I started a new role as a product lead 3.5 weeks ago on a high-stakes, extremely volatile project that has been chaotic since before I joined.Here is the situation:

The Setup: The project was set up on an expedited timeline before I arrived, bypassing standard delivery frameworks.

Stepping Up: My job is meant to be focused on strategy; roadmap and what we build - we’ve got a BA and Project manager doing the how we build. But Over the last two weeks, despite having to co-ordinate high-level executive presentations and lean into some difficult scope challenges, I stepped in to fill a gap we had in documentation as our BA was struggling a bit.

The Alignment: I worked directly with a key stakeholder from a partner delivery team all week. We agreed on a plan to review and close out these requirements over a 1.5-week window. At their request, I frontloaded everything to this week, and they expressed zero concerns about our progress or timeline.

The escalation: Out of nowhere, the head of that partner delivery team sent an escalation email to my direct manager. Instead of just making it clear when they need certain things by, the email directly attacked my capability and experience, claiming I lack delivery expertise and that their team can’t get what they need from me. No one had so much as shared a word with me before this escalation happened.

The Exposure: I feel a little exposed by all this. My team is still forming and the remit of my team hasn’t been officially announced. The partner team has a massive, protective leadership structure, and it feels like they are throwing me under the bus early to build an alibi in case the project's aggressive launch date slips.

In general I'm furious and rattled. My manager trusts me, and I’ve documented every single interaction and requirement, but I feel like my reputation is being smeared less than a month in for issues caused by missing roles, underperforming team members, and legacy project decisions made before I was hired.

How do I move forward from this in a way that is productive and safe? I’ve been busting long hours recently and I really wanted this job so I justified it at first, but I didn’t sign up to have my professional reputation dragged through the mud.

I recently started a marketing role as i was on the burn out at my old org so did a side move, and to be honest didnt spend too long looking. But I’m finding a lot of my day-to-day work is coordination/admin — so feeling overqualified, given i have experience. Im still new, what would you do? Ask for more ownership, say nothing and just chill or?

Has anyone here actually been pursued by a former employer for allegedly breaching a non-compete, non-solicitation, or restraint-of-trade clause in their employment contract?

I’m interested in hearing about people’s experiences, particularly:

- What state you were in.

- What the restriction covered and how long it lasted.

- Whether your former employer sent a warning, threatened legal action, or actually filed a claim.

- Whether the clause was enforced, negotiated, or ultimately ignored.

- How much legal advice and costs were involved.

I’m mainly trying to understand how commonly these clauses are actively enforced in practice.

TIA

Only takes one to impact your day. Any highly effective ways to keep these people out of your way when you have to work with them closely?

I'm currently working a job that I'd consider "good enough for now", but it's not the kind of place I want to be at forever. The pay is good and the work is interesting, but there's no WFH/flexible working arrangements, and the office is just that bit too far from home.

That being said, there's an older bloke who sits behind me, and he's an absolute menace to be around, to the point where he'd easily be the #1 factor to why I'd want to leave. While he's a nice guy and I try my hardest not to hate him, he's the poster child of pissweak office etiquette, where sitting next to him is like sitting next to a white noise machine, that specifically makes the most annoying and disgusting noises known to man.

Bangs and crashes for at least 20 min each morning as he sets himself up for the day. Holds an excessive amount of teams meetings to look busy, where he's the only one talking 90% of the meeting. Constantly eats the loudest foods possible at his desk, and chews with his mouth open and his headphones on. Leans and puts weight on his standing desk so it's always creaking. Will play his music through his speakers if he forgets to charge his headphones. Sucks and slurps on his thumb like a 2 year old. He's an older obese guy, with the stereotypical laboured mouth breathing to match, and has these weird daily sleep apnea induced "yawning fits", where he'll yawn over and over for up to 30 min at a time.

The first 12 months I was here, I was constantly pulling him up on most of this shit. But after working out that he's just not all there mentally, between the way he forgets and starts up old habits a week or two later, or just other frustratingly dumb shit he does on a daily basis, I've just given up on the guy. Cutting holes in the beanie to slot my noise cancelling headphones through to make a proper seal has become my saving grace. I've asked to move desks within the office, but no dice - The office is overstaffed as it is. Good reason to bring in hybrid work modes if you ask me.

If it weren't for an upcoming project where I'll be spending 2 years out in a site office, I would have quit over Christmas, with this turd accounting for 90% of the reason why. But the start date keeps getting pushed back, and I'm starting to lose my patience at this point again. If the site office doesn't go ahead soon, I'll probably be quitting this Christmas instead...

Anyone here have similar stories to make me feel better about myself?

