Australia's Productivity Revival Needs One Essential Ingredient: Optimism

The Centre for Optimism

If you want a national growth mindset, then conscript the optimists.

The Productivity Commission’s call this week for Australia to adopt a growth mindset arrives at a pivotal moment, just two weeks ahead of the August Economic Reform Roundtable, to be chaired by the Treasurer, focused on productivity and economic resilience.

A growth mindset is not just a personal tool; it is a powerful asset. It is a national capacity, a cultural belief that we can learn, adapt, and improve.

However, the truth is that pessimists cannot possess a growth mindset. Growth requires belief. Reform demands resolve. And both are founded on optimism.

On day one of his prime ministership, Anthony Albanese declared:

“I want a country where hope and optimism are the major emotions projected from our national government to the Australian people.”

In announcing the Roundtable, he urged us to “make every single day count” through optimism and collaboration.

Yet national sentiment is fragile. The AICD Director Sentiment Index, Lowy Institute polling, and consumer confidence data point to rising unease. The World Economic Forum now lists “declining optimism” as the top emerging global risk.

The government cannot reverse that mood overnight. But it can lead with optimism. It can help shape an optimistic national narrative as recommended by The Centre for Optimism, one that counters the prevailing zeitgeist of crisis, polycrisis, and permanent emergencies.

Rather than a regulatory environment focused on minimising risk and suppressing initiative, we need a climate that celebrates progress, encourages creativity, and nurtures invention.

At The Centre for Optimism, we know that optimism is not wishful thinking—it is a national asset. It inspires business investment, public trust, and civic action. It is the very energy that fuels a growth mindset.

Research, including studies by Shawn Achor, Martin Seligman, and Barbara Fredrickson, shows that building optimism can increase productivity by 7 to 20 per cent.

The University of Sydney Business School’s "Optimism Effect”, drawing on 25 years of OECD data, confirms that national optimism drives productivity and innovation.

So the first question on the Roundtable agenda should be:

“What will make the workers of Australia more optimistic for Australia’s future—and more optimistic themselves?”

Because optimism is not a feeling, it is a force. It is the mindset that enables reform, resilience, and national renewal.

Australia's Productivity Revival Needs One Essential Ingredient: Optimism

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