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Monday, June 25, 10:47AM
Blogs and job hunting, second interviews, & more
I've just arrived back from holidays to discover plenty of good emails waiting in the in box. In particular, Gillian Kelly of Career Edge in Brisbane wants to know what everyone thinks of employers and recruiters checking to see if a candidate has a Blog. Apparently this is becoming more standard as part of the pre-employment screening process. There are some now quite well-known cases of people being fired due to their Blog so it does point to Blogging being a potential danger to being hired. Is this right or wrong? Big question and hard to answer. One guy was fired for writing unfavourable things about his employer's products. Is that surprising or unreasonable? You be the judge. Other people have been fired for what amounts to their private life - often their secret life. Apart from illegal stuff - you're entitled to a secret life - sadly, if you indulge in some creative free speech via a Blog, it is no longer a secret life. While I don't think this is right I do think it is real life and that sadly we leave ourselves open to judgement. Sure, sometimes this is small minded judgement but sometimes it is the candidate's own lack of judgement that lands them in the reject pile. For the curious, I found a list of people who have been fired from their jobs for Blog posts or Blogs they have authored. The list is on a Blog called The Papal Bull > Lama Droppings - take a look If these people can be fired for these things you can imagine how a candidate might be viewed. You will find Gillian's comments in Your Say and a link to her post on this topic on her own Blog.
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Cool jobs, cool people
Monday, June 4, 9:00AM
It's great to see Australians doing well in the world. I recently attended the Australian Information Industry Association annual conference where I had the privilege to hear Genevieve Bell speak. Now Chief Anthropologist for Intel, Genevieve is also a former professor at Stanford University in California teaching anthropology and Native American Studies. She earned her PhD in cultural anthropology from Stanford University in 1998. What a great speaker! She was funny, clever and so down to earth. She has travelled all over the world studying people and cultures so it must have been quite a change to join a corporate giant like Intel. However, she obviously loves her work and still travels the globe - now studying people in various cultures and their relationship with technology. I was so impressed by Genevieve that did a web search on her (that link above goes to her bio on Intel) and learnt her mother was an anthropologist so she spent her childhood with her family living in an Aboriginal community. Genevieve joined Intel as an "ethnographer" - what a great job role title. According to Wikipedia, an ethnography is "the genre of writing that presents varying degrees of qualitative and quantitative descriptions of human social phenomena, based on fieldwork." When I was the environment writer on the Sydney Morning Herald I interviewed the chief anthropologist of The Body Shop. He was a fascinating guy doing a fascinating job, which included traveling to the Amazon to help ingenious tribes people negotiate intellectual property agreements with pharmaceutical companies that gave them something in return for the plants taken and used in the manufacture of drugs worth millions of dollars. That was my other career dream - to be an anthropologist. Now I remember why.
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Thursday, May 31, 5:04PM
Mining needs to clean up its act
A new report has called for the mining and minerals sector to create female friendly workplaces to cope with its increasing skills shortage.
A review of the current scene and a report was commission by Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Government Office for Women and the news is not good.
Only 3 per cent of workers at mine sites and mineral processing facilities are women and only 18 per cent of the total minerals industry workforce was women. Worse, women put up with conditions largely unchanged from 30 years ago.
Indeed sections of the report read like the script for the film North Country starring Charlize Theron. That film depicted the tough early days of women working on mine sites in the US in 1975 - something that lead to the first litigation in the area of gender discrimination.
The new report described conditions at Australian mine sites as anti-women. Women surveyed described how they had to endure sexual harassment, bullying, active discrimination, inappropriate comments, rumours and the display of pornographic images.
The report findings were outlined at the inaugural National Women and Mining Symposium in Canberra two days ago.
The report authors recommend that the image of the sector be reviewed now and that advertising be designed to lure senior women executives from other sectors to mining.
Female recruitment targets should also be set including for grads, holiday work placements for women should be introduced along with university scholarships for women and far better work practices.
Interestingly, I have heard mine sites prefer women drivers because they take better care of the massive trucks and other machines worth up to $1 million each. The report also acknowledged the superior ability of women to multi task.
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Wednesday, May 23, 10:53AM
Flirting in the office
When I first started working as a cadet journalist I was told that "management" frowned on inter office dating. Indeed, I was told of a journalist couple who were posted to cities in different states when their romance was discovered. I suspect that just a scare story but you never know. Things have changed dramatically.
Most people will date someone at work at some point. A CareerOne poll found 51 per cent of respondents had dated a co-worker and 23 per cent were open to the idea. A UK poll by New Woman magazine found 61 per cent of women had indulged in inter-office dating and the US men's magazine Best Site and men's website have written about the topic (it's not just a female thing).
I've also written plenty about it - particularly regarding the do's and don'ts. It was interesting to read about the recent resignations of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz over working relationship with girlfriend Shaha Riza and that of recently resigned Sydney Opera House chief executive, Norman Gillespie over his relationship with staffer Claire Swaffield. Wolfowitz joined the bank after Riza but arranged a new government role for her with a hefty payrise. Gillespie lobbed in Sydney Opera House role in 2002 and Swaffield joined in 2003. According to an article in The Daily Telegraph by Janet Fife-Yoemans, Swaffield, a trained accountant, joined the Opera House in January 2003 in the finance department and was promoted to chief information officer in May last year. This was an executive team role.
Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus argued in her recent column on Sacbee.com that banning senior executives from romance at work was not the answer. Instead, she said with good policy, co-workers could also romance one another as long as they had nothing to do with each other's promotions or pay prospects. I agree. It's not rocket science. In the Rules of office romance I wrote that bosses and subordinates were a terrible workplace match for all concerned. How can the junior partner in the romance ever convince people he or she was getting ahead on merit? And what if he or she was getting by dating the boss? What impact would that have on the rest of the team? Then there is the whole issue of the junior partner in the romance being managed out if things go wrong and of lawsuits triggered by a break up. Dating way above your reporting line also presents questions for the couple around inappropriate information sharing as I explained to Holly McKay in her recent story on flirting in the office for Fox News.com. We cannot stop people dating at work - we all spend far too much time at the office, but I strongly recommend dating outside the pod and staying away from the boss.
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Monday, May 14, 2007
Stop bullies in their track
At last Australia seems to be taking school yard bullying seriously. Sure, there has been a lot of talk over recent years but concrete action has been lacking. An intolerance of bullying needs to be part of the school culture - for students and amongst teachers. Experts say that school bullies often become workplace bullies and that makes perfect sense. If the behaviour is ignored or worse, rewarded, in school then why wouldn't the child bully continue to use their heavy handed tactics to get what they want at work? Research dating back to 2000 suggests that the victims of school yard bullying are also in danger of turning into workplace bullies. No wonder so many people wrote in when I interviewed Dr John Clarke office monsters after the launch of his latest book. I heard from people all over Australia about their own experiences with bullies - not pretty.The Daily Telegraph reports today that Australian Prime Minister John Howard wants our schools to make their record of dealing with bullying available to parents. Making schools accountable in this way is a great idea. I have heard amazing stories from parents of their children being bullied and school boffins brushing aside their concerns. The deputy principal of an elite Sydney school for girls went so far as to imply it was the victim's fault and that a 'survival of the fittest' policy would weed out the weak girls from the strong. Of course, some schools do a great job to stem bullying and it is the parents who fail to take action to stop their children using bullying as a success strategy. Whatever the case, in the workforce bullies stifle good ideas, productivity and talent. That is not good business. Like too many schools, too many employers fail to reign in bullies.
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Friday May 11, 3:59PM
Prying questions sink employer
MC in Brisbane attended an interview recently with an employer who asked her age and marital status. What gives with that? What does it matter? The silly thing is that he later offered MC a job but she turned the employer down flat because of his off limits questions. Better yet - she is going to a competitor. Serves him right.
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Tuesday May 8, 10:00AM
Wise ones wanted
Grace du Prie writes: "What is the truth of the situation with experienced and mature aged workers? Is it really true that employers are starting to value experience again and that mature aged workers have better chances now to find employment?" Thanks Grace, this is a fantastic question. Yes, I think the tide is turning but slowly. Only last week some of Australia's best-known employers gathered with a handful of smaller employers to compete for Australia's first mature-age-friendly employer gong. The judging was tough. I was on a panel with diversity expert Juliet Bourke of Aequus Partners and Recruitment & Consulting Services Association CEO Julie Mills. I learnt a great deal listening to Juliet and Julie. They both wanted to see genuine work policies that addressed mature workers as individuals with differing needs. Those needs range from the physical ability to do the job to family responsibilities such as elder care or taking care of grandchildren. Many mature age workers are career-focused and looking for further training and promotion and while some want to scale back their work hours or even make a graduated move to retirement. Brisbane City Council was declared the stand out winner. The award organisers 45+ job board Adage and its associated consulting arm Sageco have made the case over and over that ageism is bad business. Catriona Byrne, a director of Adage and Sageco said: "After years of talking about it, the realisation is hitting industry that the available talent pool is dramatically shrinking. With 85 per cent of new labour force growth coming from the over 45s, only employers who understand how to attract and retain the mature worker will thrive." Alison Monroe of Sageco is giving a series of Wise Workforce presentations to recruiters and employers to explain the benefits of hiring and keeping older staff. Yes there is a change of attitude going on because companies simply have no other choice that to lose the tude. The companies short listed for the inaugural award were Abacus; AMP; ANZ; Aurora Energy; CareersMultilist; Commonwealth Bank; Gold Coast Water; IBM; Insurance Australia Group; JPMorgan; Masonic Care Queensland; SA Water; StGeorge Bank; St Vincents & Mater Health; Sunstate Cement; TACTICS Consulting; The Salvation Army; Westpac; and 360HR.
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Friday April 27, 1:42PM
WorkChoices - a mouse pad or a mmm... mouse pad?
