Pay, flexibility and … mental health? Job seekers want a company that cares

Atlassian work futurist Dominic Price was shocked.

He spends much of his days considering how Australians want to work, but the results of a far-reaching survey of workers told him two things he didn’t expect:

1)???Many Australians want their employer to be their most important provider of mental health support, and

2)???If a company’s values don’t align with their own, they will quit.

“It really hit me, actually,” Price tells LinkedIn.

“A statistic that threw me, because it challenges our default thinking as leaders, is the number of people who say they’ve actually turned down a promotion in order to preserve their mental health.

“Offering a promotion has been the one thing leaders have got in their artillery. You’ve been in this role for a few years, here’s a promotion and extra responsibility. The question is, did they ask for that extra responsibility?”

Instead, he advocates leaders build empathy with their team, and figure out what their career goals are, the flexibility they need and the support they want. Maybe it’s not a promotion. Maybe it’s Tuesdays off and the opportunity to learn a new skill.

When it comes to mental health, the survey of 1,225 Australian employees, between February and March 2021, showed 37% of employees want their employer to be their most important provider of mental health support.

“That statistic goes up to 41% for Gen Y, so they are like, ‘This is part of my package. I care about my salary and my bonus but I presume as an employer, you are taking an investment in my mental health.’

“It’s no surprise that after the year we’ve had, this is what’s happened.”

The research is painting a picture of the ideal employer that cares about staff, and provides them with vital mental health services, but there’s also a desire that the company champions causes that matter to an individual.

“They want that championing to be authentic, too. Over one third of employees would go as far as to quit a job if their employer’s values didn’t align with their own. It’s not a tantrum or fold my arms or be a bit upset, it’s ‘I will walk’.

“If you look at the labour market, we’ve got record unemployment, a huge amount of positions — if you find out that someone is not aligned with your values as they’re walking out the door, it’s too late.”

So when you’re job hunting, how do you find the companies that genuinely care about their staff and champion the causes you care about in an authentic way?

“You need multiple sources of data,” he says. “Even at Atlassian, we put out our own videos but it’s all branded. Instead, you can find ex-Atlassians. Read stories of what they’ve gone on to do. Alumni networks are an amazing source of information.

"What we're seeing is there's now a cost of inaction. Businesses need to get onboard. If we drive change with empathy and meaning and respect, we can do anything."

Have you ever turned down a promotion or a job to preserve your mental health? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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