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News, analysis, online events and on-demand webcasts covering human resources.en-auCopyright HR Dailyhourly11970-01-01T00:00+00:00HR Daily
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News, analysis, online events and on-demand webcasts covering human resources.Challenge 'assumptions of necessity' for smarter working cultures
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11854
Embedding a 'smart' working culture goes beyond implementing hybrid work arrangements and requires leaders to "challenge the assumptions of necessity", a flexible working expert says.<!--MORE-->
"Organisations may have implemented 'hybrid working', but in practice, not much at all has changed apart from (sometimes) the place of work. They work mainly in the same ways, with the same culture and expectations," says smart working specialist Andy Lake in his new book, Beyond Hybrid Working.
"For a new culture to become embedded and take root, the behaviours and assumptions underlying working practices and the culture of work must change at a more profound and transformative level."
Leaders can start by applying what Lake calls the "CAN Test"...HR Daily2024-03-28T13:11:00+10:00FWC assessing "unethical" IR advisor's representation; Payroll errors rife; and more
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11850
* FWC full bench to scrutinise "unethical" workplace advisor's representation
* Majority of Australian employers admit to 'accidental wage theft'
* Reframing AI as "amplified intelligence"HR Daily2024-03-27T13:46:00+10:00Under-utilised EAPs at odds with "exploding" demands on mental health services
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11848
Employees resist using EAPs because they fear being perceived as weak, or they see them as a performance management tool rather than aiding wellbeing, research shows. <!--MORE-->
Early employee assistance programs took the form of "coercive substance abuse interventions" used as a surrogate for disciplinary action, and although they have evolved into voluntary wellbeing programs, EAPs continue to carry stigma, says University of WA business school HR management lecturer Tianyi Long, in a new research article.
Employees don't trust EAPs, because they see them as managerial tools used to improve performance issues, and believe they serve management's interests more than their own, Long contends...HR Daily2024-03-26T12:43:00+10:00Academic warns of HR systems that amass "talent clones"
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11844
Employers that let vendors be the primary decision-makers when it comes to talent risk amassing "talent clones" instead of identifying a "kaleidoscope of talent", an academic says.<!--MORE-->
In her new book Rethinking Talent Decisions, University of Wollongong School of Business academic Dr Sharna Wiblen says the former question of *which* HR or talent management system to use has become a question of *how many*.
"When I ask HR and senior executives how many systems they use to support talent decisions, I find that organisations have moved beyond the decision between proprietary and vendor-designed systems. Instead, they have entered a complex situation where they maintain multiple vendor systems," Wiblen writes, noting she encountered one Australian professional services firm that used a "staggering" 80 different HR technologies to capture, store and analyse its data...HR Daily2024-03-25T12:37:00+10:00Job crafting: a gamechanger for performance and productivity
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11840
There are clear links between job crafting and increased engagement, so employers should "absolutely" be fostering conditions for it to happen, an HR advisor says.<!--MORE-->
The pandemic gave many employees the opportunity to engage in job crafting for the first time, not because their employers intended it, but because hybrid and flexible working practices gave people new control over how and when they worked, says Gartner HR practice vice president Aaron McEwan.
Licence to shape not only the tasks an employee performs, but when, how, and where they perform them, is "hugely liberating" and can drive an "incredible" increase in productivity, performance, and engagement, he says.
But despite the fact "all of the pieces are in play" for a far more intentional, widespread approach to job crafting, a lot of organisations are in the process of removing the conditions that gave rise to it...HR Daily2024-03-22T10:27:00+10:00Leaders are "weaponising" rather than inspiring accountability
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11836
A lack of accountability in organisations is a major contributing factor to underperformance, however the approach many use to 'hold people to account' doesn't inspire them to perform at their best. <!--MORE-->
In her new book, The Leaders Ecosystem, psychologist Dr Paige Williams highlights that the epidemic of underperformance in organisations today is driven by issues with accountability.
