PACK & SEND Live is a platform that integrates with any shopping website to fulfill shopping cart orders. The service means orders are automatically imported into the platform, instigating labels and a courier service to collect the products and proceed to fulfillment. Auto-generated tracking to customers means faster deliveries worldwide. 

With features including modern shipping technology, integration of multiple carriers, access to PACK & SEND’s competitive carrier prices and a dedicated team of account managers, PACK & SEND Live emerges as a viable option designed to support online enterprises. 

Sonia Shwabsky, President of PACK & SEND said, “Australia’s small business landscape was recently disrupted, but now is the time to underscore the importance of having a flexible and reliable shipping solution partner, and we’re here to assist in ways that we can.”

PACK & SEND Live is seamlessly integrated with online sales channels, including Shopify, Woo Commerce, Magento and many more – enabling a direct flow with the platform for a more precise process. With a centralised system, businesses can access different carriers with live fee comparisons. There are no additional subscriptions necessary and customers are only required to process freight costs.

A national network of fulfillment facilities is available under the PACK & SEND Live Pro+ option, where storage and handling can also be availed. That includes from a small range of products on shelving to unloading a full sea container of inventory regardless of business size. Furthermore, add-ons such as custom packaging and gift notes can also be provided to enhance the businesses’ brand delivery experience. 

PACK & SEND Live is available for businesses across Australia looking for a professional partner in shipping and order fulfillment that operates with efficiency. For more information, visit packsend.com.au/live.

Every January, many workplace leaders hold their breath and hope Australia Day will pass quietly.

No complaints. No difficult conversations. No tension to manage.

I understand the instinct. January 26 is divisive, emotionally charged, and deeply personal. But for workplaces, avoiding it does not make the tension disappear. It simply drives it underground.

Australia is a divided nation when it comes to Australia Day, and workplaces inherit that division whether they like it or not. Employees don’t leave their identities, values, or emotions at the door. They bring them into meetings, team chats, and leadership decisions.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, January 26 marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and intergenerational trauma. That truth alone makes it a difficult day for many workplaces. But it does not stop there.

Increasingly, this is not only a First Nations issue.

Employees from migrant and refugee backgrounds, particularly those from countries shaped by colonisation, conflict, or displacement, often experience Australia Day with ambivalence. Some feel proud to celebrate their citizenship, while simultaneously feeling uneasy about what the date represents.

At the same time, many non-Indigenous allies are also finding this period increasingly uncomfortable. Not because they lack care or goodwill, but because the conversation has become so polarised that people fear saying the wrong thing, being labelled, or causing harm. What was once curiosity has, in some spaces, turned into hesitation or silence.

What unites these experiences is uncertainty. People don’t want to offend. They don’t want to get it wrong. And when leaders say nothing, employees are left to navigate that complexity alone.

In my work with Evolve Communities and the workplace training programs we run, we hear this repeatedly. People are not asking leaders to take a political position. They are asking for acknowledgement, guidance, and permission to hold mixed feelings.

The biggest risk for business leaders is assuming silence is neutral. It isn’t.

When organisations avoid January 26 altogether, the impact shows up quietly but consistently. Disengagement, exclusion, increased cultural load on First Nations staff, and a hardening of views that goes unaddressed. Trust erodes. Psychological safety weakens. Leaders lose credibility, not because they chose the “wrong” stance, but because they chose no stance at all.

Australia Day has only been marked nationally on January 26 since 1994. It is younger than Kylie Minogue’s Locomotion. Yet many leaders treat it as an immovable tradition, rather than a moment that requires mature leadership in complexity.

This is why January 26 is not a once-a-year communications issue. It is a leadership capability test.

The good news is that navigating this well does not require grand statements or perfect language. It requires practical, human leadership.

What works, and what we see working with our clients, starts with acknowledging complexity. Naming that Australia Day holds different meanings for different people creates immediate psychological safety. It signals that employees don’t have to hide how they feel.

Choice matters. Offering options to work, to take leave, or to mark the day in a way that aligns with personal values respects difference without forcing conformity.

Education matters even more. Not as a one-off session or symbolic gesture, but as part of ongoing cultural capability. Understanding history, listening to lived experience, and building confidence in how to have respectful conversations reduces fear and division over time.

