The Algorithm Age

The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) responded with an angry statement to the Labour Ministry’s intention to extend working hours to up to 13 per day for the same employer. Worker representatives argue that the Greek government is attempting to solidify a practice that will physically and mentally exhaust employees, without actually improving the productivity of the Greek economy. "The further deregulation of the labour framework and the shift of responsibility for managing working and leisure time to individual negotiation — where the employer-employee relationship is imbalanced — essentially undermines any effort to restore a framework of free collective bargaining," said the GSEE’s statement. It continued: "The duration of working time, rest periods, and vacation for workers cannot be regulated by government intervention, but only through social dialogue, through collective bargaining." The group spoke of “an attempt to dismantle colle...

Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column, Got a Minute? This week: handling difficult feedback, threats for failing security tests and redundancies for part-time contractors. I’m a senior manager in a job I really enjoy. However, it is very difficult to keep my boss happy. I get called out on many things that seem really minor, and my confidence has taken a beating. Recently, she gave me feedback that my team has felt disempowered and belittled by my management style, and that they don’t find me sincere. I found this devastating and humiliating. She said it was salvageable and that we could work together to rectify things. This is the first time I have been made aware of the issue and I wonder if there has been a bit of mud scraping in the background. I want to succeed in this role, but feel completely reduced by it. What should I do? How do I stop feeling so upset and taking it all so personally...

Parental leave in the UK is confusing for both families and businesses, the Business Secretary has said, as a major review into the system is announced. The review will look at maternity, paternity and shared parental leave to investigate how improvements might be made. Currently, most new dads and second partners are able to take up to two weeks of paid leave from work after a baby is born. Most mums and birthing parents, meanwhile, can take up to 52 paid weeks off work – though lower pay kicks in after 39 weeks. Alongside the familiar paternity leave and maternity leave, the UK also has adoption leave, parental leave, parental bereavement leave, shared parental leave and neonatal care leave. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the current situation is ‘confusing, even for businesses’. Sign up to 's politics newsletter, Alright Gov? Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the...

Parental leave in the UK is confusing for both families and businesses, the Business Secretary has said, as a major review into the system is announced. The review will look at maternity, paternity and shared parental leave to investigate how improvements might be made. Currently, most new dads and second partners are able to take up to two weeks of paid leave from work after a baby is born. Most mums and birthing parents, meanwhile, can take up to 52 paid weeks off work – though lower pay kicks in after 39 weeks. Alongside the familiar paternity leave and maternity leave, the UK also has adoption leave, parental leave, parental bereavement leave, shared parental leave and neonatal care leave. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the current situation is ‘confusing, even for businesses’. Sign up to 's politics newsletter, Alright Gov? Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the...

Talent shortages are the consequence of a hard-core push to a return to office, as we can see from Randstad’s latest “Workmonitor Pulse” report . The survey of 5,250 employees shows that 33 percent, a full third, rank remote work even above “employability” — meaning ongoing relevance, skills and job security — when forced to choose. Seventy-three percent of fully remote workers would surrender a pay bump to preserve flexibility, and 70 percent would forgo promotions. Among fully remote respondents, half would not surrender location freedom for employability. The same can be said for 37 percent for hybrid workers and 29 percent for those permanently on-site. The latter figure for on-site workers shows how many people are liable to be tempted by lower-salary flexible work, if given the chance. External evidence confirms this. FlexJobs’s Q1 2025 “Remote Work Economy Index” demonstrates that remote jobs remain an irresistible lure: 37 percent of job seekers rank location fl...

On Tuesday, some Australian university students got access to a new payment. The Commonwealth Prac Payment is available to eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students. It will provide A$331.65 a week during compulsory professional placements, to help with living and study expenses. This could include travel, accommodation, uniforms and lost income from other employment. But while the payment is a much-needed step in the right direction, many students are still missing out. Who’s not covered? The prac payment was a recommendation from the federal government’s 2024 Universities Accord review . It is designed to help students complete essential professional placements, so they can graduate and enter the workforce. But numerous other health degrees with time-consuming work placements are excluded from the payment. This includes medicine, physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, radiography and other allied health professions. Veterinary medicine s...

For two-and-a-half years I, as many teenage boys do, worked as a pot washer (later graduating to a bartender) and whilst it wasn’t the most glamorous job, it worked well for me. This was whilst I was at college, allowing me to earn a decent chunk of cash alongside my studies, before I started my role as an apprentice journalist. I was lucky to have such a lenient boss, who organised shifts via a WhatsApp group and was pretty laid-back when it came to swapping and cancelling working hours. There are obviously issues with these zero-hours contracts – they can lead to exploitation and offer little job security, especially for those with more responsibilities than a 17-year-old student. On top of this, employers offering such contracts are not required to give sick pay or any notice before termination. But as I see it, this is more of an issue with the company rather than the contract. I enjoyed a good relationship with my employer and never had an issue with my shif...

For two-and-a-half years I, as many teenage boys do, worked as a pot washer (later graduating to a bartender) and whilst it wasn’t the most glamorous job, it worked well for me. This was whilst I was at college, allowing me to earn a decent chunk of cash alongside my studies, before I started my role as an apprentice journalist. I was lucky to have such a lenient boss, who organised shifts via a WhatsApp group and was pretty laid-back when it came to swapping and cancelling working hours. There are obviously issues with these zero-hours contracts – they can lead to exploitation and offer little job security, especially for those with more responsibilities than a 17-year-old student. On top of this, employers offering such contracts are not required to give sick pay or any notice before termination. But as I see it, this is more of an issue with the company rather than the contract. I enjoyed a good relationship with my employer and never had an issue with my shif...

