31-07-2025
'Shocking' work trend decimating Aussie dreams as employees search for one thing: 'Trade-offs'
People across Australia are pivoting away from their dream careers and are willing to give up working from home (WFH) rights to secure more stability. The job market at the moment has proven bleak for many, with new data showing that applications per role have hit record levels.
As a result, workers are changing their priorities to ensure they have a job and skills that will keep them employed for as long as possible. Amelia O'Carrigan, Randstad's director of public sector and business support, told Yahoo Finance a "big shift" is underway.
"We'd all love to be doing something that we love, but there are realities at the moment in terms of economic uncertainty, interest rates, cost-of-living pressures, new technology, unemployment increasing, and people are thinking, 'What's that going to mean for me?'" she said.
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Yahoo Finance contributor Jason Murphy this week reported Australia had reached another unenviable milestone.
The number of long-term unemployed – those looking for a job for over a year – is now higher than the number of short-term unemployed - those out of work for four weeks or less.
Randstad has also released new research that found more than two-thirds (71 per cent) of people believe long-term employability is more important than being able to work remotely.
Working from home has been heralded as a major perk following the pandemic, and a poll last year of 8,400Yahoo Finance readers found 59 per cent would leave their job if they didn't have that right.
But because the market has become significantly more challenging across many industries, it's something many appear willing to overlook to ensure they have a job that allows them to make ends meet.
Additionally, 67 per cent also prioritised having stability and skills to be employable over doing a job that excited 'shock' causing people to ditch their dreams
Sydney university student Jin Han Lim recently experienced this trend after seeing what jobs were available in his dream career.
The 23-year-old has been doing a double degree of data science and accounting, and was very excited to explore a role in the first category.
However, he told Yahoo Finance he quickly realised he would have to be a one in a million candidate to get a look-in and that left him "shocked".
"I was very heavily into data science and was only looking at data science jobs," he said.
"I never even thought of my second degree actually, and just had it as a backup. I thought it was just there to pad my stats a little bit and make my resume look slightly better."
He said one graduate data science job would pop up only every fortnight or so, but noticed there would be four to five new graduate accounting roles every single day.
SEEK recently found that as job ads fell 0.7 per cent month-on-month in May, applications per job jumped 2.1 per cent, and are now at the highest level on record.
Eventually, Lim decided to move away from his dream and focus on an area where he knew he would more likely get a job that wasn't so competitive.
The 23-year-old told Yahoo Finance it was a tough decision to make, but knew it was the smarter option in the long term.
But sacrificing your dreams and perks is a two-way street
O'Carrigan said while workers are willing to give up on things like working remotely or their dream role, they expect employers to meet them halfway.
"It's absolutely still important for people to ask, 'What am I going to be offered in return?'" she told Yahoo Finance.
"If an employer is going to mandate that people return to the office full-time, for example, there's definitely going to be trade-offs that workers will expect.
"Are you going to pay me a bit more to do that? How are you going to help me manage the potential extra time to commute? Are you going to give me a level of flexibility and autonomy in the hours that I might keep?"
She added that workers could demand that their employers commit to helping them upskill so that their abilities remain as up-to-date as possible.
Job stability can be secured by knowing what your career pathway looked like, as well as how the sector might perform in the coming years, and whether a worker has the necessary skills to weather any storms.
The Randstad expert said employers could see workers down tools and leave if this middle ground isn't found.
'Employability gets people in the door, but purpose, support, and fair pay keep them there,' she said.
'This is a crucial moment for employers to rethink their value proposition. Those who adapt quickly will be the ones who attract and retain Australia's best talent.'
