Page 9 - Demo

CASUAL WORKERS FEEL LONELY AT WORK Nearly one-third of Australia’s casual workers – many working in retail – have reported feeling lonely in the workplace, leading to lower employee engagement and lasting customer experience consequences. This statistic comes from research conducted by Humanforce, a Sydney-based global provider of workforce management solutions. More than 60 per cent of casual workers surveyed said loneliness at work stemmed from the fact that they worked solo or with few colleagues, while 43 per cent also said non- traditional work hours led to fewer social interactions with others outside of work hours and 36 per cent said there were limited interactions with management and the company. “With many of us having been asked to work from home full-time due to COVID-19, worker loneliness has become a big challenge for almost all types of workers,” Humanforce founder and Managing Director Bruce Mackenzie said. “However, this isn’t a new issue for the 25 per cent of casual workers that make up Australia’s casual workforce. Casual workers have always been more likely to work alone or with a small number of colleagues who frequently change, and on an unfixed and non-traditional schedule, which means they’re at higher risk of loneliness.” Of casual workers surveyed, 57 per cent said the flow-on effect of loneliness was reduced motivation at work, while 53 per cent experienced lower job satisfaction and 41 per cent faced mental health issues. More than half of casual worker respondents said loneliness could be reduced through regular communication from managers and the company, while an additional 40 per cent said a casual worker reward program that recognises and values the work of casuals work would also help achieve this, and 39 per cent said giving casual workers more control of the days/hours/shifts they work would help. “To avoid loneliness and a lack of engagement, casual workers clearly need a higher level of communication, to receive more recognition and to be able to take control of their workdays and shifts,” Mr Mackenzie said. “Unlike fulltime employees, the issue of worker loneliness won’t disappear for casual workers when COVID-19 restrictions are eased. Therefore, casual worker employers must develop long-term approaches to helping keep employees connected, valued and motivated at work, in order to achieve the best results for the businesses now and into the future.” JUL/AUG, 2020 CONVENIENCE WORLD 7 NEWS AUSSIES STILL SHOW UP AT WORK WITH FLU SYMPTOMS New research reveals that 70 per cent of surveyed Australians would present to work with cold or flu symptoms. The findings come from an independent survey – conducted in June this year – of a nationally representative panel of 1000 Australian employees, commissioned by anti- viral cleaning company Cleancorp. The Australian government has told Australians to stay home and get tested for COVID-19 if they feel unwell with COVID-19 symptoms, even mild ones. The Cleancorp research, however, found that 54 per cent of respondents would present to work with a headache. Although a stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, tingly throat, or fatigue could be early symptoms of COVID-19 or the flu, an equal 38 per cent of respondents said they would still go into the office with these symptoms. Thirty-two per cent would present to work with a cough, 22 per cent would do so with a stomach ache, and 20 per cent would go in with muscle or body aches and chills. It seems that under-30s would be more likely to present to work with cold or flu symptoms. Forty-seven per cent would do so with a sore or tingly throat, 46 per cent with a runny or stuffy nose, 40 per cent with a cough, 27 per with a stomach ache, and 18 per cent with nausea – all higher proportions than the total respondent average. The most common response when asked why those feeling unwell would still present themselves at work is ‘the symptoms are not serious enough to justify taking time off work’ (58 per cent of respondents). Forty-two per cent say it’s because they would have too much on at work, with no one else able to do their job. Twenty-nine per cent think their employer won’t regard their symptoms as serious enough, while 24 per cent don’t want to use up their sick leave or say they will have pressure from their employer to present to work. The survey results, says Cleancorp, highlight an issue concerning casual and contract workers, who do not receive payment for sick or annual leave. Twenty-one per cent of survey respondents admit they would present to work with cold or flu symptoms because they cannot afford not to be paid. With more than 2.6 million casual workers in Australia, says Cleancorp, this indicates that 546,000 casual workers would present to work with symptoms.