Australian Retail Workers Concerned About Job Security, Employer’s Long-Term Viability After COVID-19

The research found that most Australian workers were alarmed about the viability of their employer following the impact of COVID-19. Nearly 60 percent of people indicated they held direct concerns about the financial health and long-term prospects of their employer.

“COVID-19 has taken a wrecking ball to the way Australians work, with travel restrictions and lockdowns impacting and even closing retail businesses. While green shoots are emerging for a domestically led recovery, this is not enough to allay the fears for Australian retail workers who are increasingly concerned about their jobs,” said Bruce Mackenzie, founder and managing director of Humanforce.

“People are worried that they could lose work, have their hours reduced, or that their retail employer may not even exist in the future. This will have significant impacts on the way Australians view work and what they are looking for in an employer going forward.”

Today, senior workers are more open minded to different types of employment, with 80 percent of survey respondents saying they would consider casual employment, or any non-permanent type of work in the retail space. Only 11 percent of workers said they wouldn’t consider casual employment.

Flexibility was the main driver for why people of all ages would choose casual work, with 60 percent of respondents saying they were attracted to the ability to choose shifts and hours and 33 percent saying that they liked that casual work fit around other commitments such as childcare or study.

“Casual workers will be central to the retail recovery in Australia, with these employees commonly on the front-line of customer service, acting as the public face of a company. Engaged casual workers, supported by the right workplace technologies can better serve the public through greater company, product and service knowledge,” added Bruce.

“Advanced workforce management solutions and apps help to automate a range of tasks that are commonly required of casual workers. These include employee availability, shift management, communication with management and teams, online rosters and timesheets, leave management and onboarding.”

Humanforce contracted Zoho Survey to survey 500 Australian worker respondents as part of this research project.

For more information on how your retail operations can benefit from an advanced, automated workforce management solution, please visit: https://humanforce.com/

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