With the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War on Sunday, it is perhaps appropriate to consider the sacrifice that these soldiers made.
The war was the most-deadly in human history with an estimated 40 million total casualties – 20 million deaths and 21 million wounded. That’s considerably more than the entire populations of Australia and New Zealand combined.
Military personnel weren’t the only people injured or killed in the war.
There were an estimated eight million civilian deaths, including six million due to war-related famine and disease. Of the nine to 11 million soldiers killed, two million died from disease, while six million disappeared.
Thinking about those soldiers in the trenches, gripping their rifle, trying to find the courage to stare down the enemy, makes a person realise how many of our workplace spats really are just First World problems.
Especially when you consider the impact of the war on the home front, with the government instigating the War Precautions Act by the Commonwealth that included new controls and restrictions on civilians in order to raise money for the military coffers.
Some of these controls included the Trading With the Enemy Act, which cancelled existing commercial contracts with companies in enemy countries; a federal power to tax incomes, essentially sharing the tax they collect with the state governments to raise more funds for military expenditure; fixing the price of many goods, which the government had previously not had permission to do; putting farmers into the position of having to sell the government their wheat and wool crops; censoring publications and letters; and imprisoning people without charge if they were born in or had any affiliation with an enemy country.
The impact of the Great War was extensive, with new government controls being taken advantage of to further military might.
Thinking about those soldiers in the trenches, gripping their rifle, trying to find the courage to stare down the enemy, makes a person realise how many of our workplace spats really are just First World problems.
And with the new ability to sell propaganda to the people that censored the reality of frontline efforts, the ability to control the masses increased.
Conscription gives me cold chills. As a career practitioner, I am a strong advocate for freedom of choice when it comes to careers. I help my clients break down the barriers that they perceive to be a threat to the achievement of their career goals.
The question of conscription was a highly politicised one at the time. Prime Minister Billy Hughes called for a referendum in 1916 to give the people a say.
In reality, it was just a political ploy and was essentially an opinion poll as the Constitution already gave the government the power under the existing Defence Act to conscript men for home service. It just needed to change the Defence Act to allow conscripts to serve overseas.
To achieve this, it needed to pass the bill through both Houses of Parliament. A socio-political battle ensued between the Yes and the No vote, and the result of the referendum reflected just how split the Australian people were, as conscription was rejected by a tiny margin, 51 to 49 per cent.
In 1917, Prime Minister Hughes held another vote on the issue, even though he didn’t really need to as he held a majority in both houses of parliament.
It is said, however, that he wanted to give the people the chance to “overcome” what he considered to be a great mistake in rejecting conscription in 1916.
Again, the campaigning was divisive, with Australians citing many reasons why they were against it. Conscription was again rejected, this time by a slightly larger margin.
As a result of these referenda, despite Hughes holding a majority in both Houses of Parliament, conscription was not introduced in the Great War in Australia.
It seems, at this time, at least, the Australian population felt uneasy about mandatory national service, as do I.
Reflecting on this time puts many workplace issues into perspective.
In comparison to life in the trenches, the lack of an ergonomic chair seems trivial indeed.
Every Australian who fought in the Great War did so as a volunteer – that realisation alone makes a person take stock of their complaints at work. Lest we forget, indeed.
Zoë Wundenberg is a careers writer and coach at impressability.com.au
