The Great Resignation is not yet over

The ELMO Employee Sentiment Index warned employers that the “Great Resignation” is far from over with 44 per cent of Australian workers still planning to actively search for a new job this year – an increase from 43 per cent last quarter.

The results suggested that Australian employers should expect more resignations and career changes as a third (34 per cent) of Australian workers believe they’ll only stay with their current company for up to 18 months. Slightly more than one in five (22 per cent) said they will stay up to 12 months, and eight per cent anticipate they’ll leave within six months.

ELMO Software chief executive Danny Lessem said the latest index highlighted that there are some considerable challenges facing Australian workers and businesses.

“The latest ELMO Employee Sentiment Index has uncovered just how Australian workers are feeling about the state of the economy, with some useful insights for our major political parties as they prepare for the federal election,” he said.

“Working Australians feel the economy is less secure now than they did a year ago. Workers need to feel the economy is secure if they are going to spend their money instead of saving it away for a rainy day.

“This poor perceived economic security may be contributing to the burn out rate climbing to 46 per cent of workers from just 34 per cent a year prior. This is a big challenge for employers as burnt-out workers are not productive workers.

“The findings in the latest Employee Sentiment Index are a reminder that the workplace of tomorrow is very different to the workplace of today. Employers need to adapt to the needs of their workforce if they are going to remain competitive.

“Employers aren’t likely to experience any reprieve from the pressures of the Great Resignation. More than two fifths of Australian workers (44 per cent) say they plan to actively search for a new job this year.”

The survey found less than a quarter of Australian workers feel the economy is secure – the lowest number to date in the survey.

The latest index has found just 15 per cent of Australian workers consider the economy as secure down from 20 per cent in Q4 of 2021 and down from 30 per cent of workers in the prior comparable period of Q1 2021.

Cost-of-living pressures are also impacting Australian workers with almost a fifth of workers (19 per cent) stating they are not working enough hours to meet their cost-of-living needs. This is up from 17 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.

Despite a growing proportion of Australians being unable to make ends meet, Australian workers are continuing to work the same average number of hours per week as they were last year (33.1 hours in Q1 2021; 33.1 hours in Q1 2022).

Workers are also feeling less secure in their jobs than they were a year ago. Half of workers (50 per cent) currently rated their job as secure compared to 55 per cent in the first quarter of 2021. The current rate is a slight increase from 49 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021.

However, it seems global conflicts may be contributing to the declining perceptions of economic security. Almost four-fifths of Australian workers (78 per cent) believe global conflict will negatively impact economic security. Workers are also worried about the impact of conflict on their job security with 44 per cent of workers concerned that global conflict will negatively impact their job security.

Meanwhile, the proportion of workers feeling burnt out has continued to rise quarter-on-quarter to 46 per cent. This is up substantially from the first quarter of 2021 where just 34 per cent of workers reported feeling burnt out.

A contributing factor to the climbing burnout rates may be the increased work volumes of working Australians and the growing number of workers who feel overwhelmed in their jobs. A third (32 per cent) of workers felt overwhelmed with the amount of work they had to do while almost a quarter (24 per cent) said they had taken on more responsibility at work.