The people2people 2025 Workplace & Employment Trends Report has revealed major changes in attitudes in Australia’s job market in 2025. Data shows that workers increasingly prioritise flexibility, wellbeing, and meaningful work. On the other hand, employers are grappling with a myriad of challenges, including slow hiring processes, hybrid work challenges, and a significant generational divide.
“Across Australia, employers are feeling the pressure from every angle—competition for talent, irrelevant applications, and candidate unreliability are topping the list of hiring challenges,” says Suhini Wijayasinghe, head of HR Solutions at people2people Recruitment.
“Job ad volumes have dropped 17.3% over the past year, but the complexity of hiring hasn’t eased. In fact, the pressure is mounting for employers to refine their processes and offer a compelling reason for candidates to choose them,” she said.
Key national trends
The report reveals a significant disparity in the job market. While permanent roles typically take around six weeks to fill, over half (52%) of job seekers anticipate being hired within two weeks, indicating a clear mismatch between expectations and reality.
Moreover, 58% of employees say that in-office expectations negatively affect their wellbeing, and 26% say they’d consider quitting if asked to come in more often. Some 37% of job seekers say they’d expect a 5–10% pay rise to return to the office full-time, and 32% say even a small bump (0–5%) would be expected. Over half (54%) of job seekers expect flexibility from the first day in a new role, not after probation or onboarding.
Despite advantages to remote work and flexibility, managers cite team cohesion (62%), lack of spontaneous collaboration (65%), and engagement (60%) as key challenges in hybrid environments.
