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Speaker 1: Welcome to Fear and Greek Q and A, where we

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Speaker 1: ask and answer questions about business, investing, economics, politics and

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Speaker 1: all sorts of things. I'm Sean Alma and good morning.

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Speaker 1: Michael Thompson, Good morning Sean, and good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Adam Lang, Good morning Sean.

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Speaker 1: Today during the week we got the labor force statistics

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Speaker 1: from the Australian Bureau Statistics and we found out that

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Speaker 1: the participation rate had dropped. Now Australia has had a

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Speaker 1: very high participation rate over the more recent times, it

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Speaker 1: has come back a bit. That's why we ended up

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Speaker 1: losing a lot of jobs, yet the unemployment rates stayed

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Speaker 1: at four point three percent. So today we are going

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Speaker 1: to discuss sort of when were you happiest at work

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Speaker 1: and what was your participation in work when you were

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Speaker 1: happiest at work.

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Speaker 2: M Okay that's.

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Speaker 1: What I'm laying.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, cool one.

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Speaker 1: So when were you happiest at work? And look, we

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Speaker 1: don't want the long detailed explanation.

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Speaker 2: So I reckon and look, part of this is reflective

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Speaker 2: because one of my sons is eighteen and in getting

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Speaker 2: into his first job post school, right, and it's very

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Speaker 2: reminiscent of my time, you know, UNI working. I reckon

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Speaker 2: when I was studying and working, so working full time student,

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Speaker 2: part time ish almost full time working. I loved that.

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Speaker 2: That was kind of my ideal participation rate. But I

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Speaker 2: did have some really big advantages, right I was living

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Speaker 2: at home and UNI was or not quite costless, but

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Speaker 2: it was so low in terms of the hex stat

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Speaker 2: I accumulated when I went through it, So I had

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Speaker 2: this freedom of not having to worry about rent, and

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Speaker 2: so my participation rate kind of floated on this economic

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Speaker 2: support of my parents. But it was just wonderful learning

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Speaker 2: and working at the same sort of levels. That was

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Speaker 2: my ideal, I reckon.

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Speaker 3: Michael Thompson, Oh see, MND slightly different in that I

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Speaker 3: would say the last kind of five and a half

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Speaker 3: six years of working on Fear and Greed has probably

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Speaker 3: been my most enjoyable working period. And the hours have

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Speaker 3: been long. We've all put in a lot of time.

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Speaker 3: But there's a there was a there's a difference when

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Speaker 3: you are working to build something for yourself right as

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Speaker 3: well when you're and so, and there is a fluctuation

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Speaker 3: that some weeks are bigger than others during that period.

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Speaker 3: But the fact that you are doing something to build

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Speaker 3: a business that you own part of and that you

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Speaker 3: believe in the direction that you are heading in that

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Speaker 3: you're willing to do kind of whatever it takes. So

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Speaker 3: it's kind of it kind of changes it like if

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Speaker 3: you're doing the same number of hours working for someone else,

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Speaker 3: there would be you would be perhaps a lot more

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Speaker 3: dissatisfied doing those same number of hours in a business

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Speaker 3: that you actually own part of. Suddenly the satisfaction and

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Speaker 3: the willingness to do it goes through the roof, right,

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Speaker 3: And so yeah, it's kind of that balance over the

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Speaker 3: last five years. Also, it helps that I've got kind

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Speaker 3: of young kids and we have been able to do

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Speaker 3: a lot of this remotely, which means then that been

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Speaker 3: able to see a lot more of the kids than

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Speaker 3: I had previously, which is also very important.

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Speaker 1: Have your participation in Fear and Greed the number of

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Speaker 1: hours you spend on it, because you've also written books

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Speaker 1: in the time, You've been very done all sorts of things,

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Speaker 1: and we've all done other things apart from Fear and Greed.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure when you were running content at Macquarie Media,

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Speaker 1: you would put more hours into that job, purely that

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Speaker 1: job than inter fear and greed. I'm not arguing against you,

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Speaker 1: but it's like in terms of participation.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Look, and those were long, consistent days in

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Speaker 3: that you would leave home, leave him about six thirty

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Speaker 3: in the morning, and get home after seven at night,

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Speaker 3: and so they were long days. These do feel probably

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Speaker 3: shorter hours, so there is probably a slightly I mean overall,

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Speaker 3: if you were to tally up the hours, there would

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Speaker 3: be fewer hours involved in this. I think you are

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Speaker 3: probably right, but also it's kind of you when you've

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Speaker 3: got multiple things going on. I'm writing books and stuff.

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Speaker 3: You can do it whenever you want, right, so I

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Speaker 3: will do that on the weekend or early in the

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Speaker 3: morning or late at night. It kind of suits yourself,

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Speaker 3: and so it is building it to suit your own life.

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Speaker 1: So the next question then for both of you, and

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Speaker 1: like you two have got totally opposite into the spectrum

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Speaker 1: in terms of when you're best enjoyed it. And I'm

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Speaker 1: much more on mind beside, like I've been incredibly busy

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Speaker 1: the last five years, but my own bus all that

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Speaker 1: sort of stuff. Is it when you're busiest that you're happiest,

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Speaker 1: And I mean everyone says I'm so busy at work.

