Likelihood to seek new employment in 2026
50 30 15 0
Percentage (%)
All employees
Undervalued
The Perkonomics Report:
The Challenge of Employee Value in Australia
Foreword
In 2026, the challenge of employee value feels more urgent than ever. Inflation remains stubborn, living costs continue to climb, and businesses face both economic uncertainty and shifting expectations from today’s workforce. Pay and financial security will always sit at the heart of how people feel valued – especially in times like these – but they’re not the only answer.
Employee value is broader than salary. It’s about whether people feel recognised, supported, and able to thrive at work. It’s about benefits that make a difference to daily life, growth opportunities that keep careers moving forward, and cultures that foster trust and belonging. In short, it’s about the full relationship between employee and employer – and how that relationship shapes performance, wellbeing, and loyalty.
That’s why we wanted to look more closely at what value really means to employees today, and how employers can respond. Our research captures not just the numbers, but the voices behind them: employees telling us what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change. Our findings show that value isn’t just something that employees deserve to feel – it has a measurable impact on productivity, engagement, retention, and overall business outcomes.
From perception gaps between employees and employers, to the influence of AI on personal accomplishment, to the risk of a mass employment exodus in 2026, there’s a lot of concerning ground to cover. But there’s also a clear opportunity: employees are telling us exactly what they need to feel valued. If employers can act on that clarity, the potential upside – for people and for business – is huge.
Introduction
About the report
This research was commissioned by Perkbox and conducted by YouGov to understand how Australian employees feel about being valued in the workplace.
A quantitative online survey was carried out between 19th and 28th of November 2025, gathering responses from 1,022 employed adults across Australia. These were broken down into 519 employees who were middle managers and below and 503 managers who were senior manager and above.
Respondents were asked a mix of scaled, multiple choice, and open-ended questions related to:
Question types
Scaled questions
Likert scales & ratings
Multiple choice
Single & multi-select
Open-ended
Qualitative responses
Research topics
Value & recognition
Perceptions at work
Retention & wellbeing
Influencing factors
Benefits & AI
Impact on sentiment
Demographics
8 key demographic dimensions for comprehensive analysis
Age
Gender
State
Management level
Organisation size
Sector / Industry
Company type
Annual turnover
Chapter 1
The state of employee value in 2026
The first – and most important – question we asked our respondents was: "How valued do you feel at work?". While seemingly simple, the answers provide a crucial barometer for the value-health of the Australian workforce. Our findings, drawn from a broad demographic to ensure diverse representation, reveal a nuanced and sometimes concerning picture.
Across the board, employees gave an average value rating of 7.13 out of 10. However, a deeper dive into the data reveals significant disparities.
The office vs non-office value split
One of the clearest divides in the data is between office-based and non-office-based employees. People working in offices report feeling more valued overall, with an average score of 7.40, compared to 6.46 among those working outside a traditional office setting. For employers, it's a sign that non-office workers often need a different approach to feel valued.
Feeling valued
Average score out of 10
Office-based 7.40
Non-office 6.46
Gap: 0.94 points - Non-office workers need different approaches to feel valued
The gap becomes more pronounced when we look at intent to leave. Among office-based employees who feel undervalued, 38% say they're likely to leave their role in the next 12 months. With undervalued non-office employees, that rises to 44%, pointing to a higher retention risk in environments where feeling valued is already harder to sustain.
Intent to leave
Among undervalued employees
Office-based 38%
Non-office 44%
+6% higher risk - Greater retention risk in non-office environments
A similar pattern appears around belonging. Seventy-eight percent of office-based employees agree they belong in their role, compared to 70% of non-office workers. When teams are dispersed and everyday contact with managers and colleagues is limited, maintaining a sense of connection and recognition becomes a lot more complex.
Sense of belonging
Agree they belong in their role
Office-based 78%
Non-office 70%
8% gap - Limited contact makes belonging harder to sustain
“Non-office environments come with structural challenges. Teams are spread out, people work different patterns, and recognition can become inconsistent without the right tools and frameworks in place. That doesn’t make the work any less meaningful. In fact, many managers and HR teams are doing exceptional work to support people in these conditions, even where the overall scores are lower.”
