Latest news with #BronwynHerbert
ABC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Report highlights workplace productivity problem
Sabra Lane: If living standards are to improve, we have to boost Australia's productivity. The nation's independent advisor on the issue, the Productivity Commission, has just published an analysis on it showing that Australians are already working in record numbers and for increasingly long hours, which has led to a slump. There is no quick fix. Employer groups say excessive regulation is stifling business investment. Unions are blaming poor management. National work reporter Bronwyn Herbert has the story. Bronwyn Herbert: Within hours of Labor's crushing election victory, the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers pinned productivity as a key second term policy priority. Jim Chalmers: The first term was primarily inflation without forgetting productivity. The second term will be primarily productivity without forgetting inflation. Bronwyn Herbert: A new report from the Productivity Commission analysing Australia's workforce performance shows the scale of the challenge ahead. Alex Robson is the Commission's Deputy Chair. Alex Robson: What we saw during COVID was a productivity bubble where output per hour worked, rose substantially and then fell back to the level it was at in 2016. And the lesson for policy makers is that what is needed for sustained productivity growth is policy reforms in a number of areas. Bronwyn Herbert: A key finding highlights something counterintuitive. Australian workers are on the job for more hours and this is actively contributing to the stalled productivity growth. Alex Robson: People having jobs is obviously a great thing but if you want the sustained increases in living standards, you can get more money if you work longer but that's not a recipe for prosperity over the longer term. What you need is to be able to work smarter. Innes Willox: It doesn't necessarily mean we have to work harder, it just means we have to use all the tools and skills that should be available to us. Bronwyn Herbert: Innes Willox is the Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group. Innes Willox: In the year just gone, multi-factor productivity will grow by 0.07 which is just a risable number, it's really a rounding error. The normal rate of growth is 10 times that. And what the Productivity Commission report has really shot a light on is that Australia is becoming increasingly non-investable because of the economic conditions and circumstances that are confronting business on a daily basis. Bronwyn Herbert: The head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, says quick fix productivity gains are already taking place, including casualising the workforce. Sally McManus: I am wary about how this gets used by some in business lobby groups basically to hit workers over the head and try and blame us and try and say, well see, workers of Australia, you're not productive enough. Where actually it's on them, it's on their management practices, it's certainly on their refusal to invest in technology. Bronwyn Herbert: Nick Davis from the Human Technology Institute at the University of Technology Sydney says the report highlights the need for broad investment. Nick Davis: It's not just about throwing more money and more AI or cloud services into the mix, it's about making sure workers can really use those, making sure they're well governed and the way we work is redesigned. Bronwyn Herbert: The Productivity Commission is undertaking multiple inquiries across sectors, including the care economy, technology, workforce and skills, to look for policy solutions. The findings are due later this year. Sabra Lane: Bronwyn Herbert.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Impact of right to disconnect laws revealed
Sabra Lane: New workplace laws that put limits on bosses contacting workers after hours have not caused the conflict and chaos predicted by some business groups. A national survey led by the Australian HR Institute has found a majority of employers have reported an increase in productivity and worker engagement since laws came into effect last year. National Work reporter Bronwyn Herbert filed this report. Bronwyn Herbert : South Australian finance worker Allie thought getting a mobile phone provided by her employer was a generous work perk, but the reality was something else. Allie: It really keeps us connected at all times. For example, being able to contact customers outside of hours once we've logged off for the day or once we've left work for the day. Bronwyn Herbert : She says bosses never exactly said they had to be available at all hours, but it quickly became the norm. Allie: More of an unspoken rule. Everyone's trying to support the team the best they can and unfortunately the finance sector is severely understaffed. So even outside of working hours, you're always trying to do the best you can to support your workmates. Bronwyn Herbert : Research released today shows right to disconnect laws have changed those workplace expectations for the better. A report from the Australian HR Institute, which represents HR professionals, surveyed 600 business decision makers on the reform. It found 58% of employers have found the new law has actually improved employee engagement and productivity. Sarah McCann-Bartlett is the Institute CEO. Sarah McCann-Bartlett : Employers tell us that it has actually supported better work-life balance for employees and a reduction in stress for employees, which in turn has led to improved employee engagement and productivity in the organisation. Bronwyn Herbert : The law came into effect in August last year for businesses that employ 15 or more workers. It will soon apply to all businesses. Gabrielle Golding from the University of Adelaide specialises in employment law. Gabrielle Golding : This legislation hasn't opened the floodgates for legal claims. And I think one key reason for that is that it requires a conversation to happen at the workplace level first, before any application is brought to the commission. Bronwyn Herbert : When the laws were brought in, the Australian Industry Group called it an unnecessary overreaction. Innes Willox : Common sense has pretty much reigned here and employers are working it out with their employees to try to make the system work to prevent that conflict. Bronwyn Herbert : Innes Willox is the Chief Executive of the AI Group. Innes Willox : There is going to come a time when there will not be agreement and this will have to be arbitrated and decided upon and that will set the rules for everyone and that will make things harder and faster for everyone to deal with. Bronwyn Herbert : Does it surprise you the findings that employee engagement and productivity has improved? Innes Willox : It's hard to tell because there's a whole lot that goes into productivity. A lot of this sort of fits into the working from home scenario as well and we're trying to work through exactly how that works. What you're seeing now is people working in different ways, different hours and in different contexts and both employers and employees are having to deal with it. Bronwyn Herbert : The right to disconnect law will expand to small businesses in August.
