Young SA workers turning down full-time hours because they want balance

Older SA workers may call them lazy and entitled, but the young people shunning full-time hours say they just want balance. Who’s got it right?

South Australian workers are hitting back at claims they are “lazy” or “unmotivated”, but employers say it is almost impossible to fill roles as young people shy away from full-time hours.

A growing number of young South Aussie workers are shunning traditional office hours and shifting towards part-time or casual work in a bid to find freedom and balance.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that since 2012, the number of Australians aged between 20-24 years-old who were unemployed but looking for part-time work only, increased by almost 30 per cent while those who were unemployed looking for full-time work decreased by 13 per cent.

Chase Baldacchino, general manager of Electra House in the CBD, told The Advertiser it was nearly impossible to hire casual workers as young people refused weekend or late-night hours.

“It‘s tough finding any young workers for nights and weekends,” Mr Baldacchino said.

“Most young people who apply to our job ads only want day work and definitely no weekend work.”

Chase Baldacchino, general manager of Electra House in the CBD. Picture: File

Mr Baldacchino said before the Covid-19 pandemic, job advertisements for Friday and Saturday night bartending shifts would have between 50-70 resumes within 24 hours.

“Today, we have two resumes for positions that were not even advertised,” he said.

Nicola Badran, 22, who is now a bartender at a CBD pub, previously worked three to four days a week as a social worker.

She said the “impossible demands”, 40-minute commute and being “stuck in an office” almost killed her and said she was terrified at the prospect of full-time work.

“I’ve had some bosses use me, exploit me and my very young age, take advantage of that to coerce me into working more,” Ms Badran said.

“I’ve had bosses that, when I‘ve needed to take time off work, then refused to give me shifts as ‘punishment’.”

Nicola Badran in the Botanical Gardens on Friday. Picture: Matt Loxton

But the 22-year-old slammed those describing young workers as “lazy”.

“They see (young workers) living differently and there’s a lot of resentment there. It is right to be resentful, but I think the target of the resentment is wrong,” Ms Badran said.

“The target of your resentment should be the system that has been exploiting you.”

Megan Nicolson, from Adelaide-based recruitment agency Entree, told The Advertiser that young people were seeking to reclaim their lives after the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

“There is a trend for part-time work, or full-time work with only three days in the office and two days from home … there is a struggle to get people to work full-time in the office or full time full stop,” she said.

Ms Nicolson said young people were asking themselves, ‘Can I have it all?’ – seeking a life outside of work in lieu of financial gain.

“When I started working, there was no way that it would have come into my mind to work part time. Now, so many young people want that balance,” she said.

“I don’t think it is because they are lazy. They just want to have enough money to get by and have time with their family and friends.”

Gemma Beale, a researcher at Flinders University’s Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, warned against labelling an entire generation as “lazy”.

“I am sceptical of anecdotal evidence with stories from employers who claim that employees are not working like they used to or aren‘t working enough … without providing insight into the working conditions they are providing. It is a very one-sided story,” she said.

Ms Beale said that, for many young people, the financial incentive simply was not there for “traditionally less attractive” shifts.

“If you want people to work a late night shift or weekend shift, maybe you need to pay them more,” she said.

It also might be a matter of not whether they want to work, but whether they can find work.

“We have incredibly high rates of casual work across almost every sector. What full-time work is available might not be the type of work people are looking for, for whatever reason,” she said.