"Without accountability, nothing sticks: not your latest transformational change initiative, not your best talent, nothing. Without accountability, poor-quality work, decisions and leadership go unchallenged, and 'ethical slip' starts to happen... we waste time, effort and energy in a fog of confusion and dysfunction," she says...HR Daily2024-03-21T12:01:00+10:00HR jobs market remains "resilient"; HR salaries rising 3.5%
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11832
The number of HR jobs advertised in Australia over the past three months has decreased by 3.5%, but the market nonetheless remains "robust", The Next Step's latest HR job market research shows. <!--MORE-->
"Despite a nationwide cooling trend, Australia's HR jobs market continues to demonstrate resilience when compared to some other professions," The Next Step founder Craig Mason says.
The snapshot also highlights significant regional variations, with NSW and Victoria experiencing quarterly declines of 7.3% and 7.7% respectively, while the ACT, Northern Territory and South Australia have seen an "unusual increase" in their share of the national HR job market...HR Daily2024-03-20T12:09:00+10:00Confusion about wellbeing ROI drives hesitation
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11829
Current pressure on HR leaders to decrease their wellness and benefits expenditure raises the question of whether C-suite executives view wellbeing programs as a cost, as opposed to a profitable investment.<!--MORE-->
"Most business leaders will say something along the lines of 'employees are our number one priority'," however, "values aren't a plan", says Lockton head of people advisory Morag Fitzsimons.
Organisations often struggle to measure the ROI of their wellness programs, she notes, and "when leaders are unconvinced wellness programs will have a lasting impact, it's not surprising they may hesitate to invest".
"Health and wellbeing programs have historically been seen as a 'nice to have' not a 'need to have'. This is because most wellbeing strategies aren't targeted at identified issues within the organisation and fail to measure a return on investment," adds Steve McCullagh, CEO of health and wellbeing provider Healthy Business, which partnered with Lockton on a new report on wellbeing investment...HR Daily2024-03-19T14:14:00+10:00Employees question notion of going 'above and beyond' in their roles
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11828
New data reveals an ongoing decline in employee engagement and suggests employees don't feel motivated by their leaders, a psychologist says.<!--MORE-->
According to new insights from Culture Amp, employee engagement has experienced its third consecutive decline globally, which is a worrying trend that leaders need to be paying attention to, says its lead people scientist, Devshree Bhatt.
She tells HR Daily that in APAC alone, employees' "commitment to stay" has also dropped by half a percent, which is not negligible given the 2,000 companies included in the count...HR Daily2024-03-19T11:38:00+10:00HR neglecting to use "meaningful metrics" for EVPs
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11817
The majority of employers use very few ways to evaluate the success of their EVP, but new research identifies 16 "meaningful metrics".<!--MORE-->
Employee value propositions (EVPs) are generally cited as a top-five priority for HR professionals, but unless serious culture or engagement issues arise – such as negative reviews on Glassdoor and Seek – they're often not given the airtime or the budget they deserve, says Parity Consulting founder Victoria Butt.
Butt says her interest in the gap between what EVPs are claiming and what employees are experiencing prompted her to research the future of EVPs, and she found most organisations typically use only one-to-three metrics to measure success.
"Typically, what is measured is attrition, and typically what is also measured is engagement," Butt tells HR Daily. The problem is, they're not necessarily being measured in a way that generates maximum insight...HR Daily2024-03-13T13:10:00+10:00Male allies key to reducing workplace gender inequality and pay gaps
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11814
Most men want to understand and address the gender pay gap and other inequality issues, according to an advocate with tips for turning more employees into "male allies" at work.<!--MORE-->
The recent release of the [gender pay-gap data](11775) by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency "is a very loud wake up call", says Megan Dalla-Camina, founder and CEO of women's leadership development program Women Rising.
Despite some negative online reactions calling this pay-gap information "unnecessary" and "unhelpful", most men she has worked with "absolutely" want to look at the data...HR Daily2024-03-12T14:30:00+10:00Overcoming flexibility barriers key to supporting working carers; Super added to PPL
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11807
Changes are needed to the "basic architecture" of the National Employment Standards and working time provisions in modern awards to better support working carers, a literature review has found. <!--MORE-->
The review, conducted as part of the Fair Work Commission's examination of work and care aspects of modern awards, found the current workplace relations framework has failed to keep pace with or respond to the changing nature of work and the "evolving needs of worker carers".
