I’m working in an admin role in a commercial real estate. My team has a few gamers and we’ve super hyped about GTA 6. Some of us grew up playing GTA in our childhood.

In our last team meeting the team leader was saying “just so you know any leave around Nov 19th may require further explanation for approval, we’ve seen a large number of leave applied for this date and we’re understaffed. HR knows why this is happening. It’s that GT game”

I was planning on taking 19th to 27th off, but a lot of people from other teams have applied annual leave on these days and it’s flagged as unusual.

Do I take the risk? I can’t fake being sick. But I don’t want to miss out on something I waited for so long.

An issue was raised yesterday and I was unable to fix it as it required IT admin access. I said to our client that I will have to raise the issue with your IT and will let you know once I have access to it. I called the IT and I think the person on the other end was just to take calls and create a ticket, that is fine. I was advised that they will call me back. 1.5hrs passed and I got no response, I emailed the them and cc'd my team and left for home.

This morning the boss calls me up asking for answers as the client escalated the whole thing.
Note: I have not explained my side of story yet and he goes on to say "If this keeps happening otherwise, we might have to take tough calls"

I said I did everything from my end to clear the task but the IT never got back. He said he will sort it out with the client and what I did was correct.

Now, something did not sit with me well. I was taken back with this "otherwise we might have to take tough calls"?? Was this needed before hearing my part of the story? Should I talk to him about this?

I know its not much, but anything spilled out to me without hearing the whole story and the job market being so brutal out there, it boils my brain.

I know I am in a very fortunate position, and I am genuinely not trying to humblebrag.

I am 40M, single, with no children or other dependents. I’ve become increasingly burnt out and feel like I’ve lost direction and life purpose outside work. I have no close friends, not close with my family, no partner, and lately I’ve developed a strong feeling that if I don’t take time out to travel now, I may never do it.

I applied for a one-year sabbatical after 4.5 years with my employer, but it was rejected. This means my only realistic option for extended travel is to resign.

I own my home outright, worth around $1.6m, have $2.5m in shares (giving about $91k per annum after tax), $320k in super, and $150k in cash. My plan was to set aside $100k for a year of travel and use the other $50k for concessional super contributions over the 1 to 1.5 years I'll be away.

I am a Chartered Accountant with 14 years in analyst and senior analyst roles, but my current role is basically a senior business analyst with no unique expertise, and it feels very replaceable and vulnerable to AI. I also don’t have much of a professional network to fall back on.

I am worried that if I quit, I may struggle to get a similar job again and this could effectively become early retirement rather than a 1 year break. My current roles pays about $150k per annum. I could probably find lower-paid work if needed, but I don’t want to assume I can walk back into my current career. What is the reasonable thing to do?

Has anyone been in a scenario before where they want to apply for a role they currently manage?

As a people leader wanting to go back into technical, all the skills but no longer wanting to do the day to day people management. The role is actually in your team you currently oversee and has an opening you would typically conduct the interview for.

Additionally you obviously are aware of salary and all the aspects of the job.

Happy Tuesday! I'm looking for some advice.

I have ~250hrs of annual leave saved up. I work at a startup, where we basically complete small ongoing projects for external clients. Think building and doing ongoing frequent maintenance for a website, but very much not that industry, just similar in that it is constantly ongoing, and only requires about ~1/1.5 engineers per project per customer.

Anyway, being a startup this means 1 engineer is assigned per project, maybe one other engineer knows something about it but one person owns it and client comms. This means if you take any significant amount of time off, the project grinds to a halt and customer is unhappy. And when you come back, you're got one hell of a catchup to do. It sucks, it shouldn't be that way, but it is. If the company hired another engineer for each project, that engineer would be doing sweet FA whenever the other engineer isn't on leave. And it's a startup, so money is tight.

As such, I have 250 hours of annual leave after just under 2yr at the company. 100hours sick leave. Being a startup, they don't have an annual leave limit. They don't really have HR, let alone someone to notice I had accumulated so much. Nor do we have a shutdown period - leave is automatically approved around Chrissy but no compulsory days.

I plan on taking a few week holiday next year, but between now and then I'll probably accumulate the 2 weeks of leave I need to take it anyway so I'm trying to burn through some annual leave to a) reduce to a more reasonable number and b) try and relax a bit. I'm like 70% burnt out at the moment. The pay is good, unlimited WFH + good office setup in CBD, but it can get very stressful at times.

The concept of taking every Friday/Monday/Wednesday/whatever day off for the rest of the year sounds really interesting for this purpose. That way I can enjoy the beauty of a long weekend every week, hopefully reducing my cortisol a bit, and using up more than half of my annual leave. It also means the project won't stop in my absence.

