Sentiment around workplace culture continues to drop in Aussie workers

Sentiment around workplace culture continues to drop amongst Australian workers, despite the efforts of organisations to bring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into the spotlight, according to a new Gartner survey.

The Global Talent Monitor survey data collected between April and June showed employee perceptions of their organisation's cultural awareness and behaviour has reached a low of 27 percent in Australia, a decrease from 34 percent year-on-year.

Perceptions of DEI efforts, however, recovered slightly from 62.4 percent in 1Q23 to 63.5 percent in 2Q23.

Aaron McEwan, VP at the Gartner HR practice said workplace culture is a very complex issue, and some organisations are falling short by putting blanket strategies in place, particularly when it comes to return to office mandates.

"It's important that leaders are aligned internally and aren’t placing unnecessary pressure on employees or implementing DEI initiatives that simply tick a box,” he said.

As organisations attempt to fulfil DEI objectives, they must also be open to innovation, or risk being left behind.

The survey data highlights employees’ perception of their work environment decreased by 3.1 percent in the last three months, with agility also sliding by 1.3 percent.

McEwan said to address effort and engagement levels, business leaders must consider implementing technologies of choice as part of their employee value proposition (EVP).

“This means collaborating with staff to test, trial and embrace new solutions. Interest in generative AI, for example, has been heavily led by employees seeking tools that have a positive impact on their productivity and personal performance,” he said.

According to the Gartner survey, manager quality remained firmly at the top as the key driver of attrition in Q2 for a second consecutive quarter.

This is followed by respect, which is back in the top three, and people management. When considering a career change, location, work-life balance and respect make up the top three factors employees are seeking in a job.

“Being treated like a person, rather than a number, remains a crucial priority for Australian employees,” said McEwan.

"The impact and support from their leader could be the deciding factor that pushes them over the edge."

Last quarter, work-life balance, bad managers and people management were driving workplace attrition.