Australian SME workers may feel that they are overworked and under pressure to cut corners, but overall they are more satisfied than those working in larger businesses.
This is one of the insights from SafetyCulture’s annual Feedback from the Field research, which explores topics affecting businesses such as job satisfaction, job security and the cost of dissatisfaction.
In particular, 83 per cent of those working in SMEs are satisfied with their job overall. However, 71 per cent still feel dissatisfied with some aspect of their work.
Of those who are dissatisfied, 32 per cent say it is due to the impact of unreasonable expectations or burnout, 31 per cent say it is due to pressure to cut corners to save time or money, and 30 per cent say it is due to lack of relevant training.
The report highlighted that this dissatisfaction is a potential risk to SMEs as 38 per cent of workers who are dissatisfied shared that they are less motivated to do their best work and 33 per cent say they are more likely to quit.
The research also noted that 49 per cent of SME workers believe that there is an “Us vs. Them” mentality between managers and frontline employees. But of those who believe this, 55 per cent say it can be improved through better pay and benefits, 47 per cent say through more regular communication, and 43 per cent say through recognition for strong performance
Sam Byrnes, Chief Product Officer at SafetyCulture says, “SMEs make up 98 per cent of all businesses in Australia. They are critical to our local economy and yet workers on the frontline are telling us they feel overstretched and compromised.”
“There will always be room for improvement within organisations, but leaders are doing themselves, and their people, a huge disservice by failing to understand frontline challenges, acknowledging and addressing issues, and communicating adequately. It’s time businesses woke up to the fact that listening to people on the frontline is one of the fastest ways to improve the bottom line,” Byrnes added.
Now in its fourth year, the global study of 10,000 frontline workers, over 2,000 of which are in Australia, sheds light on the sentiment and challenges across key industries, including construction, retail, manufacturing, mining & energy, logistics, and hospitality.
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