Go Home on Time Day
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 8, 2 November 2022, page no. 17
The QTU recognises that excessive workload is generated from multiple levels and sources. The QTU identifies the levels as: national, state, regional, community, school, and individual.
Individual pressures can be exacerbated by those people who look disparagingly at members of the profession who pursue work-life balance, set boundaries to manage their workload, and reject excessive workload. This culture sometimes manifests as an expectation that other people’s wellbeing (including students’) is more important than that of the member of the teaching profession. Elsewhere, this culture reveals itself through promotional processes that prize data and its collection over team morale and wellbeing. Many QTU members have experienced this culture of disparagement.
The QTU rejects such disparaging views of our profession, and we encourage you to reject it as well. Wednesday 23 November is your day to stand up against the theft of your time, through unpaid overtime or unutilised holidays. This year, the trade union movement is claiming this day as Go Home on Time Day.
Across Australia, unpaid overtime exacts a terrible toll. Australians worked a total of 2.9 billion hours of unpaid overtime in 2020, worth almost $100 billion per year. That’s a windfall for employers, but it hurts family budgets, reduces consumer spending, and damages the economy. Worst of all, it makes it even harder to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Now in its 14th year, Go Home on Time Day is a great way to remind ourselves that life doesn’t need to revolve solely around work. On this day, protect yourself against time theft: go home, exercise, cook a healthy meal, spend time with your family or your friends. Invite your friends to participate and help start the conversation about the value of time, a healthy work/life balance, and protecting ourselves against time theft.
Go Home on Time Day is organised through The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work (futurework.org.au). For more on Go Home on Time Day, including downloadable resources and your own unpaid overtime calculator, visit https://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au