KEY INSIGHTS
- Australia’s employee wellbeing score in 2025, up from 4.07 in 2024
- Australia’s highest wellbeing score, recorded in 2022
- 80,000+: Employee survey responses analysed
Australia’s workplace wellbeing score rose from 2024 to 2025. It is a welcome lift, though still well below the peak recorded in 2022.
But there’s another real story that sits beneath the average: healthcare and ageing services are sliding, women continue to report lower wellbeing than men, and younger employees are experiencing the sharpest swings.
The data comes from more than 80,000 employee survey responses across 500-plus Australian organisations between 2020 and 2025. It forms part of the Well-Being at Work Index, developed by Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s Human Capital Development Lab with Great Place To Work.
The index measures whether people experience mental and emotional support, purpose, personal support, financial health and meaningful connections at work.
Australia’s workplace wellbeing score 2020–2025
Well-Being at Work Index, measured on a 1–5 scale
4.12
2020
4.12
2021
4.23
2022
peak
4.19
2023
4.07
2024
low
4.11
2025
now
Bar heights are scaled from a 4.00 baseline to show movement. Source: Johns Hopkins Human Capital Development Lab and Great Place To Work, Well-Being at Work Index; 80,000+ survey responses from 500+ Australian organisations.
Is employee wellbeing in Australia improving?
Yes, but pretty modestly. Employee wellbeing scores in Australia climbed to 4.11 in 2025 after falling to 4.07 in 2024. Yet the five-year picture is choppy: scores sat at 4.12 in 2020 and 2021, jumped to 4.23 in 2022, then fell back.
That 2022 high point is worth taking a better look at. Flexible work was widespread, employers were paying close attention to the human cost of disruption, and many teams had clearer permission to discuss stress and care responsibilities.
Then came the return-to-office mandates.
In financial services, wellbeing rose during the flexible-work period of 2021 and 2022, then declined as return-to-office rules took hold. Correlation is not proof of cause, yet it does pose a practical question around whether we are designing work around performance, or around the comfort of seeing occupied desks?
4.11
Australia’s 2025 score
Up from 4.07 in 2024, the first rise since the 2022 peak.
4.23
The 2022 peak
The highest score in the study, set during the flexible-work period. The recovery has covered a third of the fall.
80,000+
Employee responses
From more than 500 Australian organisations surveyed between 2020 and 2025.
2 yrs
Of decline in healthcare
Healthcare and ageing services scores fell in both 2024 and 2025 while other sectors recovered.
Why does employee wellbeing vary so much?
The national average masks some very different workplace experiences.
Men reported higher wellbeing than women for most of the study period and across every age group except employees aged 55 and over.
Younger employees showed the greatest year-to-year volatility, including a recurring honeymoon period after joining an employer.
Healthcare and ageing services reported falling wellbeing in both 2024 and 2025, rather than the recovery seen elsewhere after the pandemic.
Financial services improved during peak flexibility, then softened as office attendance requirements increased.
ACTION: People managers and HR leaders grappling with their own workplace wellbeing numbers, start with listening by team, role, tenure, age group and gender. The work experience is rarely identical across those groups, even when the policy looks identical on paper.
What should Australian employers do next?
Employee wellbeing in Australia improves when trust becomes part of daily management, not an annual campaign.
Start by measuring the experience people are having. Great Place To Work’s Trust Index is an employee survey that examines workplace culture through trust, credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. It helps leaders see where employees’ experiences differ, including between teams and demographic groups.
Then act on what employees tell you – with this data you can:
Give managers practical training on workload conversations, psychological safety and early signs of burnout.
Check whether flexibility is equitable across frontline, hybrid and office-based roles.
Review career progression, caring support and pay practices through a gender lens.
Tell employees what you heard, what will change and, crucially, when they can expect an update.
This research also points to the idea that confidence in management has a strong relationship with employee wellbeing. People do not need leaders to have a perfect answer. They need them to be clear, fair and credible when the answer is still being worked out.
The 2025 rebound should be treated as useful intelligence. Employers that inspect the gaps beneath the average will be better placed to retain talent, strengthen their employer brand and make work more sustainable for the people doing it.
READ THE FULL JOHNS HOPKINS HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT LAB REPORT HERE
FAQs Worker Wellbeing in Australia
Is employee wellbeing improving in Australia?
Employee wellbeing in Australia improved modestly in 2025, rising from 4.07 in 2024 to 4.11. The score remains below Australia’s 2022 peak of 4.23, so the recovery is incomplete. HR leaders should avoid treating a national or company average as the whole story. Differences by gender, age, industry and work arrangement can reveal where people need more support.
Which Australian industries have low wellbeing?
Healthcare and ageing services stand out in employee wellbeing in Australia because their scores declined in 2024 and 2025. This differs from the recovery pattern reported in some other sectors after the pandemic. Leaders in these fields should investigate workload, staffing pressure, manager capability, roster design and psychological safety. Broad wellbeing programs will struggle if day-to-day work remains unmanageable.
Why is workplace flexibility linked to wellbeing?
Employee wellbeing in Australia rose in financial services during the flexible-work period of 2021 and 2022, before declining as return-to-office mandates took effect. This does not prove office attendance caused the drop, yet it gives leaders a sensible reason to test their own data. Flexible work works best when expectations, fairness, communication and performance measures are clear.
How can managers improve employee wellbeing?
Managers can improve employee wellbeing in Australia by making work manageable and conversations safe. Ask regular questions about workload, priorities, support and barriers. Follow through when people raise concerns. Make flexibility practical for different roles, rather than a perk reserved for certain jobs. Use employee survey data to identify patterns, then explain what action the team can expect and by when.
