Guest Guest66881 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I worked 70 days straight here some years back. Companies paid me $$ in lieu of annual leave etc etc. Basically no real holiday for 20 years and yes I burnt out. I can tell mate:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I can tell mate:wink: Not hard I can assure you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 My annual leave at my last company in the UK was only a miserly 20 days. I worked 8.30am till 17.30pm plus at least an hour commute each way. Then there was the travel and overnight stays for work. So for me the work life balance in the UK was poor. I'd go to work before my son was awake and wasn't home until after he was asleep. Now I live 2km from work and work less hours with more flexibility. I don't have to travel and my employer is a lot more accommodating. I'm still only getting the 20 days annual leave but I can build up an extras day a month by working an extra 2 hours a week, which is still less hours than I worked in the UK. Most importantly I get more time with the family If you were working a five day week then you would have had to have had 28 days including bank holidays so you must have been on 28 days as that's was the minimum though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I don't know if I've really understood this thread! In my work experience here I've never experienced such an aggressive and networky workplace, I'm working 3 days, 9 to 2 and it suits my WLB perfectly but the compromise for me is I won't be promoted and its not a career (again my choice) but I work with girls who will work evenings, weekends, actually are expected to and they just get TOIL, they have to do it if they want to progress, besides their workloads (often much heavier than their contracted hours can deliver) they really do have to seriously network, their abilility to small talk and bulls*** talk to complete strangers totally astounds me at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Do they do Time Off In Lieu here? Never heard it. Heard of RDO's bot not Toil , that was huge in the UK sector that I came from ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest66881 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 End of the day if you don't like how you are treated at work report it and walk away, sounds easy because it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingbacktoaus Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 If you were working a five day week then you would have had to have had 28 days including bank holidays so you must have been on 28 days as that's was the minimum though? Yes I had bank holidays on top of my 20 days leave just like I get public holidays on top of my leave here in Aus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chall77 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I do so much less red tape here in teaching that it has opened up many more hours to prepare my lessons properly. 20 min commute each way is the same as the uk, but I see the ocean on the way which is a great pick me up. 8:00 -3:30 4 days per week with meetings on one day to take me through till 5. I average an hour per night marking at home 4 nights a week. Adds up to about 43 or so hours. Uk teaching was on the sunny side of 50 every week with some weeks going more than 60. i don't want to work my up the ladder any further, I would have more hours, more stress and very little more pay. Why go there? I have loved reading this thread and particularly so as a fellow teacher. Not wanting to climb the ladder seems to be frowned upon in the UK and I cannot wait to cash my 190 in and make the move permanently next year. Here's to putting life and family before work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Do they do Time Off In Lieu here? Never heard it. Heard of RDO's bot not Toil , that was huge in the UK sector that I came from ! yep my colleague was 'requested' to come in and cover a colleague on sick, she was told no budget to pay her so TOIL only, her gripe was she never has the time to take the bloomin TOIL!!! Plus she had to pay her petrol and parking, ended up delivering 3 days cover, not a happy bunny but no real route to complain, the higher management didn't really give a damn as long as the service was covered. This is a highly qualified professional delivering a health service to the community, go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 My WLB is probably worse here at the moment only because I have gone back to consulting whilst in London I was in the Public Sector. However I get TOIL so while I may be required to work nights and weekends, I can extend my holiday time so it isn't all bad. The change is my choice though and in a few years time I will drop back to part-time hours so get more time to myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I wonder what work/ life balance newbies get when they take out $350000 + mortgages which most will need nowadays to buy a house..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Both me and the wife have knocked back promotion as we knew it would have meant longer hours, more responsibility and stress for not much more money. We like our time off here too much. On the holiday front we have feel we can put so much into the weekend and mostly guaranteed good weather that we don't hanker for a holiday away like we used to in the UK. Mostly because the weekend's weather was crap. so much more to do here in the UK though paul ......daughters off to london for the weekend, which i think is a great plus for the young here ...." oh iam off to to london for the weekend , Dad " ......see you later , all the best . Me , i dont do weekends ......in fact , some days ,i dont do afternoons either ...... As i have said before , the pub is only 300 yards up the road , someones always in there .....4 top rate gyms within 2 miles .....7 golf clubs within 10 mile radius .....tennis clubs ......its all good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 so much more to do here in the UK though paul ......daughters off to london for the weekend, which i think is a great plus for the young here ...." oh iam off to to london for the weekend , Dad " ......see you later , all the best .Me , i dont do weekends ......in fact , some days ,i dont do afternoons either ...... As i have said before , the pub is only 300 yards up the road , someones always in there .....4 top rate gyms within 2 miles .....7 golf clubs within 10 mile radius .....tennis clubs ......its all good See that is what i don't get....I need to venture outside of the town/city i'm living in. Not be happily merry doing the same thing in the same town forever and ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 See that is what i don't get....I need to venture outside of the town/city i'm living in. Not be happily merry doing the same thing in the same town forever and ever. you obviously havent read my previous posts brit ......house in oz .....choose to live in the u.k ....and i travel plenty .....dont mean that as a put down , or disrespecting your post ....or being a smart arse ....i just wont have it , that lifes a struggle for all here in the u.k ...bad weather or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 so much more to do here in the UK though paul ......daughters off to london for the weekend, which i think is a great plus for the young here ...." oh iam off to to london for the weekend , Dad " ......see you later , all the best .Me , i dont do weekends ......in fact , some days ,i dont do afternoons either ...... As i have said before , the pub is only 300 yards up the road , someones always in there .....4 top rate gyms within 2 miles .....7 golf clubs within 10 mile radius .....tennis clubs ......its all good Yeah, but you're still in Blighty, and that ain't good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 See that is what i don't get....I need to venture outside of the town/city i'm living in. Not be happily merry doing the same thing in the same town forever and ever.and your moving to Australia...?