Pippa Van Praagh
VP of Operations
The perception gap: employers vs. employees
Intriguingly, there’s a gap between what employers thought employees would rate their value, and what the actual value rating turned out to be. Employers were optimistic, believing that employees would measure out at 8.57. The actual number, of course, is 7.13. That’s quite the gap – and clearly points to a perception gap between employers and employees.
8.57
Employer expectation
What employers thought employees would rate their value
7.13
Employee reality
The actual value rating from employees
1.44
Point gap
16.8% perception difference
It’s a disconnect that raises critical questions about the state of the employer-employee relationship. Employers seem to think they’re doing enough (94% of employers believe employees feel highly valued), but the response from employees points to a general sentiment that suggests the opposite.
So, what’s the divide? Are employers mistaking surface-level initiatives for meaningful value? Or are the traditional methods no longer sufficient for a workforce that increasingly prioritises wellbeing, recognition, and flexibility?
Whatever the root cause, the numbers suggest that employers risk overestimating the effectiveness of their current strategies.
94%
of employers scored their employee sense of value as high
Despite high employer confidence, the reality shows a significant gap in employee sentiment
Company size – finding the current ‘Value Apex’
Company size plays a role in how valued employees feel, and in Australia the strongest results come from organisations employing 50–199 people. This group consistently scores above the national average when it comes to feeling valued and connected.
Employees in organisations of this size are more likely to say their benefits make them feel valued, with 70% agreeing, compared to the Australian average of 60%. They’re also more likely to feel a sense of belonging, with 79% believing they belong in their role, compared to the 76% national average.
This points to a clear Value Apex. Organisations with 50–199 employees tend to strike the right balance between scale and proximity. They’re large enough to invest in meaningful benefits, recognition, support and communication, without the added complexity that can dilute the experience as organisations grow.
Benefits
70%
vs 60% average
Belonging
79%
vs 76% average
The balance
✓ Large enough to invest in meaningful benefits and recognition
✓ Small enough to maintain proximity and personal connection
✓ Avoid complexity that dilutes the employee experience
“As organisations grow beyond 200 employees, creating consistent and personal experiences becomes much more difficult. Even with significant budgets, you’re working across large, diverse workforces, and communication and human connection can start to fragment.
What the data shows is that organisations with 50–199 employees often have the resources to invest in value, while still being close enough to their people for those efforts to feel real and relevant.”
Pippa Van Praagh
VP of Operations
Regional and demographic insights
When we break the data down further, the results paint a vivid picture:
Location
New South Wales-based employees reported the highest value rating at 7.30,
City-based employees also reported feeling more valued, scoring 7.20. Non-city-based employees rated their sense of value lower, at 6.89.
Generation
Older generations are feeling less valued at work compared to their younger peers. While younger employees report stronger feelings of recognition, perceived value declines steadily with age, with Gen X feeling it most acutely.
Employee value follows a clear bell curve across generational demographics. Gen Z (born 1997–2009) sits slightly above average at 7.25. This climbs to 7.58 for Millennials (born 1981–1996), marking the value apex across age groups. From there, it drops significantly to 6.15 for Gen X (born 1965–1980), rising slightly to 6.31 for Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964).
That late-stage value decline may be due to slower career growth, fewer opportunities, or reduced recognition, suggesting that organisations prioritise younger talent while overlooking how to maintain value for older employees.
Sector
The Private sector stands out as a clear leader, with an average value rating of 7.20. In contrast, Third sector (6.88) and Third/Public sector (6.71) all sat below the national average, but Public sector rates the lowest, at 6.65.
Gender
A worrying discrepancy emerged when looking at gender demographics. Female respondents, on average, gave a value rating of 6.97, while their male counterparts were above average at 7.27.
