Employees eager for challenging, exciting projects; and remuneration news in brief

Source: HR Daily (26 /06/2025) - Subscription service

Employees are hungrier than ever for projects that will excite and challenge them, according to a new report that shows a shift in what motivates people at work. Meanwhile, salary growth remains sluggish.

In Parity Consulting's annual salary and market insights research, it was no surprise that remuneration was employees' biggest motivator this year, says founder Victoria Butt. In her 11 years of conducting the survey, remuneration has always been number one.

But ranked second is "working on stimulating projects and doing exciting things".

"That hasn't featured in the top four or five ever," she says, noting she was so surprised she did some follow-up research, and had the stats double-checked and externally validated.

Butt thinks a shift is occurring "because the market has been about 'do more with less' for so long". Organisations haven't invested as much in product development initiatives, for example, and, "it's all about maximising profit for customers as opposed to bringing out new products and doing fun things".

"People are just not enjoying their work, but they're motivated by exciting work." - Victoria Butt, Parity Consulting

The report – based on 4,500 survey responses and data from 20 different organisations – primarily involved employees working in financial services and tech, however Butt says she's confident its findings reflect broader trends.

Turning from the data itself to what she's seeing and hearing, she says employees understand they're not going to get big pay rises and bonuses in the current market.

"There's an acceptance that the business you're working for is probably going to go through restructuring, your role is potentially something that will be changed, or that you need to reapply for," she says.

"There's also this acceptance that return-to-office mandates are going to just continue to increase. [But] humans are driven by satisfaction... they want to go in, they want to work. If they're not getting their bonuses, they're not getting pay rises and there's not amazing opportunities externally, or promotions internally because no one's moving... they want to do exciting work."

Also relevant is that attrition remains very low. "They're sitting there in a position where they can't get their manager's job, because their manager's not leaving."

Chasing external opportunities carries risk, so many employees are eager for safer, but still stimulating, challenges in their current role – even if it means exerting more effort for the same pay.

"I don't think people typically mind working hard, or doing one-and-a-half roles, if the project is something that aligns to their values and is exciting for them," Butt says.

After remuneration, and stimulating work, employees say they are most highly motivated by hybrid and/or flexible work arrangements (which has stayed in third place for several years), then career development (down from second place).

News in brief: New data on salary growth, pay transparency and more

Advertised salary growth slowed to 3.6% in the 12 months to May, based on data from job ads placed on Seek. Month-on-month, May's growth of 0.2% was the slowest rate since October last year. Nonetheless, "the growth in average advertised salaries is currently outpacing living costs, which is good news for those switching employers as they are likely gaining a real wage increase", says Seek senior economist, Dr Blair Chapman.

Half of Australian workers (50%) are living pay cheque to pay cheque, according to ADP Research's People at Work 2025 report. The study, which surveyed nearly 38,000 employees, found that among those working multiple jobs, 58% say they do it to afford increasing costs of living, and 35% to build life savings and prepare for retirement.

Meanwhile, employees are in near-unanimous agreement (96%) that upfront salary details are essential when deciding whether to apply for a job, according to a poll by job site Indeed. The majority (60%) believe pay visibility is the single most important aspect of the job application process – ahead of even fairness in interviews – and 95% say they are more inclined to trust employers that include a salary in their ads. Indeed's data, however, shows 65% of employers continue to omit pay details.