News Corp looks to shorter work weeks and ‘significant pay cuts’ to reduce cost base
One of Australia’s largest media outlets, News Corp, has said it is doing everything it can to preserve jobs within the organisation as consumer confidence and ad spend dries up due to uncertainty around the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.
In order to protect jobs and reduce its cost base, News Corp said the executive team “will need to take a significant pay cut”, while other staff members will be presented with options including part-time work, nine-day fortnights, and taking additional leave. The organisation did concede that some job losses will be inevitable.
I suspect these new work arrangements will give staff a taste for d better work life balance.
What happens when it’s over and workers from all companies want to keep their new arrangements?
This is a forced revolution in humanity and will go down in history as a turning point.
On our teams call 99% of staff yesterday wished nothing more than being back at the office as soon as possible. Having to do everything remotely has slowed us down to the point where most are working 12-14 hour days to keep everything moving forward.
Work life balance certainly is out the window at the moment. But better that then doing nothing and facing an uncertain future.
Hopefully it means we’ll be better at interstate and international collaboration moving forward though, but at least at my agency most are bloody keen to get back into the office.
I work in a media agency, although focusing on technology not buying media so I can manage my workload from home quite well. I’ll definitely be looking to work from home more consistently following this. Not exclusively but the reduction in travel time and extra time with family has been one of the few positives.
You would think that with every set of eyes in Australia on the media for news, now would be the greatest time ever for brands to be booking space and building on their branding. Even if they are shut down, they will reopen, and at no other time will they ever have such a captive audience again.
You would think that… But brands don’t have even weeks worth of savings to do that when stock isn’t moving.
Saving for a rainy day is looked down upon in corporations yet for some reason it’s expected that people save personally.