Four out of five workers to search for new jobs: Hays

Recruitment specialist Hays has reported that four out of five New South Wales workers will look for a new job in the next year.

According to the Hays Salary Guide, which surveyed more than 15,000 respondents covering 1250 roles across 26 different industries, cost of living pressures are also driving employee demand for increased pay rises. This comes as 86% of employers plan to increase salaries in their next review.

However, only 49% of employers in NSW intend to provide pay rises exceeding 3%.

Hays chief executive of APAC Mathew Dickason said that the discrepancy between what employees want and what employers are willing to offer will play out over the next year. He noted that nearly 40% of employees are unhappy with their salaries and 73% feel their pay doesn't reflect individual performance.

"We are seeing a trend of employees expecting higher salary increases over the past three Salary Guide reports. In 2019, 67% of employees expected a pay rise of less than 3%. In just five years the pendulum has swung to 61% of employees expecting a pay increase of more than 3%," he said.

He added that the report also found businesses are becoming more optimistic with 64% believing that business activity will increase in the year ahead, up from 55% last year. While 55% of organisations have also reported that productivity has increased either moderately (36%) or significantly (19%).

"Despite plans to increase business activity, their intention to add to permanent headcount has risen by only 3% from last year with 47% of employers expecting to increase permanent staffing levels in the next 12 months. While 38% of those employers plan to increase permanent headcount by 6-10%," Dickason said.

"However, employers' intention to increase temporary workers has jumped 7% from last year and 14% from 2019 with 28% of employers expecting to increase temporary or contract staff. Fifty-five percent of employers plan to increase temporary roles by more than 6%. For employers, the extremes of the past few years are stabilising, this leaves open the opportunity for the bold to take action now and gain the first mover's advantage."

Hays went on to claim that the hybrid work debate is over, with 80% of NSW employees now working in a hybrid or remote arrangement and 92% favouring this setup. Employers agree, with 76% indicating they have established their onsite versus remote split and don't plan on changing it.

"Salary is always a top priority for employees with 71% saying that a pay rise is the most important factor to their career in the year ahead but benefits such as learning and development of technical skills (63%) and being able to work flexibly (54%) are also important factors," Dickason said.

"Brand reputation, DE&I and ESG policies are important strategies organisations should highlight to attract the right talent, and this year's survey data further highlights their significance. Businesses that are trusted attract the top talent, and employees that trust their employers stay with them longer."