Are manufacturing workers being forced to 'work to live'?

Australia’s manufacturing sector is under considerable strain as globalisation fuels competition from lower-cost economies while simultaneously coming to grips with an ageing population, new technologies and increasingly stringent customer and compliance requirements. As these trends increase pressure on revenues creating unprecedented challenges for the industry, Kronos Incorporated asked manufacturing workers whether they are able to continue to “work to live” or whether they perceive they will have to “live to work”.

The survey conducted by Galaxy Research polled 1685 Australian workers, with 311 working within the manufacturing sector. Of them, 53 work in food or beverage production and 258 work in other manufacturing roles.

Uncertainty and constant job shake-ups in the manufacturing industry have taken their toll on workers. Workers feel increasingly uncertain about their future, particularly following recent high-profile factory closures in the automotive industry. 55% of manufacturing workers are not confident about the amount of work available in the sector in the future, while a small portion of manufacturing workers (18%) was more optimistic, believing there are job opportunities with local manufacturers who are innovating and recruiting talented employees - but 30% disagree.

Deep intergenerational tension exists within the manufacturing industry as it struggles to come to terms with an older and more generationally diverse workforce. 33% of manufacturing respondents agreed there were a lot of older workers whose experience was not being utilised. This percentage increased to about half (51%) in manufacturing businesses with more than 500 employees. Only 47% agree there is ‘always a job in the industry for older workers’, while 54% felt they would be unable to do some of the physical side of their job as they age.

60% of workers believe younger employees do not appreciate the knowledge and skills of their older counterparts.

Technology and the rationalisation of roles has led to an appetite for workers in the manufacturing industry for more training to broaden their skill sets. Half of all manufacturing workers believe they need to look for more training and to broaden their skills to remain competitive for future jobs, with only 21% disagreeing.

New technology was also cited as a key area for training and development by 72% of workers who feel the surging use of high technology means an increasing need for good computer skills. Employees want to be motivated in their work, with 23% citing training as a motivational boost, while alarmingly 80% felt their business does not do a good job of matching employee skills to a role and 83% claiming an absence of training that matches their role.

“Demographic shifts in the manufacturing workforce and consequent policy changes, such as the planned increase in the retirement age to 70 by 2035, present significant challenges for manufacturers in how they manage their workforce and business operations as well as train and retain the right level of skills to remain competitive,” said Peter Harte, Kronos managing director Australia and New Zealand. “The insights drawn from the research can better prepare manufacturing leaders, management and human resources departments to understand current and future challenges in the Australian manufacturing industry.

“Amid all the doom and gloom that has been reported about the manufacturing industry in recent years, this survey shows that there is a silver lining. There are clear opportunities for Australian manufacturers to improve and innovate. Manufacturing employees are proactively requesting training to update and better utilise their skill sets. Businesses that embrace this challenge can close the gaps between current and best practice in the industry, increasing their global competitiveness. Among other things, using workforce management tools to better match employee skills to their roles would ensure that Australian manufacturers are getting the best out of their people by improving productivity, and subsequently profitability, to remain competitive,” he said.