Could moving to Australia mean sacrificing workplace enjoyment?

1News

23-04-2025

A new survey suggests that while higher paychecks may be enticing for Kiwis looking to move to Australia, it may come at the cost of their workplace enjoyment.
The survey, which queried over 156,000 Kiwi and Australian workers, claims that corporate culture across the Tasman can be "less accommodating", particularly regarding race, gender, sexual orientation and job security.
"New Zealand organisations rate higher than typical Australian ones on key measures like fairness and inclusivity," the organisation, Great Place To Work, said.
The survey found 55% of workers in Australia felt they were fairly paid, with just 51% saying their workplace was psychologically healthy.
Around 58% of employees felt redundancies would be used as a last resort.
General manager for Great Place To Work, Rebecca Moulynox, told Breakfast that Kiwis were 5% more likely to say management was honest and ethical in business practices.
Is the grass really greener across the ditch? Watch the full interview on TVNZ+
"Actually, across the board, we asked a set of 60 questions, and New Zealand workplaces came out ahead in 48 of those questions," she said.
She said New Zealand businesses were "a little bit ahead of the curve in understanding that treating employees like they really matter, and treating employees like they are the reason the company is successful".
"They're seeing the difference that treating employees the right way makes for their organisations."
Moulynox said that while the pay is tempting in Australia, it was important to look beyond salary.
"At the end of the day, no amount of money is worth your mental health."
"And so really it's about finding a workplace that works for you in regards to whatever that might be that's important to you."
She recommended people "really test" the organisation that people were moving to
"Whether it's in another country or just another organisation where you are... You want to make sure that wherever you go, they will really treat you well and treat you properly. That's really critical."
"Ask them questions that are important to you. If flexibility is important to you, ask those questions you know you might want to ask. How do you ensure diverse voices are represented in decision-making?
"Or ask questions around how transparent the leadership is, around the performance of the organisational changes that are happening. What is it that is important to you?
"Make sure you ask questions about that in the interview."