A survey of 5330 Australian employees conducted by Right Management measured workers? emotional and intellectual commitments to their job and to the success of their organisation.
While quarry workers were not the highest on the list, they appeared at number eight, just a few percentage points below educators on a list of 27 occupations.
Soldiers were the most motivated workers in Australia at 50.4 per cent, followed by insurance industry personnel at 49.1 per cent and those working in accountancy at 48.5 per cent.
Workers in biotechnology had the lowest engagement at 23.9 per cent, followed by the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing industry at 25.1 per cent and retail at 28.9 per cent.
Right Management general manager Bridget Beattie said armed forces rated so highly because they had strong leadership at a macro level.
Accountants and insurance brokers rated well because of the type of work they do.
Ms Beattie said that high engagement was important because happy workers were more productive, easier to retain and they gave customers a better experience that helped bottom line performance.
The report also found that the older workers are more likely to be motivated. But the report also found that the longer a person works for an organisation the less motivated they become.
The top reasons workers become disengaged is because they don?t feel there is a career for them in their organisation, and they don?t think their job is aligned with their strengths, Ms Beattie said.
The overall engagement by industry results are as follows:
? Armed forces – 50.4 per cent
? Insurance (includes reassurance and broking) – 49.1 per cent
? Accountancy – 48.5 per cent
? Utilities (eg electricity, gas and water supply) – 41.9 per cent
? Legal services (law firms) – 40.9 per cent
? Other not-for-profit organisations (eg trade associations, charities) – 40.6 per cent
? Education – 39.8 per cent
? Mining and quarrying (includes oil rigs and wells) – 38.4 per cent
? Healthcare and social work (eg hospitals) – 37.6 per cent
? Australian Federal Government (eg government departments and agencies) -37.5 per cent
? Banking and finance (excluding insurance) – 35.7 per cent
? Information technology – 35.5 per cent
? Manufacturing – 35.3 per cent
? Construction – 34.7 per cent
? Recreational, cultural & sporting activities – 34.6 per cent
? Pharmaceuticals – 33.4 per cent
? Restaurants, hotels, clubs and gaming ? 32.4 per cent
? Property and real estate – 32.3 per cent
? Other professional services (includes consultancy) – 31.8 per cent
? Australian State Government (eg government departments and agencies) – 31.7 per cent
? Wholesale trade – 31.3 per cent
? Transport and storage (includes transport and logistics by land, sea and air) -31 per cent
? Australian Local Government (councils) – 29.4 per cent
? Communication (includes telecoms and postal sectors) – 29.2 per cent
? Retail – 28.9 per cent
? Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing industry – 25.1 per cent
? Biotechnology – 23.9 per cent
Sources: The Daily Telegraph, Right Management