Yahoo Finance Warning signs Aussies should look out for in their workplace
How do you know when the economy has taken a hit? Aussies have shared their personal observations.
While data released by government organisations can tell us a lot about how the economy is performing, there are often everyday observations that can tell us just as much.
Recently, an Aussie took to the popular AusFinance subreddit to ask what warning signs people had noticed in their own workplaces.
“Now that people are going to have a lot less spare cash, are any of you starting to see less activity in your industry?” Redditor Carly_Starr_Oz asked.
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And some of the replies might shock you. For example, one commenter said the repairs industry was booming - indicating Aussies were much more likely to get their phone, or other household appliances, repaired instead of replacing them.
“My workplace does repairs. It hasn’t wound back, people are bringing in their old things to be repaired so they don’t have to buy new things,” one commenter said.
“My wife works for a mobile appliance repair place. They've never been busier and are actively looking for more staff to keep up,” another said.
Another pointed out a much more subtle sign for office workers to look out for.
“If your company has hired indoor office plants and these are taken away, that’s a good indication there are cost-cutting measures underway,” they said.
Another user who worked across multiple industries said they had noticed people tightening the purse strings in more ways than one.
“Last year, I worked in retail (lingerie) and I started noticing signs last September. More people asking to use Afterpay, people would buy one bra instead of three to five a transaction, no one was really buying sets anymore,” they said.
“End of last year, I transitioned to medical receptionist and part of my job is to record the cancellation reasons etc.
“There are more cancellations happening because people can't afford the appointment. Used to be one to three in six weeks (I looked at the past year’s cancellations to check) and we’re getting one to two cancellations for financial reasons every fortnight now.”
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