NFP Workers “Content” in their Roles - Report

Flickr image:  Some rights reserved by charmingman

The Not for Profit sector boasts the highest overall job satisfaction at 80 per cent, up 16 per cent from 2011, according to a new report.

The Hidden Hunters Report commissioned by careerone.com.au identifies trends in job hunting behaviour across industries and key demographics and revealed that Charity and Social Work category has seen an increase in the proportion of workers content in their roles and not looking for a change, up to 27 per cent.

However the report also revealed that employees in the sector are actively looking or scanning for work, up to 32 per cent in 2012.

The report also found that satisfaction with pay and the work itself has increased. Management appears to be improving in the Charity and Social Work sector with a sharp decline in those “not feeling motivated”.

Overall the report found that Australians are happier in their jobs, with 310,000 Australians happier in their roles than 12 months ago.

But most are concerned with the state of the economy, leading to a decline in job hunting across the sectors.

Michael Harvey, careerone.com.au chief executive, said that workers are most satisfied with the team, the work itself, hours worked and flexibility with all experiencing significant increases over the past 12 months.

“A key issue for Australian workers continues to be recognition with one third of workers claiming a lack of recognition over the past year and a need for a clear career path,” Harvey said.

“The report shows a significant jump in concern held about the economy.

“Interestingly, this is not driven by their personal financial circumstances with no change in those finding it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ from 2011 to 2012. Clearly, more macro concerns about the Australian economy and international events are worrying many job hunters this year.”

The report found that the only factors that have increased in pushing workers away from their current role in the Charity and Social Work category are their desire for a better location and working conditions.

The report states: “They will look at new job opportunities that offer less travel time, a better team environment and better pay”.

Other key findings:

• The top push factors forcing workers to leave their current roles are: the desire for a better career path, something new and improved working conditions.
• The top pull factors attracting workers to new roles are: distance travelled to work, the team they work with and remuneration.
• Top five job hunting tools in 2012 are: general jobs websites (61 per cent), newspapers (59 per cent), specialist jobs websites (55 per cent), employment agency (41 per cent) and talking with contacts (34 per cent).
• Mobile phone usage in the job hunting process has risen 9 per cent since 2008, with 14 per cent of job seekers using mobile devices to browse for jobs or receive job related information.
• The use of social networking tools to find a new job has risen 7 per cent since 2008. The increase was driven by NSW and VIC workers in particular and the biggest lift being reported in the 35-54 year old age bracket

“The economic uncertainty and the increase in job satisfaction have led to a decline in the number of people actively searching for a new role in 2012. The number of people taking a more passive approach to job hunting has also risen to 49 per cent this year compared to 45 per cent in 2011,” Harvey said.

“This highlights the need for companies to be smarter in their recruitment and engage passive job hunters through new interactive media tools as well as traditional forms of media.”

Careerone.com.au says the Hidden Hunters Report is carried out by independent experts Acid Test amongst a sample group of 1,500 currently employed or looking adults chosen as representative of Australian Bureau of Statistics population demographics.

To view the report in full and specific industry findings visit www.careerone.com.au/hiddenhunters