Has anybody got any experience doing this? Any downsides I'm not thinking of? I think my employer would agree, perhaps to every 2nd week if not.

NSW. Consulting role at a mid-tier accounting firm, $75k package. It's the industry I've been trying to get into and the role I actually wanted, so I'm keen. Then the onboarding pack landed and there are two deeds to sign alongside the contract, and one of them has me a bit spooked. Offer's only open three business days so I'm trying to sort this out quickly.

The one I'm stuck on is a Liquidated Damages Deed Poll. Two things in it:

For three years after I leave, I can't solicit any client I personally worked on. Fine, expected that.

But separately, for three years I also can't provide services to those clients. That one says nothing about who approached whom. So if a client rocks up at my next employer completely off their own bat and I get staffed on the job, that's a breach.

And the number is 75% of the total fees that client paid the firm that year, GST included. Not 75% of what I billed on them. Not just my service line. Their whole annual spend across the firm, audit and tax included, none of which I'd ever see. So ten hours of work for a client paying $200k across the firm and I'm on the hook for $150k. Two years of my salary.

What bugs me most is the asymmetry between the two clauses. The solicitation one says the damages apply "if, as a result of such breach the Company loses work of that client", so there's a causation test. The one about providing services has nothing like that. The breach is just doing the work. Both also let them claim actual damages instead, so 75% looks like a floor, not a ceiling.

Couple of other things that make me think nobody's looked at this document in years:

• It describes the business as chartered accountants and tax agents, and the second deed is all about audit and insolvency. Nothing in it relates to what I'd actually be doing. Feels like the same pack everyone's been handed since about 1995.
• No governing law clause in the deed at all. Contract says my state (NSW), deed's addressed to the Perth entity. Seems to matter, since NSW can read a restraint down and WA can't.
• The contract's own restraint clause cross-references clause 19.1, but clause 19 is Workplace Privacy. Points at nothing.
• Restraint period listed as 12/9/6/3 months with no indication which one is mine.

So:

Is this standard across mid-tier and big four, or is this mob an outlier? Anyone signed something with a fixed percentage like this?

Has anyone actually seen one enforced, or does it just sit in a drawer? I get that a flat 75% probably looks like a penalty rather than a real estimate of loss, but that's an argument you only get to make once you're already being sued and paying a lawyer.

Any point pushing back, or is it sign or walk? Anyone got the period shortened or the client definition narrowed?

And if it is non-negotiable, how much does it actually bite day to day? Do people just flag those clients as conflicts at the new place and stay off the accounts? If these are major accounts, would this not make you less attractive to a new employer, if you cant work on them?

My workplace is relocating with around 6 weeks' notice. The new office will be full-time onsite with no WFH/hybrid option. My current commute is 1 hour one way but with the new location it will be 2 hours one way.

The company has said they will not be offering redundancy, as they still need everyone's roles and are focusing on supporting them with the relocation. They may offer temporary petrol compensation for around 3 months and potentially flexible start/finish times, but no ongoing WFH.

My contract says:

“Your usual place of employment will initially be at [current location]... You may at any time be required to work at different locations nominated by the employer on either a temporary or permanent basis.”

I'm currently job searching but the market is difficult, so I don't want to resign and become unemployed if I can avoid it.

Can I potentially be entitled to redundancy if the new relocation is considered unreasonable, despite the mobility clause in my contract? If the company refuses redundancy, can I challenge this through Fair Work?

Edit: Some answers to the reoccurring questions

• They are relocating the Head Office ( near southern cross station ) to Altona North. Alot of people are calculating this distance but in reality I dont live near the southern cross office.
• It takes me to our current office 1 hr one way to commute with a mix of driving and public transport
• It will take me 2 hrs one way regardless if I take PTV or drive to get to Altona North from my house.
• The reason I ask if a redundancy is worth fighting for is because it was offered previously to an ex-employee for the same reason and fairwork does say that an employee is entitled to a redundancy if the relocation is deemed unreasonable
• I contacted fairwork and they were no help what so ever

Final edit: Some comments are saying its only added 12km travel time (not calculated at rush hour). Please keep in mind that :

1. Altona North has terrible public transport (no trams and no nearby train stations at new office location)

2. I learnt today that flexible working hours and WFH is in discussion but has not had a written confirmation and is mostly likely going to be rejected. They also dont currently offer WFH

3. I am from the outer eastern suburbs. I may have an hr communte already but the commute is easy because of accessible public transport. Please keep in mind that I wont be taking the same route from Southern Cross to Altona north. My commute path cannot be simplified to just southern cross to altona north. Fairwork takes into account the entire journey from my house to the new location not just the added distance from my current office.