But the authors of the Western Sydney University review, professors Meg Smith and Sara Charlesworth, say the [Secure Jobs Act](10966), which inserted a new aim to promote job security and gender equality in the Fair Work Act, "may well present an important impetus to regulatory innovation"...HR Daily2024-03-08T13:13:00+10:00Talent development a key priority as AI shifts skills landscape
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11792
The skills needed for a job in Australia are expected to change by a "staggering" 66% by 2030 due to the impact of artificial intelligence, according to new LinkedIn research. <!--MORE-->
Against this backdrop, 90% of companies in Australia say they plan to enhance their people's skills and abilities this year.
LinkedIn's research, involving more than 4,000 hiring managers worldwide, shows 71% of Australian employers have observed substantial changes in the skills and qualifications they prioritise in job candidates due to the impact of AI and automation in their industries...HR Daily2024-03-04T14:56:00+10:00Start dates for all 'loopholes' reforms announced; Psych claims up 37%
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11790
The Fair Work Commission has announced start dates for all the Closing Loopholes reforms, and employers can expect practical guidance over the coming months. Meanwhile among all serious injury claims, those involving mental health conditions have increased at a concerning rate in recent years, Safe Work Australia reports.HR Daily2024-03-01T15:17:00+10:00D&I support lacking amid "reverse discrimination" fears
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11780
Employees' perceptions of workplace diversity and inclusion are continuing a worrying decline, and support for D&I initiatives is waning among younger men in particular, data shows. <!--MORE-->
Diversity Council Australia's 2023-2024 Inclusion@Work Index, released today, shows 30% of employees experienced some form of discrimination and/or harassment last year, up from 22% in 2021.
According to the findings, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience the highest levels of exclusion, with 59% indicating they had been discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months, compared to 22% of non-Indigenous workers...HR Daily2024-02-29T06:00:00+10:00Women managers, CEOs, strongly linked to lower pay gaps
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11776
Employers with a better gender split of managers and senior leaders are far less likely to have a big gender pay gap, WGEA data shows. <!--MORE-->
As [reported in this article](11775), WGEA has today published the pay-gap data of nearly 5,000 employers in the private sector, where each employs at least 100 workers.
The data shows some clear links between the gender breakdown of organisations and their pay gaps, and the impact of having women in senior positions...HR Daily2024-02-27T06:00:00+10:00Pay gap data goes public; how does your organisation stack up?
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11775
Today's reveal of employers' pay gap data highlights which industries have the furthest to go on improving their gender equality. <!--MORE-->
The pay gaps of nearly 5,000 organisations went public this morning, with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) comparing gender pay gaps by industry, by the proportion of women in leadership, by whether employers operate in a male-dominated, mixed-gender or female-dominated industry and by the size of the employer.
WGEA's data explorer shows the median total remuneration gender pay gap is 19%. This means that over the course of a year, the median of what a woman is paid is $18,461 less than the median of what a man is paid...HR Daily2024-02-27T05:00:00+10:00Right to disconnect won't cause "significant" change; What policies women want
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11772
Employees' new right to disconnect is unlikely to cause a significant change in Australian workplaces, an employment law specialist says.<!--MORE-->
The right, which was included in the Closing Loopholes No.2 Bill that [passed by Parliament earlier this month](11743), will take effect six months after the legislation receives Royal Assent.
