Flexibility is now the top driver for Australian executives, new Page Executive research shows, as Molly Green explains why loyalty is loosening.
Flexibility is now the top driver for Australian executives, new Page Executive research shows, as Molly Green explains why loyalty is loosening.
Australia’s executive ranks look settled from the outside. Pay packets are healthy, most leaders say they’re satisfied with what they earn, and boardrooms report confidence in navigating a shaky economy. Underneath that, though, new research suggests a lot of quiet door checking is going on.
According to Page Executive’s 2026 Executive Compensation & Trends Report, 63% of Australian executives and senior leaders plan to actively job hunt within the next three months, and 42% already are. A further 26% expect to leave their current organisation within the year. Notably, 75% say they’re satisfied with their compensation, and 89% remain open to a new role regardless.
Molly Green, Head of Page Executive Australia, said the picture is one of stability on the surface with real uncertainty underneath.
“We’re in an environment of global, geopolitical and economic uncertainty. In Australia there are productivity challenges, changes in the federal budget and AI which is changing how organisations and people fundamentally work,” Green said.
“In uncertain times, people like to keep their options open, even CEOs,” she added.
Money isn’t the driver behind the restlessness. The report found 53% of executives rank work-life balance above salary (46%) as the biggest factor in job satisfaction, and two in three said they’d turn down a promotion if it meant compromising their wellbeing. Flexible and hybrid arrangements came out as the most valued benefit on offer, well ahead of perks like company cars, which remain common but didn’t make the top five things executives actually want.
Green pointed to a generational pressure point behind some of this. Many executives currently sit in the so-called sandwich generation, raising children while also caring for ageing parents.
“Business leaders are also becoming increasingly value-driven. The data tells us they aren’t willing to compromise their wellbeing and work flexibility for a paycheck. A lot of people in the C-Suite are in the sandwich generation and are raising a family and also dealing with older parents. They are looking for that balance that allows them to juggle both,” Green said.
That extends to how leaders think about returning to the office. Despite ongoing public debate about mandated office returns, Green said the data tells a different story among senior ranks.
“Despite the widespread commentary about returning to the office, the data tells us that Director and C-Suite employees value the flexibility they’ve become accustomed to and many are not willing to sacrifice it in changing jobs,” she said.
The report also points to a growing disconnect between the executives setting strategy and the managers responsible for delivering it. While 76% of senior leaders are confident their organisation can adapt to shifting market conditions, only 67% of senior managers, the layer directly tasked with execution, share that confidence.
Green described the gap as a notable finding.
“This was a surprising result. It really points to a strategic execution gap emerging at a time where businesses need to be agile in the face of volatile economic conditions and geopolitical shocks, from oil supply disruptions to AI and the rising cost of doing business,” she said.
