If you read into the results of a recently released Australian employment study, there could be many more contractors in the market for employment in the coming years.
Engaged Marketing published its report ‘The State of Employee Engagement in Australia’ polling over 3,300 employees on their attitudes towards their workplace and employer.
Surprising results
Based on Engaged Marketing’s results, there is a deep-rooted dislike for current employers. At a total of 20 per cent of respondents would promote their workplace to friends and family, while 43 per cent would detract its value. Just over a third (37 per cent) were passive or neutral in their current work environment.
Taking away the detract score from the promotion score meant that there was a national employee engagement score of -23 per cent.
Engaged Marketing Managing Director Christopher Roberts explained that many employees are feeling disengaged and demotivated in their work.
“It’s alarming how few Australians would recommend their current workplace as a great place to work to family and friends,” he said in an April 15 media statement.
“Worker discretionary effort is also low, with many staff not willing to do any more than what is expected of them during the normal nine-to-five working day.”
In fact, under six in 10 Australian employees would do more or work harder than required, the survey found.
Staff engagement key
Regardless of whether your business is hiring full-time employees or contractors, executives must be focused on engaging their workforce. As a result, organisations can enjoy more effort, loyalty and recommendations to future employees.
“Staff engagement is more than just staff satisfaction, it’s about ensuring staff feel genuinely valued, are having some of their core human needs met, and understand the role they play in delivering an organisation’s business strategy,” Mr Roberts went onto say.
“Ultimately, this boils down to the type of leadership in the organisation.”
Gallup ‘Sweet Spot’
In a recent article by research firm Gallup, an employee engagement ‘sweet spot’ was described. This is where a person is engaged in their tasks, in a role that suits them and has worked in the business for more than 10 years.
According to the statistics, just 5 per cent of employees fell into this category.
Contracting
One of the ways to get into this sweet spot is to work as a contractor. Contractors can often choose their roles based on enjoyment and their skills sets as well as working in a role that fits well. Many businesses also retain contractors for long periods of time – due to their engagement and commitment.
For more information about contracting, contact the expert team at Oncore Services today.
