WFH, paid overtime: What Australian workers really want

Thousands of potential Australian job seekers were asked about what is important to them when considering new work opportunities. This is what they said.

A survey commissioned by employment website SEEK has identified the factors job seekers take into account when considering a new role. Source: Getty / Thomas Barwick

Key Points

• Work-life balance came out on top as the most important factor job seekers considered when looking for a job.
• While a major consideration for job seekers is how much the pay is, base wages are not the only financial factor.
• Younger workers take more factors into account when looking for work than their older counterparts.

Savvy job seekers are taking into account more than just potential wages when looking for a new role in the Australian job market.

Results of a survey of job seekers have revealed what those searching for a new position over the next couple of years are looking for.

More than 14,700 people across the country responded as part of the survey commissioned by employment website SEEK.

Its results showed job seekers were putting more consideration into the type of role they wanted and employers they would be happy to work for, according to SEEK research manager Caroline North.

Salary and work life balance

The survey asked workers about their priorities and the things that would attract them to a job when looking for a new role.

Work-life balance came out on top as the most important factor job seekers considered with the level of salary and compensation on offer, coming a close second.

North said while those two factors were the main considerations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in previous years, the results from the past 12 months had shown a shift.

Just under 15,000 people took part in the survey. Source: Getty / 10'000 Hours

“There is increased complexity in what job seekers are looking for if we compare it to say the pandemic where things got very focused on two key drivers, those being fare compensation and work-life balance that really accounted for 50 per cent of our attention,” she said.

“What we're seeing now is a really, in many ways a return to pre-pandemic.”

“We're seeing an increase in diversity, if you like, of the lower order drivers that people are considering so they’re taking in more information, they're considering more aspects about a role or an organisation.”

Career development and opportunities proved an increasingly important factor for many and working environment and management quality were also among the main drivers that potential employees ranked as priorities.

The balance workers want

Since the pivot to working-from-home at the start of the pandemic, an appetite for work arrangements that fit around people's lifestyles has increased.

Demand for those wanting work from home or remote working arrangements have tripled since 2017, with a little over a quarter of respondents listing this as a "must have".

The top consideration around finding a role with work-life balance according to this year's survey was getting time off work in lieu of any additional hours worked.

Close behind that was having options for additional leave, flexible working hours, as well as the ability to work part time.

Financial considerations

It is not just the base wage that job seekers are interested in.

The survey found when it comes to remuneration, potential employees were taking into account multiple factors that could affect their financial position.

Financial compensation for overtime ranked among the most important factors related to salary.

"There's that sense of time is money, so I will work the time but I need that reward in compensation, financially or as time in lieu," North said.

The survey found workers wanted to be paid for working overtime. Source: Getty / rudi_suardi

More people are also considering whether a job comes with inclusions such as health and income insurance.

In 2021, 16 per cent of workers considered such coverage a "must have" this year’s results showed that number had grown to 23 per cent.

North said Australian workers were growing increasingly mindful of employers that offered more than the minimum required superannuation contributions to their employees.

Employers are required to pay a standard rate of 11 per cent of a person’s salary, on top of their ordinary earnings, towards superannuation.

However, some companies and organisations opt to pay this at a higher rate.

“Pre-pandemic, only 8 per cent of people surveyed were considering the additional superannuation, but this has now climbed to 21 per cent," North said.

The rate superannuation is paid was among the top factors that respondents said would attract them to a job.

Gen Z insights

North said it was the younger generations, with more of their working life ahead of them who took most interest in the rate at which superannuation would be paid for a role.

"Gen Z and gen Y consider this of greater importance than our gen X and baby boomers," she said.

The survey also showed these two groups were also actively on the lookout for organisations that were supportive of current or upcoming life changes and prioritised factors such as relocation allowance and company–paid parental leave the most.

Gen Y and gen Z employees were on the lookout for companies that supported life changes. Source: Getty / Zia Soleil

Those from gen Z were also most likely to consider an employer's commitment to gender pay equity.

North said a company's position on gender pay equity was considered as part of this particular survey for the first time in almost two decades of it being undertaken.

"With gen Z coming into the workforce, this is something that they are even more focused on than other generations, so we see 56 per cent of gen Z considering it," she said.

This is in comparison to the 43 per cent of workers across the board who considered gender pay equity of an employer a "must have".