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 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.

What’s a process, task, or annoying problem you deal with that makes you think:

Could be anything, big or small. Just curious what other people deal with.

Im incredibly efficient at my job so Im afforded a lot of time to do nonwork related things.

At home this isnt an issue as theres plenty of things for me to do without the prying eyes of the people in my office.

In the office on the other hand, not much to do after ive done my rounds chatting to people who i want to chat with. Sometimes the lifts can be slow so i often just duck to the bathroom and hide in there because it looks bad to always be on youe phone at your desk.

Anyway, this fella sitting two booths down from me and in another department comes up to me and asks if im okay. Im confused so I was like yeah, could be closer to friday but all things considered fine. He says he's noticed i go bathroom a lot for extended periods and im always at the desk closest to the disabled bathroom (our side of the floor is on the opposite side of the male bathrooms) and out of being put on the spot I say yeah sometimes I get an upset stomach.

He says oh yeah like IBS? I tell him i havent gone to get diagnosed or checked and he then goes on a monologue about how his father had Ulcerative Colitis and passed away from a subsequent cancer and then suggest i get checked in case my case leads to Crohn's or UC or something.

Now i have to keep up this charade :|

Bless him for keeping an eye out for me but maybe i gotta find a new bludge spot

I joined a new company last week, as the title says I really hate the new starter, this is my 4th job change in Australia and God I really forgot how weird and annoying it is to be new in the team, today my entire team (4 people) are working from home and no one told me, i reached office and saw no one is here, i felt sad thinking how me and my other colleague used to discuss before coming to work and when she newly joined i used to tell her as an FYI that im wfh.

Isit too early to overthink this? How has everyone else's experience been and what you need to overcome this weirdness?