4. Driving suburban roads are completely different from driving around CBD. As a commentor already pointed out a 20 minute drive in the city can turn into a 50 minute drive at rush hour.

Last Friday was my last day working at a small firm, the last 2 years I’ve worked at smaller firms thinking the “vibe” would change but boy was I wrong.

Coming from a big corporate prior to moving to small firms was an absolute mistake. I HATE working at a small firm and I’m so happy to be moving back into the big 4 bank world next week.

These are what I noticed the similarities at a small firm:

- shitty offices and EoT facilities. Always going back to the 1980’s fitout and awful bathrooms from that era too plus bad air conditioning.

- smaller resources, taking ages to get shit done.

- bad training.

- nepotism or family working for family. Having the managers wife’s uncles nephew 20 years younger managing me. Absolutely not.

- no benefits / wfh flexibility.

Which made me think - From your experience, do you prefer big corporate life or working for a med/smaller firm? What’s your story? Would love a laugh 😃

I feel like I am currently on a sinking ship.

Option 1 is staying:
The company I work for had a reasonably good last year and gave out bonuses. However, this year we have not had repeated contracts, and I think this has shocked upper management. According to my rough calculations we are losing a lot of money and may be able to self fund for a year. I am also losing faith in certain aspects of the company where I feel like they have not hired the right people to get the job done.

I am currently happy with my salary and really enjoy the work. But I do foresee myself getting layed off in the next 6-12 months when shit hits the fan, I should get paid out 40-50k when this does happen.

Option 2 is leaving:
I can get a 30k pay rise with a different job offer. This company does have a proven track record with great products on the market. I would be walking into an unknown culture though. But the Job may also provide something meaningful as it is in health.

The reason I have been thinking about leaving is that my industry in tech has seen a lot of layoffs recently, and for some reason once payed off, people have found it increasingly hard to get a job back in the field. However if you have a job in the field you are seen as much more employable.

Curious for your opinions and if you have been in my position before!

Hi crew, wondering if anyone has any experience in something like this. Keeping things purposely vague as this is ongoing.

TLDR; Handed in my notice a few weeks back and finishing up shortly. Should have got my final pay today, but the deal has changed at the 11th hour.

I'm finishing up due to burnout, with a supporting medical certificate, which was accepted by HR for the purposes of pro-rating my long service leave as I've been with the business for the 5-10 year eligibility window outlined by NSW Industrial Relations.

Last week I received a Letter of Separation outlining what I should expect in my final pay pre-tax, including the pro-rated LSL, and that it would all be processed during the usual monthly pay run on Sept. 1.

Come 5pm today, I receive an email from HR notifying me I'm getting the statutory entitlements today but that further questions are being asked about my LSL payout and it won't be included as previously indicated.

I've still not got a payslip for the statutory entitlements (salary + annual leave) but the payment just hit my account.

Do they have any grounds to reneg if they've already committed in writing to the LSL payout?

So I have been with my current company for 4+years, the salary was initially on market. But I haven't gotten a raise for 2-3 years. When my last raise was rejected even though my performance review is the highest in the department, I decided to jump ship.

Luckily an offer came not long after, and I signed the contract and is now serving the notice period. However, I am not 100% happy with the new job either. Although the pay is significantly better, like more than 30% better, the title is the same. Like an assistant manager instead of just a manager. What is worse in my opinion is that I originally interviewed for the manager position with a higher pay, and after several rounds of interviewing the new company decided to offer me the assistant position. Which to me feels like a bait and switch. I tried to negotiate but they won't budge. I only accepted it because it is the only offer I have.

Currently I have been looking for other manager positions. But I won't be getting another offer soon I think. So I would likely still be interviewing while serving the probation period at the new job. Is this unethical? I know I would be burning bridges regardless if I quit soon after starting. It's just this new company left a wrong taste in my mouth when they offered the lesser position.

Confirm with employer, They send it . Called art they told me, they have issues with processing contributions due to new superpay law, is this super contribution gone? Or will it eventually show up?

Two months into the job, an entry level role with a heavy emphasis on data analysis, I've been committing extremely high amounts of mistakes and inaccurate analysis.

The role is very high volume high analysis in nature which has resulted in me taking longer to learn the process and honestly I still haven't understood it fully yet. That means in turn the tasks are done without much understanding of the process due to which errors happen to a large extent. I have already been exposed to my manager, happened to be noticed by the senior manager and a couple other stakeholders as well. Embarrassed is an understatement, my manager also gets tired by the number of times she has to explain and get me to rework to be able to get the task done.

