An operator at Rich Lister Tim Gurner’s wellness and anti-ageing network has sought to calm the nerves of staff, assuring them the founder’s viral comments about entitled workers were not directed at them.

In a discussion about productivity and the construction sector at The Australian Financial Review Property Summit on Tuesday, Mr Gurner said unemployment “has to jump 40 to 50 per cent” and that “we need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way round”.