Research find one in five Australians are in the wrong job

FRIDAY-ITIS getting you down? Join the club. You might be one of the two million Australians who are in the wrong job.

THANK God it’s Friday.

If you’re on your way home, or to the pub, you are probably heaving a massive sigh of relief that the work week is over.

But while Friday-itis has been accepted as normal among the gainfully employed, there could be something more to it.

Research by a global human resources firm released today claims that one in five working Australians is poorly matched to their current role.

In short, more than two million of us should be looking for a new job.

Right Management’s research found that one out of five workers surveyed expressed a desire to change job function or industry.

It concluded that companies should make career transition programs available, to give employees the opportunity to “take stock, reassess and progress their career in a direction they desire”.

Horrible Bosses 2 stars Jennifer Aniston

Principal consultant Ian Till said bosses should engage in “robust and structured career discussions” with their staff.

“The unfortunate reality is that many people are socialised into functional silos or job roles for the wrong reasons,” he said.

“Hiring the person who ‘can’ do the job, but doesn’t really want to, is worse than hiring the person who may not ‘tick all the boxes’ but has the passion and willingness to learn.”

The survey was conducted among 857 redundancy candidates — a group in which you might expect to find people with lower levels of engagement.

But one in five of those surveyed decided to change job function or industry out of a personal desire, rather than necessity.

Their attitudes were measured twice in a five-year period, first at their old job and then at the position they transitioned into, revealing a higher than average increase in engagement levels.

Those who were forced to change jobs saw no significant change in their level of engagement.

Actors Kevin Spacey (L) and Jason Bateman in 2011 film 'Horrible Bosses'.

Mr Till said the research showed that, given the right opportunity and market conditions, at least one in five people would make a switch.

“Career transition provides the opportunity for individuals to analyse their current professional position, and re-evaluate their goals and aspirations,” Mr Till said.

“The implication of this research is that approximately one in five people are in the wrong job, which can have a significant impact on their engagement with their role, their peers and their organisation.”

He said low engagement among employees was costing Australian companies $6 billion in annual revenue and that, by moving workers who are in the wrong role to a position they want to be in, annual revenue could be boosted by 0.7 per cent.

“The cost of low employee engagement levels is significant, resulting in lower customer

satisfaction and lost revenue to the business,” Mr Till said.

“It’s also important to acknowledge that these calculations only consider direct costs and don’t take into account the indirect impact these individuals would have on their peers within the organisation.”

Originally published as Research find one in five Australians are in the wrong job