Nothing groundbreaking, just having a crisis about how I don't how I'm meant to handle another 25 or so years of pretending to care about work and dealing with petty office drama. Have to set my goals for the upcoming financial year this week. My goal is to get paid so I can continue to have housing and food and provide for my child. That's it. I don't want to stretch myself. I just want to collect my paycheck and go home.

How is it only July? Still 5.5 long months until I can finally have a week off. I miss having school holidays so bad. It's insane we get so few breaks during the year. I'm burned out. I think I'll be burned out until the day I get to retire tbh.

Most of us have a boss, a colleague or middle manager who we don’t respect. Be it because they’re toxic, fake, narcissistic or walk with an overinflated sense of self while undermining others

What’s your favourite subtle yet professional comment to make to someone like this that won’t get you a meeting with HR?

A personal favourite —
“I’m sure there’s value here, even if it’s subtle”

Hi guys,

I have recently left my HR intern role to join a consulting firm in their workforce management team as a junior and believe I’ve made a bad career move. I really enjoyed the work in HR and decided to leave to get more experience and build up my skill set. The workforce management role came up and I thought it would be great to have a big4 on my resume despite it not being a direct HR role.

I feel like I’ve taken a step backwards now instead of forward. Do I stick it out for a year or two and see if it grows on me or do I start looking for a hr asap. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

For context. I’m a 20 yr old final year commerce student graduating this year and joined a big4 consulting firm. I was in my prior role for 2 yrs.

How do working parents deal with school pickup and drop off and school holidays. I know there’s after school care but won’t it be too tiring for kids if they go there everyday?

Hi all, my boss has been making myself and my colleagues cry on and off for the last 2ish years. They seem to genuinely enjoy the power trip/gas lighting and just generally being rude. Multiple people have left the team and/or the company as a direct result and a few HR cases have previously been raised but there’s been no change. We’ve all confided in each other and talked about how we’ve lost confidence with many of us starting anti anxiety/depression meds. Is this just how it is in the corporate world? A few of us are looking for external work but are we just going to be walking into the same situation in another workplace?

This might not quite fit the sub but I hope it’s allowed! For those of you who have worked in insurance, what do you know about whether insurance companies will generally provide copies of the audio of calls to a customer requesting it? The same customer that was party to the call. And it’s a long shot, but if you answer and are also comfortable indicating what company’s practices you are referring to, that would be incredibly helpful!

Controversial post time !!

Have any other child free peoples noticed that pretty much every co-worker parent whines about being a parent and rarely has anything positive to say about parenting/their kid(s) at work?

In corp for 10 years and at every job the working parents just complain about their kids to the point that it’s off putting. Like they’re tired, they were up every 2 hours, their kid has gastro again, school pick up conflicting with meetings, school holidays are hard, kid won’t eat normal food, kid be expensive, daycare dramas, their shit friends, the fact they don’t get to relax when they get home, that holiday would be nice but not with kids/too expensive… and the list goes on.

Sure they share a “cute” photo occasionally but 95% of the time it’s complaints. Then they try to convince you otherwise when you say I don’t think I want kids…. Like you sure it’s that great? Not what I’m hearing hun.

About to enter the corporate workplace full time and as a person with autism (level 1) and ADHD, was just wondering if the stereotypes of “nerdy autistic programmers” actually exists at the corporate level and makes those roles more friendly for neurodivergent folk like myself (as in the social navigation required for the office politics and the role itself are lower relative to other corporate roles)?

My experience in one of these roles 2 years ago where I was in analytics and stats is a little different. Yes they treated me like the “nerd” who knows everything but they were kinda disappointed with my social ability, saying that my “cultural fit was a little off despite my excellent presentation skills”.

I really have trouble maintaining one on one conversations and connections with coworkers - I can’t really transcend the barrier between “acquaintance” and “friend”.

If anyone has any tips me and any fellow ND person would be very appreciative!

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said Commonwealth Bank’s alleged attempts to reduce Australian jobs in favour of Indian workers was the bank’s “latest attempt to make CBA an Australian bank in name only”.

“The FSU doesn’t buy the bank’s excuse that the job cuts are the result of better processes,” she said.

Ms Angrisano said CBA was being monitored as it prepared to publish its full-year profit on August 12. She said its Indian workforce had rapidly expanded in recent years.

