2016 survey found the overall salary movement is currently sitting at +3.0 per cent, which is a decrease from the +3.4 per cent reported in 2015 and the lowest reported percentage since 2012, dropping 1.1 per cent overall in four years.

This downward trend is forecast to continue in 2017, especially in Queensland and Western Australia, both of which have been affected by the mining downturn.

Businesses are worried workplace culture is to blame for this shift, with 63.7 per cent seeing this as the human resource issue they are most concerned about.

David Pich, AIM CEO, notes the cost of staff recruitment is a threat to business operational costs, with the study putting the cost of replacing staff at $26,410, which equates to almost half the average salary in Australia.

"Retaining staff is no easy feat," says Pich.

"Employees can become restless in roles that have limited career advancements or where they don't enjoy their time at work.

"Combine that with a volatile property and rental market and the pressure to contribute more to their superannuation fund, it's no wonder staff are becoming disillusioned and feel the need to move jobs as a perceived guarantee to a salary increase.

"People are investing less into their future, because they need to spend more now."

Pich encourages business leaders to reassess their current pay model and suggests creating a positive and inspiring workplace culture to decrease staff turnover and retain human resource.

"People don't leave companies; they leave leaders," says Pich.

"Great managers and leaders make decisions that impact people's lives and that impact can be felt well beyond the workplace.

"We spend about a third of our working-age lives doing just that working.  So it is vital our experiences in the workplace are positive as they impact on our overall well-being and on society as a whole."

The AIM National Salary Survey, now in its 52nd year, is based on the responses of more than 500 organisations across Australia, covering more than 25,000 employees and 270 job roles.

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