Our View: Job in difficult times a privilege

It is not unusual to hear of people missing out on pay rises and businesses cutting staff.
Yesterday's article that job website Seek had 90,000 more applications in the three months to the end of March than the same period last year is staggering.
Even though this is a national figure, local recruitment agencies say the number of Western Bay workers looking for a new job because they are fed up with a lack of pay rises and job security is also rising.
A Seek survey reveals seven out of 10 workers are looking for something new.
Call-centre customer service roles, receptionists, IT help desk and waiting-staff jobs are the most sought-after.
A jobs market that has a healthy turnover is good and ensures companies are exposed to fresh ideas and can recruit fresh talent.
It also creates a higher level of competition for jobs which means businesses are able to recruit the best possible people for their vacancies.
But in the current economic climate, businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to reward staff. If anything, they are expecting more from them.
It is not unusual to hear of people missing out on pay rises and businesses cutting staff or not replacing them as tough times continue. This means workers have to sometimes pick up extra responsibilities, usually for no or little extra remuneration.
During these tough times, good communication and respect between employers and employees is more important than ever.
Staff feeling disengaged or ill-treated will not be productive and can even end up being a liability for companies and companies' more engaged, hard-working colleagues.
It is likely that a number of these types of disaffected workers are among the tens of thousands looking for better work stories.
There will always be people who think the grass greener elsewhere, although there will be some who jump ship only to find this is not so.
But there is a flip side. Given the competition for jobs is so hot and times are so tough, businesses are also likely to have less tolerance for staff not pulling their weight.
More than ever before, having a job is a privilege, not a right.