Question 1: Different types of employment (15 marks)

For each of the people in the table below, state the type of employment (full-time, part-
time or casual) that would best suit each one. For each person, list ONE advantage and
ONE disadvantage of the type of work you have chosen for them.

Person Employment Advantage Disadvantage

Single person who Casual The individual has The employer can
likes to travel the flexibility to terminate their
leave at short notice employment at any
if they decide to time.
travel.
Married person with Full - Time The individual The individual may
a mortgage, no receives a steady find it hard to
children income, without the balance work and
extra costs personal life.
associated with
raising children.
Married person with Full -Time The individual The individual may
children in teens receives benefits not be able to spend
which allow them to as much time as
take sick leave and they would like with
long service leave. their children.
Person over 65 who Part - Time They can still bring The individual does
isn’t ready to retire in a steady income not have the perks
but not have the of working a full-
stress of a full-time time job, such as
job on their physical increased pay,
and mental health. superannuation and
decrease in annual
leave days.
Single person with Part - Time The individual The individual may not
young children receives benefits be able to financially
which allow them to support themselves
take parental leave. and their children with
their income.
Question 2: Changes in work patterns (8 marks)
There have been many changes to work patterns over recent years. Choose ONE change
that is affecting, or might affect your family:
(a) Clearly name and describe the change to work patterns you have chosen (3)

One of the main changes to work which has occurred in recent years is the
implementation of the working from home model. Working from home is a flexible type
of work arrangement, whereby the employee and employer negotiate an agreement
that allows the employee to work in a remote location other than the usual worksite
(usually their home). Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic only a limited number of
employers allowed this, however during the pandemic a huge number of employees
moved to a working from home model. It was demonstrated that employees were still
able to produce good results while working remotely and more importantly where
happier and more relaxed.

(b) In 3-4 paragraphs (300-400 words), assess how it is affecting, or might affect your
family (e.g., what benefits/disadvantages might it have? How else might it impact
your family and with what results?). You need to provide detailed information about
the possible effects of the change and you should write about more than one effect.
(5)
The implementation of working from home has had many effects on my family, both
positive and negative. One of the major advantages of having a parent which works from
home is that they spend more time at home and spend less time travelling to work. As a
result, our family has also been in a position to save money every week as we are not
spending extra money on petrol and car maintenance costs.
Another advantage has been that my parent is more relaxed and less stressed than when
they used to work from the office, because in the past they would spend long hours away
from the home and get home after dark. The flexibility of working from home has also been
very positive for my family because my parent can take time off work or customise their
work hours each week to suit our family time, and have the option of making up that time in
the evening or a few hours on Saturday morning before we all wake up. Working from home
has allowed us as a family to become more closer, communicative, and tightknit, with
everyone more relaxed and content at the end of each day.
This is not to say that working from home does not also have its disadvantages. One big
disadvantage is how there can at times be distractions in the home, that result in low
productivity. It can be tempting to do housework or wash the clothes if one is at home.
There can also be other distractions like people knocking the door or neighbours dropping in
that effect my parent’s working day. If this continues to the point that productivity is
effected, then my parent’s employment could be jeopardised.
Another disadvantage is that my parent has less face to face contact with colleagues,
resulting in social isolation and mental health issues. Even though communication is
occurring virtually, it is hard at times to see a person’s body language that helps the other
understand the meaning of what the person is communicating. Working from home can also
result in technological and connection issues such as, Wi-Fi dropout or device stops working.

Question 3: Unemployment (15 marks)

Find a recent article about one of the following issues in Australia:

 Youth unemployment
 Long term unemployment
 Underemployment

Your article must have been published in the last two years (since February 2020)

(a) Outline the main points of the article. (100 words) (5)

 The new Labour Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers has classified long term
unemployment as a priority on government’s Jobs and Skills Summit agenda
 The number of unemployed people who are long-term unemployed is at 26 per cent,
up from 18 per cent a decade ago.
 There were 127,900 long-term unemployed people in June this year, slightly higher
than the 111,500 in June 2012.
 Treasury analysis says long-term unemployed people have lower chances of moving
into work, experience lower lifetime incomes once they get a job and can become
discouraged and leave the labour force.
 Long-term unemployment can lead to intergenerational unemployment issues with
families
 Many businesses are in critical need of workers
(b) What are the implications of the article for the individual person (how do the issues in the
article affect the individual workers)? (200 words) (5)

There are many implications which can result from long term unemployment for the individual.
One implication being long term unemployment effects a person’s employability in the future.
The longer an individual is unemployed, the harder it will be for them to secure long term
employment. Moreover, the longer a person is unemployed the more skills and experience they
will lose, making them less attractive to an employer. If a person is long term unemployed and
relies on welfare support, their standard of living will be much lower as they receive less income
in comparison to an employed person. An individual will barely have any money left over for
special activities to do with other family members, such as eating out occasionally or buying
family members’ gifts. Long-term unemployment also effects the individual’s mental and
physical health and wellbeing. Lack of money effects a person ability to access health and
medical care. For instance, an individual might be in severe physical pain and might not be able
to afford to pay for a medical procedure and therefore will need to rely on long waiting lists on
the public system or perhaps not seeking health or medical care when unwell.

(c) What are the implications of the article for society as a whole (e.g. how do the issues in the
article affect the economy, other family members, other people in the community)? (200
words) (5)

There are many implications which can result from long term unemployment for society as a whole.
One of the major implications is the increase in taxes to meet the extra money required to pay
welfare recipients. This results in taxpayers having less money to spend in the economy, effecting
business profits and long-term business sustainability. Also, governments might need to redirect
essential funds from other critical areas such as health, education, and infrastructure to meet the
costs of welfare payments.

An adverse effect on the community is that it reduces the effective pool of workers required to meet
demand. A consequence of this is, there might not be enough workers in a specific work specialty,
leading to inefficiencies in the workforce that will affect society’s wellbeing, for instance if there are
not enough nurses in a hospital, people’s health could be put at risk because there will not be
enough nurses available to treat patients.

Another effect is intergenerational long-term unemployment, whereby social disadvantage effects

the prospects of other family members gaining long term, meaningful employment. A family
member’s long-term unemployment could also have implications on the family as a whole. Family
members might experience mental health issues due to the family’s financial situation and not
having enough money to meet their daily needs.

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/long-term-unemployment-still-too-high-says-chalmers-
20220823-p5bc5b