Would you risk your life for your job? In the construction industry, it’s a daily occurrence. Why are high-risk workplaces getting more dangerous, not less? On 1 March earlier this year, a man was crushed to death when a large metal beam fell on top of him at the Barangaroo Ferry Hub worksite, in Sydney’s […]

Prepare for a statement that’s sure to sound the alarm bells of HR departments all over: “handshakes have given way to bearhugs in some corners of the corporate world”. What’s the deal with all this workplace hugging? In the bad old days, a strong handshake was about as physical as it got in the office. Of […]

HR is in danger of extinction, says Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith, senior vice president of research at talent management software company PageUp and speaker at the upcoming AHRI Adelaide State Conference. Um, that’s sounds dire. Couldn’t you have waited until I’d finished my cereal before you told me that? Well yes, agrees Vorhauser-Smith, but it’s a reality […]

Happiness, and the pursuit of it, is a modern construct. Much like the modern conception of marriage as a union based on romantic love, we often forget that these modern ideals – centred around personal fulfilment – simply didn’t exist only a few generations ago. What are the implications for the way we manage the […]

What is the correct response from HR when office gossip goes too far? Gossip is a natural – and inevitable occurrence in the workplace. It can even be a force for good, as camaraderie is fostered in teams through day-to-day socialisation. However, gossip is perpetually in danger of turning into its evil twin: the workplace rumour. […]

Where does self-interest end and charity begin? The answer in the workplace is that there are no hard and fast borders and that corporations and charities are working together for mutual benefit and engaging staff in shared endeavour.

As we see a profound shift in the expectations employees have about their experiences at work, employers are increasingly looking at consumer technology to recreate the stimulation, pleasures and engagement they provide. Why can’t work life be more like home life? Employers are gradually catching on to the desire – nay, expectation – in the […]

While we’ve all been busy diagnosing the internal problems that have led startups like Uber to disrepute, we’ve missed the equally important good news stories. We spoke to People & Culture Lead at Brisbane-based company RedEye Apps, Louise Vorpagel, about what good HR looks like inside a startup. Startups have gained a reputation for riding […]

Safe Work Australia reports that stress costs Australian businesses more than $10 billion per year. And research suggests the direct financial impact on Australian business of mental health issues is in the vicinity of $11 billion every year due to absenteeism and reduced productivity from unwell workers.  As more organisations recognise the links between productivity […]

When Australian veteran Tom Moore was discharged from the armed forces, he sent out hundreds of applications before getting a job. But the struggle to find employment spurred him on to setting up his own tech-driven veteran onboarding company. Co-founder and Managing Director of veteran tech startup WithYouWithMe Tom Moore spent eight years in the […]