According to the second study in ADP Research’s “People at Work 2025” report series, Australian Workforce Engagement has dropped to 16%, down from 18% in the previous year. This two-percentage-point decrease contrasts with sustained engagement growth on a global level.
The research shows that Australia’s engagement rates are higher for those working in the office or on-site (17%) compared to hybrid workers (15%). Remote workers experience the lowest engagement rate (7%). This contrasts with the global trend, where hybrid workplace arrangements have been shown to promote greater engagement among the workforce.
This difference suggests that besides ongoing economic pressures and an uncertain job market, Australian hybrid and remote workers may experience a more profound disconnect from their teams and company culture, exacerbated by evolving expectations of work-life balance and the challenges that often come with remote collaboration.
“Our research demonstrates employee engagement ultimately comes down to how connected employees feel to their teams and employers, no matter where they work. Businesses should recognise that one-size-fits-all approaches no longer work, especially in an increasingly hybrid workforce. Investing in personalised, flexible solutions and cultivating a sense of belonging is a great starting point to bridge the gap, ensuring employees feel connected, valued, and motivated—whether they’re working from home or the office,” said Emmy Andriotis, Human Resources Director, ADP Australia.
Location matters
The “People at Work 2025” study shows a strong relationship between work location and employee engagement.
While 56% of employees surveyed worldwide say they work on-site every day (up 2 points compared to last year and up 8 percentage points compared to 2022), only 12% work exclusively remotely (down 1 percentage point) and 32% work in hybrid mode (down two percentage points compared to last year).
Above all, it seems that it is employee autonomy that has a significant impact on high levels of engagement. The study shows that respondents who have complete freedom of choice regarding their workplace, meaning they can choose to work on-site or elsewhere without any restrictions, are much more engaged than others. In Australia, just over one in five (21%) workers have complete flexibility of choosing their work location, a lower percentage compared to other APAC countries such as India (45%), Singapore (27%) and neighboring countries like New Zealand (24%).
Ultimately, however, what the findings highlight is that those who have the choice, even if they work on-site or at home, are more engaged given that they benefit from more freedom.
Being part of the best team is essential
In many roles, work can only be carried out on-site, necessitating the use of other levers. One such strategy is fostering a sense of team belonging, which is crucial. The ”People at Work 2025” study reveals that most employees (90%) are part of a team, but only 52% of those who feel they are part of a high-performing team are fully engaged, compared to only 10% of those who say they aren’t on a high-performing team. This underscores the value of team belonging in the workplace.
Therefore, it is crucial to focus on employee development and give special attention to the growth of local leaders. These leaders play a pivotal role in the group’s performance, underscoring the significance of their role in the organisation.
“People at Work 2025” Report Series Methodology
For the first time, “People at Work” is built on the ADP Research Global Workforce Survey, a robust study conducted regularly since 2015. The survey was designed by ADP Research’s team of analysts by obtaining information about the labor market from the perspective of workers themselves, with the goal of providing insights that can improve the world of work by better understanding worker sentiment and expectations.
Based on survey data from nearly 38,000 working adults in 34 markets across six continents, “People at Work 2025” features a representative sample of the global workforce to provide regional and market-to-market comparisons of worker sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America.
Respondents come from a wide variety of industries, educational backgrounds, on-site and remote work environments and skill sets. They represent a range of management and individual contributor roles, working for employers of all sizes.
A unique attribute of the “People at Work 2025” report series is its measurement of worker sentiment in granular detail across worker types using a proprietary methodology developed by ADP Research. In addition to demographic and employer characteristics, survey respondents are classified by the type of work they do – knowledge, skilled task, or cyclical – regardless of industry.
“People at Work’s” ability to gather sentiment along these different worker and geographical dimensions provides employers with a fine-tuned and granular view of the global workforce that they can leverage to better understand their workforces and drive growth through data-driven talent decisions.
Each report will pair global trends with market-by-market insights on workplace topics ranging from artificial intelligence and workers holding multiple jobs to get by, to wage trends and career development.
We define engagement as the emotional state of mind that causes people to do their best work and do it sustainably. This means they’re doing their best work now and are likely to continue doing it. Our research has established a strong connection between a person’s level of engagement on the job to their level of productivity and loyalty to their employer. All organizations, big or small, want to retain workers and enhance their productivity. As such, all employers have an interest in fully engaging their workforce.