| Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band |
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It was 39 years ago today, April 9th 1970, Paul McCartney announced to the world that he was leaving the Beatles, and on December 31st of the same year the band officially split - never to play again.
The Beatles were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, recognised internationally and simultaneously as being the best and most popular at what they did. At the time, the outside world for the most part remained almost unaware of the fractious relationships between the band members and their serious musical and business disagreements, making the announcement a devastating shock for the world’s youth and leaving their legions of fans grief stricken.
There is no doubting the influence of the Beatles or the depth of passion felt by those wound up in the world wide phenomenon known as "Beatlemania". In fact, a casual remark by John Lennon about the Beatles being bigger than Jesus Christ when touring the Philippines in 1966 was picked up in the States resulting in the burning of Beatle records in the Bible belt and demands for a repentant apology.
Tomorrow, those of Christian faith also celebrate the Passion - a theological term used for the events and suffering - physical, spiritual, and mental - of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. The Crucifixion of Jesus is an event central to Christian beliefs.
At this moment in history we are all sharing uncertainty and, regardless of our personal spiritual beliefs, Easter is a perfect time to reflect upon the pain and suffering of others, where unemployment, failed businesses, economic hardship, strained relationships, isolation and depression are all symptomatic of an unforgiving world where success, also, does not always guarantee peace.
This week it was announced that the big four banks would freeze mortgage repayments for those suffering temporary hardship through enforced unemployment for the twelve month period ahead. This will be bittersweet music to the ears of those unfortunate enough to join the swelling ranks of the unemployed, as it was the world financial system that caused this grief in the first place and, the metaphoric crucifixion of the banks has done little to ease their suffering.
At the time of their emergence, the Beatles were often dismissed by cultural commentators as nothing more than a fad that would vanish within months as the novelty wore off. Well it never did and their magnificence as artists and the eternal legacy of their work continues to captivate new generations of listeners. Politicians and statesman can only hope for the same.
Our emotional response to music, like grief, doesn’t necessarily wear off overtime and in order to appreciate it we have to be prepared to become good listeners, and hear with our hearts, as well as our hardline economic heads.
Gary Hatwell
Executive Chairman |
| PS We’ll be taking a break from writing Status enews next week on account of Easter, although we will announce our footy tipping results and profile another of our EHP. Enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday in the company of family and friends. |
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| Crisis What Crisis? |
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An article in the independent weekly on 2nd April 2009, reports that a recent survey by the CEO Institute finds a surprising level of confidence that the worst of the financial crisis will be over within 12-18 months. Of the 226 members surveyed, including chief executives of small, medium-size and large organisations, 58 per cent believed that the worst effects of the global economic crisis will be over by the end of 2010, although 35 percent of the CEO’s surveyed expect the business outlook to worsen in 2009.
However, the latest Hudson Report on employment and HR trends found national employer sentiment fell another 4.6 percentage points in the March quarter, leaving a bare majority of employers intending to hire staff. Of the 6,337 employers surveyed nationally, 64% of employers intend to hold staff levels steady, 19% intend to increase permanent staff levels and 17% intend to cut staff. Reassuringly, SA employers are the second most confident in the nation, with only those in the ACT more confident they will be hiring new staff this year.
Confidence in SA’s construction, property and engineering sectors rebounded 10 percent to 18% in stark contrast to the national result. And although confidence in some areas is still high, Hudson says many SA employers are uncertain, particularly in mining and related areas. Sharp falls in commodity prices and decreased availability of funds for investment have hit SA’s miners hard, with employer confidence in the resource sector dropping a dramatic 29 percent from last quarter. SA manufacturing firms also intend to downsize, with 20 percent of employers intending to cut permanent staff during the coming three months, down a further 5 percent from last quarter. So why the overall optimism?
The complete version of this Status enews article, including useful web links, is available here
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| EHP of the week |
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♦ experienced in retail
♦ excellent customer service skills |
Brad
ID: 6-01027 |
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Bradley has had extensive experience in working in the retail sector, most recently as a Duty Manager/Sales Assistant with an Electronics Company. Bradley would like to gain full-time employment within a retail environment and is able to offer good skills in customer service, cash handling and general store operations. Bradley lives in Ingle Farm and is available to commence employment immediately.
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| View resume to employ Brad today! |
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| Status Footy Tipping Competition |
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Rob Perry, left,
with Status’ Employment Consultant - Robert Vitez
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Well, that was a tough round. No perfect tippers this week and with only two forecasting 7 wins, we maybe in for an agonising season of uncertainty and upset.
However, there is always a weekly Status winner, and this week it is Rob Perry, alias "Umpire" from Australian Warehouse and Distribution Services
In fact, the "Umpire" knocked off our leaderboard leader, Mike Lock, by just a few points for this week’s honour, in much the same fashion as the Crows were done in by the umpires on Friday night. Congratulations Rob, we all defer to the rule of the umpire, so enjoy your reign and enjoy the spoils of victory.
To everyone else, better luck next round and don’t forget to check out the leaderboard. There are currently more than 80 active tippers in our competition and after logging into the AFL website, you can view your position on the ladder by selecting the Status Employment Services competition.
You can join the competition at anytime during the year and will be allocated all of the away teams from previous rounds as your starting position on the leaderboard. If you would like to join but are having difficulty registering, please contact our footy tipping administrator, Dora Zalunardo, on 8377 0101, and she will arrange for someone to step you through the process.
To review Status’ footy tipping competition details please click here.
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