Today
Burnt out, distracted: is the modern workplace broken?
Medibank executives are among those who think the answer to a disengaged workforce lies in a four-day workweek, but bosses worry that workers have gone soft.
- Euan Black
This Month
NAB says AI will cut the drudgery for its bankers
The bank is working with Microsoft to embed AI into its 365 software, which bankers use for emails and presentations. It is also using AWS and Databricks.
- James Eyers
- Opinion
- Australian economy
How to get fiscal dividend from a jobs, skills and training virtuous cycle
Reforms in vocational and higher education, and migration, can realistically aim to promote economic growth and would more than repay the upfront investment cost.
- Peter Dawkins
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Time to drop the dead doctrine of NAIRU
The new RBA leadership has a chance to use intuition rather than prescription to manage inflation.
- Craig Emerson
- Exclusive
- Workplace culture
How Slack is costing you time, and your boss money
The average Australian knowledge worker loses 166 hours of focus time each year to unproductive work-related chat messages, according to a study by Economist Impact.
- Updated
- Euan Black
How can I be more productive while working from home?
Sticking to the same pre-work routine every morning is a good way of getting into the zone, says Atlassian’s work futurist Dominic Price.
- Euan Black
Inflation forces workers to take on extra hours
Australians taking on extra hours to cope with inflation and cost of living pressures may explain recent falls in productivity, the Productivity Commission says.
- Michael Read
How these six CEOs are using AI in their businesses
It is clear that corporate Australia is only at the beginning of its journey with the technology, amid an era defined by low productivity.
- Sally Patten and Euan Black
- Exclusive
- Critical minerals
Why this former BHP exec now runs a battery recycling start-up
Former BHP finance boss Peter Beaven says Australia must become more competitive or risk losing start-ups like his new battery metals recycling play.
- Peter Ker
Market forces in childcare have failed families: ACCC
Childcare in Australia is less affordable than almost all other comparable countries and despite government contributions being almost double the OECD average.
- Julie Hare
September
How the 80:20 rule makes Danielle Wood more productive
The incoming boss shares her defining career moments, best advice, love of authors Anna Funder and Zadie Smith and her plans for change in our public servant Q&A.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- University
It’s time to reshape universities for national good
Our tertiary institutions are a national asset, but collaboration with industry is a missed opportunity and should be a focus of the review now under way.
- Innes Willox
Whose responsibility is it for office productivity?
Office landlords want workers back in the office to make them more effective and collaborate, but the onus is on landlords to draw people back.
- Campbell Kwan
Incomes to stagnate without reform: RBA
A further slowdown in global trade, the cost of the transition to net zero and waning business dynamism are a threat to living standards, the bank says.
- Michael Read
Qantas’ bad week | Gurner v the workers | AusSuper’s big bet
In this week’s episode, James and Anthony dive into another bad week for Qantas, look behind the firestorm sparked by property developer Tim Gurner.
Non-compete clauses should go to boost productivity: economists
Any rebound in productivity will be muted without ambitious reforms around tax, industrial relations and non-compete clauses, economists warn.
- Michael Read and David Marin-Guzman
- Opinion
- Opinion
Busting the ‘wage decoupling’ myth
The link between productivity and real wages is robust. And the idea that productivity-enhancing reforms don’t matter for living standards is wrong.
- Alex Robson
- Opinion
- Interest rates
Bond bandits will force politicians to bend the knee
While governments might seek to bribe voters in the short run, bond markets will not allow this to continue indefinitely.
- Christopher Joye
- Analysis
- Tech Observed
Schools and business embrace AI, but do we know what they’re doing?
Artificial intelligence seemingly lets students and workers do new and exciting things more efficiently, but without care, we risk sacrificing genuine knowledge for short-term gains.
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Working from home
Work from home era pushes more tech jobs offshore
High salaries, a skills shortage and more staff looking to work permanently from home has pushed bosses to look overseas to find professionals for IT roles.
- Tess Bennett