At Evolve, we use a simple framework. Reflect, relate, reconcile. Reflect on the issue and the facts. Relate by stepping into someone else’s perspective. Reconcile by asking how we move forward together. This shifts conversations away from winning arguments and towards maintaining relationships.

Perhaps most importantly, leaders need to recognise that workplaces are cultural actors, not neutral bystanders. The way organisations handle January 26 sends a powerful signal about who belongs, whose experiences matter, and how difference is held.

Australia Day will not become less divisive by ignoring it. But leaders who are willing to step into the discomfort calmly, respectfully, and with curiosity will build stronger, more inclusive organisations because of it.

Contributed by Carla Rogers, Founder of Evolve Communities

New AMP Bank GO research reveals one in four small business owners don’t have time for a holiday, with most stuck in a constant state of ‘always on’.

As much of Australia switches off for a break over summer, small business owners are doing the opposite – working longer hours, sacrificing personal time and worrying about cash flow, even while on holiday.

New research from AMP Bank GO reveals that one in four Australian small business owners don’t feel they have time to take a holiday, while half are reluctant to take time off at all, concerned about the impact on their business.

The findings highlight a growing divide between employees – who have a legal ‘right to disconnect’ – and small business owners, who remain tethered to their work, finances and admin, even during the festive season.

Key findings from AMP Bank GO always on research:

Holiday stress:

• 90% are preoccupied with work outside typical hours, with 1 in 3 thinking about work ‘constantly’.
• 1 in 4 small business owners say they don’t have time for holidays.
• 50% are reluctant to take time off, worried about the impact on their business.

Strategy not a priority:

• 2 in 5 aren’t planning effectively for the future, only able to step back and strategise once a year, or not at all.
• Of the 40% who don’t regularly undertake strategic planning, they key reason cited was it being ‘not important’, followed by ‘too much admin’ and thirdly, ‘not enough time’.

Financial admin burden:

• 43% spend too much time on financial administration, with more than half dedicating over six hours a week to admin tasks.
• 60% sacrifice personal time or weekends just to stay on top of their finances.
• 35% don’t believe they’re working as efficiently as they could.

Cashflow and money worries:

• 70% worry about their cashflow, and 6 in 10 small business owners worry about being unable to pay their bills.
• 40% of small business owners reported their core businesses’ product/service demand is unpredictable, which only adds to their money stress. 

John Arnott, Director AMP Bank GO said:

“Small business owners deserve a break. The hustle never stops – but taking even a short pause can be the difference between surviving and thriving in the year ahead.

“While many Australians are switching off for a break, small business owners are still ‘always on’ – worrying about cash flow, admin and whether their business can cope without them. That’s not sustainable.

“The new year beginning should be about setting yourself up for success. A few hours of reflection now can pay dividends all year long – but only if owners have visibility over their finances and confidence to switch off.”

Xero, the global small business platform, today announced the global launch of its new AI-powered analytics capabilities, setting a new standard for small business intelligence. Millions of business owners now have the ability to access leading analytics, insights, and reporting, and get instant answers to their financial questions directly within Xero. 

“Powerful analytics embedded in Xero puts small businesses on equal footing with larger enterprises and enables them to move beyond guesswork and make clear, data-driven decisions with greater speed and confidence,” said Diya Jolly, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Xero. “We know businesses that analyse their financial data regularly see higher average revenue growth, and these tools make it easier than ever to understand performance and maintain a competitive edge.”

Following its 2024 acquisition of Syft, a leading AI-powered reporting and insights platform, Xero has rapidly integrated the company’s powerful analytics features to put enterprise-grade intelligence into the hands of small businesses. In less than one year since closing the deal, analytics embedded within Xero have been made available to millions of customers worldwide. 

Built for the business owner–not highly specialised data analysts–Xero’s analytics platform gives small businesses sophisticated yet easy-to-navigate insights tools, including: 

• Dashboards: customisable views of performance across revenue, expenses, and KPIs
• Visualisations: graphs and tables to track profitability, cash flow, balance sheet health
• Cash flow manager: projections up to 180 days, with the ability to scenario plan “what if” outcomes
• AI insights: AI-generated suggestions and summaries provide a clear explanation of financial data
• Business health scorecards: create custom scorecards that track key performance metrics alongside external data—like website traffic—for a consolidated view of business health

“These new analytics features from Xero are exactly what I’ve been looking for,” said Macushla Collins, founder at The BD Edge. “Instead of searching for another tool, I can now get the clear financial understanding I need, right within Xero. I’m looking forward to using these insights to feel more confidence in my business decisions.”