CareerOne.com.au editorial team member Peta Wittig has never been convinced by all the anti-WorkChoices hype since the laws were introduced just over a year ago. In particular, Peta wanted to know if some info I told her was correct - basically that a little known fact about the Fed's Office of the Employment Advocate was that it provided a service where an expert would read your employment contract - hey, an employer lawyer told me that. She decided to test her theories at the National Employment & Careers Expo held in Brisbane last weekend as the Federal government had a 'WorkChoices' stand at the show. Peta says: "I was keen to have a chat with the guys on the WorkChoices stand as I often watch the anti-WorkChoices television ads with frustration. I'm sure many of the dark scenarios could also have been possible under the old Workplace Act of 1996. Sadly, when I asked those manning the stand some questions I was just handed a 'WorkChoices Kit', with mouse pad and told to call their communications department. Okay ... My next questions were general and low key - I didn't want to scare them. 'So', I said, 'It seems having negotiation skills are the key to WorkChoices but what happens if you don't have any negotiation skills? Are there any government bodies to help people negotiate?' The answer was a shock to me. It seems 'a friend or family member' can negotiate for you or indeed any Tom, Dick or Harry if you nominate them as your 'Bargaining Agent'. Yep, just like the good old days, I can get my mum to do my dirty work, as long as I write her a permission slip! While an employer cannot stop you using a Bargaining Agent (penalties apply), what are the implications of this? Is it realistic to think that a friend or family member can talk business with a prospective employer? Also, how will it look to your potential new boss when your mum gives him a call? According to the kit I received, Bargaining Agents must not be under 18 years of age, acting for the other party of the AWA, a bankrupt or have been convicted of a criminal offence. So, apart from those restrictions, you don't need any qualifications to be a Bargaining Agent. No mention was made of being able to get an expert to read through you contract for you. I walked away from the stand with at least some information, and around 40 individually confusing 'Fact Sheets' to read. Why place staff on the stand that couldn't or wouldn't give advice? A visitor to the CareerOne stand (a non-journalist) also visited the WorkChoices stand and had the same experience. I'm disappointed for both of us and anyone else who tried to get their questions answered. The careers expo would have been a great opportunity to talk to the people about their individual concerns. A mouse pad and a phone number doesn't cut it!". As for your employer lawyer Kate, I called the 1300 WorkChoices number they provided, and there is some truth it what they are saying. If you have got an AWA that you think it might list prohibited content, then you can send it to the OEA for review, keeping in mind that it can take up to 30 days for it to be processed. However, remember they are only looking at illegal content, not the fact you haven't negotiated a fair contract. If you want an expert to help you negotiate your contract - you'll have to fork over the $$$$ (union rep or lawyer).
The OEA does provide some tips on its site about negotiating agreements and details about using a Bargaining Agent. Take a look.
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Monday April 23, 9:25AM
Teachers need support to help us all with Emos
A NSW high school teacher I met about a month back told me of a strange trend being followed by many of her students - misery. "It seems like they compete to see who is the most miserable," she told me. She also said while the powers that be discouraged open discussion about the problem, things had gotten so bad at her school that teachers were reluctant to allow students to the toilets during lessons for fear they would practice some sort of self-harm ritual when there was no one around to see. When I ran into the same teacher again weeks later she told me the school was in mourning over the apparent suicide of a 13-year-old girl. Wow, 13 is so young for such sadness. Today comes the tragic news that police believe two 16-year-old friends found dead in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges had also taken their own lives as part of a suicide pact. One news report claims the two young women were "emos". While the word has been around for a while, I only heard it yesterday while I was talking to a Year 12 student I met at the National Employment & Careers Expo in Brisbane. After seeing yet another person go by the CareerOne stand sporting died black hair and painted black nails I asked the Year 12 student if "Goths" (Gothic) had made a come back. She shrugged: "No, there 'emos' - emotionals." Today I heard the word again but this time in connection with the deaths of the two teens. According to Wikkipedia "most definitions of emo hold that an "emo person" is candid about their emotions, sensitive, shy, introverted, broken-hearted, glum, and often quiet. Emo personality is also often connected with writing poetry, which addresses confusion, depression, loneliness and anger, all resulting from the world's inability to understand the author." A similar description was applied to the Virginia Tech gunman. Scary stuff. According to a recent report in
The Daily Mail
, the misery trend has also spawned its own venues in the form of "Misery Clubs". Now popping up in Tokyo and London the clubs are billed as positive places that use everything from grating onions to screening tear jerker movies to encourage men and women to have a good cry to relieve stress. However, a university lecturer in psychology quoted in the story finds the notion of clubs for crying a puzzle. Dr Virginia Eatough told The Daily Mail: "People say they feel better after crying but scientific evidence suggests that psychologically this is not the case. For example, stress levels can rise." Whatever the case, back in the corridors of our schools, there appears to be nothing healthy about what is going on. Most worrying of all is the fact teachers appear not to be receiving any training on how to deal with emo. Worse, if the NSW teacher I spoke to is right, teachers are not even allowed to talk about the problem to gain support or information from one another. How long will it be before fingers are pointed in the direction of teachers I wonder?
