Key Highlights
- New ABS data shows belief that “most people can be trusted” fell from 61% to 50%
- Very high psychological distress sits at 9% overall, but rises to 17% for young women
- Great Place To Work data shows employee wellbeing in Australia better during pandemic
Australia’s general wellbeing is on the decline, and the trend is showing up consistently across both national and organisational data. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) General Social Survey insights reveal rising financial stress, declining life satisfaction, and growing social disconnection.
Our own Well-Being at Work study, conducted in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, found a strikingly similar pattern. “Our research showed that employee well-being in Australia peaked in 2022 and 2023 as workplaces opened back up and leaders were genuinely trying to take care of their people,” says Rebecca Moulynox, GM of Great Place To Work Australia and New Zealand. “It then dropped significantly in 2024 before a slight recovery in 2025. We are essentially back to early pandemic levels.”
“The things that protect people during difficult times, trust, connection, feeling financially stable, feeling like someone has your back, are exactly the things that erode when organisations stop paying attention to their people.”
Trust has taken a hit, and it’s showing up in our workplaces
One of the most striking signals in the latest ABS data is a sharp decline in social trust. The proportion of Australians who believe that “most people can be trusted” has fallen from 61% to 50%.
For organisations focused on building high-trust workplaces, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As baseline trust in society declines, workplaces become one of the few environments where it can be actively rebuilt.
ALSO READ: The 9 Leadership Behaviours That Can Build, Or Break, Workplace Trust
When trust declines at work in more subtle but equally damaging ways like lower collaboration, higher scepticism toward leadership, reduced psychological safety, and weaker team connection.
In high-trust workplaces people collaborate more openly, adapt faster to change, and report higher levels of wellbeing. “The research shows a very clear linear relationship between how much confidence employees have in their leadership and how high their well-being scores are,” says Moulynox.
Why workplace wellbeing is declining in Australia
The timing of the decline comes as no real surprise to most. The cost of living has exploded, the geopolitical landscape is more volatile and unstable than ever. During the pandemic, many organisations increased their focus on employee wellbeing, communication, and flexibility. That focus has since faded.
“The pandemic forced leaders to prioritise their workforce in ways many of them had never done before,” Moulynox says. “When that urgency lifted, so did the focus. The ABS data is telling us that people felt that shift, and so is ours.”
“Australians today are more worried, more isolated, and less certain about their futures than they were five years ago,” she explains. “We are becoming a less connected, a less trusting, a less financially secure, and a less well.”
This slow decline is particularly dangerous because it does not trigger immediate action. Yet over time, it directly impacts employee engagement, productivity, retention, and organisational performance.
The five drivers of employee wellbeing at work
Great Place To Work data shows that organisations that maintained strong wellbeing scores through disruption consistently focused on five core areas:
Psychological safety: Employees feel safe to speak up, admit challenges, and ask for help without fear of negative consequences.
Purpose and meaning: Work that feels valuable and connected to a broader mission.
Individual support: Employees are treated as people, not just roles.
Financial transparency and security: Clear communication around pay, stability, and organisational performance.
Genuine human connection: Strong interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging at work.
“The conditions people experience at work aren’t separate from the conditions they experience in life,” Moulynox says. “When someone comes to work carrying financial stress, or feeling isolated, or without much trust in the institutions around them, that shows up in how they engage, how they perform, and whether they stay.”
The most effective actions are often simple, visible, and leadership-led. “It’s leaders getting out from behind their desks and going where the work actually happens like a ward huddle, a site visit, a store walk, and then following up with a ‘you said, we did’ so people know their input went somewhere,” Moulynox says.
This kind of visible leadership builds trust and closes feedback loops in a way that surveys alone cannot. “Right now, given everything this data is telling us about how Australians are feeling, building trust is probably the most commercially important thing an organisation can invest in.”
What is workplace wellbeing and why does it matter?
Workplace wellbeing refers to employees’ overall mental, emotional, social, and financial health at work. It directly impacts engagement, productivity, retention, and business performance. Research consistently shows that organisations with high employee wellbeing outperform peers on key metrics.
How does trust in leadership affect employee wellbeing?
Trust in leadership is one of the strongest predictors of employee wellbeing. When employees believe leaders are credible, transparent, and supportive, wellbeing scores increase. When trust declines, wellbeing declines in parallel.
What does the ABS data say about wellbeing in Australia?
ABS data shows Australians are experiencing increased financial stress, lower life satisfaction, and reduced social connection. These trends are mirrored in workplace data, indicating a strong link between societal and workplace wellbeing.
What are the most effective ways to improve employee wellbeing?
The most effective strategies focus on leadership behaviour and culture, including psychological safety, meaningful work, transparent communication, individual support, and strong team connection. Programs alone are not enough without a foundation of trust.
Why are wellbeing programs not always effective?
Wellbeing programs often fail when they are implemented without addressing underlying cultural issues. Without trust, psychological safety, and credible leadership, initiatives like EAPs or wellbeing apps have limited impact.