This milestone is part of Xero’s broader AI and insights strategy, which includes the recent unveiling of JAX, Xero’s AI financial superagent. Together, these innovations realise Xero’s vision to bring enterprise-grade intelligence to small businesses, delivered with the trust, accuracy, and human oversight that define the Xero brand. With 4.6 million subscribers today, Xero continues to successfully balance growth and profitability, recording a 20% increase in first-half revenue to NZD $1.2 billion (to the half year ended 30 September 2025), while delivering an above Rule of 40 outcome. 

AI has changed our personal lives, answering any question, unleashing our creativity, and delivering tailored insights with a simple prompt. But in the workplace, AI hasn’t yet been so transformative — bogged down by unintuitive interfaces, fragmented across multiple teams and tools, beset by hallucinations and inconsistency, and lacking the context that the workplace demands. Introducing Slacks Slackbot.

The idea is simple: Use Slack’s intuitive, familiar UI to connect every employee with reliable intelligence grounded in conversational data, customer data and metadata, and deterministic workflows.  AI becomes as natural as talking to a coworker.

At the center of that vision is Slackbot. 

Slackbot is now a deeply personal agent for work, built directly into Slack to help you get work done. It starts with the context you already have and works with the tools and information you already trust in Slack, always respecting your permissions and access controls. It can help you find answers, organise work, create content, schedule meetings, and take action — all without leaving Slack. There is nothing to install, nothing to learn, and nothing new to manage. 

With Slackbot, businesses get access to an out-of-the-box employee agent that deeply understands every employee, their team, and how they work. And soon, Slackbot will be the best way to collaborate with Agentforce and third-party agents — a simple, conversational UI that can trigger actions and orchestrate workflows, all grounded in business intelligence and trusted data. 

“Slackbot isn’t just another copilot or AI assistant. It’s the front door to the Agentic Enterprise, powered by Salesforce. This brings AI that is grounded in your company’s data, workflows, and Slack conversations, right into the flow of work. It is the crucial step to realising the future we’ve been building toward — bringing Agentforce 360 to life with an intuitive, conversational interface, and elevating every human with enterprise-grade AI.” – Parker Harris, Co-Founder, Salesforce & Chief Technology Officer, Slack

Starting today, the new Slackbot is generally available for Business+ and Enterprise+ customers.

Slackbot does not ask you to adapt to it. It adapts to you.

One simple concern has held back enterprise AI adoption: Can AI actually be trusted to complete the sensitive tasks and interactions that are fundamental to business success? To trust an AI agent with your work, it needs to understand your context. It needs to know what you are working on, who you work with, what matters, and what doesn’t. It needs to see the conversations where decisions are made, the files that carry context, and the systems of record that hold the truth of your business. It needs to respect permissions, protect your data, and show up in a way that feels natural, not disruptive.

Most agents fall short here. They live in separate apps, fragmenting attention as people constantly switch between tools. They start from zero context. They make you explain yourself over and over again. The capabilities may be impressive, but they do not earn your trust.

Slackbot is different — built directly into Slack for every employee, with no setup or training required. Most importantly: Slackbot already knows you. Slackbot understands your conversations, files, channels, and the people you work with. It sees what you can see, always respecting your permissions and access controls. That built-in context makes Slackbot more accurate, more relevant, and more useful in helping you get real work done because it instantly understands you and your work. To get started, you simply talk to it.

“Because so much of our work happens in Slack, Slackbot already understands our world. I don’t have to write a long brief to get it up to speed on what we’ve been working on or how the team operates; it just gets the context from day one.” – Megan Harrigan, Director of Global CX Projects & Readiness, Xero

Over time, Slackbot will become even more capable. 

As Agentforce and other agents are introduced across your organisation, Slackbot will become your ideal way to work with all of them. No need to hunt for the right agent or tool – Slackbot will figure out what systems to involve based on what you ask it. It will coordinate the work across systems and agents behind the scenes, while you stay focused on what matters.

Today, Slackbot helps you get work done faster. Looking ahead, it becomes the trusted front door to a new way of working, where people and AI agents operate together in Slack, simply, naturally, and with confidence.