"Employees who are in jobs where they are eager to get ahead and climb ladders, or even just in jobs that they are worried about losing, will most likely not choose to ignore calls outside of work hours or make orders to stop their employers from contacting them," Hickson Lawyers partner Warwick Ryan says by way of example... HR Daily2024-02-23T13:23:00+10:00Best-practice pay gap communication; The benefit employees value most; and more
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11765
* Pay gap communication will matter almost as much as the data
* Flexible work arrangements the most valued workplace benefit
* Employees want their financial wellbeing to be a top priorityHR Daily2024-02-21T15:56:00+10:00Job-switching rates low despite chance of higher pay
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11761
New research shows workers who switch jobs voluntarily can expect an average pay increase of 9%, but despite a "record-setting labour market", Australia's rate of job-switching has only recently surpassed its pre-pandemic level. <!--MORE-->
The e61 Institute research paper shows the rate at which workers move between jobs has declined in recent decades, and despite a strong labour market, job switching rates have only recently risen to 9.5%, having sat at 8.5% in 2019.
It says younger workers and the lowest-earning workers are more likely to switch jobs than older or higher-earning workers. The largest beneficiaries are median-earning workers aged 21–34, who gain an average pay increase of $7,500 per year by switching; and wage gains are higher for workers in capital cities than they are for those in rural and regional areas. A worker earning the median wage in a capital city gained an average of $6,300 from a job switch, compared to regional workers who gained an average of $4,300...HR Daily2024-02-20T15:38:00+10:00"Perspective taking" has benefits, but takes a toll on employees
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11762
The benefits of an employee putting themselves in a colleague's shoes during workplace conflicts have been widely recognised, but researchers now say the cost has been largely overlooked. <!--MORE-->
"While staying with one's own perspective requires little effort, taking the perspective of someone else is an active cognitive process," say researchers Ulrike Fasbender, Wladislaw Rivkin and Fabiola Gerpott in their paper on the daily dynamics of perspective taking.
They began with a group of full-time employees who agreed to take on the role of perspective-taker, then asked each one to nominate a colleague to partner with. The resulting pairs were surveyed three times a day to investigate the impact of perspective-taking on the "focal" employee and their partner...HR Daily2024-02-20T15:17:00+10:00"Respite" for HR as hiring becomes less difficult
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11759
Employers' recruitment difficulties are finally beginning to recede, signalling some relief for HR, new research shows.<!--MORE-->
Some 38% of employers are experiencing recruitment difficulties this quarter, down significantly from 48% three months ago, according to AHRI's latest Australian work outlook report, which surveyed more than 600 senior HR professionals and decision-makers.
"This modest shift may offer some respite to the HR professionals who have faced more than two years of labour shortages; Australian workers who have had to deal with higher workloads due to staff shortages; and organisations balancing their human resources against customer and user demand," says AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett...HR Daily2024-02-20T06:00:00+10:00Change-fatigued employees are craving stability
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11749
Stability is now one of the top 10 attraction drivers for employees in Australia, after rising three rankings during the past quarter, according to Gartner's latest research.<!--MORE-->
(Stability is now ninth on the list; the top three drivers of attraction are location, work-life balance and compensation – all unchanged from the prior quarter.)
Gartner is also reporting that this year, Australia's "change fatigued employees" are looking to avoid risky career moves and disruptions...HR Daily2024-02-14T13:38:00+10:00Driving metaphors help employees with emotional 'navigation'
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11739
The use of driving metaphors in the workplace can help employees to take control of their "wheel" and become more emotionally resilient, an expert says. <!--MORE-->
"At the moment, people are blaming everyone for everything," says doctor, author and educator Jane Foster. "It's your fault, it's the government's fault, it's my organisation's fault, it's management's fault, it's HR's fault."
But it's not HR's job to try and solve everyone's problems, nor to keep everyone happy, Foster tells HR Daily...HR Daily2024-02-09T11:58:00+10:00Pandemic leadership lessons underpin "toolkit for turbulence"
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11735
Employees need vulnerable, empathetic leaders who will both support and challenge them, according to the authors of a new "toolkit" for nurturing people, and unlocking their potential, in turbulent times. <!--MORE-->
Drawing on the experiences of leaders who successfully navigated the "roller coaster of the pandemic and its aftermath", psychologist Graham Winter and former RMIT vice-chancellor Martin Bean outline to a pathway for leaders to harness disruption to their advantage in their new book Toolkit for Turbulence.