While these figures provide a crucial snapshot of the current situation, they’re only one part of the story. The following sections of this report will delve into the "how" and "why" behind these numbers, providing actionable insights to help employers bridge the perception gap and build a truly valued workforce.
Chapter 2
What drives value – and what’s
impacted without it
In Australia, employees and employers are largely aligned on what contributes to feeling valued at work, with flexibility and culture ranking highly for both. Trust and autonomy are the main point of difference, with employees placing more importance on them than employers.
Among employees, trust and autonomy rank highest at 43%, followed by flexible working arrangements at 37% and supportive team culture at 33%.
43%
Trust & autonomy
Highest priority for employees
37-38%
Flexible working
High priority for both groups
42%
Career development
Highest priority for employers
Employers put more emphasis on opportunities for career development, cited by 42%. Flexible working remains a priority at 38%, alongside supportive team culture at 32%. Development clearly matters, but the data suggests employees are more focused on how trusted and empowered they feel in their everyday work.
That gap is reflected in how people rate their current experience. Almost one in five employees score their sense of value at 5 out of 10 or lower. The difference is especially stark for non-office workers, where 31% fall into this lower range, compared to 16% of office-based employees.
At the other end of the scale, only 15% of employees say they feel fully valued at work, with office-based employees slightly ahead at 16%, compared to 11% for those in non-office roles.
The impact on retention is clear: two in five employees who feel undervalued say they're likely to look for a new role in 2026. At 44%, that risk is higher among non-office workers, compared to 38% for office-based employees.
Employees and employers may agree on what drives value, but the difference comes down to how it is put into practice. Without trust and autonomy, even good intentions do not go far enough.
The link to wellbeing and performance
Feeling valued at work has a direct and powerful connection to wellbeing. When that sense of value fades, the impact can be significant and long-lasting.
Six in ten employees agree that feeling undervalued leads to higher stress and poorer mental wellbeing. The same pattern appears across age groups, with 59% of 18–34-year-olds agreeing, 61% of 35–49-year-olds, and 63% of 50+ year olds.
59%
18 - 34
61%
35-49
63%
50+
The pattern appears consistently across all generations
The effect becomes more pronounced when viewed through a gender lens. Nearly a third of female employees strongly agree that feeling undervalued has a negative impact on their mental health and self-esteem, compared to 24% of male employees. The gap suggests that while feeling undervalued affects everyone, the intensity is not felt equally.
What’s particularly concerning is the disconnect between employee experience and employer perception. While 61% of employees link feeling undervalued to wellbeing issues, only 42% of employers see the same connection. That gap matters because when the emotional impact of work is not fully recognised, wellbeing becomes something organisations respond to too late, or too lightly.
Through a gender lens
Who strongly agrees feeling undervalued impacts mental health:
Female 33%
Male 24%
The intensity is not felt equally
The data reinforces how closely feeling valued is tied to the employee experience, across every generation and with a stronger impact for women. When that sense of value is missing, it affects wellbeing and how fulfilled and recognised people feel at work.
Chapter 3
The looming talent exodus
When polled, we found that 29% of employees are likely to seek new employment in 2026. It may not be surprising to learn that undervalued employees are more likely to leave, but the numbers reveal an emerging – and worrying – trend.
Of the group that responded “yes” to having felt undervalued in their current role, a staggering 40% are likely to seek new employment in 2026.
Employers recognise the risk of losing undervalued employees, with almost one in four believing it’s likely those staff will leave in 2026. What’s less well understood is the scale of undervaluation itself. Only 3% of employers rate their employees’ sense of value at 5 out of 10 or lower, compared to almost one in five employees who score themselves in that range.
3%
Employers
→
20%
Employees
10x disconnect in perception
As our Beyond the Paycheck research shows, competitive pay and flexible working play a big role in whether employees choose to stay or move on, alongside how recognised they feel at work. If those areas don’t align with employee expectations, it gets harder to retain top talent.
Together, these figures paint a sobering picture. The question is: what can be done? While there’s no single solution, some employers are already looking to AI as a potential part of the answer.
