Australians remain cautiously optimistic about the future with personal finances, family and the environment the three big issues keeping us awake at night according to this year’s Eye on Australia report, released today by Grey.
In 2008, the Eye on Australia report found that:
- 65% of Australians are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ satisfied with life;
- 70% of respondent believe we are living in prosperous times;
- 24% of consumers are ‘extremely concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about the effect of the economy on their household (up from 16% in 2007);
- Personal finance (45%) rates as the number one concern keeping us awake at night, followed closely by home affordability (44%) and having enough money for retirement (42%); and
- Family (36%) and the environment (33%) are also considered to be key issues for respondents.
Now in its 17th year, the Eye on Australia report, conducted in association with Sweeney Research, tracks Australian consumer attitudes and sentiment across metropolitan and regional areas and provides insights into how Australians are feeling about work, life and the economy.
According to Simon Rich, Director of Planning at Grey, Australians are getting on with life in the face of a volatile local and international economic environment. “The credit crisis discussion was already well underway when our survey went into the field, yet we’ve seen the highest levels of satisfaction with life since Eye on Australia commenced in 1992. Overall, Australians are happy about high employment figures and in the meantime we’re putting our faith in the new government to follow through on the promises they’ve made,” he said.
The study shows that Generation X (those aged 32 to 44 years old in 2008) are the nation’s most stressed generation, who worry most about family (40% compared to the national average 36%), and live week to week financially (57% compared to the national average 49%). Overall, Generation X struggles with poor self image – rating themselves 4.9 out of 10 for looks, (national average was 5.15), with 67% aspiring to have a thinner body.
“Generation X was the ‘choice’ generation. They were told that they could do what they wanted in life, and unsurprisingly were a lot older before they started settling down, having children and buying a house. Now, it’s hardly surprising that with trying to pay a mortgage on the family home, raising young children, worrying about their aging parents, and having the enthusiastic Generation Y encroaching on their jobs, poor Generation X are feeling the heat,” said Mr Rich.
According to the research, the environment is considered the second biggest issue facing Australia in the next five years (53%), second only to personal finances (59%).
The majority of consumers (87%) want to see big businesses talk about their environmental credentials and are more likely to trust companies that support the environment (68%) compared to supporting charities (30%).
For Mr Rich, when it comes to the environment, it is a case of ‘get on with it’ rather than talk about it with 32 % of Australians claiming to be sick of hearing about ‘the environment’ and 36% believing that the media exaggerates the effects of global warming.
“Much of the earlier frenzy has fallen out of the environment debate. Overall, we want more action and less hyperbole so the stakes are high for big brands to distil their green message for consumers,” he said.
Generation Y are the least concerned about the environment, with 17% unworried about their carbon footprint (compared to the national average of 12%), and only 77% claiming companies should tell consumers about their green credentials, compared to 93% of Pre-Baby Boomers (those aged 63 or over in 2008).
The Eye on Australia results show our trust in large corporations is declining and we place increasing value in genuine honesty, with 91% of respondents claiming they would trust a company who admits when they’ve made a mistake.
“The message is that people have become more cynical, however brands still offer higher levels of trust than a company name. 47% of respondents claim established brands are more trustworthy, compared to only 23% who agree that they trust big companies.”
In 2008, Google ranks alongside the police force as one of Australia’s most trusted brands, both scoring 6.39 out of 10 on Eye on Australia’s trust scale, second only to major charities such as The Salvation Army (6.69 out of 10) on the overall scale.
“We trust Google because while it may be a complex product, it’s a simple brand that does what it claims to do. In some ways, using Google is synonymous with using the internet; it’s the brand that helps us work out who to trust online, and where to go,” he said.
Bookstores (6.33 out of 10); The ABC (6.25 out of 10) and Australia Post (6.1out of 10) are also amongst consumers’ most trusted organisations.
Additional key findings from Eye on Australia 2008 include:
Work/life balance
- The average working week is 43.83 hours full time and 21.85 hour part time;
- 67% of Australians claim their job gives them a sense of identity;
- 78% of respondents are satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their jobs; and
- 86% of workers claim to be reliable but only 56% claim to bring innovation and new ideas to their job.
Personal finances
- 70% of respondents claim to be in control of their finances; and
- 49% of Australians admit they live week-to-week financially but only 42% seek advice from others when it comes to their finances.
Internet
- 15% of consumers trusted blogs as a source of information in 2007, down to 4% in 2008;
- 42% of Generation Y use social networking sites often or very often when surfing the internet;
- 87% of consumers use email often or very often on a daily basis compared to 5% in 1997; and
- 38% of Pre-Baby Boomers (those aged 63 or over in 2008) spend 2 hours a day or more online compared to 26% of Generation Y.
Recreation and leisure activities
- Walking is the nation’s most popular sporting activity (48%), followed by swimming (18%);
- 42% of Australians spend more than 2 hours a day watching TV; and
- 27% of Generation Y socialise for more than 2 hours a day.
AAP