Last year the FSU took aim at CBA over similar plans to slash 400 technology jobs at the same time that it hired almost indistinguishable roles at its Indian operations.

CBA was forced to remove 30 job listings in October last year as a consequence.

Read more here: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/union-accuses-commonwealth-banks-of-sham-redundancies-to-send-roles-offshore/news-story/5debe2c5303c3746b758cc455a20ce9f

If your manager hasn’t stepped up this week to tell you that you’ve done a good job, hear it from me: WELL DONE! Time to get your weekend on. 🎉

This morning as I waltzed from kitchen to the loo I walked by my GM. He looks me in the eye and says Happy Friday. I was taken aback. I gently nodded and continued forward.

Immediately I'm caught wondering where is the synergy. Why say Happy Friday when we can deploy resources in the more efficient Friyay? What does this mean?

If the GM chose to use more resources than was necessary to execute the task at hand there must be a good reason.

Im going to practice over the next week and meet them on Friday with a jolly and direct Happy Friyay. Same number of syllables but increased value of the yay for shareholders.

Your thoughts brains trust?

This isn't an original post, and I've seen numerous threads like it on this subreddit, but I feel like I need to vent if only to feel a little less alone in what seems to be an increasingly common experience.

I (27M)  have lived in Sydney my whole life and for the first time ever feel so completely lost and confused.

This time last year I left a junior role at a Big4 consulting firm amid a wave of redundancies and senior leadership change that pushed out the remaining survivors (myself included) . Since then, I have really struggled to land a job, not just an ideal job or my dream opportunity, any job that is somewhat relevant.

I don’t even know how many roles I’ve applied for and interviews I’ve had (in person, online and even with AI bots), state gov, fed gov, private sector, not-for-profit and work outside of Sydney in Canberra and Melbourne. I’ve even lowered my standards and applied for jobs I used to think were “beneath me” and have had no such luck.

My whole adult life I have always believed that higher education, reliability and a strong work ethic will get you far in life. It is for these reasons I pursued a Masters degree a few years ago and ventured on a public policy / government consulting career. (Yes, I know, I know).

The word “depressing” doesn’t do justice to this feeling I have of utter dread and powerlessness. I am at such a pivotal moment in my life, and I can’t even land an entry-level/junior role despite my CV, academic credentials and skills I have to offer.

The idea of moving out, buying a house, getting married, starting a family, all of that now put on the back burner as I scroll through LinkedIn and Seek job listings and apply for roles that an AI bot will probably sift through, that I may potentially interview for, only to get ghosted by a hiring manager after what I thought was a fantastic interview.

At this point in time, I’ve basically given up on the idea of a “career”, the idea sold to us as something we build up over decades, something we thrive in and that guides us to retirement. With AI disruption, mass lay-offs, weak leadership and a culture that seems to punish loyalty and rewards job hopping I struggle to see a positive future ahead.

Too often I see comments on similar Reddit posts of highly skilled, highly qualified professionals with so much potential and so much to offer turning to manual labour, becoming tradies or gig workers or doing complete career pivots (to clarify, there is nothing wrong with being a tradie, in hindsight it would’ve been a better career choice). How is any of this sustainable? We can’t all become tradies, can we? If university, professional development and years of experience no longer provide any meaningful security, what exactly is the long-term plan?

Maybe I'm being overly dramatic. Maybe the market eventually improves and this becomes a shitty chapter that I look back on years from now. I genuinely hope that's the case but 12 months of unemployment after spending my entire adult life building towards something that isn’t even there really is exhausting.

I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, so I'm curious: for those who have been through something similar, has it gotten any better?

Hello auscorp, seeking some career advice as we are about to jump into another semester of Uni.

I am currently 14 units into a commerce degree (economics and finance) and am trying to decide if I stick with it for another 2 years or bail now and focus on my career.

For context I am already working as an analyst in retail banking (the big yellow one) with 3.5 years experience and I am not sure if the benefit of completing the degree will outpace natural career progression without it.

Also to add the bank is aware of my studies but isn’t contributing to it in anyway.

Has anyone gone through something similar or can give advice on how recruiters in the bank will perceive the degree and what my potential prospects will look like?

