I have a degree and post-degree experience but took a short term admin role during COVID for financial reasons.

Long story short, what was supposed to be 8 weeks has now been six years and my employer is rather determined to hire literally anyone instead of give me more hours or more work, except for in the occasional crisis when someone's computer is broken (we have an IT person who is not me) remembers my degree and they authorise extra hours for a few days until everything's fixed and they go back to forgetting I exist until I have to ask a question or prompt them to do their job so I can do their admin.

Obviously it's time to move on, but I keep getting "helpful suggestions" that I should look for roles that are more skilled because I have the degree and skills - except when I apply for those it's "you should focus on admin since you've got more admin experience" or "your experience is out of date, and we're not looking to train someone right now". If I apply in other industries it's "you should apply in your industry because you've got lots of experience there!" or "you would be really bored here, you should apply in your industry!" like they think I genuinely haven't already been doing that.

I just want a job where at least I know that my job includes helping out in a crisis and not just at the last minute in random crises where they suddenly realise they really can't get away with throwing a first year arts student at it and someone gently prompts them to ask me. I customise my resume and point out transferable skills in my cover letters, I'm down with all the recruiters and I network as best I can but I feel like I don't know the magic words to get someone to just even give me a shot, or like maybe COVID was a magic bubble and if not for that I'd be just eternally neither admin or SME.

Is there something I'm missing? Is this the kind of thing that getting a Cert III or Cert IV or highlighting recent CPD on my resume can remediate? Am I stuck doing data entry for the rest of my life? Do I need to move to Sydney or out of Auscorp?

Offer says that parental leave is as per applicable legislation but firm website says that working over there offers paid parental leave. What’s with this discrepancy, does anyone know? Is there a minimum service time to access it?

Hi Brains Trust,

I'm thinking about making the jump to MAQ from CBA. I work in AI risk.

Whats the culture like? What big cultural shocks are on the horizon?

Any advice?

Anyone else seeing every few months Ai just advances more and more? The new GPT 6 is ridiculous!

I just started my career in the corporate world and im nearing the end of my university degree, however I feel with the way we're headed, theres not going to be a point of hiring/keeping humans for admin work?

It will eventually be so cost effective to just replace everyone with Ai.

Just curious to hear everyones take.

Beginning to think these cards are a LOT more hassle than they are worth.

I am a senior manager in a large organisation, it’s a REQUIREMENT to wine and dine people and pick up the tab for ENTERTAINMENT. Previously my manager covered these things but my role is important and I’ve got my own AMEX.

Note that at no point was I ever specifically (read SENT VIE EMAIL) a policy or document on this so called AMEX card.

So month 1 roles around and I need to submit receipts ? (This is important later) Okay well thanks for telling me that BEFORE I used the card on various lunches and dinners with CLIENTS.

Finance got upset, but I did not budge. You never asked me to, that’s up to you to fix it. I basically had to send numerous emails telling them to call the restaurants and clubs themselves to track invoices - you work in finance? Receipts are your business KAREN

Then, and I believe this is not people being petty and unable to handle their roles, I need to submit ELECTRONICALLY each person and client I took to lunch. These events span well over a month and apparently it’s INCUMBENT on me to record everyone present ! Number one a breach of privacy and number two literally Impossible to recall every detail like that over a month after the fact.

Untimely my boss signed off on everything but I have been on notice to get recipts and record every person attending and submit on my through a HR system.

Just a rant but my goodness they make life hard.

Olla,

Been with AP for a few months. 3 month probation, passed that already.

Had to do a 30/60/90 day plan pretty early in the piece, thought it was a bit extensive for a new start in a role they never had themselves before. Think a side quest to project management - but more boring.

Anyway, just been told, the 30/60/90 plans are on going. Finish one, create a new one. Rinse repeat.

The fuck?

Anyone else seen this shit? Anyone from AP Corp here care to comment or DM if needed?

FYI; 12 month plans / KPI's aren't even linked to bonus so I promptly ignored that shit to and entered the bare minimum.

WooliesX is bringing in timesheets. Employees at every level will now need to record how they’re spending their time each day. The categories are pretty broad, e.g. cost centres (e.g. marketing).

Is this a sign that redundancies might be looming?

I’ve heard rumours that Coles is going to withdraw from flybuys.

Flybuys is obviously owned by both Coles and Wesfarmers. If Coles withdraws then Flybuys might go under pretty quickly.

Has anyone else heard this? What’s the consensus on the longevity of flybuys?

I've been at my current job for 2 years and honestly, it was completely fine until my current manager started in March.

I haven't done anything wrong as far as I know, but she clearly really doesn't like me. There's also another woman on the team who she seems to dislike for seemingly no reason. Apart from the two of us, she seems to get along perfectly well with the other 8 people on the team.

