Close to half of all employees, or 42 per cent, are very likely to leave their workplace in the next six to 12 months, according to a recent survey by Allianz Australia.
That's the equivalent of about two million workers getting ready to quit within the next year, a roundtable discussion presented by the insurer and the Corporate Mental Health Alliance heard in Sydney on Wednesday.
Two-in-five employees and more than half of managers believe the most significant workplace impact from the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to come.
Only one third of workers reported finding a positive work life balance since the beginning of the pandemic.
Businesses likely to be hardest hit by workers abandoning ship are those that have been slow to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape, according to Allianz chief general manager Julie Mitchell.
A litany of trends are underlying workers' urge to quit, including a desire for better pay, burn out and staff shortages leading to workers shouldering extra workloads as well as mental health issues.
Mental health workers' compensation claims are up 17 per cent and the amount of time workers are taking off for those claims has grown 19 per cent.
A generational divide was also identified, with the biggest increase in workers' compensation claims for mental health coming from Generation Z aged workers, followed by Millennials, Baby Boomers and Generation X.
Generational groupings have distinct yearnings of what they want from work.
Generation Z want defined hours, while older Baby Boomers and Generation X are motivated by financial reward and praise.
Millennials are seeking collegiate workplaces with empathetic managers, Ms Mitchell said.
Managing director of Microsoft Australia Steven Worrall says there's never been such a challenging time for companies, where they have to provide such nuanced catering to different generations in the workforce.
Businesses' ability to attract and retain talent is becoming a massive issue around the world.
"I don't want to equate it with a pandemic, but it's not far from it," Mr Worrall said.
Perceptions of how they value and relate to their workplace shifted through the pandemic, and people now need to feel comfortable bringing their "whole selves" to work, and need to air grievances about conditions or their home lives.
The research was conducted by Allianz Australia in August with 1500 employees and 500 managers.
The company weighted results to reflect data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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