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Friday April 13, 11:02AM
Reality check
Staying in touch with reality is a problem for most politicians. They tell us these workplace laws will make life easier or make is harder but they don't always have a good grasp of what life is like for the ordinary working person. Yes, they have aides but most of them are self-focused, career-ambitious white collar workers on big salaries so what do they really know? US politician and presidential candidate John Edwards has accepted an enlightening challenge: "Walk a day in my shoes" - an idea dreamed up by American union, the Services Employees International Union.
As part of the scheme, Senator Edwards took on the life of a nurse's aide who earns US$14 an hour (about A$16.90 per hour) for a day. He had breakfast in her small apartment and went to work with her shaving the face of an 83-year-old man and carrying out other elder care duties. Other presidential candidates including Senator Hilary Clinton and the Governor of the US state of New Mexico have reportedly told the Services Employees International Union that they will take part too. Hey Australia is in a Federal election year. Perhaps the Australian Council of Trade Unions could hop onto this idea and get Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd to take part - actually, not a bad idea for their cabinet members either.
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Wednesday April 4, 9:28AM
Career coaches talk and learn
I attended last year's conference and it was good to see so many people dedicated to raising the bar on providing professional assistance to those wanting help with their career. This year's conference theme is the career "journey" and how to take a holistic approach to careers. Very relevant to today's dynamic workplace where people will have multiple careers. The conference will feature 53 international and local keynote speakers, interactive workshops and panel discussions. To learn more go to http://www.aacc.org.au/
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Tuesday March 27, 9:24AM
Happy or not so happy birthday
Well, it's been a year since the Federal Government introduced WorkChoices - it's industrial relation laws that promotes the signing of individual Australian Workplace Agreements to replace collective bargaining agreements brokered by unions. I was expecting more noise about the IR laws given the protests that took place before it was introduced last year. There is plenty of commentary around today in blogs, columns and sound bites. Michael Chaney, the president of the Business Council of Australia, says Australia has gained 260,000 new jobs and experienced 1.8 per cent wage growth since WorkChoices. Small business retailers interviewed by newspapers reckon the laws have made them more confident about hiring because if someone doesn't pull their weight they can be fired without the employer worrying about unfair dismissal claims. But not all bosses say WorkChoices is a good thing. UMR Research's recent survey of 300 upper and middle managers revealed most believed the laws had resulted in longer work hours and morale issues. UMR Research's GM Bruce Dier told me the surveyed group were those managers below the top tier of executives that "still see themselves as employees as well as managers." Labour Deputy Leader Julia Gillard is standing firm on her promise to scrap the laws if her party is elected - a move Prime Minister John Howard says will tell the world Australia is not serious about economic growth. Meanwhile, Steve Fielding, the Family First senator, has announced he will introduce legislation to Federal Parliament this week to guarantee workers public holidays, meal breaks and penalty rates. Data The Federal Government's Office of the Employment Advocate last year surveyed 250 individual contracts created under WorkChoices and found 63 per cent had suffered cuts to penalty rates. Further, a report commissioned by the (Labour) Victorian Government, and carried out by Griffith University's professor of industrial relations David Peetz, has found that wages had shrunk under WorkChoices for some of our most vulnerable workers. These include hospitality and retail employees, in particular women and casual workers due to the loss of penalty rates. Overall the gender pay gap has widened with full-time female employees now earning eight per cent worse off under WorkChoices. Professor Peetz also observed how little analysis was available on just what impact WorkChoices had really made. Despite strong employment conditions, Professor Peetz points to separate research by Morgan and the Centre for Life and Work that reveals an increased level of job security and anxiety post WorkChoices. How does it feel for you?
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Wednesday March 7, 3:49PM
Happy days
Happy International Women's Day! Started in the 1909 to draw attention to women's working conditions, the day is now celebrated all over the world. We have marked the occasion by posting online the full roll call of Australian companies to make the Equal Opportunities for Women in the Workplace Agency's employer's of choice 2007. Take a look or read the story.
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Monday March 5, 9:05AM
Work Choices 'No choices'
March marks the first anniversary of WorkChoices, the Australian Government's employment laws that were touted as a way to boost employment opportunities and productivity. WorkChoices was supposedly about employees negotiating more favourable Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) instead of relying on collective bargaining. However unions, academics and even researchers are lining up to say the opposite is true. A new ACTU-sponsored television ad , which started screening last night, uses data collected by the federal government's own Office of the Employment Advocate to damn Work Choices. An OEA survey of 250 individual contracts, presented at Senate Estimates last year, found 64 per cent cut annual leave loadings while 63 per cent cut penalty rates. In a statement Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey said WorkChoices had been positive for workers. "Workers are far better off under a fair and flexible workplace relations system that fosters job creation no matter what the economic climate," he said. Just weeks ago David Peetz professor of Griffith Business School released a critical analysis of WorkChoices that found it had performed badly in terms of productivity and employee earnings and conditions. More recently, UMR Research released its findings from a survey of how managers felt about WorkChoices. According to its survey of 300 upper and middle managers, UMR Research found bosses believed the laws had resulted in longer work hours and morale issues. UMR Research's GM Bruce Dier told me the survey group were those managers below the top tier of executives. "They still see themselves as employees as well as managers ... they are seldom asked for their views." Be great to see an important issue like employment conditions take centre stage in political and media debate instead of who went to dinner with whom.