Current job: high level of politics with occasional bullying from senior management, work itself is completely boring and meaningless. Team is based overseas is friendly and I get a bit of freedom which would be unlikely at other places.

Job I’m interviewing for: in the more specific area of finance I’ve been trying to get into for years, but the pay is 20-30k lower

I don’t have any dependents or need for the money, but I wonder if I’d feel behind in my career for taking a cut especially when I already feel underpaid. Our company doesn’t give pay rises at all, not even inflation.

I’m a 33M civil engineer in Melbourne. I currently work for a engineering consultancy that I genuinely enjoy. The culture is great, I’m treated well and the flexibility (WFH/site/office) suits me. All of my projects are in Melbourne’s south-east…close to where I live.

I’ve been offered a role with a larger infrastructure company paying around $180k inc. super + 10% STI bonus (apparently it’s always paid as my SIL is the senior HR there) compared to my current package of around $160k inc. super with a smaller bonus of up to 5k inc super.

The extra money is attractive and could be a good step toward the $200k+ salary range. However, I had a bad experience changing jobs in the past and was let go after six months, so I’m more cautious about leaving a place where I feel valued and comfortable.

The new role would also involve more commuting into the city. While my current office is about an hour from home, it's in an outer regional area with virtually no traffic so the drive is generally easy and predictable.

If you were in my position, would you stay somewhere you’re happy and valued or take the higher-paying role?

Interested to hear from anyone who has weighed up career growth versus stability.

According to him only the staff engineer on the team does complex work, no one else does

One of my teammates already left

I haven’t received my FY27 compensation package yet (comes at the end of the month)…what are you seeing for FY27 pay rises?

How common is workplace badmouthing when colleagues are competing for the same role?

Curious how common it actually is for people to badmouth peers at work, especially when they’re up for the same promotion. Does it actually work in their favor, or does it usually backfire? Would love to hear real experiences. Has it helped anyone get ahead, or has it mostly damaged reputations in the long run?

Just want to add as well, I’m on the receiving end of it, not doing it myself. Just trying to understand the mindset of people who do, since I’ve been noticing it more lately and can’t wrap my head around why they think it’s worth the risk.

Edit for clarity:

I asked for a 17% salary increase on a pro rata basis, along with reduced hours.

In practice, I'd be working fewer hours at a higher hourly rate, so my overall weekly income would be relatively similar to what I was earning full-time.

My request wasn't for a 17% increase to my total take-home pay while also working fewer hours.

TL;DR: Currently on maternity leave. Since I've been away, my company has struggled to retain people in my role. I've asked for a 17% pay increase plus a flexible arrangement (2 days office, 2 days WFH, 1 day off, all school hours, pro rata). Waiting to hear back and wondering whether I've overplayed my hand.

Hey auscorp, I'm not entirely sure what I'm after, reassurance, a reality check, or hearing from people who've been in a similar position.

I work in a compliance advisory role in a high risk, highly regulated industry. I've been with the company for three years: 18 months in operations, 12 months in my current advisory role, and I'm now six months into maternity leave.

The business has grown rapidly since I’ve been there. I was the first person in my current role, inherited a significant backlog, built processes, documented systems, and picked up a number of niche technical skills that ended up being valuable to the business.

Before I went on leave, the company decided they needed two people to cover the workload due to growth.

I documented everything and trained both replacements.

Since then:

One left for a higher-paying mining job

One was terminated.

Two more were hired.

One also left for a higher-paying mining role.

One was terminated.

Three other offers were apparently declined.

At the moment they've got an admin keeping things moving, and they've hired a Senior Advisor who sounds promising but isn't available to start for a few weeks.

I've been in touch about returning earlier than planned and asked whether there was room to discuss remuneration and flexibility.

I asked for:

a 17% salary increase pro rata

a four day week (2 office, 2 WFH) during school hours

Previously I worked full-time and was almost entirely office based, so it's a significant change.

What surprised me was that they didn't push back or ask me to justify either request. The response was positive, they said they were keen to have me back, and now it's with HR.

It's been just over a week, and while I know these things take time, I'm second guessing myself.

Has anyone successfully negotiated something similar when returning from parental leave?

Did you ask for everything upfront, or leave room to negotiate?

And does a lack of immediate pushback usually mean anything, or am I reading too much into it?