People at Work: A Global Workforce View

Workers in Australia are less likely to value job security (42%) than their counterparts across the Asia Pacific region (51%), but they are much more likely to value flexibility of hours. Seventy-six percent are satisfied with the job security afforded by their employer, a much smaller share than globally (81%) and across Asia Pacific (83%). And employers in Australia could do more to provide their staff with financial wellbeing advice – only 43% of respondents say they receive this information, significantly trailing the region (67%) and workers globally (61%). Workers also are much less likely to be recognised for their contributions.

Workers in China prize job security highly, and 84% of employees say they’re satisfied with their level of job security. That’s one of the largest groups of any country. They’re less likely than workers in any other country to feel underpaid for the work they do, and only 13%—the smallest share in Asia Pacific—are actively trying to change jobs. Half say they have never been underpaid, a large share when compared to the region and workers globally (both 38%). While a small share of people in China (8%) experience stress at work every day, women are much more likely (42%) than men (27%) to report that they suffer from job-related mental health issues.

Workers in India report the greatest workplace flexibility, but 76% say they suffer from on-the-job stress, the largest share of any country in our survey. More than 48% think their work is suffering due to poor mental health, the largest share of any country. More than 40% say they have two or more sources of income, also a record large share. It might be no surprise, then, that workers in India are more likely to say they’re trying to change jobs. Yet these same workers also report the highest levels of satisfaction in their current employment - 81% - the largest share of any country.

Of all countries surveyed, Japan has the smallest share of satisfied workers (46%). In fact, among all workers in Asia Pacific countries, those in Japan are more likely to say they’re unhappy with their career progression, gender pay equity, environmental stewardship and employer attention to their contributions and financial and mental wellbeing. Japan also has the largest gender gap when it comes to satisfaction with pay, on-the-job recognition, mental wellbeing, and feeling safe at work, with women far more likely to report feeling satisfied in these areas than men. Still, more than half of workers in Japan say they haven’t considered a career change in the past year, the largest share by far of any country.

Workers value salary in Singapore (71%) more than anywhere else we surveyed. But less than half of workers are satisfied with what they earn, a small share when compared to the region (67%) and globally (65%). Nearly 81% of workers in Singapore have only one source of income, the largest share of any Asia Pacific country, and a relatively large share (27%) say they feel insecure in their jobs. Workers in Singapore are much less likely than their regional and global counterparts to report that their employers have become better at gender pay equality, environmental stewardship and diversity. Interestingly, although Australians say they’re most prone to stress, experiencing it on average 12 times per week, they’re least disposed to say that it adversely affects their work (57% say so). Whereas, in the next most stressed Asia Pacific nation – India – where workers experience stress 11 times per week, 76% say it affects their work. While 24% of Australians and 21% of Singaporeans say their employer doesn’t participate in DEI initiatives, this falls to just 11% in China and 6% in India.

Many respondents in France give their employers low marks on their climate efforts. They’re dissatisfied with progress on carbon emissions (18%, the biggest share globally), water pollution (18%, second only to Argentina), and energy efficiency (20%, the biggest share of any country). They also have personal concerns, with 43% saying their work is suffering due to poor mental health. That’s the biggest share in Europe and one of the biggest in the world (India is at 48%). More than half of workers say they’re underpaid for the work they do (second only to Argentina at 53%). And an even bigger share, 67%, say their pay cheques are regularly short (compared to 50% for Europe and 40% globally).

In Germany, only 16% of workers agree with the statement, “I don’t feel secure in my job,” a small share that ties with China. Yet many workers (27%) lack confidence that they have the skills necessary to advance their careers (compared to Europe at 20% and globally at 18%). Only 28% say their employer invests in skills needed for them to advance, the smallest share in Europe. So it’s no wonder Germans are stressed. Only 5% say they never feel stress on the job, the smallest share of any country.

Workers in Italy have a gripe about something interesting: their job titles. More than 16% of workers say they’re dissatisfied with their titles, the largest group of any country. Globally, only 7% of workers have the same complaint; in Europe the share is about 10%. In fact, workers in Italy are unhappy about a lot of things. Much like the peninsula itself, Italy in our survey is an outlier, with large blocks of workers expressing negative sentiment on a number of subjects. Both regionally and globally, Italy leads on dissatisfaction at work. Economic growth is steady in this Mediterranean nation, but public debt as a percentage of GDP is high and rising. Among OECD countries, Italy has one of the lowest growth rates and highest rates of public debt. A privatisation effort is ongoing. Inflation is easing but remains elevated.

