Curtin’s Cast Episode 28 - 3 September 2025 - Prof Sean Scalmer (Author of A Fair Day’s Work: The Quest to Win Back Time)

This week we’re joined by Professor Sean Scalmer — one of Australia's leading historians based at the University of Melbourne, Fellow of the Academy of Social Science, and author of A Fair Day’s Work: The Quest to Win Back Time.

We dive into:
⏳ The fight for the eight-hour day and Australia’s pioneering role
📉 How progress stalled from the 1980s onwards
👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 The hidden burden of unpaid work, especially for women
💻 Technology, productivity and the “always on” culture
🗳️ Why politics has failed to act on overwork
✨ What a fairer future — maybe even a four-day week — could look like

A revealing look at the crisis of work-life balance — and how we might win back our time. Grab a copy of Sean's book here:

https://www.mup.com.au/books/a-fair-day-s-work/9780522880816