This week on Q+A – The Great Resignation. Are Australian workers preparing to leave traditional jobs behind as they embrace a post-pandemic work life?
Traditional 9 to 5 office jobs have been cast aside by the work-from-home revolution created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the world millions of workers have swapped the office for their living rooms, and now that life is returning to normal, many employees are re-evaluating their priorities.
In the United States a record-breaking 4.4 million Americans, or 3% of the entire workforce, quit their jobs in August. While many people here too are embracing a more flexible working life, others predict we won’t see the same kind of ‘worker revolt’ that’s happening in America. So, what lies ahead for Australia’s labour market? Do employees have a new level of bargaining power? Or do the changes only serve to highlight a growing economic divide between those who can work from home and those who can’t?
Meanwhile, sectors such as tourism and hospitality are reporting severe staff shortages after Australia’s extended international border closure. And the unemployment rate is rising, jumping to a six-month high of 5.2% in October as thousands more people seek work as lockdowns ease.
Joining David Speers live from Melbourne:
George Megalogenis
Author and journalist
George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with more than three decades’ experience in the media. His latest work is Quarterly Essay, No. 82: Exit Strategy – Politics after the Pandemic.
Jane Halton
Health expert and former head of Australia’s Finance Department
Jane Halton is the chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and co-chair of the COVAX initiative.
Andy Penn
Telstra CEO and Managing Director
Andy Penn became the CEO and Managing Director of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, on 1 May 2015.
Emma Fulu
Executive Director of the Equality Institute
Dr Emma Fulu is a feminist activist, social entrepreneur and one of the world’s leading experts on violence against women.
Eliza Hull
Musician, disability advocate and writer
Eliza Hull is a contemporary musician, disability advocate and writer based in regional Victoria.
