How settled are your employees?

The next 12 months could mark a period of significant change for businesses across the country, especially if workers aren't as settled in their roles as their employers would like. With the prospect of higher pay and better working conditions, it seems that Australians are starting to set their sights on new jobs, potentially causing significant problems for some companies.

There's been a variety of research published in recent weeks to support these claims. Towers Watson's 2014 Global Workforce Study indicated employees are generally unsettled and hope to find their next challenge in the near future.

Almost a third (31 per cent) said they are planning to change jobs in the next two years, while 41 per cent revealed job security as one of the primary reasons to remain with an organisation.

Respondents were also asked how important it is to feel engaged in the workplace. A total of 68 per cent of employees said they currently don't have the aspects they need to be engaged at work, which could put them at greater risk of moving to another organisation.

Roy Morgan Research had similar findings, as it discovered 28 per cent of Australian workers are hoping to secure a new position within the next year. A further 23 per cent were undecided about what the future has in store.

With the threat of staff moving elsewhere, businesses could find advantages from investing in workflow automation. This ensures that the potential of existing workers is maximised, which should make the impact of outgoing employees slightly easier to manage.

Workers in the mining sector emerged as the most likely to be dissatisfied in their jobs, Roy Morgan found, followed by those in public administration and defence industries. Younger employees were discovered to be more flexible in their employment options than their older counterparts.