Changing Work Patterns

Introductory Activity

Investigate the history of the work done by your family members. Try and go back as many years as possible to find out the types of employment they undertook and how many different jobs they had.

Present your findings as a family tree.

Drivers of change

Traditional work patterns are changing rapidly.Change in work patterns have arisen due to:

◦The need to reduce labour costs◦The need to improve productivity

Businesses aim to meet objectives by:◦Outsourcing labour◦Employing small full time staff, increasing casual and

part time staff to meet demands during busy periods◦Implementing flexible working hours (direct result of

improvements in telecommunications)

Activity

Examine the differences between past and present employment issues on page 105 – 106 of the text.

Explain the changes in the three pictured.

Activity

DemographicChanges

Casualisation of the

workforceTechnological

changes

Demographic Changes

Women make up 45% of workforceThe current participation rate 65.6%Women attracted to workforce by increase

in casual and part-time employment opportunities

‘Family friendly’ workplaces – motivate and retain staff

Ageing society could see increase in retirement age

Casualisation of the workforce

Casual workers make up 25% of labour force

Popular in retail and hospitality industriesMost popular among 15 – 24 year olds

(see next slide)No long term job securityCasuals can be exploited

Casualisation of the workforce

Technological changes

Working from homeDecline in manufacturing industryIncreases in service and information

technology industriesOngoing training neededNew jobs created as old jobs become

obsolete

Employment Stereotypes

A stereotype is an often oversimplified or biased mental picture held to characterise the typical individual of a group.

What workplace stereotypes exist in society today?

Stimulus exercise

Using your first impression, indicate beside each adjective below which sex the word best describes. Use M for Male, F for Female, and B for Both only if the word immediately brings to mind both men and women. Be honest and record your very first response!

entrepreneurscuba diver

criticalhikerfunny

cheerfullikes children

lifeguardintelligentgood cookromantic

fussyhorseback rider

skydiverimpetuousimpatient

too sensitivepersistentassertiveintense

nurturing

committedtalkativehates spidersdynamicaggressivefashionableindependentdaringcompetentoutspokencompassionatedrivenlogicalintuitivegentlewarmlikes flowersself-starteremotionalcompetitivefootball fan

Stimulus exercise

Glancing over your responses, notice the number of M's, F's, and B's. Most people get a good mix of all three. Looking at the list of adjectives, is there any one word that could not describe either sex? If not, then all the M's and F's recorded indicate subconscious (and sometimes not so subconscious) stereotypical beliefs.

Keep in mind that simply believing that some of these descriptions are gender-based is not wrong, nor a "bad" thing to do. Stereotypes, after all, develop from observed behavioural generalities.

Activities (complete in workbook)

Brainstorm the individual and social impacts of increased participation by females in the workforce.

Read the article ‘Beware of Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace’ and outline the strategy suggested when dealing with workplace stereotypes.

Briefly outline the purpose of the Anti-discrimination Act (NSW)