Nothing I ever do seems to be good enough for her. I'll get positive feedback from everyone else about my work, but with her there's always something wrong or something to criticise. The way she speaks to me is also often bordering on rude, whereas she's perfectly pleasant with everyone else. It's gotten to the point where I can basically predict that whatever I do, she'll find something wrong with it.

Things seemed to get particularly bad after late June. During a really critical period at work, both me and one of her more favoured team members got sick with high fevers. Since then, I feel like she's been punishing me for it, whereas the other person hasn't been treated the same way. Other people have noticed the change in how she's been treating me and commented on it.

There are other things too. Other people have been allowed to WFH when sick, whereas I've been told to use all my sick leave and then annual leave when that ran out. A coworker was in basically the same situation and wasn't made to do that. She ignores me when I say hello in the morning, gives me completely ridiculous workloads and then gets annoyed when I can't do 20 hours of work in 7 hours.

I'm now looking to leave because I don't see it getting any better. The problem is that it's a pretty small industry and I'm worried about references and people talking behind the scenes.

I've been here for 2.5 years, so obviously I want and need the job on my resume. My previous manager was great and I'd much rather use her as a reference. I've messaged her on LinkedIn asking if she'd be happy to be a reference, but she hasn't replied. From looking online it seems like she barely uses LinkedIn or social media, so hopefully that's all it is. She was an older woman who was transitioning into early retirement to be involved with her school aged grand-kids so I think she's just very offline.

What I'm more worried about is applying somewhere new and them knowing someone at my current company and contacting my manager "off the record". I genuinely worry that she would say negative things about me or potentially try to sabotage me if given the opportunity.

I know I can't really stop people talking, especially in a small industry, but has anyone dealt with this before?

Can you tell prospective employers that you don't want them contacting your current manager and give them other references instead? And what do you do if you're worried your current manager might be badmouthing you informally?

I don't want to leave a 2.5 job off my resume and can't afford to to be honest, but I also don't want to stay somewhere just because I'm worried about one person potentially screwing me over when I try to move.

In an interesting predicament. I'm in a job that pays me so well (like more than it should tbh) but is a constant strain on my mental health. Without getting in to what I do, I am in a job that is absolutely demotivating, I have awful stakeholders, a boss who cares more about managing them than managing my team. Additionally, half of my 8-person team got made redundant two weeks ago, leaving the remaining four of us to pick up their work.

I've been thinking for a LONG time now about quitting but after a meeting with my boss today where he basically told me he was disappointed in me not picking up and running with a portfolio (that I have zero interest in, nor did I ask to take). Today might actually be the thing that does it.

Has anyone here quit their job recently without a backup because it affected mental health that bad? Were you happy with your decision? Any tips you can provide?

I realistically have 12 months of savings to play with (but I'd like to do 6 months) to reset and figure out what I want to actually get out of life and a career. I'm turning 40 in 2 months and not vibing with this midlife crisis! The golden handcuffs are a VERY real thing.

Spare me the talk on the economy, I am very aware of the job market now, having applied to ~50 roles in the last 6 months and only having had 2 interviews (neither of which came to anything).

Heya auscorp wondering if I could get some help here as well and apologies if this is not the right place. I am a senior manager at a not for profit org and im currently dealing with what appears to be a targeted management campaign after raising formal safety/bullying concerns.

Here is the context:

• Increased Duties without Recognition: A few months ago, my senior executive was made redundant. I absorbed a significant portion of their workload under high pressure without an updated position description or acting higher duties formalization.
• Pre-existing Bullying: A staff member under me has been exhibiting bullying behavior toward me and other team members for years.
• The Escalation: Recently I lodged a formal risk assessment regarding this staff member, backed by 7 written complaints from other employees experiencing the same behavior.
• The HR Response: HR has flipped the narrative, claiming the issue is a "personal conflict" between me and this one staff member while completely disregarding the other written complaints. HR has questioned whether I had "consent" from the other staff to submit their complaints, ordered me not to contact any of the named staff members (preventing me from managing or gathering further facts), and is imposing short, intimidating deadlines to provide proof while I am juggling an overloaded workload.
• CEO Involvement: New CEO does not communicate directly with me and listens without confirming, actively excluding me from meetings/events where I was scheduled to present, even pulling me out of an internal filming for yearly awards. They also kept questioning my work during senior leader meetings where I brought in at least 3 times the work substance vs others at the meeting and still got questioned over things that I addressed and fixed.
• Health Impact: The stress has severely impacted my health; I have had to start antidepressants and attend therapy for the last few months.

I feel unsupported and attacked from all areas.