“Slackbot is saving me, at bare minimum, 90 minutes a day. I ask it to create a canvas for a meeting tomorrow, and in 17 seconds it’s better than I could ever do. It tells me next steps, saving time and money.” – Sinan, Head of Beast Games Marketing, Beast Industries

This is what it looks like when AI understands you and your work

Most AI tools sound the same no matter who is using them. They lack context, miss nuance, and force you to jump between tools to get anything done. The result is work that feels impersonal and disconnected from how you actually operate.

When AI truly understands you and your work, it stops feeling generic and starts feeling useful. It gives you personalised answers, not search results.

Slackbot helps you throughout your day, whether it’s helping you answer “Where is that important file someone sent me?” or “What did we decide about the Q4 budget?” or asking it to “Catch me up on Project Phoenix.”  

From conversation to action

Slackbot does not just help you find information. It helps you move forward. You can draft meeting notes, project updates, or briefs in seconds, then refine them through conversation. You can turn a rough idea into a shared canvas ready for collaboration without breaking your flow.

When it comes to managing your day, Slackbot knows you and your schedule. It helps you find time on calendars and schedule meetings, surface priorities, and set reminders so important work does not fall through the cracks. Instead of switching tools, you stay focused and keep momentum.

When conversation meets customer context

This is where AI becomes genuinely strategic.

Standalone models can help you write faster, but they cannot help you decide better. They lack access to the systems that hold your customer history, account details, and business reality.

Slackbot bridges that gap by connecting conversation with customer context. By working with your Salesforce data alongside Slack conversations and files, Slackbot can help you prepare for meetings, understand account health, and identify next steps with a level of insight that neither system can deliver on its own.

Before a critical customer conversation, Slackbot can pull together recent discussions, relevant documents, and customer history into a single, clear briefing. It turns scattered information into shared understanding.

A new way of working, already in motion

This launch marks the next step in how work gets done in the agentic era. Whether you are collaborating with a team or focused on deep individual work, Slackbot removes the friction between what you are doing now and what you need to do next.

Instead of adapting to tools, the tools adapt to you.

“Slackbot is like a brilliant colleague who is always available and already understands our business. Instead of switching between apps and losing my train of thought, I can stay in Slack and keep moving. It has completely changed how efficiently I work.” – Christine McHone, Global Enterprise TMT Leader, Slalom

Slackbot availability

Starting January 13, 2026, the new version of Slackbot will be gradually rolling out to customers on certain plans. Org Owners and Admins on Enterprise plans can set specific Slackbot access permissions (or restrict access to Slackbot entirely) until February 10, 2026. 

Australian retailers are turning to artificial intelligence to simplify and automate returns and exchanges, while strengthening loyalty programs and redemptions to maintain cashflow as consumers grapple with the post-holiday debt hangover.

With household budgets tight and consumer confidence fluctuating, retailers are under pressure to protect margins without alienating cautious shoppers. AI-driven technology for returns is emerging as a key part of that strategy.

Maurice Zicman, Vice President, CX Strategy at TP in Australia says major brands are using AI algorithms to fast-track refunds, exchanges and store credits by automating eligibility checks and decision-making. 

He says it makes the process faster for customers, while reducing labour costs and speeds up inventory recovery for retailers.

“Traditionally, returns have been one of retail’s most expensive and labour-intensive pain points. Items must be inspected, refunds approved and inventory updated, with customers left waiting for this process to conclude before a refund is issued. 

“Some retailers are now using AI models to instantly assess whether a return qualifies for immediate approval with many customers receiving a refund before the item is even shipped back through “refund without return.” 

“AI tools can also assess photos of returns for any damage and inspect the packaging to help determine whether products can be resold at full price, discounted or redirected to secondary markets.

“Retailers are also tightly integrating AI-powered returns with loyalty programs. Instead of issuing cash refunds, customers are increasingly offered instant store credit or personalised exchange options which are designed to keep spending within the brand.

Latest data shows Aussies spent an average of $828 on gifts, holidays and celebrations with fewer than a third managing to stick to a budget and 32% using a credit card. “The rising cost of living has left many households cautious about discretionary spending particularly in January and February, posing challenges for retailers looking to maintain sales momentum,” 

“Post-Christmas is not just about clearing stock but also leveraging insights from the holiday season to fine tune customer experiences and loyalty programs,” adds Mr Zicman.

