Issues such as pay and job security impacting employee satisfaction

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amidst a slowing economy and record levels of household debt, new research shows money matters are taking a toll on Australia’s workforce.

The Australia Pay Experience Report, released today by global human capital management (HCM) company Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (NYSE: CDAY; TSX: CDAY) and conducted by Hanover Research, reveals half of Australian workers (54 per cent) are unsatisfied with their level of pay, while the majority are challenged by financial matters that impact life at work and outside of work. The report revealed:

  • Overall job satisfaction: 38 per cent of Australian workers are unsatisfied with their current job. Issues with salary or pay (41 per cent), job security (37 per cent), and uninteresting work (33 per cent) were identified as the main drivers for workplace dissatisfaction.
  • Prevalence of stress: 82 per cent of Australian workers are stressed to some capacity about money issues on a regular basis, while another one-in-three (34 per cent) are living pay cheque to pay cheque.
  • Pay transparency: Only 41 per cent of workers are completely satisfied when it comes to transparency of information about their pay, including industry averages and co-workers’ pay.

The report found that nearly half of Australian workers (44 per cent) are actively looking for a new job, with another 29 per cent saying that while they’re not actively looking, they are open to new opportunities.

“The expectations placed upon the modern worker are higher than ever, and when you couple that with issues like financial stress, the risk of top talent leaving the organisation becomes significantly greater,” said Nathan Reynolds, Managing Director, Ceridian Australia. “The war for talent is only going to increase in the years ahead, compounded by low unemployment and a growing shortage of critical skills. Organisations need to focus on creating a sense of purpose and meaning in the workplace, and compensate their people competitively, if they want to hold onto their top people moving forward.”

Reynolds added that Ceridian offers a Compensation Management solution within its flagship platform Dayforce that brings conscious and unconscious biases to the forefront so they can be addressed, including a gender pay equity graph which compares salaries by role and other influencing factors.

Despite daily anxiety, financial wellness not seen as a priority among employers

According to the latest data from Australian Bureau of Statistics, household wealth fell $257.6 billion in the fourth quarter – the largest decrease since 2011 – while the household-debt-to-income ratio reached a new high of 199 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Pay Experience Report showed that employers may have opportunities to do more to support their people, with one third of employees (36 per cent) believing their employers do not care about their financial wellbeing.

“Employee-centric programs that prioritize financial wellness not only relieve some of the pressure your employees may be under on a daily basis, but can also help to attract, and more importantly retain, top talent in today’s competitive job market,” added Reynolds.

To learn more about the Pay Experience Report, visit www.ceridian.com/au/resources/2019-pay-experience-report.

About the survey

The research was conducted by Hanover Research through an online survey in March 2019. A total of 964 full-time and part-time employees, and those who work contract or freelance in Australia, were surveyed.

About Ceridian

Ceridian. Makes Work Life Better™.

Ceridian is a global human capital management software company. Dayforce, our flagship cloud HCM platform, provides human resources, payroll, benefits, workforce management, and talent management functionality. Our platform is used to optimize management of the entire employee lifecycle, including attracting, engaging, paying, deploying, and developing people. Ceridian has solutions for organizations of all sizes. Visit Ceridian.com or follow us @Ceridian.

Contacts

Matt Duffin Matthew.Duffin@Ceridian.com 647.248.0752