Cost of living is the topic of the week

HR news for the week has been dominated by articles discussing the rising cost of living and how it’s affecting workers.

Some are struggling to live, even with multiple jobs. Meanwhile, the increase in the minimum wage is facing backlash as it’s not in line with inflation rates. Also, women are finding it harder to report harassment due to unease in the economy. To help deal with this, there were also some tips on how to push for a pay rise.

No money for heating

As reported by Nine News, the cost-of-living crisis is hitting some people hard.

Toni Maree is one such person who, even while working three jobs, cannot afford heating in her home: “It’s definitely a luxury to turn on a heater or something, but we just simply can’t afford it.”

Ms Maree works up to 70-hour weeks, with her full-time job at a bottle shop, night job as a factory cleaner, and a third casual job leaving her with just $75 after paying bills.

“I’m very tired a majority of the time because as soon as I finish one job, I’ll go to another. It’s sort of never-ending,” she said.

After losing her hospitality job during the pandemic, the cost of living has only gone up, forcing Ms Maree to abandon plans to buy a house and result to taking out loans.

Nine News said Australia’s “misery index” is almost as high as it was during the global financial crisis, due to climbing inflation and interest rates. Many others like Ms Maree are surely feeling the hardship caused by the state of the economy.

Minimum wage worries

An increase to the minimum wage was one of the government’s responses to the rising cost of living. However, not all are happy with the news.

According to News.com.au, West Australian unions have expressed their dissatisfaction with the state’s 5.3 per cent minimum wage increase. The national wage increase will rise 5.75 per cent, and according to UnionsWA state secretary Owen Whittle, this could mean West Australian workers move across borders to get better pay.

“Cost of living is still increasing. We know that a lot of workers, particularly those in retail areas, are spending between 65 and 70 per cent of their minimum wage earnings on rent and housing costs,” he said.

“Australia has a pretty mobile labour market — people are pretty happy to move for work.”

Economy worsening harassment for women

As seen in Human Times’ 20 June bulletin, BBC discussed how the current state of the economy is reportedly making it harder for women to report harassment.

BBC told the story of Diane, who has worked at a New York software company for six years.

“It was clear from the beginning he didn’t like me. He would ask me to do tasks that were objectively below my pay grade. Then he’d criticise me in front of my colleagues and accuse me of not following instructions, even though I had,” she said.

Diane said she could not report these issues due to unease in the economy: “It’s a tough job market. I can’t risk being in a position in which I have to — or even desperately want to — work at a different place.”

According to research referenced by BBC, harassment disproportionately affects women, meaning they’re at greater risk of running into these issues.

“This is a concerning drop, as it reveals that far too many women don’t feel comfortable reporting harassment, and the percentage is only growing,” said Emma Codd, Deloitte’s global inclusion leader.

Getting that pay rise

With all these economic worries affecting people around the world, Forbes published a guide to help employees get the pay rise they’re after.

The top five tips listed by Forbes are:

1. Research your competitor’s salaries.
2. Outline your achievements.
3. Make a clear business case for your raise.
4. Practise your pitch.
5. Be prepared to negotiate.