Work, life and workplace flexibility: Australian Work and Life Index 2009

This report summarises findings from the third Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI) survey of work-life interference in Australia. It builds on the findings of the 2007 and 2008 surveys (indexed at TD/TNC 96.21 and TD/TNC 93.350 respectively). The 2009 survey includes 2691 workers (2307 employees and 384 self-employed), providing a robust, national, stratified random sample of the Australian workforce. The survey provides good representation by gender, state, age, part-time/full-time work hours, and employee/self employed work arrangements. However, it somewhat over-represents those with university degrees and professional workers and somewhat under-represents casual workers. Each AWALI survey takes a particular focus: in 2007 it was on working time, in 2008 workplace culture and in 2009 we focus on requests for flexibility and their outcomes, undertake some international comparisons and consider how work-life pressures affect participation in education and training. AWALI survey data was collected in March 2009 against the background of the global economic crisis of 2008/09 and a significant economic downturn in Australia, and a year and a half after the election of the Rudd Labor Government. Compared to 2008, employees' average working hours fell a little in 2009: from 38.2 to 37.1 hours, perhaps reflecting the economic slowdown. As we know from previous AWALI surveys, shorter working hours are associated with better work-life interference. However, there has been little change in the overall work-life situation of Australian workers between 2007 and 2009. However, when men and women are considered separately, there is evidence of a worsening of work-life interference for women. Three years of data about work-life interference in Australia tell us that many employees experience frequent interference from work in their personal, home and community lives, many feel overloaded at work and feelings of time pressure are also common and growing. However, work-life interference does not fall evenly across the population. While two-thirds of working Australians say they are broadly satisfied with their work-life balance, some groups such as women working full-time are especially negatively affected. Show less