Changing Work Patterns

This section of the syllabus aims to link by drawing a relationship between the social factors occurring in our work today with changing work patterns.

Social Factors

Social Factors are the changes that are happening in our contemporary society. These changes have influenced how we work. In the past, we saw 9am to 5pm, full-time, permanent jobs. However, as society adapts and changes to new laws, new technology and new attitudes to family and gender, our working lives have also adapted and changed. Many occupations that we see today were previously not in existence, and as society continues to evolve, many more occupations and working patterns will emerge.

Changing work patterns 

A labour market which offers a more diverse and flexible array of working arrangements and work patterns may improve the chances of increasing workforce participation. It may also enable workers to optimally balance paid work with other aspects of their lives.

• This remains a current and controversial topic in society today.

• Traditionally males were seen as the breadwinners and therefore worked 9am-5pm, full-time, permanent jobs.

• Job security was needed but not flexibility because in a traditional family structure, the female stayed at home to look after the home and the children. 

• Today women are more educated, skilled and attending university in greater numbers.

• Women may be the breadwinner of the family, or with single parents on the rise, the only source of income for the family. 

• To fulfil both work and family roles, work has to become flexible to accommodate their needs as we all as a working mothers needs. This could come from working from home, which meets the employers requirements while cutting down travel time.

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• Many women desire the flexibility to fit work around the demands of parenting and caring. After childbirth, women may desire the opportunity to access part-time, casual, job share and other flexible work options. If they have the skills they may even create a business from home.

• The increased acceptance of men as carers of their children has enabled them to work part-time while their partner works full-time.

• This refers to the Economy = The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.

• In Australia, the economy is influenced by Government Policy and levels of Employment.

• Our economy moves up and down, from high prosperity to extreme lows such as the Global Financial Crisis.

• When our economy is in recession, consumer confidence is low. Businesses and individuals are less likely to take risks, so there will be high unemployment.

• There will be less spending, less need for goods and services, and less risk from small businesses.

• Businesses will use contract and casual/temporary workers to save on funds for sick leave and annual leave. 

• In a boom period, there is the opposite effect. 

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• To remain competitive in the global market, businesses have had to respond to globalisation and employ shiftworkers to communicate around the clock with overseas clients and competitors.

• During a contraction or decline in the economic cycle, many full-time employees will lose their jobs. To maintain production, casual and temporary/contract workers are hired. These workers are not entitled to benefits; therefore, businesses cut their spending and maintain a profit.

• An economic boom enables employees to bargain for flexible working patterns to help manage multiple roles. 

• Relates to the laws and legislation that govern our country, and its effect on how we work.

• Government policy will change with each new government, but past policies have created support for workers, enabling them to establish themselves within the labour market and influence patterns of work.

• Examples of government policy that affect patterns of work are listed below:

  • • The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) allows people to be treated equally regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, age or carer's responsibility.

    • The Industrial Relation Act 1996 (NSW introduced enterprise agreements.

    • The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) replaced affirmative action policies. The basic aims of this act are to improve gender equality, including equal pay, and eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender in relation to family and caring responsibilities.

    • The introduction of parental leave includes maternity and paternity leave.

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• Minority groups who were previously unable to gain employment, such as those with disabilities or with carer's responsibilities, may be able to access flexible work patterns, such as part-time, casual, job share, working from home or working remotely.

• Maternity and paternity leave may involve the new parent moving from full-time work to unpaid parenting. Legislation has been introduced for some industries that enables a parent to continue to work part-time until their child goes to school. 

• Enterprise bargaining agreements may allow some workers to negotiate more flexible working patterns away from full-time work.

• Events such as Divorce, death, birth, remarriage and caring for a loved one can change our daily circumstances.

• We still have a need to fulfil our adequate standard of living as well as our human desire to care for and support families. 

• It is still the preference of many employers that skilled employees return to the workplace when a families circumstances change. This saves them costs for advertising, hiring and retraining someone new. For example, when a female employee has a baby.

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• Following the birth of a child, women may take maternity leave from their full-time job. They may return to work part-time, casually or in a job share to allow for the demands of parenting. 

• The irregular hours of shiftwork or lack of job security in contract work may no longer be suitable for a parent after the birth of a child.

• Family-friendly work practices (such as part-time hours or job sharing) and flexibility (such as flexible start and finishing times) in some workplaces enable parents to adapt to the changes experienced by families.

• If family breakdown occurs, both parents may need to return to work or move from part-time to full-time work to support their family. 

• In the past, education was viewed differently: the workforce was not as competitive. Many students completed the compulsory years of schooling and continued on to apprenticeships, traineeships or gained low-skilled employment.

