‘Us v them’ mentality costing Aussie frontline businesses $15.8bn annually

A new report has highlighted that a large number of Aussie frontline workers are extremely disgruntled about their working conditions, which is causing huge financial losses.

SafetyCulture released a report highlighting the challenging period of change that Australia’s frontline industries face as workers in the space feel overworked and frustrated. The data from the report shows that the majority (76 per cent) of Aussie workers are dissatisfied with some aspect of their job.

Furthermore, the primary reasons are unreasonable expectations, which lead to burnout (37 per cent). Other issues included slow responses to resolving issues or risks (36 per cent) and pressure to cut corners to save time or money (33 per cent). When workers are unhappy, it’s well known that performance takes a hit.

In terms of the workers who admit to dissatisfaction impacting their performance, 40 per cent feel less motivated and 31 per cent report reduced productivity.

The ramifications on businesses outcomes for this reduced productivity can be huge. According to the data, on average, Aussie workers lose an estimated 6.59 hours a month due to dissatisfaction, which may show up as unproductive downtime, frequent errors, or absenteeism. The overall impact of these collective issues is costing Aussie businesses an estimated $15.8 billion annually.

One of the root causes for this massive financial loss across frontline industries is a disconnect between management and workers. The data from the report showed that both groups agree there is a “them-versus-us” mentality (52 per cent), rising to 64 per cent among management and 53 per cent among frontline employees.

Sam Byrnes, chief product officer at SafetyCulture, said: “Frontline workers are telling us they feel unheard, overstretched, and compromised. On top of this, there is a strained relationship between employees and management that isn’t conducive to a healthy workplace culture or optimal outputs.

“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.”

In terms of fixing this us-versus-them mentality, most frontline workers desire better pay and benefits (62 per cent), but only 49 per cent of managers agree with this notion. Similarly, while 51 per cent of workers believe recognition could ease some of this tension, only 39 per cent of managers agree.

“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,” said Byrnes.