’Shifted expectations’: 1 in 5 Aussies quit their jobs in the last year

New research has unveiled the shocking extent of Australia’s “Great Resignation” and the key reason people are changing jobs.

One in five Aussies quit their job in the past year – while another quarter are thinking about leaving now – as they refuse to put up with career stagnation, burnout and poor pay.

A new survey conducted by the National Australia Bank shows businesses are being forced to lift their game to retain talent amid the so-called “Great Resignation” of workers during the coronavirus pandemic, with workers increasingly looking elsewhere after some soul-searching.

The NAB survey, which polled 1200 people over November and December, found a lack of personal fulfilment, purpose, career limitations, mental health concerns and poor pay were the main factors forcing people to consider changing their jobs.

NAB executive for banking Julie Rynski said after decades of low employee turnover, two years of the coronavirus had forced people to consider what they really wanted out of life and their career.

Around three in 10 workers are being pushed away from their current jobs by a lack of personal fulfilment.

“Clearly, the pandemic has shifted the expectations of Australian workers and this research suggests employers now need to work harder to retain talent,” Ms Rynski said.

The survey found, on average, around three in 10 workers were being pushed away from their current jobs by a lack of personal fulfilment and purpose or meaning.

Another 29 per cent pointed to a lack of career growth and the impact of their current job on their mental health, while 27 per cent said they were looking elsewhere because of poor pay and benefits.

The Great Resignation’ in Australia. Source: NAB

Other key drivers of change included poor work-life balance (23 per cent), burnout (22 per cent) and feeling like a fresh start (20 per cent).

NAB’s research shows job turnover was greatest for “general unskilled workers”, with almost four in 10 (37 per cent) indicating they had changed jobs in the past year, followed by labourers (29 per cent) and other IT and technology workers (28 per cent).

By state, some key anomalies included the much higher number of workers in Queensland citing mental health as a key driver of change, while in Western Australia 47 per cent pointed to poor pay and benefits, and 18 per cent of Victorians said employers were failing to recognise pandemic concerns.

NAB’s 2021 survey echoes the findings of similar research from ELMO Software that found 31 per cent of workers planned to quit their current job this year.

ELMO chief executive and founder Danny Lessem last month said the pandemic had shifted priorities for workers who now expected flexibility as the norm.

“In days gone by people who are asking for more wages, more flexibility, more annual leave, affirmation and the ability to work remotely would have been laughed at but they can,” he said.

“With record unemployment rates, they are in a good position to negotiate with their employers.

Nearly 30 per cent of people looking to leave their jobs pointed to a lack of career growth and the impact of their current job on their mental health. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Curiously, the Great Resignation in Australia comes after unusually low levels of employee turnover in Australia.

The latest data for the year to February 2021 shows Australia experienced the lowest employee turnover since the Australian Bureau of Statistics started tracking labour mobility in 1972.

The ABS data suggests 7.5 per cent of employed people aged 15 and over – around 1.1 million – changed jobs, down from a peak of 19.5 per cent in 1988-89.

Originally published as ’Shifted expectations’: 1 in 5 Aussies quit their jobs in the last year