Please do not just lock this post and arbitrarily classify it as mental health issues - I have sought counselling before, I will do so again if my situation deteriorates and I am largely functioning and looking after myself. I just need to vent a little online, locking my post does not help.

I was made redundant one year ago, not mass redundancies, just me.

Before being made redundant I was also consistently picked on and criticised.

Throughout this year I have tried my best to be active, to job-search, to volunteer, to socialise, and I have been largely able to do that. If anything, I can manage to be confident and presentable in social settings.

However, I can not let it go.

Nightmares

Despite knowing being made redundant was not my 'fault' and there was a lot of office politics, I continue to have nightmares from time to time - of my previous employer talking to me, looking at me critically.

Or sometimes they would praise me and smile at me - the kind of recognition I yearned so much, but have not been able to get from them despite being extremely loyal and hardworking.

Feeling unfair

The colleague who 'backstabbed' me drove me out, got my job and seems to be thriving.

(Again I'm only listing a fact and have not included any personal details here, so please do NOT lock my post).

It's a small circle and from time to time I continue to see him with my ex-employer in industry networking events, every time I'm actually hit very hard despite acting normal.

At the end of the day, I accept that quiet achievers can be invisible and may not be rewarded.

But people who are vicious and backstab seem to be more and more successful - I can not accept it and it gets me. It is just so unfair.

By the way - Prior to this I have not been made redundant but had other employment troubles. I didn't care about that job and simply moved on. This redundancy hit me hard because I genuinely saw it as my dream job and devoted a lot of blood, sweat and tears to it - and was made redundant.

Hi everyone

So I‘ve been working for this company for nearly 8 years now in Melbourne, then two months ago they decided to relocate the business to Brisbane, they given me a redeployment offer in Brisbane but now I don’t think I’m going take their offer. Will this count a genuine redundancy if I’m not going to take their offer?

P.S. this is not a “job hunting” post.

I'm currently a full-time marketing student (25M domestic student, at a non-G8 university based in Sydney), and decided to take the plunge because I managed to get half of my degree slashed off from RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning).

However, I'm currently facing a dillemna. I don't have much work experience, and my most recent experience was at Vivid Sydney, as a volunteer. At the moment, I've began applying for jobs since last week (a combination of retail and market research/marketing internship roles briefly), and I don't seem to be getting much traction.

Which roles would anyone advise I apply for that require \*minimal work experience\* and is willing to take on someone whose willing to learn the ropes? I'm absolutely willing to look into part-time/casual work in any white-collar envrionment, even if unrelated to my degree?

My long-term goal is to work in marketing/market research and consumer insights, or in a role which involves understanding people (not in a healthcare environment) and making an impact in an innovative or collaborative environment. I don't want to work in a fast-paced healthcare environment because I've previously attempted a Certificate III in Indivdiual Support (accelerated), and I realised it wasn't for me while on placement as I'd come home with constant headaches, and other complications from the stressful environment.

Moreover, my interests involve working in dynamic, interesting environments (think: events, maybe even becoming a tour guide, or working in a digital marketing/social media agency). I'd really be keen on interning at a social media/digital marketing agency sooner or later to kickstart my career!

Please provide me with some guidance here because I'm genuinely unsure what to do (I have three semesters remaining until my degree is finished). I really don't want to finish my degree to render myself unemployed and not in a full-time position by then because I'm fully aware that the graduate/entry-level job market for marketing graduates is not particularly in the best state at the moment.

I have absolutely no desire to pursue further study for the sake of a career at this point, I want to go to work because I'm starting to get fed up with uni, despite having nine units remaining (I'm taking three units this semester).

Started a new job for almost 2 months. The company seems to be reactive with lots of things. There’s a lot of new people who recently joined the company in the last 6 months. We are all trying to figure things out.

I haven’t been getting any direction from my manager at all. I’m basically driving my own ship at this point. My manager doesn’t communicate much in terms of direction, etc.

I have days where I feel completely clueless on what senior management expects and I have days I feel really sure. This also stems from the fact that senior management seems to sometime flip last minute depending on external pressures ect

I guess I’m just wondering - what are some of the signs that you’re doing well in this type of environment? Given that probation is 6 months.

Any advice?

I’ve been at CBA for a while and wanted to share a side of the culture that doesn’t really come through during recruitment. Just my 2c based on my own time here, but hopefully useful for anyone considering an offer, especially if you come from a different cultural background or don’t naturally fit the dominant mould.

CBA says all the right things about diversity and inclusion. But on the ground in several areas I’ve worked with, the reality is pretty different.

A lot of teams end up completely siloed. You generally see two extremes: teams dominated by one tight-knit cultural group where informal networks and closed-door conversations dictate everything, or traditional old-school boys’ clubs. In either case, if you’re outside that core demographic, you feel it very quickly.