Chapter 4
Technology and AI – an emerging divide
As organisations ramp up their use of AI, a clear gap has opened between how employers and employees perceive its impact. Employers tend to view it very positively, while employees are more divided.
Seventy percent of employers believe AI is making employees feel more valued, compared to just 38% of employees. A similar difference appears around experience, with 81% of employers saying AI is improving the employee experience, versus 49% of employees.
Employee views on AI also vary by age. Gen Z and Millennials are far more likely to feel positive, with 50% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials saying AI makes them feel more valued. That drops sharply for older generations, to 15% for Gen X and just 10% for Baby Boomers.
Where people work also shapes how AI is experienced. Forty-eight percent of office-based employees say AI makes them feel more valued, and 59% say it improves their experience. Among non-office workers, only 14% say AI makes them feel more valued.
Gen Z 52%
Millennials 48%
Gen X 15%
Baby Boomers 10%
Taken together, the data suggests employers are often focused on what AI could unlock, while employees respond to how it fits into their working lives. Without a more intentional approach across roles, generations and working environments, AI risks reinforcing existing gaps in how valued people feel, rather than helping to close them.
“While AI can be a great tool to automate routine tasks and free up time for more impactful contributions, without a deliberate effort to connect its use to employee recognition, it risks making the undervaluation issue even worse. For now, our data suggests that AI isn’t quite the answer to solving the employee value issue.
If anything, the findings suggest this: technology alone won’t fix how people feel. It’s how employers implement it – with empathy, transparency, and a focus on recognition – that will determine whether AI becomes a tool for value, or a trigger for disengagement.”
Pippa Van Praagh
VP of Operations
Chapter 5
The power of ‘Perkonomics’: benefits as the practical lever
Benefits are one area where employers and employees in Australia are broadly aligned. What employees value most closely mirrors what employers believe matters, which suggests employers have a good read on what their people care about.
Flexible working hours
Work-life balance
Financial wellbeing
Health & wellbeing
Recognition & rewards
Employee
Employer
47%
Both agree on flexible hours
11%
Gap in financial wellbeing
6%
Gap in work-life balance
Even with this alignment, there is still a clear gap between perception and experience. Just 60% of employees say their current benefits package makes them feel valued. That figure is higher for office-based employees at 68%, and much lower for non-office workers at 40%. Employers, however, see the picture very differently, with 88% believing their benefits package makes employees feel valued.
This alignment shows that employers have a strong understanding of what employees want, but the challenge lies in channelling that insight into a benefits offering that feels relevant and adds real value across the workforce.
"Financial wellbeing support consistently ranks high because employees are feeling the pinch from rising living costs and inflation. When people know their finances are supported, it reduces stress, increases focus at work, and reinforces that the company truly values them – and understands that sometimes, real, material benefits are needed.”
Natalie Jutla
Head of Financial Wellbeing at Perkbox
The most desired benefits for every generation in 2026
Benefits priorities for employees vary by generation, but there’s a strong common thread. Flexible working hours and support for work-life balance matter across every age group, with differences emerging in what people value beyond that shared foundation.
For Gen Z, 52% say financial wellbeing support is the strongest priority, followed by health and wellbeing support and flexible working hours, both at 39%.
Millennials place flexible working and work-life balance jointly at 43%, with financial wellbeing support close behind at 35%. For both groups, flexibility and financial security are closely linked.
Gen X employees show the strongest preference for flexibility overall. Sixty-two percent prioritise flexible working hours, with support for work-life balance at 56% and remote or hybrid working options at 31%.
Among Baby Boomers, flexible working hours still lead at 51%, but pension or retirement contributions become more prominent at 34%, alongside work-life balance support at 33%.
The working environment also plays a role in shaping these priorities, with different patterns emerging for office-based and non-office-based employees.