Enjoyment on the job is a prized attribute in the Netherlands, with 60% of respondents valuing the enjoyment of a day’s work. No other country comes close (Japan is 50% and Germany 48%). Not only do workers in the Netherlands value enjoyment at work, 80% are extremely satisfied with it. In fact, the Netherlands might have the most satisfied labour force in the world. Large numbers of people report satisfaction with job security (86%), and they’re second only to India in salary satisfaction (70%). In Europe, the Netherlands leads in every category of satisfaction. People feel recognised for their work and consider themselves fairly paid.

Workers everywhere give high priority to salary, but the share in Poland who value it (68%) is larger than in any other European country and the third largest globally, behind Singapore (71%) and Argentina (70%). That might be why workers in Poland put in the smallest amount of unpaid overtime on the continent: about five hours, compared to nearly seven for Europe. Last year, workers in Poland received the region’s highest annual pay rise (5% to Europe’s 3%). This year, most (56%) are expecting another one.

Salary is prized by 63% of workers in Spain. That’s a healthy number (it’s 61% in Europe), but what really sets Spain apart is job security, which 42% of workers value compared to 35% regionally. Workers in Spain are less likely to feel like they’re paid fairly (49%) compared to Europe as a whole (52%) and globally (66%). In fact, less than half (48%) say they’re paid fairly for what they do. And nearly half (47%) are obliged to work from the office or job site every day (it’s 41% in Europe and 28% globally).

Workers in Switzerland put in the highest amount of unpaid overtime in Europe—9.2 hours per week (the average is 6.8 hours in Europe). Still, they have the smallest share of workers who feel underpaid (44%). Many workers in Switzerland (27%) say they enjoy great flexibility on the job, and this small country has the smallest share of workers who are required to show up at the workplace every day (31% compared to 41% for Europe). But if workers, for some reason, want to leave Switzerland, 43% of them think it would be possible to relocate overseas and stay with their existing company.

Compared to their counterparts across Europe, more workers in the UK think they’re paid fairly for their role (58%) and their skill set (57%), but both numbers fall far short of the global averages (66% and 65% respectively). And 15% of workers in the UK are unhappy with their enjoyment on the job, the largest share of any country in Europe and second only to Japan (19%).

Nearly 70% of workers in Argentina put salary on their list of top job attributes, a share that’s second in size only to Singapore (71%). Argentina not only has the largest share of workers worldwide who expect a pay rise in 2024 (77%), those workers also expect much bigger increases—12%—than their counterparts in Brazil (eight percent) and Chile (7%). Argentina’s soaring inflation might be driving that expectation. In February, the government decreed a new, higher monthly minimum wage. A relatively small share of workers say employers provide advice on their mental wellbeing (36% compared to 44% globally and 45% in the region).

Salary is still top priority in Brazil, but for a much smaller share of people (57%) than in Argentina (70%), Chile (66%), and many other countries. Workers in Brazil also prize job security (35%), enjoyment of a day’s work (34%) and career progression (34%) more than their Latin American neighbors. Brazil is unusual in that men feel less secure in their jobs (57%) than women do (64%). Globally, men and women report about equal levels of job insecurity. In the region and globally, Brazil ranks high in its level of job dissatisfaction, with more than 20% of workers expressing discontent. But those workers are happy with some things, including flexible work hours and location. Globally, Brazil has the largest share of workers who say they’re satisfied with their ability to work remotely (75%) and who are happy with the flexibility of their work hours (74%).

After salary (66%), workers in Chile prize job security (38%), but they’re slightly less likely to be satisfied with it (71%) than workers in Latin America and globally (75%). They’re also less likely to feel empowered to take advantage of flexible working arrangements (66%) compared to the region (70%) and globally (68%). More than 70% of workers in Chile say they’re satisfied with the flexibility of their work arrangements, their freedom to work remotely, and enjoyment of the workday, more than workers globally. They’re less happy with their salary (16% are dissatisfied) and career progress (13%), but they’re still less likely to express dissatisfaction in those areas than their global counterparts.

Workers in Canada are the most likely worldwide to want flexibility in where they work. Nearly 19% put it in their three most-valued job attributes. The United States isn’t far behind (17%). Canada has a fairly large share of workers (21%) who are dissatisfied with their pay, greater than the global share of 17%. Men and women in Canada see more eye-to-eye on job security and other issues than they do in the United States. Overall, the main gap shows up in satisfaction with salary. A significantly larger share of men (63%) are content with their pay than women (53%).

Workers in the United States value salary less than workers in Canada and globally. About 52% of U.S. workers rank it among the top three important job attributes, the smallest share of any country in our survey. Compare that to workers globally (55%) and in Canada (61%). Job security (34%), flexibility of hours (33%) and enjoyment of a day’s work (31%) round out the top four things most valued by workers in the United States. And while the United States didn’t break any records in our survey, workers there are the most consistently satisfied with their employer’s performance. In every category we asked them to rank, more than 60% of U.S. workers say they’re happy with what their employer is providing. Only India and China have a comparable share.