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A new report produced by Relationships Forum Australia, An unexpected tragedy, describes Australia as one of the most intensely work-focused countries, and suggests that these work patterns are causing a breakdown of family relationships.
Australia's work patterns
According to the Relationships Forum Australia report, more than 20 per cent of employees work for 50 hours or more a week and more than 30 per cent work on the weekend regularly. Two million Australians also spend at least six hours of family time on Sundays working, without compensating for it during the week.
Impact on families
The report demonstrates that the length of time spent working during weeknights and weekends puts individuals under constant stress, causing parents to be 'angry, inconsistent or ineffective'. Combined with the loss of family time, Australia's work habits are reducing the wellbeing of its children.
Co-author of the report, Paul Shepanski, stated that the pattern of damage done to families by unsocial work hours has emerged slowly, over the past 30 years: 'The past three decades of prosperity experienced by Australia have come at an unexpected price … especially in families'.
Continuing harm
Relationships Forum Australia's An unexpected tragedy report draws on a large amount of national and international research, hypothesising that Australia's working patterns will continue to worsen. The report argues that governments must acknowledge that current patterns of work are harming families and act as soon as possible 'to ensure a stable and sustainable society'.
Read Relationships Forum Australia's report An unexpected tragedy.
Read The Sydney Morning Herald's 'Work killing the family, report says'.
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