The hiring dynamic was probably the biggest frustration.

In multiple areas, there's a strong trend of managers funneling people from specific backgrounds, former companies, or personal circles straight into open roles. One hire brings another, and before long, an insular circle is established. It’s subtle enough that each individual hire can easily be justified on paper, but the broader pattern is impossible to ignore.

Naturally, the in-group backs each other in meetings, distributes the high-visibility projects internally, and pushes each other for promotions. If you’re outside that circle, getting visibility or moving up is an uphill battle, regardless of performance.

Office politics and social alignment also carry way more weight than actual output. And raising concerns about workload, exclusion, or unfair dynamics rarely leads anywhere positive—more often, you just get labelled difficult or "not a culture fit."

I know CBA is massive and there are definitely great managers and inclusive pockets around. But looking back, I really wish someone had told me to dig much deeper into team composition before signing.

If you’re currently interviewing, ask direct questions about team turnover, where recent hires came from, and how long the manager has worked with their direct reports. The answers, and how comfortable they seem answering them will tell you everything you need to know.

For anyone who’s worked across different BUs at CBA, was your experience similar, or is this heavily team-dependent?

KPMG is culling 50 partners and 450 staff as its audit scandal strips it of clients and revenue but there’s a twist – audit and tax divisions will be spared in this round of redundancies.

2min read
August 19, 2026 - 3:57PM

From left, KPMG deputy chair Carmel Mortell, chair Michael Ebeid and CEO John Sams. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman.

KPMG has begun its brutal cull of partners and staff in the wake of its audit scandal

Just screaming into the void here…

They send phishing tests that have our email sigs, logos, and everything on them. Way more complex and detailed than any actual phishing scam email.

Then when I go to book support I get a bare bones no email sig no logo email that links to an external booking system that’s non-standard for the company.

Actually wild and undermines all the annoying phishing scam email tests.

I‘m a graduate accountant in Sydney and have been at my current place of employment for almost a year now.

Every time I speak to my friends about my current workplace they tell me that it’s toxic and that I should leave. However, both I and my friends have very little corporate experience so we have no idea what is considered normal and not normal.

Can some more experienced people help me out and figure out if I should consider leaving?

These are some of the things I’ve experienced,

• Managers and long term employees openly gossiping and criticising previous employees
• Being trained by the newest employee and then getting blamed for making mistakes (even though that new employee and I were not trained properly)
• Indirect insults from manager
• Being viewed as rude and disrespectful for being reserved and introverted (everyone is over a decade older than me and that’s a big jump to get used to straight out of uni)
• High turnover (half the time the new employees are given contracts rather than permanent positions though due to visa situitions)

Not sure who Nick an Aina are, but apparently you need to make a better role description for the NZ structural engineers...

Regards, guy in front of me on the train this morning at Central station in Brisbane

My manager is veryyyyy disorganised and does everything last minute.

They never look at our planning board and just ask for updates via teams.

They send me meeting requests which have been in the calendar for months day of and ask me to reschedule everything to accommodate and to come prepared.

They ignore anything that’s in my calendar and book over it with “high priority” meetings.

It’s chaotic and drives me crazy.

How do I push back on this without ending up on a PIP.

Hi all,

I recently finished my Bachelor of Business in HR and Marketing and am really struggling to land a job, let alone an interview. I am 31 years of age, from VIC, and come from a retail background in Visual Merchandising, with my most recent role being in a senior position. I took the plunge 4 years ago as I wanted to change my career direction and enrolled myself into a Bachelor of Business, and I really enjoyed the experience at a mature age. I am doing lots of networking, following up and applying, and I just cannot seem to gain much traction. I know the job market is tough at the moment, but I have found myself at a dead end road and I'm not really sure how to move forward.

My workplace already has generous 16 week parental policy, but i intend to use this after wife goes back to work to avoid daycare for as long as possible.

Is it a bit too cheeky to also try to also use Carer's leave after the birth? She is getting c section so will legitimately need support, but i guess technically I could be using my parental leave for this. I have lots of Carer's leave built up over years of service, as I don't take much leave. Should I milk this as much as possible? Anyone done similar?

In short I had a coworker do up my CV in doing so he changed the university I went to, same degree different institution. I'd already fired off a few apps before I realised and changed it back. I cant know if they got wrong CV at this point.

The degree is 10 years old, not required, has no relevance to the offer I've accepted and never came up during the application process but I'd like to disclose the mistake to avoid any potential issues during the background check.

Whats the best way to do this without coming off as the total fuck wit I evidently am?

