The positive outlook is a big step change from last year’s survey,Yates said.
“People were seriously less optimistic,and I think the change reflects the fact that we’re coming to the end of what’s been a very disrupted three-year period,” he said. “The 18 months since[COVID] lockdowns finished have been really quite unusual in terms of the initial huge demand for products and services,and then the change in the economic environment with interest rates and inflation.”
Yates said Australian chief executives were slightly more bullish about their companies’ growth prospects than their global peers. “It feels like interest rates and inflation are getting to their top points,so that’s giving people more certainty about the future,” he said.
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The survey suggests the balance of power is shifting away from employees,as the skills shortage and war for talent are no longer a main concern for chief executives,with 22 per cent of Australian CEOs even seeing potential staff cuts of up to 5 per cent over the next three years.
“Last year,the shortage of talent was front-of-mind for everyone,” Yates said. “Demand has softened since then,and businesses are needing to make adjustment to their cost base,including labour settings.”
Yates said he was taken aback by the view of the majority of CEOs around the world that in three years’ time traditional white-collar roles will be fully based in the office again.