Workers crying out for pay rise

MANY Australian workers feel they are being shortchanged by their employers – but experts say they may just need to adjust their expectations.

Research by recruitment agency Robert Half reveals 43 per cent of office workers believe they are underpaid – up from 37 per cent two years ago.

Just 2 per cent think they are paid more than they are worth.

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

“People are disgruntled because they feel like they’re not fairly paid but we often wonder what checks they’ve done to benchmark their salary,” she said. “Sometimes, their feelings are unfounded, sometimes they are.” Ms Gorton said in many cases people had become accustomed to a yearly pay rise, regardless of performance.

“When an organisation previously had a blanket approach to giving pay rises, it’s about managing those expectations with the employee,” she said.

“As an Australian economy, we’re not expecting to see a huge spike in increasing wages.

“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 in Australia had been poor over the past five years and well below what workers were once accustomed to. “With the exception of healthcare, wage growth is 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,

AS AN AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY, WE’RE NOT EXPECTING TO SEE A HUGE SPIKE IN INCREASING WAGES NICOLE GORTON

which primarily reflects highly skilled workers. Mining is another sector where wage growth is improving, reflecting improved profitability.”

Workers willing to make a career change in pursuit of a fatter pay packet should set their sights on universities, dental clinics and company boardrooms. Data from job site Indeed reveals the occupations with the highest average advertised salaries were professors ($185,443), associate dentists ($181,986), board chairpersons ($175,861) and directors of strategy ($175,637).

About a third of the 1000 occupations analysed averaged a six-figure full-time annual salary.