Have you heard? The so-called great resignation is afoot. A world where an empowered workforce say “no” to bad bosses and a life dictated by work. In the US, increased job departures have been coined a “revolution in workers’ expectations”.
Australian workers were squeezed for an average 6.1 hours unpaid overtime per week in 2021 — a substantial increase on 2020. If only expectations matched reality.
In Australia, employers crow about shortages in low-paid, “churn and burn” jobs of which they refuse to improve the quality. Meanwhile, 700,000 people are unemployed, and 1.3 million are in jobs, but need more work. Around 1 million more aren’t looking for work, but want to work and are available. The ABS calls them “marginally attached” and “discouraged” workers.
Women know a thing or two about being discouraged. Far from quitting as an act of righteous agency, they’ve lost their jobs during lockdowns against their will. It’s material. Less “life’s too short to work 24/7”, more “my kids need care immediately”.
The explosion in caring demands associated with lockdowns fell disproportionately to women — as in 2020, when women’s average hours caring for children and performing household tasks rose faster than for men, reaching 5.1 hours per day (versus 3.1 for men).
In February 2021, 175,000 women didn’t look for work even though they were available and ready to start within four weeks because they had pressing caring responsibilities.
Even if women loaded with caring demands wanted to retain their jobs, the odds were stacked against them. They hold the majority of low-hours insecure jobs without protections against sacking. When bosses want to shed jobs to save bottom lines, women cop it worst.
68% of all jobs lost between May and October were held by women (205,000 jobs). Women’s participation in the job market fell 1.7 percentage points. Nearly all (90%) of women’s jobs lost were part-time.
Little acknowledged is the fact that the latest job vacancies data mirror women’s exodus from paid work. In August, vacancies were highest in healthcare, administration and retail. These are all industries employing 50% or more women. All are in the bottom half of industries by average weekly earnings.
The question is, as wallets open, beers flow and economic activity resumes, what’s bringing women back to work? A couple shifts at minimum wage, and higher COVID-19 contagion risks to boot. All to pay for one day of high-cost childcare? Hardly appealing.
An empowered workforce can walk away from bad jobs. But structural barriers stop women from participating in the first place.
High-cost childcare is a clear barrier for women workers. Before the pandemic, over half of non-employed women with young children said high-cost childcare was the biggest influence on their decision not to work.
Australia’s outdated paid parental scheme bakes “primary” and “secondary” carers into family structures — reinforcing the exodus of women from work, and blocking the equal participation of fathers in raising their children.
The so-called great resignation is gendered. But women shouldn’t have to resign themselves to the revolving door of crap jobs and important caring responsibilities.
We’ve come a long way since the 1950s, when conservative norms dictated women’s labour should be unpaid and confined to the home. Women have better access to the world of paid work now. But their relegation to insecure, low-paid, and junior roles shows we have much further to go.
And it’s government policies that holds us back.
Australian women need genuine measures to support them in all aspects of their lives; from free early childhood care and education, better work-family balance policies, pay equity, and more opportunities for decent jobs.
Only then can women imagine a world where they are empowered through work.
I think we need to reflect on how jobs are lost these days as well. Its no more face to face, “dont come monday” like it once was. Now you just dont get rostered on thanks to the casualisation of so many jobs. So much easier to get rid of people. And gutless too.
Interesting, also analysis of e.g. the baby boomer cohort dynamics of transition to retirement and/or resignation can cloud or confuse the picture?
One understands that many of the same cohort are not working but would like to, others have already retired (inc. public servants early retirement at 55) and related to the latter, those who can retire but choose not to.
The latter cohort are problematic when choosing to remain working when no need to, but blocking up promotions or progress for younger cohorts; some federal PS departments do not even seem interested in new permanent intakes at lower level, but sub contract to labour hire co’s for casuals…..
As a man, I’ve always been baffled why women should want to work. Except for a few high achievers people don’t generally like it. I’ve never met anyone who worked on a public holiday for sheer joy. That’s why we get paid, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. I remember when the pill turned up in the 60s allowing family planning, and women flocked to ‘careers’ as though they’d been in prison before. Womens’ Lib was the thing. Really? A two income family could borrow more money, and did, for bigger houses, owned sooner. Then houses became more expensive as their supply did not increase in line with the money available. Now it is essential to have two incomes to buy a house, and essential to farm out parenting, in order to pay the mortgage. I did shift work for a long time while my kids were small, and that was the very best time of my life, bringing them up, and being with them most days.
Large thanks to the tax policies of successive governments also for the present situation. When the bubble bursts, for example by interest rates going up to the long term average of 7%, the sh*t will hit the fan, and what then?
But for now, I think if your job is crap and you feel like you’re a slave, walk away. It’s not you: it’s the system. Or renegotiate. So many people are trapped, but continue the system. So go where it’s cheap with a 5 minute commute, Australia is big.
Was this useful Y/N/N/N/N/N/N/N…………….of course not. Sorry. Carried away.
And don’t blame the boomers.
My wife and I both work because we want to share the financial and labour burden. I know many, many women who work because they are single, often single parents and no one else is going to pick up the slack. And then there is the small matter of economic independence and keeping your cv current in case your sugar daddy trades you in or carks it. What world do you live in?
Your first sentence is how I feel, to this day, having seen the perfect conjunction of mother/childhood on the UK’s social’ of the 60/70s.
Centuries of injustice done away with at the stroke of a pen – usually wielded by a keen young recent graduate of one of the burgeoning redbricks.
It was a new era, when the woman (occasionally ‘parent’ – this was when ethics meant something, too abstruse a concept for today) was the leaseholder of a home for life, paid for along with child benefit by the social.
Men became optional as a happy, well housed & fed family unit did not require their input.
It was all about choice. Alas, that was the fly in the ointment, the canker in the bud…
Why would anyone want to be anywhere else than home, where their children are?
Mortgage, career is white noise – what is important to you and yours?
If you don’t like it, do something else. It is simple. (NB key word.)
Not easy but simple.
The Boomers had cheap houses and full employment and cheap education.
Then we were given reduction in capital gains tax , negative gearing and franking credits when paying no tax.
Blame rather the Liberal vote seeking politicians ( Lying Rodent, looking at you) who offered big middle class bribes
Boomers, esp the early ones, also were aware that the world was open and full of opportunity.
The sense of entitlement came much, much later and from the usual source, the lazy, the inept, the spiteful and the resentful who are always far too plentiful in any cohort.