Have you ever had a job where the boss told you, "hey, we're like family!"

Or worked somewhere where they claimed you had to "live your work"?
How about your dream gig, where you loved it so much you ended up spending every waking minute eating, breathing and doing your job - until you couldn't separate what you do from who you are?

Yeah - we've been there too! And American journalist and author Sarah Jaffe is here to tell us we should stop it, right now.

In her new book "Work Won't Love You Back - How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us, Exploited, Exhausted and Alone", Jaffe explodes the myth that if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life.

Sarah joins Francis and Sally for a chat.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the COVID pandemic stretches on, information about public health directives, lockdowns and the world of work has never been more important.

It's hard enough to keep track of all the changes as they happen when you speak English, so imagine how difficult it would be if you didn't/

Giuseppina Pungitore is an interpreter. Every day she is helping non-English speakers deal with crisis moments, court visits, tribunal hearings and work issues.

Interpreting services are vital, but the workforce is underpaid, casualised and often traumatised by the work they do.

Giuseppina joins Francis and Sally on this week's edition of "On the Job.'

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christmas Island is a tiny outpost of Australian territory in the Indian Ocean that has become known to most of us because of its role in Australia's hardline policy on border protection and the incarceration of asylum seekers.

Yet, the tiny Island known more for its infamous detention centre than anything else, has an incredible story - one that involves old fashioned colonial exploitation, its own form of apartheid, and a workers revolt that changed everything.

Osmond Chiu is a researcher and writer on Australia's labour history, and he joins Francis and Sally to share with them the secret history of Christmas Island, and how working people came together to change it forever.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will you have enough money saved when it comes time to buy that caravan and take off around Australia in retirement?

After the recent attack on worker's superannuation savings by the Liberal Government, its getting harder and harder for most working Australians to say yes to that question.

ACTU President Michele O'Neil joins Francis and Sally to discuss the latest changes to superannuation savings, and how it will impact how much money you'll have when you want to quit work for good.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the future of work in the age of the machines and artificial intelligence? Is the idea of having a regular job redundant becoming redundant in the technological age, and if so , what are the implications for workers and their communities?

Or does the age of automation also offer new opportunities for Australian innovators , manufacturing and workers to create new and exciting industries that offer us a whole new range of jobs and a different way fo working?

Ed Husic loves talking about this stuff. Ed is the Labor Member for Chifley in the Federal Parliament and Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation.

He joins Francis for a chat about how the age of automation doesn't have to mean the end of work.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alongside climate change, inequality is the greatest challenge of our times.

The growing chasm between the few who hold enormous wealth and the vast multitudes who live in poverty and struggle to survive can no longer be ignored.

In his new book "How to Fight Inequality: (and Why That Fight Needs You) international anti-inequality campaigner Ben Phillips outlines just how each one of us has a role to lay in the fight against inequality.

Ben joins Francis on this week's podcast to discuss his new book and what drives him to fight for change.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working life has been tough during the pandemic, particularly if you are someone with a disability.

Sam Connor is the President of People With a Disability Australia (PWDA). Her organisation is committed to building pathways and opportunities for people with disabilities to participate fully in the workforce and the wider community.

On this week's pod, Francis chats with Sam about the challenges people with disabilities have faced during the pandemic, and how that has impacted their working lives.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's it like to wake up every morning and know that every decision you make at work today will have a profound effect on the lives of millions of Australians?

As Australia's Labor Treasurer during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) , Wayne Swan did exactly that. Swan guided Australia through the GFC as other major economies around the world suffered disastrous recession, job loss and social unrest.

These days, Wayne Swan is a retired parliamentarian and President of The Australian Labor Party.  Francis paid a visit to Wayne Swan's Brisbane home and sat down with him to discuss the current state of the Australian economy, the future of work and how a future with decent secure jobs in a carbon neutral economy is in our hands.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working as a freelancer can be exhilarating. Jumping from assignment to assignment, dealing with different people and challenges, hitting your deadlines, and hitting it out of the park.

These days, it can also be a life full of low-paying gigs or no-paying gigs, having your work ripped off and plagiarised and dealing with employers who think they are doing you a favour by letting you work for them.

So is it still worth the effort? Can you still make a go of working as a freelancer without going made - or going broke?

Ginger Gorman reckons you can. Ginger is a successful freelance social justice journalist and the author of the book "Troll Hunting". She's been underpaid, overworked, plagiarised and patronised - but she's still out there kicking against the pricks and making it work for herself.

Ginger joins Francis and Sally to discuss the pitfalls and pleasures of the freelance life.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When your work starts to impact your mental health, it can cause enormous problems.

Sadly, for many Australians, this is an all too familiar experience.

ACTU Assistant Secretary, Liam O’Brien, is part of a coalition of experts leading the charge to change Work, Health and Safety laws across Australia to protect the mental health of all workers.

Liam joins Francis and Sally to talk about why mental health matters, and what needs to change.

 

More about On The Job podcast

 

Need help with working conditions?

Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466

 

About the hosts

Sally Rugg, Executive director at Change.org Australia - @sallyrugg

Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly

Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.