Managing down

Good morning AusCorp. Nearly 40% of the time people save using AI tools is spent fixing what the AI got wrong. Workday is calling it "false productivity," we're calling it managing downwards.

As you declutter your inbox after a well-deserved long weekend break, we're unpacking why AI might be making you slower than you think and whether rising food prices actually help Coles and Woolworths.

Plus fuel station outages dropped by 332 this week, pine mushroom season is here, and early access to our new pickleball event.

AUSCORP STRESS INDEX

The AusCorp Stress Index increased this week. Deloitte economists described the economy as "running on empty" while Oracle is the latest tech firm to cut 30,000 job globally. Overall, hiring hasn't stopped but it has narrowed. Firms are still posting roles but being highly selective about which ones. Job postings and net headcount are both softer, which means the volume of opportunities is shrinking even if the market hasn't frozen. The companies still hiring are hiring with intent. They have a specific person in mind and they're not in a rush to settle. If you're on the market right now, you're competing in a smaller field against a tighter criteria.

THE BIG CONVERSATION

According to a Workday survey of workers across the Asia-Pacific, nearly 40% of the time saved from AI tools is eaten up correcting the output those same tools produce. Employees reported saving 4-7 hours a week using AI, then spending 1-2 of those hours fixing mistakes, rewriting content and double-checking things they probably should have just written themselves. Only 14% said they consistently got clear, positive net outcomes. For most of us, we’re basically managing an intern who occasionally does good work.

Workday is calling it "false productivity". The tool moves fast, the output is somewhat plausible and the user feels like they're ahead but then they read it properly.

The cohort spending the most time on AI rework is 25-34 year olds, which contradicts the assumption that younger workers have a natural advantage here. They might be using the tools more, but it means they're also correcting them more. Familiarity with the technology hasn't translated into better outcomes, just more exposure to its failure modes.

AI is still valuable given many people still get value from it. The problem is that organisations are counting the headline time savings without accounting for the correction overhead, and workers are absorbing that cost quietly because admitting the tool didn't work feels like admitting something about themselves.

PICK & SCROLL BY THE AUSSIE CORPORATE

Flat White lands every week. The news doesn't. While you were looking forward to the long weekend, Kmart and Shein got sued for copyright, Siri will now backend into any AI LLM of your choice and KitKat apparently lost 12 tonnes of chocolate.

If you missed any of that, we’ll keep you in the loop even if you live under a rock.

Every weekday morning at 8:00AM, we send you everything that happened across Australian business and corporate news in a 2-minute read. Same team. Same voice. Just daily.

TOP PICKS FROM LAST WEEK

• Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht has alarmed staff by sharing a message comparing the company's workforce of about 5,000 to Anthropic’s 2,500. LINK 

• The Australian government has expanded funding for its home battery rebate scheme from $2.3B to $7.2B after more than 200,000 installations, while diluting benefits. LINK 

• KitKat has reported that 12 tonnes of its chocolate has gone missing enroute from its factory. LINK

• Treasury has identified that the big four accounting firms operate in a regulatory grey area with inadequate audit oversight. LINK

• Sabo Skirt has filed a Federal Court case against Shein, Kmart and 14 other brands alleging they copied 36 of its clothing designs, damaging sales and reputation. LINK

THE INSIDE TRACK (TRIGGER WARNING)

Just over a month a ago, we reported on the tragic accident that happened at the NAB incident in Melbourne. Since then, more details about the incident have been published in the media.

We also wanted to remind our readers that there are mental health resources out there, and even if you feel like you don’t need it, a lot of it is free so there’s no downside.

Factoring in the rise in the AusCorp Stress Index, it is now more important than ever to ask your colleagues if they are ok and to look out for one another.

THREAD OF THE WEEK - r/AUSCORP

Workplace Survey - have you been brutally honest?

Take "confidential” workplace surveys with a grain of salt. Write what you would say to your manager's face, because that is the only filter that will actually protect you.

 Read the thread →

THE ECONOMIC SCOOP

Food prices are about to go up. That's not really the question anymore. The question is whether Coles and Woolworths actually make more money from it and your guess is probably wrong.

Morgan Stanley's latest analysis argues that food inflation only helps supermarkets when people are still buying the same volume of stuff. Higher prices on their own just lift the dollar figure on the receipt without improving the margin behind it. When households are stretched (and between rate hikes and fuel costs - they definitely are), shoppers trade down to home brands, hunt specials harder and eat out less. All of which pressures the supermarkets to reinvest in price to hold volume rather than banking the inflation as profit.

Both Coles and Woolworths are currently in Federal Court over pricing practices and new anti-gouging laws take effect in July. That means the usual playbook of passing through cost inflation at a margin is constrained in a way it wasn't during the post-COVID price surge. The supermarkets will absorb more of the cost increase this time, whether they want to or not.

For households, the practical impact is roughly a 1% increase in grocery prices over the next 12 months, driven mostly by fresh food and freight costs. That's on top of everything else. It's not catastrophic on its own but it's another line item on a household budget that's already running out of room.

OFF THE CLOCK

EATING
Pine mushrooms are worth the seasonal fuss

They show up once a year, they taste like something a forest would charge you for, and the supermarket has never heard of them. LINK

WATCHING
Five new shows to end the scroll

ScreenHub has done the work of narrowing it down, which is more than most streaming platforms will do for you. LINK

READING
Sydney's e-bike moment is getting complicated

The gap between the promise of urban cycling and the reality of a Lime bike doing 40km/h through a pedestrian crossing is becoming harder to ignore. LINK

WEARING
The hunt for a decent hoodie continues

Heavy cotton, no logo, not 40% polyester pretending otherwise - the bar is low and somehow still being cleared by almost no one. LINK

GOING
Soak Bathhouse is opening a second location

Melbourne's bathhouse scene is expanding into the inner south, which means you can now decompress in warm mineral water without having to explain to anyone why you drove to Fitzroy. LINK

AUSCORP EVENTS

SPORTS
AusCorp Runs | Register HERE

Sydney: Tuesday 14th April at 7AM | Melbourne: Tuesday 21st April | 7AM

Now that public transport is packed to the brim, come to the city earlier and trade your commute for a morning jog. This is a friendly, no-ego run before work with a small group so it stays social and safe. All paces welcome.

SPORTS
AusCorp Pickleball | Sydney | Early Access HERE

Ditch your client lunch and grab a paddle - our pilot AusCorp Pickleball event is here and we promise it's more fun than whatever's in your calendar for a Thursday.

Thursday 30th April | 11:30AM - 12:30PM & 12:30PM - 1:30PM

SPORTS
AusCorp Singles Event 👀 | Coming Soon

End of May

SPORTS
AusCorp Pilates | Coming Soon

May/June

ODD PICKS FROM LAST WEEK

• People in the happiest relationships do 7 things on weeknights - that most neglect. LINK

• In (un)surprising news, the HR exec (F) from the viral Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' video says she's struggling to get a job. LINK

• Simple '30-second rule' can help you win every conversation, even if you're a little awkward. LINK

• The no. 1 exercise to relieve your lower back pain, according to a trainer. LINK

• The disturbing rise of the ‘alpine divorce’. LINK

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