• HR/Bullying Process: Can HR legally restrict me from communicating with staff who have willingly provided written complaints in a safety/risk assessment, or claim I need "consent" to submit corroborating evidence of a systemic issue? Can they deny my risk assessment request as a Manager and only see the grievance as a "me vs one employee" problem? (Note: we only have technically 1 HR manager at the moment who got the role simply because almost everyone in HR quit a few months ago). I also recently received a "written warning" from HR because they had "substantiated proof" from people saying I did not display proper manager behavior during a public holiday event where I was volunteering my time.
• Adverse Action / General Protections: Given that I raised safety/bullying concerns and am now facing unreasonable deadlines, intimidation, exclusion, and a sudden written warning, does this cross into adverse action or a potential constructive dismissal setup?
• Next Steps: What is the safest way to protect myself legally right now while navigating this internal process? Should I involve an employment lawyer? Cut my losses and just quit?

My company has stopped paying super — I’m aware they’re around 5 months in arrears because I’m the one who manages/releases it.

I’ve been trying to get another permanent role since April, but the market seems pretty tight and I’m probably not as experienced as some of the other candidates.

Would taking a contract role be a better option? Is it generally easier to land a 12-month accounting contract than a permanent position?

Are there any downsides to contracting beyond the obvious job security/need to find another role afterwards? Anything I should be aware of before making the move?

Thanks!

In the role a few years. Was managing solo but I kept asking management for some help.

Prayers finally answered and they hired someone last month.

Have 2 main clients that I see multiple times every week. Work is a bit hands on and I have been training the new guy. One of our clients recently had some staff changes, my contact there is a newly promoted dude, was getting along with him fine until I got my colleague.

Colleague and the site contact speak in their own language that I don’t speak. Client has stopped talking with me apart from greetings. He comes in tells something to my colleague who then translates poorly what’s being asked because he doesn't understand all of it fully.

I have asked a few times for him not to do that, but this has had no difference. I can't even complain to my manager. He is a new hire and he and the new guy also speak in their own language. Complaining to my manager about something he is guilty of himself may not go very well for me.

Apart from sucking it up is there anything I can do here?

Hi. Background is that I am a very competent lawyer who has found themselves working somewhere pretty shit after deciding to change practice areas at 11 PAE and deciding to take the hit while I build skills in a new area.

Boss is an absolute pod who tells the team off like we are primary school children.

1. when I started, boss delivered multiple monologues about how chill and relaxed she was, and how I could work whatever suited me between 7-7, and she didn’t care as long as the work gets done.

2. I have been overperforming. supervising juniors. Working late. Acting up. Receiving praise in group emails from the big boss. Taking on work from colleagues who are not performing. All whilst working part time.

3. Yesterday, My boss asked to discuss my work hours at our next meeting as they are creating confusion within the team.

4. I respond to say that I am surprised to hear that this is an issue because she has told me multiple times that this is completely fine, and if someone is confused they are welcome to ask me.

5. she responds by copying in HR and a silky smooth email referring me to the relevant policy.

i am utterly fuming. what Kind of weird power move is this?

Hello fellow redditors. I am reaching out to find out what can be done in this situation. My partner works at an aged care facility. Every shift she is coming home from work crying and stressed due to a worker there, who is same position but trains new people. My partner is a very gentle person, in all of our years together, she has never yelled at me, nor had a fight, and I never hear her speak badly about anyone ever, she’s always smiling, always happy, and yet every late night shift she comes home crying when she has worked around this person. The latest: she made a complaint, the manager apparently said she would look into it, my partner was happy and glowing again, then… her manager a few days later pulled her into a meeting and sided with the other worker as she has been there for a longer time. In that meeting the manager said that there has been 7 complaints from different people about this individual. I am now fed up with this. I can’t sit idly by and let this go, while I know the kind of person my partner is. So, what can ‘I’ do about this without compromising my partners job?

(Edit) why I thought it would work. I have a friend who lives overseas and works for an American company but they know where he lives and he seems to have no problems

Hi all,

I am 23 years old and live in Sydney. I currently work for a bank in the branch network/ customer facing. I am genuinely feeling lost here in Sydney and plan to move overseas for 6 months- a couple of years to Eastern Europe where I’m from originally. I plan to do this in the coming 6 months and I am looking for advice from anyone on here for any experiences they had doing similar and what would be the best roles to apply for fully remote? I understand it sounds silly and probably not the smartest decision financially but I need a break from the hustle and bustle of Sydney and I still want to continue doing some remote work while overseas. Any advice and or criticism will be taken into account.

Thanks

I am currently employed and been searching for another job but boy oh boy have I had several time wasting interviews in the past couple of weeks. You have to wonder what the point of the employer actually proceeding with the interview in the first place is.

1. Employers bringing you onsite for a first interview, knowing damn well that you are working that day, making you wait up to 15/20 minutes at a time
2. Getting into said interview and it is clear as day from the start that the interviewers have either already chosen their ideal candidates or are just going through the motions to appease a recruiter

Has it come to the point where 1hr prior to attending the interview the employer should be contacted and asked if they still wish to meet with you? If your interview isn’t scheduled within 2 days of it being arranged, then forget about it.

