The new industry insights from THE MONDAY GROUP – a boutique recruitment agency specialising in the hospitality, hotel, events and experiential marketing sectors – show a majority of mid-to-senior-level Australian hospitality and events workers could be considered imminent “flight risks” by their employer.

The report, “THE MONDAY GROUP: Australian Hospitality and Events Workforce Insights Report 2024-2025”, surveyed more than 1000 workers from across Australia to gain a detailed understanding of the trends and changes affecting hospitality and events in 2025.

It focuses on areas of study such as salary benchmarks, job satisfaction trends, popular recruitment channels and impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

According to the report, 29 per cent of respondents are currently looking for a new role, or intend to start searching within 90 days. An additional 20 per cent intend to commence looking within 12 months, and 36 per cent could be open to new opportunities – for 85 per cent combined.

Just 15 per cent of respondents have no intention to change jobs this year.

According to THE MONDAY GROUP, employers wanting to hold on to senior members of staff should focus on five key areas of improvement, all of which are shown to have a noticeable connection to employee retention:

• Job satisfaction: Respondents who dislike their role are far more likely to intend to job hunt.
• Compensation: Higher pay is associated with increased employee retention.
• Pay increases and annual bonuses: Increasing either of these leads to reduced intentions to job hunt.
• Onboarding, training and development: Poor experiences in this area correlate to stronger intentions to job hunt.
• Overtime pay: There is a small link between overtime pay and job satisfaction.

“While these figures are not a major surprise, they are a stark and sobering reminder for employers,” says THE MONDAY GROUP’s founder, Jonathan Lamm.

“The findings of the report offer some important evidence of the key levers which can be pulled to help enhance job satisfaction, improve workplace culture and aid employee retention.

“Cash is still king, but there are a multitude of other ways employers can attract top talent and aid retention without having to pay over-the-market salaries.”

Additional findings of the report include:

• The gender pay gap between men and women across both hospitality and events is 14.5 per cent.
• Age, experience, tenure, education, location and business size are all associated with earning higher pay.
• 62 per cent of respondents earned a pay rise in 2024, the average size of which was 1 per cent to 5 per cent.
• 38 per cent of respondents received an annual bonus or commission.
• A nine-day fortnight or four-day week was the most desirable non-cash job benefit among all respondents.
• While flexible work is the norm across events and hospitality, more respondents preferred working in an office in 2024 than two years prior.
• 89 per cent of respondents think paid overtime should be standard.
• 40 per cent of respondents would like their employer to offer mental health days.
• Only 7 per cent of respondents said they have experienced no impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
• While job boards remain popular as recruitment channels, recruitment agencies are increasingly vital for finding experienced talent the more years of experience they have.

“Employers who truly care about their people will no doubt find value in the report as it provides true insight into the feelings of the workplace,” says Lamm.

“For the most part, professionals in our industry are passionate and love their job, but as a whole we have a responsibility to elevate our standards and the potential for people to enjoy enriching and rewarding careers.”

Photo at top: iStock/PixelsEffect.