September 29 2003 - Australian workers are losing faith in
employers as a result of recent reports on corporate failure and misconduct.
An international survey by global recruitment agency Kelly Services indicates
widespread belief that businesses do not have their employees’ best interests at heart. This disillusion
is particularly evident among older workers.
More than 5,000 people were surveyed in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, with around
2,300 of those in Australia. 52% of Australian respondents said that revelations about
recent business practices had negatively impacted on their trust in employers. This compared
with 35% in Malaysia, 34% in Singapore and just 29% in New Zealand.
But corporate scandals appear to have had less effect on younger
Australian workers. The following percentages indicate the differing levels of trust erosion:
* 15-19 year olds - 31%
* 20-24 year olds - 44%
* 25-34 year olds - 50%
* 35-44 year olds - 55%
* 45-54 year olds - 60%
* 55 and over - 61%
There was a relatively small amount of variation between Australian States:
New South Wales (54%)
Western Australia (53%)
ACT (53%)
Queensland (51%)
Victoria (50%)
South Australia (49%)
Generally, men were more disillusioned than women. And the greatest levels of lost
trust were found in the IT sector (59%) and in rural industries (58%).
‘These findings show just how damaging business failure and misconduct can be, not just
to those in the organisation directly affected, but to employees across the board, the
Managing Director of Kelly Services, Mr Garie Dooley said.
‘Internationally, financial scandals such as Enron and WorldCom have
taken a toll, but Australia also suffered through the collapses of HIH and Ansett, as
well as revelations of large salary payouts and board failure.
‘It is particularly disturbing that the actions of just a small number
of companies and senior executives can impact on workers’ morale and confidence in many
other sectors. It indicates that the human fallout from the recent wave of corporate
misconduct is greater than many had believed.’
Employers of choice?
Respondents were also asked whether they believed that most companies had their
employees’ ‘best interests at heart’.
47% of Australian respondents said they did not with a mere 2% being
absolutely positive that most companies do have employees’ best interests at heart.
Yet again, Australia’s negative response was the highest of the countries surveyed, compared
with New Zealand (30%), Singapore (29%) and Malaysia (15%).
Another question investigated what makes an ‘employer of choice’,
with respondents asked about the importance of an organisation’s reputation, and the
factors that contribute to it. The Australian leg of the survey found that 64 per cent
of workers said the reputation of an organisation was very important to them. The following factors were rated as being most important:
* Sound financial performance (58%)
* Ethical behaviour’ (17%)
* A high profile international brand (8%)
* Participation in community activities (7%)
* Technological superiority (3%)
* Good treatment of employees (2%)
* Donations to charities (2%)
Surprisingly, other factors including a high profile chief executive,
environmental awareness and sponsorship of major sporting events all rated very low.
‘These findings dispel the belief that employees do not care who they work for,” said
Mr Dooley.
‘When faced with a range of attributes, employees and potential employees
overwhelmingly judge an organisation by its financial success, with some consideration
given to its ethical behaviour.
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