Retailers are using a number of strategies to maintain momentum such as: 

• Easier Returns: Shoppers have grown accustomed to one-click buying and next-day delivery and their expectations for returns have risen just as fast. Retailers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to streamline the returns process, cutting wait times for customers while reducing costs and fraud for businesses.

• Data-driven personalisation: Retailers are leveraging data from holiday purchases to tailor marketing campaigns, with a focus on personalised offers and tailored discounts. 

• Omnichannel integration: Businesses are doubling down on their digital presence, ensuring seamless online, in-store and social media shopping experiences to capture a broader audience. 

• Customer care support: There’s a growing trend among retailers investing in scalable customer service solutions to handle post-Christmas inquiries. This ensures they can meet demand spikes and deal with returns and warranty issues without compromising service quality. 

“Retailers are navigating a complex landscape and they must be agile and proactive. The post-holiday period is a time to recalibrate, innovate and strengthen customer relationships to drive sustainable growth.

“As Australian businesses navigate economic uncertainties moving into 2026, their ability to embrace new and emerging AI technologies to adapt to consumer behaviour and market trends will determine their resilience in the months ahead,” says Mr Zicman.

Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company, has revealed nine future of work trends that chief human resource officers (CHROs) will need to address in 2026 and beyond to ensure their organisation achieves its desired talent and business outcomes.

“This year’s predictions address significant workplace forces CHROs must navigate in 2026: HR’s changing – and expanding – mandate, the AI-enabled workforce, mounting pressure for growth and the shifting employment deal,” said Emily Rose McRae, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner HR practice.

The top nine future of work trends for HR leaders this year are: 

1. Reductions in Force (RIFs) Before Reality

Optimistic about the potential of AI investments to increase productivity and innovation, some CEOs have reduced headcount. Yet, current workforce reductions are not due to better performing AI – only 1% of layoffs in H12025 were the result of AI increasing employees’ productivity. This places business leaders in an impossible position – being asked to make cuts to their teams on the basis of AI returns that have not yet been realised and may never be. In some cases, organisations will end up needing to rehire for roles they have cut.

In 2026, CHROs must deliver any layoffs in a human-centric way that does not harm the organisation’s employment brand. Longer term, CHROs must lead “talent remix” efforts to ensure the size and structure of the current workforce can effectively and sustainably support their organisation’s strategic goals.

2. Organisations Face Culture Dissonance Amid Performance Pressure

Several high-profile organisations have embraced a startup-style culture featuring long hours, aggressive performance management and minimal flexibility. Organisations are expecting more from employees without offering more (compensation, flexibility or benefits) in return.

“This is leading to cultural dissonance – when culture no longer reflects the reality of work,” said Kaelyn Lowmaster, Director in the Gartner HR practice. “As a result, we’re seeing “regrettable retention,” where disengaged employees remain in their role, and damage to the employment brand, both of which threaten CEOs’ performance ambitions. The most successful CHROs this year will be clear and explicit about the reality of their employee value proposition (EVP), including what they expect from employees (output, hours, location, etc) in return.”

3. AI’s Biggest Hidden Cost: Employees’ Mental Fitness

Preserving the resilience and safety of the workforce in the AI era is a core HR responsibility in 2026. CHROs must ensure managers and leaders are equipped to spot symptoms of disordered AI use or negative psychological, behavioural or emotional impacts of pervasive AI at work. They must also ensure their teams act now to prevent erosion of key skills. The most successful CHROs will also proactively work with legal and IT to have a plan for preventing and responding to AI-related psychological injury.

4. AI Workslop Becomes Organisations’ Top Productivity Drain

An overwhelming focus on AI adoption and improving individual employee productivity has led to “workslop” – an abundance of fast but poor quality work produced by or with AI. Employees are being pressured to adopt AI for as many potential use cases as possible, with no time or autonomy to discern if the output is high quality or fit for purpose.

“In 2026, the best CHROs will focus on saving employees effort, not just time, by aiming AI at the most arduous, friction-filled moments in employee work, rather than quick wins,” said McRae. “Effort, rather than time spend, is the most reliable indicator CHROs should use to understand where AI should reshape work and provide value.”

5. Employers Reverse the Candidate Fraud Arms Race

AI has made hiring an arms race: candidates use AI for easier application and to stand out, while organisations use AI to sift through a higher volume of candidates and to detect genuine, qualified matches and avoid malicious actors.

