bcworld

But unionism itself can lead to more of the same petty behaviour. My ex worked for a local council near Brisbane - the slightest comment or choice of words by management would lead to untold amounts of bitching, whining & general faux angst, invariably leading to getting the union involved purely for the sake of causing a fuss. Repeat cycle ad nauseum.

My current place of work is almost ideal...there is literally zero politcial stuff going on...just my first 2 Aussie jobs were nightmarish on that front...very schoolyard as in your case. Similar firms, albeit the current one is much smaller than the others.

roaringmouse

I would agree with that - I'm far from being a union member!! In my opinion, unions have their place but I would prefer to see a more co-operative nature between employers and unions, rather than the extremes between them I see in Australia (and which are reflected in the 2 main political groups).

ABCDiamond

It is ? I think that a lot of things, that people put down to their own perceptions, may not actually be the case overall. And things change over time.

Trade Union Membership Rates:
1993
36.10% United Kingdom
37.60% Australia

2003
29.30% United Kingdom
22.90% Australia
http://www.workersfirst.com.au/Trade...rend-s/302.htm

2007-2008-2009
27.4% United Kingdom (2008)
19.0% Australia (2007)
20.0% Australia (2009)

JoeBloggs80

Work for a small/independent company for a better quality of life. I work in a company of about 20/25 people. If I have a problem I go straight to the boss/owner and knock on his door.

Much more laid back, no corporate guidelines to follow, no dress code, flexible working hours, every friday we knock off at 4pm and have a few beers together (on the company of course).

I don't think I could hack workign for a multi national to be honest.

DeadVim

2010 "Meh" Census:
Australian Population: 57 degrees from vertical, on average (2010)
UK Population: 35 degrees from vertical, on average (2010)

The figures don't lie.

RenShen

I agree that work life is much the same as the UK. However, our leisure time is much more laid back. For a start, not worrying what to wear as everyones clothes are shit, not worrying what to cook as it all gets chucked on the barbie anyway and not worrying about where to go as we or our friends always have something planned. Easy

roaringmouse

I wasn't referring to membership rates when I referred to unionism being a much bigger thing in Australia - otherwise I would have said unions are a much bigger thing... rather than unionism is a much bigger thing... (i.e. the practices and policies of a union).

Unions tend to be much more militant in Australia.

ABCDiamond

Are they really ? Or is it just the vocal minority again ?

roaringmouse

Well, according to your stats which I almost fell asleep over, unions are the vocal minority.

Loch Lomond

It doesn't matter what the stats say about what union membership is here in Oz. The CFMEU in WA is militant, no doubt. It's all the Glaswegians and Scousers who came here in the Thatcher times.
I saw Joe McDonald in a cafe close to my office a few weeks ago with 2 heavies that had mullets you'd have been proud of in the 80's, and they were drinking Latte's out of tall glasses. Not really something I would have expected from a working class union man, or have times changed?

Officer Dibble

Personally, I only think its laid back here because theres no real social life. Sure, you can work around the clock and pay top dollar for your decking to be done but whats the point if theres no one worthy to put on it.

bcworld

Australia no longer the country of 'no worries, mate' as stress levels soar

NINE out of 10 Australians suffer stress, with work being the chief cause, according to a poll which found Aussies are now "significantly" more stressed than Americans.

The 2010 poll found that the number two cause of stress this year is worrying about the future with 69 per cent worried about what's over the horizon and 16 per cent very stressed about it.

In third place are finances, with 65 per cent of Aussies are concerned about their back pocket and 21 per cent are very stressed about it. Finally, stress about health is at 57 per cent and personal relationships is at 42 per cent

roamer25

I wasn't aware that unionism or socialism of any kind banned coffee drinking?

But seriously, I get what you mean. As a teacher I find the unions here obsessed with money and political game play, not giving a jot about conditions and really representing workers. Back home, once you got to management in teaching you had a different part of the union so managers didn't set the agenda. Here, it's all managers whining about not getting their 2 hours a week entitlement of an office worker to do their filing. Meanwhile we still don't have a proper curriculum, teaching materials or adequate external assessment (I'm WA).

I agree so strongly with the comments earlier that a lot of time is wasted here. I like to work smart not long hours and use all my free periods to smash through marking and work. But I always get interrupted by my bored boss wanting to bitch and politik or a colleague wanting to prank someone. Back home I maybe did 30 mins a night of prep or marking, here I work usually work 1 to 2 hours a night to prep lessons or marking.

But re: the laid back question - people just don't care. I don't see the same level of pride in doing things well. "That'll do" "She'll be right"
And what is it with simple customer service queries resulting in spiteful, angry responses? I gave you money, you didn't do what I paid you for, so I am asking why or for a refund. This doesn't require any massive personal issues, yet the snide attitude shocks me every time!

mr mover

More Orrifice dribble.........mm

Mr Data

I found in my time in the UK that people spent more time talking about how hard they work than actually performing any work. In Australia I found people working the same amount of time but commutting less.

There is an old adage work smarter not harder and often I find myself quoting it to recent arrivals who complain about working 14 or 16 hour days and yet only seem to bring up 3 or 4 hours worth of work.

I also purposely live within 20 mins of CBD so I dont waste time in a long commutte so I have additional time to pick up and drop of my kids at school.