Employees Take the Wheel in Australia’s New World of World
FULL REPORT AND AUSTRALIA’S BEST WORKPLACES OF 2025 LIST HERE
SYDNEY, Aug. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The workplace power dynamic in Australia has fundamentally shifted and it’s not executives leading the change. It’s employees.
A landmark report from Great Place To Work®, surveying over 158,000 Australian workers, reveals a seismic transformation: workers are no longer waiting for change, they’re driving it. From Gen Z to frontline staff and underrepresented groups, today’s employees are demanding more than perks. They expect flexibility, fairness, a real voice, and above all, trust.
"The future of work isn’t coming. It’s already here; and it’s employee-led," said Rebecca Moulynox, General Manager of Great Place To Work® Australia and New Zealand. "Companies that fail to adapt to this shift will find themselves irrelevant to the talent they need most."
The 2025 list of Australia’s Best Workplaces™, released today, celebrates 100 organisations across different categories from micro to large that are leading the way in workplace culture and employee engagement.
- Flexibility is retention fuel: 93% of employees who feel supported to take time off want to stay long-term. Where flexibility is lacking, that figure plummets to 63%.
- Voice matters: At leading organisations, 92% of frontline workers feel heard by decision-makers. At typical companies? Just 50%.
- Trust is everything: Even in high-performing workplaces, only 38% of employees want to stay if trust erodes, regardless of benefits or culture initiatives.
- Purpose is expected: Gen Z workers don’t just want meaning; they demand growth, inclusion, flexibility, and leaders they believe in.
- Fun at work is 200% more powerful than any benefit. Employees who report fun are nearly three times more likely to thrive.
This year’s large category winners:
- Hilton – Australia’s #1 Best Workplace for 2025 (also World’s #1 Best Workplace in 2023).
- Cisco – embedding trust into AI adoption with its own secure assistant and Responsible AI framework.
- REA Group – bridging five generations with leadership programs that connect Gen Z grads to Baby Boomer mentors.
Across other categories, winners include:
- Swisse Wellness (Medium) – championing wellbeing inside and out, with a culture built on health, trust and employee empowerment.
- The Man Cave (Small) – reshaping purpose-led culture through youth wellbeing and mentoring.
Follow online:
Website: greatplacetowork.com.au
Instagram: @gptw_au
LinkedIn: Great Place To Work on LinkedIn