The authors emphasise that the leader – who must take on the role of "coach" – is responsible for their team's wellbeing, development and effectiveness, and can support team members not just to face the challenges of "uncertain and changeable times", but gain advantage from them...HR Daily2024-02-07T14:39:00+10:00"Forgotten" frontline workers now scapegoats in return-to-office battle
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11728
Frontline workers were already feeling forgotten and undervalued, but now they're being made "scapegoats" in the return-to-office battle, a workplace futurist says.<!--MORE-->
The need to improve reward and recognition for frontline workers is one of the key themes in Dr Ben Hamer's 2024 Future of Work Compendium.
"Research by Qualtrics found that [frontline workers are less happy](11594) with their pay and benefits than their white-collar counterparts, which is coming to a head given that we're in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis," he says in the report...HR Daily2024-02-06T14:59:00+10:00Four-day-week trials achieve surprising success, but don't rush in
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11729
As an increasing number of organisations trial and adopt four-day working weeks, there are clear signs employers should take a staged approach, and that failing to tailor their offering is "a pathway to disaster". <!--MORE-->
James McIlvena, the managing director of LHH Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, says a new LHH report on four-day work weeks, which includes its own research along with findings from a pilot that involved 26 Australian companies, shows trials are achieving a surprising level of success.
Among the employees who participated in the 26-company pilot – which was run by 4 Day Week Global and used the model of 100% pay, 80% time, 100% productivity to reduce working hours from 40 to 32 – 96% wanted to continue working a four-day week at its conclusion...HR Daily2024-02-06T14:10:00+10:00Loopholes No. 2 Bill set to 'strangle' casual employment
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11722
Amendments in the Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill will 'strangle' casual employment, business representatives say. <!--MORE-->
[As reported earlier today](11721), Labor and the Greens Senators have expressed their support for the No. 2 Bill, which is set to contain a new 'right to disconnect' for employees.
But another contentious aspect of their inquiry report relates to casual work.
The inquiry shows that, while many casual employees prefer this type of work because of its flexibility, there is a "large and growing cohort" who work in practice as permanent part-time or full-time staff, the Labor members said...HR Daily2024-02-02T15:13:00+10:00Senate support for passing Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill, amid 'job killing' concerns
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11723
In a Senate inquiry report, Labor and the Greens have expressed their support for the Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill, subject to adding a new 'right to disconnect', and further casual and gig work amendments. But Coalition members say the Bill will be a "jobs killer".<!--MORE-->
Elements of the original Closing Loopholes Bill were split out and [passed through Parliament](11671) in December, including ['same job, same pay'](11470) laws, [wage theft provisions](11469), and adding [family and domestic violence as a protected attribute](11453) under general protections provisions.
This was despite the Senate's Education and Employment Legislation Committee having until February to report on its inquiry into the original Bill.
In that report, tabled yesterday, Labor members of the Committee noted there had been "overwhelming support" for the Bill from employee organisations, academics, and other groups...HR Daily2024-02-02T13:50:00+10:00'Right to disconnect' up for debate in Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill
https://www.hrdaily.com.au/news/11721
The Federal Government is set to legislate a new 'right to disconnect' for employees, but details of how this might be implemented are yet to be revealed.<!--MORE-->
In a Senate inquiry report, Labor and the Greens have expressed their support for the Closing Loopholes No. 2 Bill, subject to adding the new 'right to disconnect', and amendments to provisions regarding casual employment and gig work. But Coalition members say the Bill will be a "jobs killer", while independent senators have raised their own concerns.
Elements of the original Closing Loopholes Bill were split out and [passed through Parliament](11671) in December, including ['same job, same pay'](11470) laws, [wage theft provisions](11469), and adding [family and domestic violence as a protected attribute](11453) under general protections provisions.
This was despite the Senate's Education and Employment Legislation Committee having until February to report on its inquiry into the original Bill.
In that report, tabled yesterday, Labor members of the Committee noted there had been "overwhelming support" for the Bill from employee organisations, academics, and other groups...HR Daily2024-02-02T12:05:00+10:00