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I wonder what work/ life balance newbies get when they take out $350000 + mortgages which most will need nowadays to buy a house..? I would be delighted with a $350k mortgage! Sadly wouldn't even get a studio flat in Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Where I work we can only accrue leave in certain circumstances and with the express permission of senior management. Any we don't take is lost at the end of the leave year. Which I find annoying, because I have to take 4 days at Christmas so if I want to go to the UK for a month I either have to go at Christmas or take leave without pay. But if it were that bad I could just leave & get a different job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 End of the day if you don't like how you are treated at work report it and walk away, sounds easy because it is. Personally I take this route now for my mental health, but for many with financial obligations it isn't easy. Jobs in very short supply in my area of Oz and employers who treat their employees well are not always easy to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Interesting thread given that Australia works a lot more hours per year than the UK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_time which has Oz as potentially the longest hours worked. The OECD stats has Oz as 10, with the UK 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Most jobs don't have LSL do they? I know hubby (a teacher) gets it, but I haven't seen a whiff of it in private sector. I wonder if historically many more jobs used to have LSL which is why holiday allowance is so abysmal. Gave up 32 days + public holidays to get 20 days when I came to Oz. I would have thought that any company offering more than standard 20 would have their pick of candidates and often wonder why companies aren't more generous in order to attract staff I get long service leave and so does my wife, both in private industry. I think there are govt mandated minimum long service leave provisions in the private sector in qld except in some jobs covered by federal awards or something like that. Not as many stay in a job long enough to get it these days though. I get 6 weeks holidays + public holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grada Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 AUSTRALIANS are more concerned about achieving work/life balance and having an interesting job than climbing the corporate ladder, with the nation having some of the least aspirational workers in the world.Only eight per cent of Australians are strongly focused on promotion, according to a report from recruitment company Randstad, compared to 24 per cent of people in the US. Even our close neighbours are more interested in getting a better job, with 17 per cent of New Zealanders aspiring to move up in their companies. With unemployment hovering around 5.8 per cent, Randstad director Steve Shepherd said we are more concerned with keeping our jobs rather than taking the boss's office. "In Australia we see greater emphasis on things like work/life balance and having an interesting job. Australians see beyond the job and advancing their careers and are actually looking for more from their current job," he said. "Maybe Australians are more comfortable in having those other things than they are about having to climb the corporate ladder all the time." This doesn't suprise me at all, most people I know that are working full time work very long hours with short leave entitlements, no wonder Australians seek a better work / life balance rather than climbing up the corporate ladder! My wife and I both work longer hours with ten days less leave entitlement than we had in the UK, so all in all not a better work/life balance. Also my Aussie friends who have worked in UK comment how they had it so easy with less stress when they were there. Obviously just my own observations, can't speak for the whole nation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibbs Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I wonder what work/ life balance newbies get when they take out $350000 + mortgages which most will need nowadays to buy a house..? My mortgage is a lot bigger than that. My Work / life balance is still better than the UK. I work slightly longer hours (37.5 vs 40), get paid a lot more per hour. But my commute is so small I've actually got a lot more free time. I'm usually home by 15:30 .. in time to do some gardening and play with the dogs before the wife gets in at 16:15. If i want time off, I take it. If I want to do flexi hours, I do it. Not an issue at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 End of the day if you don't like how you are treated at work report it and walk away, sounds easy because it is. Ah but it's not if you're tied in with your visa obligations. If I leave they could cancel my PR, so I have to suck it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Most jobs don't have LSL do they? I know hubby (a teacher) gets it, but I haven't seen a whiff of it in private sector. I wonder if historically many more jobs used to have LSL which is why holiday allowance is so abysmal. Gave up 32 days + public holidays to get 20 days when I came to Oz. I would have thought that any company offering more than standard 20 would have their pick of candidates and often wonder why companies aren't more generous in order to attract staff I'm in the private sector and I get it - I thought it was an entitlement across the board and employers have to account for it. I think it's highly unlikely I'll ever get to use it though, who stays in a job for 10 years nowadays? I find the thought depressing. I've also wondered the same regarding leave, offering a couple of days more than the 'standard' 20 days would make such a difference when thinking about job offers. Or even giving the staff an incentive such as accruing an extra days leave for each year of service - used to be quite common in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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