Ford CEO Jim Farley learned from older employees that some young workers at the carmaker were taking shifts at Amazon to make ends meet, he said at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Farley said he drew on founder Henry Ford’s decision to raise factory wages to $5 a day in 1914 to make temporary workers into full-time employees. Young people have previously eschewed manufacturing jobs due to low wages. Some economists credit carmaker Henry Ford for jump-starting the American middle class in the 20th century when, in January 1914, he hiked factory wages to $5 , more than double the average wage for an eight-hour work day. More than 100 years later, facing the reality of many employees “barely getting by,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said he took a page out of the founder’s playbook. The carmaker’s chief executive recognized the need to make a change in his workplace when he spoke to veteran employees during union contract negotiations and learned young Ford employees were...

Ford CEO Jim Farley learned from older employees that some young workers at the carmaker were taking shifts at Amazon to make ends meet, he said at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Farley said he drew on founder Henry Ford’s decision to raise factory wages to $5 a day in 1914 to make temporary workers into full-time employees. Young people have previously eschewed manufacturing jobs due to low wages. Some economists credit carmaker Henry Ford for jump-starting the American middle class in the 20th century when, in January 1914, he hiked factory wages to $5 , more than double the average wage for an eight-hour work day. More than 100 years later, facing the reality of many employees “barely getting by,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said he took a page out of the founder’s playbook. The carmaker’s chief executive recognized the need to make a change in his workplace when he spoke to veteran employees during union contract negotiations and learned young Ford employees were...

As Australia’s economy faces fluctuating challenges, many Australians are suddenly finding themselves unemployed due to factors like redundancy, injury, or illness. For those in this difficult position, Centrelink offers financial assistance in the form of the JobSeeker Payment. For some, this payment could provide as much as $836.50 per fortnight, easing the financial strain during a challenging time. This assistance is particularly vital as individuals navigate the uncertainty of unemployment. Centrelink’s Hank Jongen stresses the importance of understanding the available support options and how eligible Australians can access these funds. While the transition into unemployment is never easy, knowing what resources are available can make all the difference. JobSeeker Payment: Who Qualifies and How Much is Available? The JobSeeker Payment provides a financial safety net for Australians who are actively seeking employment. To qualify for the payment, individuals must m...

The Fair Work Commission has found a tradie was “forced to resign” from his job after his employer swore at him during a secretly recorded meeting about his performance. A workplace lawyer said the issue “cuts both ways” with both employees and employers potentially able to take action if they face swearing at work . Commissioner Susie Allison found that while swearing was likely to be a part of the “everyday work culture” of the tradie’s employer, Melbourne small business DMG Building & Electrical Services, the language and behaviour directed at him were “not appropriate or acceptable behaviour in any workplace”. She said the worker was “reasonably concerned for his mental and physical safety” and had no “real choice” but to resign. McCabes Lawyers principal Tim McDonald told Yahoo Finance the case raised issues for both employees and employers. RELATED Right to disconnect warning as worker sues former employer for $800,000 ...

The world of work can be scary, especially when you’re uncertain about the kind of career path you want to take. More than half (54%) of Brits believe they’ll never land their dream job, while 46% think their perfect career doesn’t exist. With such confusion and anxiety surrounding our professional lives, many people turn to industries where they think they’ll make the most money. Or, where they’ll be able to climb the corporate ladder quickly. With that, rounded up 10 jobs that have seen the biggest pay rises since 2023. Disclaimer: You can’t expect to land any of these roles immediately. Lots of hard work, dedication, and sometimes, degrees need to be sought first. However, if you’re willing to put in the graft, what’s stopping you from making the big bucks ? 10. Contracts manager Industry: Procurement Average salary (2024): £53,667 % salary increase since 2023: 6.8% Starting off the list at number 10, we have contract ...

Australian job seekers are fed up with employment ads not displaying the salary or, at the very least, the salary range . New research from Indeed found 96 per cent of people are more likely to apply for roles that contain salary information over those that don't. A further 60 per cent said pay visibility is the 'single most important aspect' of the job application process. However, recruitment expert Tammie Christofis Ballis told Yahoo Finance why the system isn't likely to change anytime soon. "It's an employer's market. They can do whatever they like because they've got the pick of the bunch," she said. RELATED Job hack helps ‘in the dark’ workers expose employer pay secrets Centrelink payment alert for 58,000 Aussies in caravans Young Aussie reveals $390,000 property regret after falling into common trap "A couple of years ago, the tre...

Do you have a work dilemma, career quandary, or are facing challenges in the office? The i Paper ’s work column answers readers’ questions with leading experts in careers and workplace psychology. Email questions to work@ I used to say I had my dream job – great pay, interesting work and independence. But increasingly, one thing I can’t stand is that my boss is really pushy about us going back into the office. My commute is over an hour each way, it’s so expensive to travel into work, and I find it really draining when I’m there. When I get in, it’s completely silent with zero atmosphere, and there are barely any amenities in the office – basically a tea station and that’s it. What is the point of being here when I do my job more effectively at home, and I don’t have to sit in this depressing office all day? The worst part is, she’s barely in the office herself. And when she is in, she is constantly leaving early for parenting “eme...