Study shows young Australians are getting screwed at work

TERRIBLE pay, mean managers, and being constantly taken advantage of are just some of the issues this generation of young workers are dealing with.

A NEW report paints a grim picture of the working lives of young Australians.

Reports of poor treatment by managers, limited training, concerning working conditions and unfair pay are just some of the ways 18- to 24-year-old are getting screwed at work, according to a survey of 500 of them.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney described the result of the group’s commissioned survey as “disturbing”.

“The results showed that many young working people have major concerns, including: being treated badly by management, no access to training or development, and issues with getting regular work and pay,” she said.

Half the respondents in the survey, conducted in the first half of this year, claimed to be “treated poorly” by their managers.

More than half (56 per cent) said they were receiving no training at work, and a slim majority (51 per cent) said they were not being paid the right amount, and were concerned about their working conditions.

A significant portion of young workers (64 per cent) were concerned they didn’t have any kind of career progressions, and young people also had concerns around how much superannuation they were being paid.

Experts say no matter what the industry, engagement and training are crucial for employers to provide.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology employment expert Stephen Teo said while he was disappointed by the results, they came as no surprise.

“If you look at the trends, compared to other surveys done in Australia, it’s quite consisted whether it’s youth employment or adult employment. It’s about workplace relationship which is something that Australia doesn’t do well,” he told news.com.au.

Dr Teo said there had been a trend towards offering less workplace training by employers, which was affecting employees’ satisfaction, and relationships between managers and workers was crucial.

“In order to engage workers you have to give them a good working environment, and that means relationships with supervisors are paramount,” he said.

“And with pay, we know there are a lot of companies that are not doing the right thing.”

He said it was crucial that there was an emphasis on training in the workplace.

“It’s just critical, employers should help the future of our society. That’s why apprenticeships are so important if we’re talking about blue collar workers. If we’re talking more about professional jobs, then it’s just putting back that (training) emphasis into the workplace,” he said.

“We need training, we need career progression, we need pay. All those things we know from research, whether it’s today, 10 years ago, 20 years. These are the levers for people to leave their jobs.”

Ms Kearney said it was up to the Federal Government, as well as employers, to address the “serious problems” with youth employment.

“The Federal Government needs to invest in young people through education and training,” she said.

“Employers also need to be help responsible for paying young people their right wages, their penalty rates, super and providing adequate on the job training.”