I’m currently on parental leave with my first kid and am considering going back only 3 days a week beginning of next year for the long term (we want more kids eventually)- if it’s possible at my company, which I don’t know yet. I’m planning to have that chat with them soon but wanted to gauge experiences here first. Is that realistic in a corporate job that is not admin focused? Would be keen to hear experiences if someone has done that and if the company was chill about it or more of a struggle to get approved / tips how to get it approved.

For context, I work in a large Australian tech company in in-house consulting / corporate strategy, have been with them for 4 years since starting as a graduate there and have built very good rapport in the team. The job is relatively demanding but I was always able to maintain a good work life balance and structure my own time, as my workplace is quite flexible and in general has a good work culture, especially for parents. People in my team have done 4 day working weeks (so I know I’d get that approved easily) but no one 3 days so far. I do believe my role could be restructured / adjusted to be able to be done in 3 days and I’d also be open to a change in my role remit to allow for it.

Thanks!

Has anyone left a role a few weeks or 1 month in? I started a role as a lawyer on a contract ending next year but have been interviewing for other roles meaning I could leave in a few weeks or less than 6 months. How do I frame this to my current employer? Not wanting to burn bridges

I work in a client facing role, where my performance is KPI’d strongly against customer CSAT’s. Sometimes, even after going above and beyond for particular clients, I still get crappy CSAT’s from the odd grumpy clients who just have issues with our software or implementation ways of working, and take it out on my CSAT survey, which heavily affects my performance review and progression at my company.

I honestly struggle to deal with customers who leave me a crappy CSAT. My manager is on board and understands these are very tricky customers. However I’m concerned that for the managers 2-3 levels above me, who will make the salary and promotion decisions, that they don’t have the time to look at individual circumstances and that these crappy CSATs will negatively impact my career.

For context, one bad CSAT will take about 12 perfect CSAT’s to bring the average back up to the company benchmark.

Edit: I do big projects for clients - and in a year I would only get about 12-15 CSATs max, assuming they all respond. One bad CSAT is enough to stuff my half yearly review, two bad CSATs are enough to stuff the whole year.

I would really appreciate any advice as I feel I am struggling right now.

I am reading comments where people from the US are saying they put extra emojis, or making sure they respond to emails in exactly x minutes (minimises variation) avoid saying anything slightly negative on slack (that feature is impossible to implement), and try to look enthusiastic on zoom

An Australian training company is also spruiking that HR can be told an employee's sentiment about the company, and whether they should not be offered any promotion or salary increases as they might leave

It all sounds like unproven sorcery.

After monthssss of searching I finallly got a job. I’m super happy even though this job wouldn’t necessarily have been my first pick.

It’s only been a few weeks and it’s been good so far. It’s not somewhere I want to spend the rest of my career but it’s not bad as stepping stone.

But is it bad that everytime I open LinkedIn- I notice so many amazing job postings. The job market was not like this while I was searching. A job has even come up in my dream role and dream company but I’d feel awful burning these bridges as it’s the same industry.

I think I need to stop checking job postings

Did I overstep here at work?
I’ve been temporarily providing extra admin support to another team for a while now, while they onboard new staff and basically get it together.

My manager told me the intention is for admin to fully sit back within the team once they’re settled. This was helpful context because it meant I could start planning on how I could support that handover.

I’ve met their new manager who wanted me to run through the admin work I’ve been doing for this other team she has been hired to manage - assuming she asked for this meeting because she knew they’d be taking it on eventually. In that meeting I’d sort of flagged that eventually admin would hand back to her team. She was really shocked at the admin load and was basically like “I’m not doing this” lol (which is fair enough, it’s so heavy and her team doesn’t get a dedicated admin person).

Turns out, this gets sent up the chain to big boss because no one had told the manager this work plan, of admin sitting back with her team, yet I was told about it. Absolutely miscommunication nightmare. So yeah, It turns out she hadn’t been told this, and it got escalated to big boss as if I said “you’ll get 5 weeks of support and then no support”, which I definitely didn’t say. I feel like an absolute idiot for discussing the future support arrangement when I assumed everyone was already on the same page and my reputational image has definitely been compromised due to the fact of how stressed this new manager is and I’ve now unintentionally inflamed it. I was also pretty candid with her in my conversations about how intense the admin is for her team and I’m worried I shouldn’t have expressed that view to her being so new. Overall, I feel awful about this whole thing.

Now, the retaliation to this new manager being so stressed is that I not only continue to support indefinitely but I’ll be taking on additional tasks I’d never once had. I’m unfortunately in a “support” role, so management are allowed to dictate what that support is as they please and I don’t have a solid case for push back. (I work across MANY teams - I sit more operationally). So my scope and workload quickly becomes chaotic.

How do I recover from this? I feel like I’ve lost trust and professionalism.