This leaves organisations faced with an overburdened and fraud-ridden process at the very moment recruiting headcount is under increased scrutiny. CHROs in 2026 will increase the value of the human in recruiting workflows by combining “high touch” approaches (in-person interviews, experiential skills assessment) with emerging AI tools.

6. Corporate Espionage Moves from the Pages of Fiction to Our Payrolls

The AI arms race and economic nationalism have drastically increased the risk of insider threats, specifically in the form of corporate espionage. Employers are also facing regulatory and reputational pressure to address technological sovereignty and to reduce dependency on technology from companies based in other countries.

HR must increase its role in protecting organisational security in 2026. In addition to organisations’ more intensive cybersecurity efforts, CHROs will need to invest heavily in the behavioural and motivational side of addressing and identifying sources of insider threats.

7. Tech-to-Trades Career Paths Blossom

As AI continues to proliferate, workers in some fields, such as software development, finance and professional services, will look to pivot to more “AI-proof” careers — such as the high-demand, hands-on, skilled trade work that is less likely to be fully automated in the near to medium-term. 

Retraining and apprenticeship programs will emerge in 2026 to help digital workers transition into skilled trade professions. CHROs must be proactive both in planning to retain their key digital talent, offering reskilling support where appropriate, and building new pipelines for skilled trade roles, potentially in collaboration with industry partners. 

8. Process Pros, Not Tech Prodigies, Unlock AI Value

Organisations are scrambling to hire talent with the latest AI skills and to upskill their existing talent to use existing AI tools effectively. However, success with one AI tool will not automatically result in quality output from another. Optimising individual use of AI-based productivity tools on its own does not lead to growth or cost reduction.

The most successful organisations in 2026 will prioritise finding work process experts — employees whose creativity and systems thinking allow them to redesign entire processes, not just optimise individual tasks. CHROs should update their recruiting processes to prioritise AI judgement and critical thinking over technical skill. They should also tap leaders to establish an employee working group to identify processes, not just tasks, that can be redesigned using AI.

9. Employees Get Paid for Training Their Digital Doppelgangers

In 2025, AI programs trained on real human artists to mimic their style, tone and behaviour in original works. In 2026, this trend will come to the broader workforce – digital twins or AI avatars are already being developed to replicate high-performing employees, and even CEOs.

Digitally replicating employees – specifically the knowledge, habits and individual behaviours that make them successful – opens uncharted territory in terms of compensation. Employees will demand to be paid, not just for training AI tools, but for the ongoing use of their digital likeness long after they’ve left the organisation. The best organisations will update their AI governance to protect and reward employees’ likeness as AI is increasingly shaped in their image.

Learn more via the webinar: The Gartner Top 9 Future of Work Trends for 2026 and Beyond. Additional information is available in the associated article “9 Future of Work Trends For 2026.”

One question I hear constantly from small business owners is: “How much is AI actually going to cost me?” The honest answer? Probably less than you think. But the real question should be: “Am I spending money in the right places?”

Here’s the reality most people won’t tell you. The biggest cost of AI integration isn’t the technology. According to HP’s recent survey of Australian small businesses, only 15% say they lack budget for AI tools. The real barriers? Skills and mindset readiness (53%), complexity and integration challenges (44%), and finding tools that actually fit their needs (54%). In other words, most businesses aren’t struggling to afford AI. They’re struggling to adopt it properly.

The Real Cost Categories

Most small businesses can get access to fantastic AI tools for under $100 per month in software subscriptions. Most AI platforms such as Microsoft CoPilot, ChatGPT, Claude and Canva have free versions you can use. If you need to expand your usage, you are looking at anywhere between $15 to $50 per month per platform which in the grand scheme of things is totally worth it for the value it brings.

The trap? Signing up for six different AI tools because they each promise something slightly different. Pick three that solve your actual problems and ignore the rest. Also be careful of what plans you sign up for. I’ve seen businesses waste money on enterprise-level tools when starter plans would do. I’ve seen sole traders paying for software designed for companies with 500 employees. Start with free tiers. Graduate when you hit genuine limits, not imagined ones.

I would also recommend setting up a spreadsheet so you can track what you have actually subscribed to. If you have a team, set up an AI email everyone can access, that you can use for subscriptions. This means you don’t waste money on multiple accounts, especially when you are testing new platforms.