Gen Z
Financial wellbeing support 52%
Health & wellbeing support 39%
Flexible working hours 39%
Millennials
Flexible working 43%
Work-life balance 43%
Financial wellbeing support 35%
Gen X
Flexible working hours 62%
Work-life balance support 56%
Remote or hybrid working 31%
Baby Boomers
Flexible working hours 51%
Pension or retirement contributions 34%
Work-life balance support 33%
While needs shift by generation, flexibility and balance remain central to what employees value. For employers, this means shaping a benefits offering that adapts to different life stages and ways of working, rather than assuming value means the same thing for everyone.
60 45 30 15 0
Flexible working hours
Support for work-life balance
Financial wellbeing support
Office-based
Non-office-based
Flexible working hours
Office-based
46% Non-office-based
49% Difference +3%
Support for work-life balance
Office-based
40% Non-office-based
54% Difference +14%
Financial wellbeing support
Office-based
37% Non-office-based
29% Difference -8%
Chapter 6
Belonging and the power of recognition
One of the clearest findings in the report is that many employees still feel a strong sense of belonging, even when they don’t feel fully valued.
When asked whether they feel they belong in their current role, 76% of employees agreed. That sense of connection is shared across genders, though it’s felt more strongly by men, with 79% agreeing compared to 72% of women.
This is where recognition becomes especially important. In Australia, it doesn’t always appear as a primary driver of value on its own, but the data shows it plays a meaningful part in reinforcing belonging, particularly when it feels personal and relevant. Seventy-three percent of employees believe recognition should be tailored across generations, with 90% of managers agreeing.
When recognition reflects how different people experience work and where they are in their careers, it helps people feel seen and understood. Without that tailoring, recognition can start to feel generic and lose its ability to create real connection.
By shaping recognition in ways that reflect different generations and experiences, belonging can grow into something deeper and more lasting, where people feel truly valued at work.
Chapter 7
The action gap – knowing isn’t doing
Employers today are more aware than ever of what employees want. Our data shows a strong alignment between employees and employers on the importance of benefits, recognition, and wellbeing – the very pillars that underpin a sense of value at work.
Yet that alignment isn’t translating into action.
Despite 88% of employers believing they are doing enough with their benefits package to make employees feel valued, only 7.13 out of 10 is the average value score reported by employees. Worryingly, 2 in 5 undervalued employees are likely to seek new employment in 2026.
What's more, employers understand the stakes:
1 in 4
believe undervalued employees are likely to leave
They know what the top 5 most desired employee benefits are
42%
acknowledge that employee stress, mental health and self-esteem is affected when employees don't feel valued
So if the problem is understood, and the priorities are agreed upon – why the lack of follow-through?
For many organisations, the challenge is not awareness but follow-through. Employers understand what helps people feel valued beyond pay, but that understanding doesn’t always shape how people experience their day-to-day work.
Trust, flexible working and supportive team environments matter deeply to employees, but they’re often talked about rather than practised.
The same gap appears with benefits. Flexible working, work-life balance and financial wellbeing support make a real difference to how valued employees feel. Even so, these benefits are not always delivered in ways that feel relevant or accessible, particularly across different roles and working environments.
Closing the action gap comes down to making value feel real. That means trusting people to do their jobs, creating supportive team environments, and offering benefits that flex around how people live and work. Without that shift from intent into action, even well-aligned strategies can still fall short of how employees experience value day to day.
Conclusion
The data shows employers often think their people feel more valued than they actually do. Even when employers recognise what helps people feel valued, that doesn’t always turn into action, which means the impact of feeling undervalued on wellbeing and retention continues to be underestimated.
This difference is most apparent when looking at working environment. Non-office-based employees feel less valued than their office-based counterparts and are more likely to consider leaving. The divide points to how the delivery and accessibility of benefits can shape how valued people feel in different working environments.
Across generations, priorities shift with life stage, but what people value at work stays much the same. Flexibility and balance matter widely, alongside an expectation that benefits and recognition reflect different experiences. Support that reflects those differences helps people feel a stronger sense of belonging and value at work.
Employees in Australia have been clear about what helps them feel supported and valued. What matters now is acting on that, by shaping benefits, recognition and ways of working around how value is experienced in practice.