• We have seen a trend in more young people - especially women - staying on at school to complete their Year 10 Record of School Achievement, their Year 11 Preliminary Certificate and their final Year 12 Higher School Certificate. The number of people with post-school qualifications, including from TAFE, private colleges and universities, has also increased; correspondingly, the number of people without post-school qualifications has declined.

• The Australian Government has impacted on the level of education of young people. Laws now state that no student can leave school until the age of 17, unless they are in full-time employment, full-time study or a combination of both for up to 25 hours per week.

• The job market is now aimed at those with a higher education, and is consequently pushing those without degrees down the job queue. This makes it harder for the unskilled to gain employment.

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• In the past, when women left school with only the minimal qualification, their post-school opportunities were limited to low-skilled part-time work, casual work and voluntary work. As they became more educated, they rapidly moved into full-time and permanent work.

• The high costs of retraining have caused workplaces to offer flexible working patterns in a bid to retain trained staff. These include job share, temporary/contract, and part-

• Employment has changed from the regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working day to more irregular working hours.

• For example, some employees work at night or on the weekend. Such irregular hours can encroach on family time, which results in families needing to work harder to maintain a balance. However, some changes to the 9-5 format have benefited families, with parents using their bargaining power to create these changes.

• The casualisation of the workforce involves the shift from predominantly fulltime and permanent positions to higher levels of casual and contract positions. 

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• Changes to the 9-5 format, such as part-time, shiftwork and job sharing; these patterns have enabled people to better manage their time, which has reduced the pressures of parenting and improved their bargaining power with their employers

• The casualisation of the workforce; this has reduced the number of full-time and permanent jobs available; the fact that casual and temporary/contract workers earn less and receive fewer benefits means that they are less able to satisfy their needs and those of their family.

The continuing development of technology has created more opportunity to learn online, leading to greater employment options for people who study in this format. However, it has also been responsible for eliminating some occupations.

This relates to development in the following areas:

• Computers

• Automation/Robotics

• Research and Development

Computers:

• Computers have revolutionised the labour market. They have reduced the number of laborious jobs, created new jobs, allowed people to create businesses from home and enabled people to communicate with others who are thousands of kilometres away.

• Computers have shrunk geographical and cultural distances: satellite conferences, email, Zoom and computers allow companies to trade in a global market 24 hours a day.

• Industries relying on machines, such as banking and manufacturing, are run by computers. Computer programs have also created new industries: web designing, internet advertising, animation and online gaming have all come about as a consequence of advances in technology.

Robotics and Automation:

• The technological advancement in robotics and automation has displaced both skilled and unskilled workers. Within the food industry, for example, many foods can be made in totally automated factories, with the assistance of unskilled 'quality control' workers. 

• However, in the same factories, skilled computer technicians, electricians and machine maintenance workers are required 24 hours a day to ensure any computer-operated machinery is kept in good condition.

• An area in which robotics has brought about improved job satisfaction in the medical industry. For instance, handheld robotic devices are used to operate on delicate areas, like the brain, thereby helping to minimise human error that may cause death or permanent injury to patients.

• Robotics has also been used for jobs considered too dangerous for employees, such as in mining, rescue Operations and bomb detonation. By safeguarding employees, a specialised industry has emerged.

Research and Development:

• Industries - such as the textiles, science, automotive and medical industries will always require people to take on projects to improve the lives of others.

  •  Wrinkle-free fabrics, which have reduced the need to iron, have evolved from research into mixing and producing new blends of fabrics.

  • Cheaper fuel costs and research and development in aeronautical engineering has reduced the time and cost involved in travel. Therefore new fly-in fly-out work opportunities in remote areas have created jobs; thus skilled employees are travelling to areas that were previously desolate. 

  • New diseases and strains of diseases will continue to evolve. The science and medical industries will therefore continue to apply for, and receive, short-term monetary grants to search for cures.

Impact on Patterns of Work:

• Shiftwork in some industries, such as media, banking and finance, will increase to compete with competition in the global market.

• More people will be contracted to complete smaller jobs, such as web designing or computer animation. Such jobs can also be completed remotely, away from the office.

• Shiftworkers will be required at irregular hours to maintain and service computer-operated machines.

• Contractors or volunteers working on their PhDs through university research centres will work on an area of research for a specified period of time. If the project succeeds, full-time or contract work may be offered.

• Remote working arrangements will increase, partly due to better telecommunications and computers, and improvements in mining and aeronautical engineering. The creation of jobs in remote areas is already evident in places such as Roxby Downs and the Olympic Dam mining development.

Explain how ONE Social Factor may cause an individual to move from one pattern of work to another (4 marks). e