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Speaker 1: But if I'm not busy, I'm bored it just in

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Speaker 1: being really frank about it, all these people saying, oh,

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Speaker 1: I hate being so busy, I think that's crap. I

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Speaker 1: actually think most people like being busy.

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Speaker 3: Completely agree, like, I am with you on that one.

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Speaker 3: And I think the best example for me is when

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Speaker 3: I finish writing a book, I stop for about a

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Speaker 3: day or two afterwards, I go, oh my god, I

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Speaker 3: can't believe that's finally done, because it's so much work

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Speaker 3: to get there. And after about a day and a half,

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Speaker 3: I'm like, I need to start another one. I need

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Speaker 3: to start another one because I am just I'm not

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Speaker 3: not necessarily bored, but just at a loose end and

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Speaker 3: need to get back into something that is really really productive.

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Speaker 3: And so I think it is both being busy, but

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Speaker 3: being productive really matters, I think for me.

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Speaker 2: So I look totally agree, and it's, you know, one

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Speaker 2: of the great things. There's so little time to waste.

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Speaker 2: The older I get, the more that is more acutely

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Speaker 2: I feel that. But I was just thinking about, Okay,

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Speaker 2: so when was I at my most productive, and so

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Speaker 2: when I was serving beers over a bar, you know,

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Speaker 2: the productivity measure. I don't know how productive that was

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Speaker 2: you're drinking it. I was on the right side. I

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Speaker 2: was getting paid for it, but you know, probably not

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Speaker 2: great contribution to productivity of society studying, probably not. But

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Speaker 2: oh god, I think the older I'm getting, I think,

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Speaker 2: and I hope, the more productive I'm being. And I'm

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Speaker 2: really happy now, Like it's but to agree with you both.

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Speaker 2: If I'm not busy, I'm restless. So I know when

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Speaker 2: I'm in sort of most flow states, it's either exercising

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Speaker 2: and just drifting away or working hard and time just

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Speaker 2: flies by, and you know, I look up and goes, God,

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Speaker 2: do you.

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Speaker 1: Have a go to? So in your cream there are

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Speaker 1: times that you're very happy, and there are times you

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Speaker 1: think what am I doing? And even feary breed. Over

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Speaker 1: the last five and a half years, this has been

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Speaker 1: my most fun work time, without a doubt. But there

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Speaker 1: are times I'm like, oh my god, I've got to

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Speaker 1: do this again today. I just what time is it?

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Speaker 1: H four am? No, I can't. So you know there's

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Speaker 1: ups and that do you have a go to? And Adam,

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Speaker 1: you just mentioned yours that to get you through those moments?

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Speaker 1: So I mean my definitely is exercise. So if I

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Speaker 1: actually find the world getting a bit too big for

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Speaker 1: me and I haven't got time for anything, I actually

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Speaker 1: start exercising more because it's makes me feel good about myself.

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Speaker 1: And even if you are really busy, you're feeling better

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Speaker 1: about yourself. But you know, maybe it's the other thing

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Speaker 1: I tend to do. I know I'm relaxing when I'm

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Speaker 1: reading books, not for work, just books. So if I

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Speaker 1: find myself lying on the couch reading a book, I think,

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Speaker 1: oh wow, this is relaxation for me at its finest.

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Speaker 1: Do you guys have similar things? Look?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, reading is that. And if I make sure

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Speaker 3: I have a book on go, whether it's an audiobook

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Speaker 3: or a physical book, so that you have something to

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Speaker 3: go to that has nothing to do with what we're

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Speaker 3: talking about every other every other minute of the day.

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Speaker 3: But also for me, it is the one thing that

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Speaker 3: I love to do is to walk the kids to

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Speaker 3: school in the morning, and that for me instead of

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Speaker 3: kind of getting out and exercising or going for a

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Speaker 3: run or going to the gym or something. That for

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Speaker 3: me is that like it's twenty minutes in the morning

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Speaker 3: and that is my reset. Basically, each day. Getting to

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Speaker 3: do that is really really important, Adam.

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Speaker 2: If I get to holiday, you know that moment because

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Speaker 2: usually there's like all of us so busy, but getting

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Speaker 2: to that point where you've organized some time off and

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Speaker 2: being on holiday, so I love that. That is that's special.

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Speaker 2: That means I've done as much as I can to

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Speaker 2: earn that time with my family. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: That's have we Has this discussion this morning contributed anything

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Speaker 1: to society, I'm not so sure, but it's kind of

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Speaker 1: been a cathartic for us.

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Speaker 2: Screw therapy loosely around participation rate, very very loosely.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Michael, Thank you, Sean, thank you, Adam,

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Speaker 1: thank you, Sean, thank you Michael. If you've got a

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Speaker 1: question you'd like us to tackle, send it through on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook,

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Speaker 1: or at Fearing Greed dot com. Today you I'm Sean

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Speaker 1: Aylmer and this is Fear and Greed. You and Da