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Thursday March 1, 10:24AM
Employers should pay for police record checks
Aged care workers will have to undergo police checks before they take on a job and there is some debate over who should pay for the checks. According to news reports today, the police background check costs around $40-$45. Queensland Labour Senator Jan McLucas told ABC radio that $40 represented pay for about four hours work for an aged care worker. Federal Ageing Minister Santo Santoro disagrees. He told the ABC that it cost $45 for a three-year police check has that was a small amount spread over t hat time. If people want to work, it's "only reasonable" they pay the fee. I disagree strongly with Mr Santoro. People who own aged care homes do okay for themselves and they also know how hard it is to attract people to their jobs. Surely they can kick in for the $40-$45 tests.
Friday February 23, 1:02PM
Giving back, body image and girls
Good on Sportsgirl. The clothing chain asked its 1,000 mostly young female staff what was important to them and was told working for a company that "gives back". The burning issue for the majority was body image and women's self esteem. As a result, Sportsgirl launched an association with the Butterfly Foundation yesterday, an organisation that helps people overcome eating disorders. Sportsgirl will sponsor the annual Butterfly Ball and sell butterfly merchandise in store. More importantly, with input from the foundation, Sportsgirl will train and educate its staff on body image issues and how to be supportive of customers of all sizes. Supporting healthy body image will also be reflected in Sportsgirl's sizing and advertising. Sportsgirl GM Elle Roseby said: "We take our responsibilities as a leading fashion retailer and employer of young women seriously. Our staff and customers are in the high risk age group for eating disorders and we have a unique opportunity to raise awareness and funds to support the work of The Butterfly Foundation." Pretty cool. After obesity and asthma, eating disorders are the most common disease in Australian females aged 15-24 years, according to the experts. Uni student and Sportsgirl casual Esther Woolley, 22, told me that the link up with the Butterfly Foundation made staff feel "proud" to work at Sportsgirl and it had also generated excitement about going to work. Gen Y research across the board confirms young people want to work for a company that focuses on more than just profit. Little did Sportsgirl know that the launch of its charity support would coincide with the release of new research by the American Psychological Association that the "sexualisation" of girls causes a host of problems for young women including eating disorders and low self-esteem. Employers including large retail chains have come in for much criticism for carrying "sexy" kid's clothes and provocative dolls like the Bratz dolls. Interestingly, Australian media commentator Catherine Lumby from Sydney University told ABC radio ..." that teenage girls are highly aware of the potential pressure media images put on them to be thin or glamorous or sexy and that they actively debate this..." I disagree with Catherine. Esther Woolley might too She told me that movie and media images were "in the face" of young women and did contribute to their self doubts and obsession with body image. Esther told me that girls at school were obsessed with their body image and always doubting their attractiveness. "Skinny celebrities in movies and magazines are really in your face and some girls think 'oh that is what beautiful is'," Woolley said. "It's sad so many young, women lack confidence. When you're young, you should be healthy, confident, vibrant and happy." She said.
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Wednesday February 21, 8:59AM
What an after work crowd
What a night. As "after work" gigs go, the seemingly spontaneous gathering of tens of thousands of people on Sydney's foreshores last night to see the Queen Mary 2 docked at Garden Island and the arrival of its sister ship the QE2 was fantastic. The original Queen Mary and the QE2 were last in Sydney together in 1941. The two Cunard liners sounded their greeting to one another with long and repeated pulls of their ship's horns. People erupted with cheers and clapping while hundreds of boats on the harbour sounded their horns too. Like many others I had received a telephone call and emails during the day about meeting up with a group of friends and family to see the ships and then the fireworks. When I got there, families with babies and toddlers mixed in with men in suits clutching brief cases, tourists and the young after work crowd. The whole thing seemed to take authorities by surprise with transport timetables being thrown out and grid lock on roads. I did lots of walking last night, which is never a bad thing. The fireworks were great - not sure who footed the bill, maybe Sydney City Council? The night was a reminder of how Australians can mobilise for a social do on mass at short notice. Any excuse for a bit of fun eh?
The event was also a nice distraction from real life woes like those being experience by James Hardie. Just days after news that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission was gunning for ten James Hardie executives over their handling of compensation arrangements for asbestos victims, comes a confusing tale of high priced payments for executives leaving the company. Apparently top executives who resign due to misconduct do not get the generous golden handshakes they negotiated. Former James Hardie boss Meredith Hellicar resigned just days ago following the ASIC's announcement that it was bringing civil action against ten executives including herself. Former directors two other directors, Michael Brown and Michael Gillfillan also resigned. It is now unclear if the exit payments - reportedly up to $1 million for Hellicar - can therefore be paid. The executives deny the ASIC allegations and any wrongdoing. Read the latest twist in today's The Australian. Must be all very distracting and depressing for James Hardie employees. I shared a dinner table at a business function with a James Hardie employee when the asbestos issues was really hotting up. He was a long time employee who loved the company and did not for a moment believe it could have done anything wrong. Time will tell.