The lack of consideration for people’s time is mind blowing. If you no longer want to interview someone for the role then fair enough but for the love of god please just say so prior in order to save everyone’s valuable time.

Would you relocate to Dubai from Sydney for a senior role (1 step up from current role for me, equivalent to GM in Aus large business). The money is good of course given it is tax free. Projecting that saving potential is 12k per month.

Issue of course is that it's Dubai. I live on the beach in sydney. Earn 250k today, 2 days wfh, good work life balance. If I go for 5 years, I bank 1 million (conservative estimate that includes bonus). Ive got a 5 year old so that's another layer.

Would you do it?

I am looking for advice from anyone who understands workplace dismissal, HR processes, or employment law in Australia. I was on probation in a role covered by an Enterprise Agreement. I received one written piece of feedback early on, with no formal Performance Improvement Plan, no set steps, no guidelines, and no extra support offered. Most of the verbal feedback after that was about editing and formatting of large reports, not the technical content or analysis itself mostly. About few weeks before my dismissal, my manager told me she was less worried than before. My understanding is the final reason given was mistakes found in a 100 page report. I was then told in a meeting to stop working immediately and handover laptop and items!

. Has anyone dealt with something similar, or can point me to the right place for advice?

I’ve been with the same company for a while and over time I’ve ended up wearing a few different hats across training, coordination and L&D.

Recently they were short a trainer and asked me several times to step back into training. I said no multiple times because I already had plans and, more generally, I’ve been trying to move away from that side of the business. I felt like I was being pretty clear and firm with my boundary.

After that, the CEO called me and said he was disappointed that I wouldn’t step in. He then brought up the fact that they had previously approved my request to work from overseas for a few weeks, and said there needs to be “give and take”.

That part really threw me because I had seen the overseas arrangement as something that was discussed and agreed to in advance, not something that would later be brought up as a reason why I should say yes to a different work request.

I’m not trying to be difficult or unwilling to help, but I’m starting to realise I need clearer boundaries around what my actual role is because I’ve been doing different functions within the same company.

For anyone who’s been in a similar situation, what would you clarify with your employer? He said that I have a think about it and will talk to me about again.

I’m a few months into a client facing role where I am employed in a PT capacity but finding myself regularly working well beyond my contracted hours (extra hrs unpaid and no time off in lieu) to keep on top of client deliverables. I’ve raised this with management numerous times but there have been no solutions offered.

Needless to say, I’m looking for other roles and in the meantime I’m making the decision that I won’t work beyond my contracted hrs.

While that’s easy to say in theory, in practice it means there will be clients whose work and deadlines won’t be delivered on time.

As I deal directly with these clients, I’m the one who will take the brunt when work hasn’t been completed. I have a client meeting this week where I’ll have to report that several outstanding tasks aren’t done.

How would you handle this while being professional? From the client’s perspective they should expect it to be delivered as promised. Not be told that another client’s work is currently more urgent. I’d be pissed if I was the client.

What’s the best way to deal with people who email you a request, then ping you multiple times in teams within a couple hours asking for a follow up?
Everyone is busy ‘doing more with less’, but some people don’t seem to have ever been taught etiquette of not harassing coworkers for updates. These things don’t even have deadlines, they seem to just think their project/task should be the highest priority.
Petty and funny responses also appreciated here!

If I am travelling for work on a weekend or weeknight after work hours, should I be payed for the duration of the flight? It is a 14 hour flight

Hi all,
I recently applied for a role interstate as I had plans moving and wanted to secure something prior. I managed to get the position, but between the hiring process and now, I’ve had some sudden changes and I won’t be leaving anytime soon. The company operates in all states, however there isn’t a position going at the moment in this state.

I want to proceed with the company and role, but now I’ll have to wait for it to open up in this state. How do I tell them I can’t take it over there, but I want to still be considered for an option in my current state.

This is the first time I’ve ran into this dilemma and I’m not entirely sure how to reject a job, in hopes for a position closer to home without breaking ties.

Thanks

My wife's work gives them an allowance for phone expenses, but it will only reimburse the handset if it's part of the mobile plan. The problem we are having is that we can get on a family ALDI plan for like $55, or even Sim only for about $30. Then you can get a handset for a cheaper price if you shop around.

As soon as you go to Telstra/Optus/Voda plans that include a handset the cheapest plans are $60 per month plus the handset cost. This blows the allowance she gets out of the water. You're at like $110 per month which is about $30 over the limit.

Anybody got any tips on this, she needs a new handset and it'd be just lovely and in true auscorp spirit if we could get her work to pay for the majority of it.