New research has found that a large portion of Australians working in tourism have a side project, with some clocking off work and into their project after hours.
To mark this year’s launch of the Tomorrow Fund, AMP’s philanthropic arm (which gives away $1 million in grants each year to “everyday Australians doing amazing things in their communities”), the AMP Foundation, released a new study assessing the ambitions of people working in tourism.
It found that as many as 67 per cent of tourism workers have a side project, and the AMP Foundation believes this has led to the rise of the “5pm to 9pm working day”.
Concurrently, this sees almost a half (40 per cent) of tourism workers clocking off work and into their side project after hours.
The study also found that funding is the main thing holding tourism workers back from pursuing a side project, according to 47 per cent of respondents, with a lack of time generally (20 per cent) also preventing people from following their passion.
Tourism workers are at their most productive at the start of the week, with 60 per cent feeling in an inspirational frame of mind on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Women working in tourism are just as likely as men to pursue their passion, with 67 per cent of men and women currently working on a side project.
The most popular categories for a side project for tourism workers include small business (20 per cent), sport and leisure (20 per cent) and education (13 per cent).
If money was not an object – health (27 per cent), the environment (20 per cent) and the ageing population (13 per cent) are the top three societal issues tourism workers would look to tackle if given the opportunity.
Applications for AMP’s Tomorrow Fund, which is in its sixth year, are now open, with another $1 million in grants on offer to Australians “doing great things in any field”.
Individuals of all ages, interests and abilities, working towards goals with community benefit, are invited to apply for grants of up to $100,000 per person.
To be eligible, applicants must apply at ampstomorrowfund.com.au by 4pm (AEST) on 27 May 2019, explaining what their goal is, why it is important to Australia and what they have done to move closer to it.