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Monday February 19, 12:02PM
Mile high back flip
Well so much for me defending Lisa Robertson a few days ago. Ms Robertson is the Qantas stewardess who was suspended without pay after being accused of having sex with a passenger - actor Ralph Fiennes in a toilet cubicle during a flight to India from Darwin. A cabin crew member had seen Fiennes leaving the cubicle and then Robertson leading to a confrontation with the cabin crew manager. Robertson initially denied the accusation saying Fiennes followed her into the loo and made advances towards her etc etc. She then sold her story to London's The Daily Mail newspaper and yes, as it turns out, she says she did actually share an amorous mid-flight adventure with the British actor. It really gives a whole new meaning to "in flight service". Fiennes has now turned around and said he is actually the victim in all this. Whatever. My original point was that The Sunday Telegraph described how they had "obtained" a Qantas management report on the incident that included the name of Ms Robertson. I speculated that this report was leaked and if so it was poor form to do so. That point still applies even if Ms Robertson has now confessed to the - in her own words "inappropriate behaviourMmmm ... I don't like her chances are of keeping her job. If you want to read all the details, The Daily Telegraph has the scoop. Lisa's Say Ralph's Say Keep in mind this is an unusual event. Don't go giving the cabin crew of Qantas a hard time.
Postscript: Lisa Robertson did get sacked by Qantas
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Friday February 16, 8:49AM
Executive justice?
Amazing news that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is going after James Hardie directors in a civil suit over their handling of compensation claims by asbestos victims.
ASIC is suing the James Hardie company plus 10 current and former executives and directors for allegedly misleading investors over its compensation payouts for asbestos victims.
In a report by veteran journalist Ean Higgins of The Australian he suggests that the lawsuits could mean the end of the careers of the targeted executives including Hardie chairwoman Meredith Hellicar and short lived CSIRO chairman Peter Willcox.
The ASIC action is already having an impact. Willcox resigned from his CSIRO post yesterday and Hellicar from her post as a director of the federal Government's Australian Takeovers Panel.
Ean Higgins writes: "ASIC will ... ask the court to impose penalties on the officers of up to $200,000 for every alleged breach of corporations laws, and to require Hardie to provide an indemnity of $1.9billion to ensure its asbestos victims are provided for if the company does not follow through with a $1.6billion asbestos compensation deal."
"The move by ASIC followed a three-year investigation, and came on the last possible day for the watchdog to launch civil actions within the six-year statute of limitations. "It comes six years to the day after Hardie set up an independent compensation fund to cover its asbestos victims, with what turned out to be a $1.3 billion shortfall," Ean Higgins writes. He writes that ASIC has won a number of recent cases against company directors including former HIH chairman Ray Williams and former HIH director Rodney Adler.
Good luck to ASIC! The asbestos victims have had to endure so much already perhaps this will do something to alleviate the enormous sense of injustice they must have been feeling.
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Monday February 12, 9:22AM
Named and shamed - it's wrong
It is disappointing to see the name of a Qantas cabin crew member splashed about in public after an alleged incident involving British actor Ralph Fiennes. Supposedly the 38-year-old female cabin crew member had sex with Ralph Fiennes in a toilet on a flight to India on January 24. She has been suspended without pay while Qantas investigates. The stewardess denies the claim. She is quoted as explaining: "While conversing with Mr Fiennes during my break, I expressed a need to go to the toilet. I went to the nearby toilet and entered it, he followed me and entered the same toilet. I explained to him that this was inappropriate and asked him to leave ...after a short period of time, I convinced him to leave the toilet, which he did." Her fellow cabin crew colleagues supposedly dobbed her in. Now I am certainly not saying that people should have sex with clients on the job - well, unless that is their job - but I think an employer allowing or circulating the name of the woman is very unfair. Especially since the matter is still being investigated. It also seems strange to me that a woman of 38 would do something so against the rules knowing her colleagues could see what was going on - I mean, there are not long corridors and secret passage ways to duck down on a plane. Further, prior to joining Qantas, the cabin crew member under investigation was a police officer for 14 years. In her own words: "I am a designated detective and trained hostage negotiator, weapons instructor and lecturer at the NSW Police Academy on covert operations. I have extensive training in many facets of policing." She has also studied law and since joining Qantas has received accolades and praise for her work performance. She has friends and family who will be hurt by this and yet nothing has been proven at this point. Of course people will blame the media - well, the media is used to copping the blame and conveniently deflecting attention from others. The story - broken by The Sunday Telegraph - included this intriguing paragraph "in a confidential report to Qantas management obtained by The Sunday Telegraph ..." Now I have been a journalist for many years including 10 years in daily news and "obtained by" usually means "given to". Not cool at all. And Ralph Fiennes could do the gentlemanly thing and help this woman out but so far he has been silent while the story has made it to the UK, India, Austria and South Africa.