Coworker was initially helpful, however strictly called me out now to avoid reaching out until absolutely necessary.

ADHD isn't making this easier either. Any tips?

Looking for some advice from the dads and/or managers who have negotiated part-time work.

I’ve got two kids in childcare and I’m looking at dropping down to 4 days a week. I basically want to buy back one day a week while the kids are young, rather than spending 5 days a week paying for childcare and barely seeing them.

I raised it with my manager and they’ve suggested I take Fridays off.

Sounds good, except there’s a bit of a catch: Fridays in our team are basically a half day. Most people finish up early / work half a day but still get paid for the full day.

So if I officially take Friday off, I lose 20% of my salary for a day that I was probably only going to work ~4 hours anyway.

I’m trying to work out whether there’s a smarter way to structure this and suggest to them a different FTE arrangement where I have some flexibility over which day I take.

Would be particularly interested in hearing from dads who have done this in corporate roles. What did you ask for, what did your employer agree to, and would you structure it differently if you did it again?

Thanks!

I work in treasury/investment ops for a large institutional fund ($1B+ portfolio) and over the past year or two, coordinating fund manager transitions (redemptions, reweighting between managers, onboarding new ones) has become a bigger and bigger part of my day-to-day. Think restructuring $200–350M+ chunks of the portfolio across multiple managers at a time.

Two things I'm trying to get a read on:

1. Fee structures for transition management
For anyone who's worked with a transition manager (Russell, BlackRock, State Street, Macquarie, or similar) is a flat project fee or basis-points-on-turnover the norm? Does it scale meaningfully with number of managers involved, or mainly just gross $ moved? Keen to understand real-world ranges and application..

2. Role scope / compensation
This kind of work - coordination, sequencing, risk management across manager transitions — doesn't really sit in a typical treasury PD, but it's become a core part of mine without any formal recognition. Anyone else had similar scope creep? How did you approach getting it recognised (reclassification, HDA, market benchmarking, etc.)?

Not looking to identify my employer. Just trying to get a genuine read from people who've been in the weeds of this before I take it further internally. Appreciate any insight.

Has anyone ever quit their 9 to 5 office job for a more relaxed job? Say mowing lawns, couriering parcels, etc?

I've been employed in various IT roles since 2006 and worked my way up the corporate ladder. Whilst I'm paid good, I'm just so unmotivated.

I've changed companies a few times and find myself bored to death after about 6months.

I just want a job where I feel like I'm making a difference, providing a service...

I think I might try doing Amazon deliveries on weekends and see if I enjoy being on the road.

Thoughts? Anyone else done a switch to a more mentally relaxed job ?

I'm a first year University of Melbourne student, majoring in accounting/finance. Not really sure about what to work in yet, just something without an insane amount of hours and accounting/finance related.

Do all companies have the same 2 week shutdown dates or how does it work?

Ps I’m new to corporate work so go easy on me.

Looking at all you stakeholder management peeps out there.

If anyone in a teams meeting has co-pilot transcribing a call, it’ll continue to transcribe even when they’ve left the call.

If you’re managing confidential projects and sharing sensitive business info, jump off the meeting and call the relevant group

Bit of background: my company has made a number of teams redundant and have filled their roles with offshore staff. This has increased everyone's workload dramatically. I sent an email to my manager asking for a breakdown of how to prioritise these new tasks and which tasks I can de-prioritise to fit everything in. I also asked if these new tasks would come with any additional compensation as they are outside of the scope of the role's Job Description. My boss essentially told me to get over it because everyone has to do more work now and I pushed back asking for the reason as to why. I was polite but firm, using formal professional language throughout all the email communications. Maybe asking questions was the wrong tact, as I got a formal warning.

I know its time for me to look for a new job, but just wondering if anything similar has happened to anyone else?

Hi all, I'm currently studying in uni a Bachelor of Arts with the intention to switching into a Bachelor of Laws and Arts. I also work in retail as a supervisor/team leader. My company typically tends to have numerous store manager vacancies at multiple stores. I have been thinking about potentially during uni breaks to potentially step up into a fixed term contract store management position for typically a few months for the purpose of gaining experience as these jobs typically have transferable skills. Looking for some advice and guidance if employers generally value these sort of skills and at such short tenures.

I found a website which had Externships with companies like tiktok and beatsbydre for strategy, brand strategy and consulting

I wanted to know if this carries any weight in the Australian job market? Is it worth paying 20 USD per month for?

It's the first time Ive even heard of something like this.

It's basically like a project conducted by the company.

As someone who's trying to break into management consulting/strategy consulting is there any point of joining these "Externships"?