Workers disgruntled over wages

AUSTRALIAN workers are becoming increasingly disgruntled, feeling shortchanged by their employers — but experts say they may just need to adjust their expectations.

Exclusive research from recruiter Robert Half revealed 43 per cent of office workers believed they were underpaid in their current job, up from 37 per cent two years ago.

Just 2 per cent thought they were paid more than they were worth.

Robert Half Australia director Nicole Gorton said she was not surprised so many workers were unhappy with their salary but she was unsure whether they had researched what other people earned in similar roles.

“People are disgruntled because they feel like they are not fairly paid (but we often wonder) ‘Why do you have these feelings’?” she said.

“What checks have they done to benchmark their salary?”

Ms Gorton said that in many cases people had become accustomed to a yearly pay rise regardless of performance.

“As an Australian economy, we are not expecting to see a huge spike in increasing wages,” she said. “Wage growth is widely forecast to be stagnant in 2020 — at 2.3 per cent, if that.”

Indeed Asia Pacific economist Callam Pickering said wage growth had been “poor” during the past five years and well below what workers were once accustomed to.

“With the exception of healthcare, wage growth in every Australian industry is currently below its decade average,” he said.

“Healthcare should continue to see strong wage growth, relative to the rest of the economy (as) many roles are in high demand, with skill shortages readily apparent.

“We are also seeing stronger demand for professional services, which primarily reflects highly-skilled workers.”

Workers willing to make a career change in pursuit of a fatter pay packet may also set their sights on universities, dental clinics and company boardrooms.