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Wednesday February 7, 4:43PM
After school care for teens
I wrote an Ask Kate column recently based on a dilemma being faced by a single mum AK. [ Read the column ] In brief, the mum "AR", has a son, 8, and a daughter 13. While there is after school care and vacation care for her son she has found nothing for her daughter. "The [Federal] government has provided many solutions and benefits for mums of young children but what about mums with a teenager?" AR asks. "Why don't high schools have after school/holiday programs when really this is when they need to be supervised the most? My only option was to do temp work, which is not a stable way of trying to budget with a family when I am the only bread winner." Well, I have had a huge response to this column so check our Your Say. I'm afraid we are still short on solutions although the Police Citizen Youth Clubs in Queensland have written with some details of their programs and I have posted their web details too. It might be time for everyone to start writing to their local member and also the relevant state and federal government ministers to lobby for teen care for working parents. I will find out who best to write to and post details. Thanks to everyone for their well thought out comments too.
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Monday February 5, 4:18PM
Transportable skills - drug dealer to senior exec
It's amazing how items do the rounds on the Internet.(see image on right) You cannot always tell if they are real or not and that was the case when we received a newspaper ad that featured a former convicted drug dealer pitching his skillset as ideal for a senior executive role. Our Queensland correspondent Peta Wittig surfed around and was able to verify that the ad from the National Post of Toronto, Canada was real if a bit old.
However, it is a good example of selling yourself! It appears that Brian O'Dea enjoyed a formidable career travelling across the globe and moving from one drug dealing specialty to another. According to Wikipedia , O'Dea was eventually caught and sentenced to 10-years for smuggling 75 tons of marijuana within the US.
When he came out, he claimed to have been drug-free for more than decade and wanted to earn a legal crust to support his family. However he struggled to gain employment eventually booking the ad you see here (dated 2001). Under the headline Former Marijuana Dealer, he detailed his impressive executive skill set across marketing, distribution and security gained via managing 120 people across a world wide operation that generated revenues of more than "$100 million annually".
The ad received a lot of publicity but perhaps not the executive leads O'Dea had hoped for. He went onto become a television and film producer and last year he released a book: HIGH: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler. So if you receive the email, you now know the story is for real.
I wouldn't recommend following in O'Dea's career footsteps despite where he eventually ended up.
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Friday February 2, 12:40PM
Mobile Obsessions
Could any of us really be surprised by new Queensland University of Technology research that shows Australians are obsessed with their mobile phones? According to QUT research Diana James the "average" Aussie spends more than an hour a day on their mobile phone while "one in five user have an unhealthy obsession with it." About 20 per cent of the people in Ms James survey group had monthly bills over $500. Wow. Obsessions can be so great that mobbie users would rather spend on air time than food, clothes and other essentials. Addiction danger signs include big bills, using a phone while driving or working and having irrational reactions to being without a mobile.
Okay, I would like to jump in now and suggest that part of the problem could be mobile phone manners - or lack of them. The fact bad mobbie behaviour is so commonplace could be keeping people realising the extent of their addiction. For example, I was in a meeting with six people when the mobile phone of a senior participant went off. His options - as far as I could see - were to:
A: Apologise to all for the interruption, glance at the caller id, ignore the call and then turn the phone off or put it on silent after realising his mistake of not turning it off before stepping into the meeting.
B: Apologise to all for the interruption, glance at the caller id, decide the call was important, apologise again to all meeting participants as he explained the need to step outside the meeting room to talk.
However, he chose C: an option I hadn't considered. This option involved him taking the call, indulging in a bit of cell yell drowning out all meeting participants. He then eventually hung up and didn't so much as bat an eye let alone apologise. Such behaviour from a supposedly senior executive from a well known company. Rude doesn't begin to describe his lack of polish.
I am sure we have all been there with people scrolling through PDAs while others are trying to talk to them or taking calls in the mid-sentence. It's poor form for sure.
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Thursday January 31, 10:12AM
Sweet Dreams
I've heard a fantastic idea supposedly gaining ground in the US - nap rooms. A new book by Dr. Sara C. Mednick called Take a Nap! Change Your Life claims napping could "save your life". Dr Mednick was on a morning US current affairs show today extolling the virtues of napping - even if that means at work. She is a research scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and she has a PhD in psychology from Harvard University. According to Dr Mednick some US companies are introducing nap rooms - or at least rest areas where people can nap. She says even a 20 minute nap is a powerful way to recharge. Indeed Dr Mednick has devised a "nap wheel" to show the best times to nap as well as a quiz "How tired are you?" Click here to visit her website. In the meantime, in summary "prime nap time" occurs between 1pm and 3pm. This is when we experience a dip in energy and even a "stage 2" nap of 20 minutes will boost "alertness and motor skills". A 40 minute "slow wave sleep" boosts memory. A 90 minute REM or deep sleep boosts creativity and apparently won't interfere with your night time sleep. I have loved afternoon napping since forever. On holidays in my 20s I would always nap in the afternoon - the "Nanna nap" tag in no way put me off. Wonder how my existing employers would feel about a nap room?
