So says the latest SmartMatch Employment Report. The latest report noted that ‘wageflation’ remains a major cause for concern. September’s data revealed annual wage grew at 3.8 per cent, outpacing September inflation (CPI) at 2.1 per cent. The report pegged the median hourly wage at $42.20, which it noted as reflecting sustained wage growth across most sectors.

Construction & Trade Services led the hourly wage growth trend with a notable 8.4 per cent annual growth, while Science & Technology saw slower gains at 2.8 per cent, indicating a rebalancing across traditionally volatile sectors.

Worked hours are up

Meanwhile, average hours worked showed slight improvement after months of decline, with a 2.2 per cent increase month-on-month and a 1.3 per cent annual rise, signalling tentative productivity gains as businesses focus on efficiency.

With regards to employment types, casual employment saw a sharp rise in hours worked, up 13.3 per cent month-on-month, which the report interprets as an indication of businesses embracing flexible staffing options. In fact, casual wages grew 0.5 per cent monthly and 3.4 per cent quarterly, while full-time annual wage growth dropped by 0.9 per cent compared to August 2024.

Despite these positive developments, Ben Thompson, CEO and Chief Economist at Employment Hero reminded Australians to not get complacent.

“SMEs aren’t out of the woods yet and are still struggling with the rising cost of operating,” Thompson said. “Our data indicates that while we are seeing early signs of stability, the cost of labour and continued wage pressures present a difficult balancing act for Australian businesses. As SMEs gear up for the end-of-year season, managing these rising costs without stalling productivity will be essential to economic resilience in the coming months.”

“Our workforce is at a critical inflection point: the signs of economic recovery are emerging, and inflation is slowly coming down, however, the issue of unsustainable wage growth threatens to prematurely stunt this recovery. Now is the time for SMEs to be cautiously optimistic in the lead-up to the holiday season, which will be pivotal in determining the stability of Australia’s workforce and economy,” added Thompson.

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In the ongoing debate over employees’ right to disconnect after core hours, a crucial aspect often gets overlooked: the balance between flexibility and the potential constraints such a policy may impose.

While the desire for a strict disconnection after five pm aims to protect employees from the encroachment of work into their personal lives, we must consider the other side. In an era where the traditional nine-to-five workday is evolving, enforcing a rigid schedule may not be the most equitable solution.

For those seeking flexibility, say the ability to attend a child’s sports carnival or handle a midday pick-up, a one-size-fits-all approach seems unfair.

The ability to adjust your schedule to accommodate personal needs is a cornerstone of modern work-life balance. Whether it’s staying late one evening to offset an early finish time the next day, employees should have the autonomy to make these decisions without unnecessary restrictions.

If we advocate for an absolute right to not be contacted after core hours, aren’t we inadvertently restricting the very flexibility that many employees, especially working parents value?

Moreover, consider the implications these policies pose for businesses that operate across multiple time zones nationally and internationally, a reality for many in today’s globalised world.

Mandatory disconnection policies present significant challenges to collaboration and productivity, hindering these businesses’ ability to deliver efficiently, ours included.

The question is, do we truly need legislation to govern our work habits? Perhaps we should trust individuals to navigate their workloads and workplaces responsibly, allowing self-regulation to prevail?

Those unhappy with their work conditions may choose to leave poorly managed workplaces, creating a natural system of checks and balances.

While the desire to protect personal time is understandable, it’s crucial not to undermine the flexibility that many employees seek.

The debate over the right to disconnect is not just about drawing boundaries between work and personal life; it’s about preserving the flexibility and fluidity that make modern workplaces thrive.

Preserving this flexibility is paramount to ensuring that the working world remains adaptable to the diverse needs of its workforce, which are changing every day.

The post Balancing flexibility and boundaries: re-thinking the Bill for After-Hours Disconnect appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The report also highlights that the hours worked among Australians reached a record high to the point that it has outpaced output growth. In particular, output was up 0.4 per cent and hours worked for the whole economy and the market sector increased by 2.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively – the largest quarterly increase on record outside the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our unemployment rate remains low. Australians worked more in the June quarter as cost-of-living pressures continue to bite,” the Commission’s Acting Chair, Dr Alex Robson, said. “But, even though hours worked rose, the rise in output was more modest, and that shows up as a reduction in labour productivity.

“Productivity growth is about working smarter, not working longer or working harder,” Dr Robson added. “Negative productive growth means that on average, Australians worked more hours just to produce and buy the same amount of goods and services. In other words, Australians have been running to stand still.”

The report also notes that while demand for labour may taper off as interest rates rise and the economy slows, there should not be any reliance on short-term fluctuations in hours worked as a source of long-term productivity growth.

“Our productivity challenge has been urgent for many years,” Dr Robson averred. “We will only see sustainable, long-term productivity growth if we increase investment and innovation.”

The research found that 15 out of 19 industries experienced a decline in labour productivity over the 2023 June quarter. The arts and recreation services industry saw the largest decline at 7.6 per cent, as hours worked increased by 9.3 per cent while output rose only 0.9 per cent.

However, it is the industries of mining; electricity, gas, water and waste services; and information, media and telecommunications that drove about 46 per cent of the overall labour productivity decline:

The mining industry alone made up around one-third of the total labour productivity decline, as hours worked increased while output significantly declined. The decline in mining output was mainly driven by a decrease in iron ore mining and oil and gas extraction, as adverse weather and planned maintenance reduced production capacity.

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