NewsBite

Euan Black

This Month

The Albanese government has passed three tranches of workplace laws since taking office.

Workers lodge record number of Fair Work claims

Workers brought a record number of claims to Fair Work last financial year in a trend lawyers say was driven by the heightened hardship of losing one’s job amid the rising cost of living.

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Working mums were among the biggest winners of the working-from-home revolution, CEDA analysis shows.

Study reveals the biggest winners from working from home

New research finds flexible working has boosted workforce participation for carers, working mums and people with a disability or health condition.

Premier Jacinta Allan said Jewish Australians “deserve action that makes a difference”.

Allan antisemitism response condemned as ‘too slow’

The Victorian premier is mulling new police powers, as two events in Sydney on Sunday underlined how the war in Gaza is stirring tension in Australia.

Relaunch Me founder Leah Lambart said understanding and showcasing your professional value becomes more important in a weakening labour market.

How to audit your career before the new year

The prospect of higher unemployment next year means understanding and knowing how to showcase your professional value could soon assume greater importance.

Incorporating just four minutes of additional physical activity into our daily routines could significantly reduce our risk of having a heart attack.

Four minutes that can halve a woman’s risk of heart attack

Non-exercising women could almost halve their risk of an adverse cardiac event by doing just 3.4 minutes a day of vigorous activities such as climbing stairs.

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Medibank’s Kylie Bishop expects a four-day workweek will improve wellbeing and encourage staff to cut down on unproductive tasks.

‘Brain drain’: When return-to-office mandates backfire

Employees quit their jobs in higher numbers when told to return to the office, according to a new analysis of S&P 500 firms.

November

Gavin Sas, the owner of G Effect Painting in Traralgon, wants to hire an apprentice but says he cannot afford to do so.

The big trend working against the PM’s 1.2m homes target

Painter Gavin Sas wants to hire an apprentice to expand his business, but the initial cost is too high. It’s a small part of a bigger problem.

Some sleep trackers correctly detect the stage of sleep someone is experiencing just 50 per cent of the time.

What science says about sleep trackers (and beware of orthosomnia)

Most sleep trackers are good at measuring whether somebody is asleep or awake, but perform less well at determining which stage of sleep they’re in.

Akshaya Josy is struggling to find a graduate role in public relations despite having a master’s degree in the subject.

The graduate employment boom is over

Akshaya Josy has a master’s degree but can’t find a job in her field. It’s part of a recruitment trend that has started showing up at the big four accounting firms.

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Qantas reduced its chief executive pay by 26 per cent when it replaced Alan Joyce with Vanessa Hudson.

Female bosses are paid $159k less than men

Female chief executives and heads of business are paid an average of $158,632 less than their male counterparts, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Australia will probably need close to 2 million workers in building and engineering trades by 2050 to meet the demands of the energy transition, says Jobs and Skills Australia.

The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024

Geologists, engineers and trades such as carpenters and electricians were among the occupations that landed the largest salary bumps.

Coles chief executive Leah Weckert said asking people to attend the office three days a week struck a balance between offering flexibility and promoting collaboration.

Coles orders staff back to the office

Chief executive Leah Weckert says 5000 office workers will soon have to be in the office three days a week to foster collaboration.

Florence Potter who has differing views on her generation than older managers who are too quick to write off Gen Z.

Why bosses should stop railing against Gen Z

They may do things differently, but new research suggests younger workers are often the most engaged and motivated segment of the workforce.

Mark and Tina Harris run Lah-Lah, a children’s YouTube channel that would be virtually unworkable as a business should a ban on people under 16 using YouTube be introduced.

YouTubers horrified by prospect of social media bans

Australians who make shows aimed at children on YouTube say they could lose their jobs if a blanket ban on social media includes the video sharing platform.

WGA chief executive Mary Wooldridge said company boards had a big role to play in stamping out harassment.

Lack of anonymous reporting channels fuels harassment underreporting

Victims of work-related sexual harassment do not have the option of reporting incidents anonymously at more than three in 10 large companies, research shows.

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Nick Mann, regional CEO of Australia, Asia and New Zealand and rotating group CEO of Swisse’s parent company H&H Group, at Swisse’s office in Collingwood, Melbourne.

Why this Swisse CEO fasts for 19 hours a day

Nick Mann, regional CEO of the parent company that owns Swisse, has stepped up into the role of global group CEO just as the wellness industry is booming.

Recruiters say some clients have asked them to conduct female-only searches to fill vacancies, putting them in “compromising positions”.

Is female-only recruitment discriminatory? Even lawyers are divided

The debate over gender diversity targets was reignited this week when the Australian Financial Review revealed employers had told recruiters not to bother shortlisting men for senior jobs.

Recruiters say some clients have asked them to conduct female-only searches to fill vacancies, putting them in “compromising positions”.

‘Don’t shortlist men’, ASX companies tell recruiters

ASX-listed companies are privately instructing recruiters to shortlist only women for certain senior roles to help meet diversity and inclusion targets.

October

Block software engineer Mehdi Mollaverdi said being able to switch jobs internally made him more likely to stay with the company for a long time.

How white-collar employers are keeping staff happy

White-collar employers are trying to keep restless employees happy by giving them more opportunities to switch jobs internally.

Kyle Faulconer

What this CEO learnt from losing $30m

Kyle Faulconer, the CEO of PepsiCo in ANZ, discovered the value of rapid prototyping and minimum viable products after a failed launch cost his client $30m.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/euan-black-p536fx