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Thursday January 25, 4:24PM
Office Monsters
There are all types of office monsters - the Passive Aggressive, Narcissist, Bully, Control Freak, Type A, B, C & D (I'll explain in another Blog) , the Histrionic more commonly known as the "Drama Queen". However, the grand monster of them all is the "Organisational Psychopath". The Pocket Psycho is a new book out by psychotherapist Dr John Clark (author of Working with Monsters both published by Random House) that provides a fantastic overview of the nastiest piece of work in the corporate jungle and how you can deal with him or her. Read my interview with Dr Clarke. In the meantime, I would love to hear from anyone who has encountered this dangerous human career barrier. I have worked with my fair share of destructive co-workers and their impact can last a very long time. Sadly I have heard from readers or known people who have never recovered from the treatment they received at the hands of an "OP". People are usually too embarrassed to admit they have been bullied, tricked or lied to but if you don't seek support you are playing straight into the hands of the office tormentor. Be informed and avoid the danger.
Also, for a bit of fun - or horror - take a look at CNN Money's feature 101 dumbest moments in business. For anyone who has been made to feel like a victim, it is good to see what some arrogant employers and people have been caught doing. It's nice to know some bad folk get their comeuppance.
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Monday, January 22, 11:34AM
When a job doesn't pay the mortgage bills
You may have heard the news that Perth is now Australia's most expensive city to buy a home in. With Sydney well known for its ridiculous real estate prices, the impact of housing affordability - or lack of it - in another capital city has raised the issue of just how house prices were impacting labour supply in our cities. According to a report carried by news wire service AAP today a house in Australia is less affordable for first-time buyers now than at any time in history. Labor spokeswoman for Housing, Tanya Plibersek says the result is essential workers were being priced out of cities such as Sydney and Perth. "We're actually seeing a situation in major cities like Sydney where key workers - nurses, teachers, police - find it almost impossible to afford to live within commuting distance of their work," she said. "One of the main reasons people work so hard is to put a roof over their head." [And we want those roofs to be in our names - not a landlords]. AAP quotes Housing Industry Association (HIA) figures that show the median first-home price for Perth is $444,900, an affordability drop of 7.4 per cent over the quarter. Sydney's median price is $442,000, an affordability drop of 4.7 per cent. The national median first-home price was $376,000, up from $361,500 in the previous quarter.
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Thursday, January 18, 10:19AM
Careers and kids
Poor Julia Gillard. She has been forced to back away from her comments about career climbing and child rearing. The Deputy Labour Leader reckoned the Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello would not have reached their lofty career heights had they been the primary carers of their kids. Both have enjoyed the support of full time mum spouses. Wow. It's hardly a revelation is it? Despite the most reasonable comment the unmarried and childless Julia has been howled down for her comments made during an interview with The Bulletin and now has clarified the context of her remarks. "With a bit of humour, I did say it would be good if John Howard and Peter Costello could reflect to themselves, 'Could I be where I am today and have been born a woman?'," Ms Gillard told The Australian. "I did not, in fact, say a mother could never be prime minister," she said. Relax Julia - you were so right the first time. Yes, there was British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher but women prime ministers with kids or women prime ministers full stop are hardly a common thing. The average woman finds it hard to juggle career and family so Julia's comments are pretty much on the money - jest or not. In fact a new survey by Kelly Services has found that access to quality childcare is now becoming an issue for career-minded Dad's as well. Pity Julia has had to bow to the hysterics on this one. Julia I think your choices re marriage and children are just fine just as another woman's choice to be a full time mum or a working mum are just fine. On a completely unrelated topic, I was amazed to read in the business press about a Victorian country radiology practice who had to pull out of the salary bidding war when it was trying to attract a new radiologist to join its team. The salary negotiations had reached $500,000! Amazing - and the person would get to live in a rural setting. Sadly, the practice had to eventually close its doors as it could not compete for staff.
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Tuesday, January 16, 9:32AM
The more things change the more they stay the same
Happy New Year everyone. I'm just back from holidays and while scanning the Net I came across a news report that sounds too ironic to be true but true it is. According to the high brow International Herald Tribune a law suit has been settled by a maternity ware retailer for allegedly firing an employee for being pregnant. Hard to believe but, Mothers Work agreed to pay out the equivalent of $400,000 plus to the employee. The Delaware-based company also agreed to an employment auditing system with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The report in the Tribune states: "...the commission sued on behalf of LaShonda Burns, a former assistant manager who said she was illegally disciplined nad ultimately fired for being pregnant." The company denied the claim but said it settled to avoid the cost of litigation. Shares in Mothers Work have more than tripled in the past year including another hike only last week. It is not known if the news will impact on its future share price but it can't be good news for the company that relies on the custom of pregnant women.
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