Hardware is where things get tricky. If you have the wrong tech, i.e. an old laptop (over 4 years old) using AI can actually become inefficient because your tools can’t handle the horsepower required to run the latest programs. I had a laptop that was around 5 years old and kept crashing whenever I tried to use multiple AI programs. The constant restarting was not only frustrating but it cost me valuable time. Since I upgraded, I have been able to 10X my daily output with ease.

Now the tech industry loves telling you that you need the latest AI-ready device with specialised chips. But here’s what HP’s research revealed: 4 in 5 SMBs don’t fully understand what AI PCs actually do. If you’re a design agency running complex image generation locally, sure, invest in processing power. But if you’re using cloud-based AI tools? Your current laptop might be fine. The rule of thumb: if your AI runs in a browser, you don’t need new hardware. Once business owners actually understand AI PC capabilities, they’re more than twice as likely to see the value in upgrading. Education first, purchase second.

Training is the cost most businesses forget to budget entirely. With 57% of SMBs struggling with tech adoption and integration, this isn’t surprising. Budget time for your team to learn proper prompting, workflow integration, and troubleshooting. Also encourage them to spend at least 30 minutes a week trying and testing new AI tools and features. That time investment compounds. Skip it, and you’ll join the majority who buy tools they never properly use.

Making Smarter Decisions

What do SMBs actually want from AI? HP’s survey found the top motivators are refreshingly practical: affordable to implement (42%), easy to set up (41%), and guaranteed data privacy and security (37%). That’s not asking for miracles. That’s asking for tools that respect the reality of running a small business.

Match your tech to that reality. A boutique retailer doesn’t need the same setup as a professional services firm. Start with one problem AI could genuinely solve. Master that- then expand.

Here’s what makes this worth the effort: enterprise AI users report not just productivity gains, but improved work-life balance (69%) and reduced stress and burnout (68%). For time-poor business owners, that’s the real ROI.

If you want practical, jargon-free guidance on navigating how AI can help your business, the Byte Size podcast, which I co-host with Dr Matt Agnew, covers exactly these questions. We speak with real Australian SMBs about what’s actually working, what hardware you need (and don’t), and how to avoid the costly mistakes everyone makes.

The bottom line: AI doesn’t have to be expensive. But it will be if you don’t know where your money should actually go.

Contributed by Lisa Teh, Founder and Director of CODI Agency

This week At CES 2026, HP Inc. debuted new technologies that position personal fulfilment as the next frontier for driving the Future of Work.

Australian knowledge workers are feeling the pressure with just 14% having a healthy relationship with work. But given the right tools and technology, the likelihood of workers having a healthy work relationship more than doubles – and increases five-fold when the workforce sees their company investing in them.[i] In an era marked by disruption and change, HP recognises a growing fulfilment deficit in the workforce and is committed to empowering organisations to transform this challenge into an opportunity for innovation and resilience.

Innovations Designed for the Future of Work

As businesses navigate unprecedented challenges, HP remains steadfast in its commitment to pioneering solutions that foster fulfilment and accelerate growth, ensuring that the future of work is both human-centered and technology-driven.

New products and solutions include:

• Designing for the future of work means creating solutions that move, connect, and adapt to any workspace. HP’s newest form factor, the HP EliteBoard G1a, is the world’s first full AI PC built into a keyboard [ii] and a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree.
• Built for leaders shaping the future of work, HP introduced its HP EliteBook X G2 Series, the next generation of premium business laptops built for the AI era and a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree.
• Bringing passion-ready experiences so consumers can work smarter, look sharper, and lead better, HP unveiled new updates to the full HP OmniBook consumer portfolio – including the new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 and HP OmniStudioX.
• Delivering AI-powered productivity right at the printer, HP introduced the first integration of Microsoft Copilot into HP Office Print devices with HP for Microsoft 365 Copilot, providing document summarisation, translation, and smart organisation to help businesses work faster, smarter, and more securely.
• Keep hybrid work running smoothly and strengthen IT’s ability to maintain business continuity across distributed environments with enhancements to the company’s Workforce Experience Platform (WXP) employee device management features.
• Pair your new HP PC with intuitive, ergonomic, and sustainable peripherals for every workspace, including a stylish pink version of the HP Tilt Ergonomic Mouse 720M, a new compact USB-C HP 65W GaN Wall Charger, lightweight and durable HP Protective Series laptop sleeves, and more.
• When it’s time to clock out, get your game on. HP is redefining how gamers play, create, and perform, unifying its OMEN and HyperX brands under one master gaming brand – HyperX – and engineering the world’s most powerful gaming laptop with fully internal cooling,[iii] the HyperX OMEN MAX 16.
• To understand your PC’s origin story, HP developed HP Digital Passport, a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree, giving customers one place to access PC essentials: from getting started, discovering unique product features and their device’s sustainability story, to finding support options as their needs evolve.

