Millionaire Roxy Jacenko recently said that lazy and entitled Australians put work/life balance before their career. She is living proof of her philosophy that hard work brings success. However, there are some who apply this philosophy only to their job and not to their careers.

Each organisation has people who come in early, finish late, never take a day off sick and always do more than they are paid for. In football terms they are the first names on the team sheet but the last to make the headlines. Solid, dependable and loyal they get overlooked for promotion because they’re too busy achieving the organisation’s goals to consider their own future, and the organisation considers them too valuable in their current role.

Jacekeno’s other point was that her Chinese partners answer emails instantly at all times of the day. In a global environment that’s a competitive advantage, which threatens the traditional 9-5 routine. As Australian businesses start to fall behind they may have to choose between workers who give extra time and effort and those who seek a better work/life balance.