Australian healthcare shift workers lead in job satisfaction according to a new report.
Despite mounting pressures across Australia’s shift-based workforce, healthcare workers are among the happiest, a new report reveals.
Workforce management platform Deputy’s newly released 2025 Shift Pulse Report drew on nearly three million anonymised end-of-shift surveys conducted between April 2024 and April 2025.
The national average percentage of happy shift workers across Australia’s sectors declined from 83.5% to 82.16%, while the percentage of those feeling stressed or frustrated jumped from 4.28% to 5.9%.
Outpatient care workers reported the highest happiness levels of any industry, with 91.95% feeling positive at the end of their shifts. In-home care workers followed closely at 87.8%, placing both well above the national average. NDIS providers were also above the national average on 85.34%.
The positive result was driven by stable rosters, clear clinical settings, and meaningful, non-acute patient interactions, according to the report.
“Workers in these sectors often report strong emotional connection to their roles, which helps offset the challenges of care delivery,” it said.
The report found 81.57% of healthcare workers in general reported happiness, the industry as a whole ranks among the nation’s happiest – second only to hospitality.
Deputy’s data revealed three core strengths driving wellbeing in frontline health settings:
- Structured schedules: regular, predictable rosters reduced emotional strain and improve work-life balance, a key driver in both outpatient and in-home care.
- Patient connection: continuity of care fostered a sense of purpose and recognition that bolsters emotional fulfilment.
- Autonomy in practice: especially in in-home care, workers reported greater control over their time, methods and client relationships.
These conditions stand in stark contrast to other shift-heavy industries such as retail, call centres, and hospitality, where scheduling instability and high-stress interactions were linked to rising frustration and fatigue.
Deputy CEO Silvija Martincevic said visibility into how workers were feeling wasn’t just a “nice-to-have, it’s a competitive advantage”.
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“When energy, morale and team cohesion break down, productivity drops, absenteeism rises, customer experience suffers and profitability declines,” she said.
“That’s why business leaders must take worker sentiment seriously, because the link between wellbeing and performance isn’t just human, it’s commercial.”
The report also reinforced the rise of poly-employment, where workers hold multiple jobs across different employers, as a growing norm, particularly in retail and services.
“Far from being a problem in itself, poly-employment is increasingly a deliberate strategy for financial security and flexibility,” said the report.
“However, burnout emerges when that new way of working collides with outdated systems: unpredictable rosters, last-minute shift changes and a lack of visibility across jobs. Without consistency and control, shift stacking can become overwhelming and not empowering.”
Read the full report here.