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As Australians return to work in 2026, burnout specialist and founder of The Big Refresh, Nick Orchard, says it’s time to scrap the resolutions. Instead, he’s urging professionals to install ‘burnout blockers’ – simple, preventative systems to protect against rising stress and exhaustion.

The advice comes as burnout hits crisis levels. In 2025, Bupa reported 70% of working Australians experienced burnout. The 2025 TELUS Mental Health Barometer found 41% were under constant stress, and more than one-third at high mental health risk. 

“Burnout doesn’t hit us like a truck. It’s an insidious creep that takes hold slowly over time,” says Orchard. “It begins to shape how we perceive ourselves, our work, the people around us, our ability and our worth.”

With the cost to Australian businesses estimated at $14 billion, Orchard says most workplace wellness efforts miss the mark by focusing on recovery rather than prevention, addressing the problem only after the damage is done.

In 2020, while in a senior government role, Orchard experienced a near-fatal burnout episode – waking behind the wheel at 130km/h on the wrong side of the road with no memory of how he got there. That crisis led to the creation of The Big Refresh, an evidence-based coaching program now used by executives, creatives and leaders across Australia.

The early warning signs of burnout

According to Orchard, burnout starts well before exhaustion with subtle shifts that many professionals ignore:

• Needing praise to feel competent 
• Imposter syndrome or fear of failure driving decisions
• Information overload making simple tasks hard
• Struggling to get out of bed in the morning
• Relying on caffeine and sugar to fuel the day
• Skipping restorative habits like sleep, nutrition, exercise, journaling and socialising 
• Taking on too much because delegating feels mentally harder
• Growing cynicism and detachment about work that once energised you
• ‘Sunday scaries’ starting earlier and lasting longer 
• Staying busy but achieving less – productivity theatre. 

“In this age of likes, instant feedback and being ‘always on’, we can get hooked on external validation to prove our worth. Like we’re sunflowers, basking in the glow of praise. But when the clouds come, we droop. We’ve forgotten how to nourish ourselves from the inside,” Orchard explains.

Instead of pressure-filled resolutions, Orchard advocates for ‘burnout blockers’, simple systems that build boundaries and protect energy:

1. Boundary rituals: End your work day with a clear signal – a walk, shower or outfit change. Shut devices off. Silence work email notifications after hours. 
2. The Daily Win: Break larger tasks down into small one to two-hour tasks with a clear start and finish, so you finish what you start and build momentum. 
3. Focusing on what’s in your control: Write two lists: what’s within your control and what’s not. Now, throw the ‘out of control’ list in the bin, and focus exclusively on things within your control for the week to come.
4. Broccoli time: Invest 15–30 minutes each morning in your most avoided but important task – like strategy, budgeting or a difficult email. Then no matter where the day takes you, you’ve already ‘won the day’ before it’s even begun.
5. Hard conversation habit: It’s the hard or uncomfortable conversations we avoid, the ones about boundaries, relationships, or expectations, that bite us down the track. Build the habit of “just saying the thing” in the moment so it doesn’t fester.
6. Circuit breakers in routines: Schedule micro-breaks to interrupt long stretches of intensity. Take a 10-minute walk between meetings. Set a hard stop time in the evening.

“Just like sunscreen protects us from getting burned, burnout blockers shield us from burnout. 2026 can be the year of high performance, sustainability, wellbeing and joy, with just a few minor shifts to your daily practice,” says Orchard.

As professionals gear up for the year ahead, Orchard is calling for a fundamental shift. The industry has normalised exhaustion as the price of success, but burnout isn’t a badge of honour – it’s a warning sign that’s been ignored for too long. Prevention, he insists, doesn’t require massive lifestyle overhauls. It just requires paying attention to the early signs and acting on them.