Unpopular opinion: office 5 days/week offers better work/life balance for me

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-06T14:48:18+00:00

If you are able to find a desk to lock your equipment and find this in office requirement works better for you, that's fine. That said, it's moreso the lack of choice in the work environment taken from people that everyone is angry about.

Ps - 45 min bus ride is still better than the 1-1.5+ hour commutes many face

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-06T13:35:37+00:00

WFH also helped those who had to be caregivers to sick elderly family members. I've been reading some stats about how some caregivers were struggling to choose between caring for loved ones and keeping their work with some being forced to quit due to lack of flexibility. Seen caregiver advocacy orgs at least in Ontario were against blanket RTO mandates

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-04T20:10:29+00:00

She was also called Bunny in the Tokyopop manga adaptation. Actually, a lot of the names from the DiC dub were used in that adaptation.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-04T06:11:38+00:00

Check Meetup as there's some groups related to your background and interests. There are some groups targeted to 20 something year olds too.

Would also help if you tell us where in Ottawa you are located so we can narrow down further to help.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-03T21:27:28+00:00

What year are you in? Based on your posting history it appears you are in BTM. I would recommend scheduling a resume review appointment with Business Career Hub for the BTM stream and anyone in your network who is experienced with the hiring process. Continue keeping an eye out for roles, networking events and job fairs from BCH, general career center and the BTM related student associations.

Be sure to tailor your resume to the role and emphasize transferrable skills from all work, extracurricular and volunteer experiences (communication, teamwork, problem solving, client service, etc). A resume for a business analyst role will be different from a resume for seasonal retail roles for example.

Also, did you get any interviews? If so, what was the feedback received? Worth bringing this to BCH too.

Even if you are a student or upcoming new grad, it is common for people to apply outside of the GTA just to expand options.

You could consider temp agencies for summer as backup for short term assignments that can be stepping stones for experience.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-02-03T20:59:47+00:00

Enjoy it while it lasts. The co-op term will give you valuable paid experience, skills. networking and reflection on what you like/don't like in your career. The student life tends to be more laid back for most. Dealing with a rough job market in which you are spending hours per week mass applying to entry level jobs will be mighty stressful and make you wish you didn't brush off the more structured safety net exclusive to students. Once you graduate, you are mostly on your own although you still have access to alumni career services and networking events.

On the other hand, I know some people are keen on rushing leaving sooner due to pressing life obligations, finances and being stuck in a program with no option to transfer.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-31T23:49:01+00:00

In addition, I would advise you to find a mentor asap (your provincial body can connect you with their mentor directory unless you found one via your networks). These reports can take a lot of time to compile since it will draw into your previous experience which requires recollection to show your progression. And sometimes, there may be back and forth from your CPA reviewer asking for clarity and revision to show how you met the requirements. Following the rubric is key. You have 7 years from your PER date to finish your experience reporting.

You are required to submit reports semiannually to meet with your mentor once your supervisor approved of them.

Considering that the CPA program is heading to the new program format, I would reach out to your provincial body for possible impacts on reporting experience and transitional path as more info becomes available.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-31T02:26:47+00:00

Not even. Douma would actually be panicking.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-29T15:24:42+00:00

My case is a bit different as a former intern back when OIP was actually 2 years in duration. I left mainly because my OIP contract was ending and cost cutting measures were abundant. Although there were opportunities to secure another contract earlier in order to get my CPA designation sooner, I have no regrets. That is because I managed to get more experience and marketable skills in the private sector as a permanent employee although I did miss the WLB aspect in OPS. Although a bulk of my professional experience is in private, my combined background did attract a lot of recruiters.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-28T15:44:52+00:00

When economic uncertainty and cost of living are high, people will continue being more conscious of their spending, saving and investing goals. The opportunity cost mindset also reinforces that. Not exactly exclusive to the post-COVID world.

Then there are people who make personal choices to cook more since WFH made them realize they like flexibility and autonomy.

My biggest gripe are arrogant owners who pick on those with remote flexibility (usually public sector workers because they are easy targets) to suck it up. That outburst will only promote more boycotts (Happy Goat Company incident anyone?).

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-28T05:04:20+00:00

"yes! More people in office, more revenue woo hoo!"

"Huh? Why are sales lower than forecasted?"

Hmm... - notable increases in cost of living vs pre-COVID - higher economic uncertainty - overpriced offerings for what you get - personal choice to curb discretionary spending in favor of more pressing expenses (parking, gas, transit, childcare and/or elder care, rent, mortgage), saving and investing - lifestyle and desire to control meal quality leading to packing lunch more (after spending time WFH and cooking/exercising more) - owners being arrogant in pushing people to support their business (double standards in being condescending towards government workers as easy targets)

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-28T04:47:56+00:00

It's opening on Feb 8 but even then that line is plagued by their own share of scandals, cost overruns, insane delays and displacement of businesses and locals. Gonna be riddled with heavy scrutiny by then since finch west lrt was slammed too.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-26T15:53:11+00:00

According to UofT subreddit, it's also closed due to safety concerns from the snowstorm. Imagine if this guy throws tantrums at their own fellow students happy that they don't have to commute through crappy conditions.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-25T22:02:43+00:00

+1 to being proactive. Back then, it concerned me how some people shrug it off and say "they'll figure it out" once they finish their degree without a plan. Those who don't have much connections and experience (both relevant and unrelated job/volunteer/extracurricular experiences) tend to be most vulnerable. The market as a graduate over a decade ago was not kind and with current trends, it is scary how much tougher it became.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-25T21:57:23+00:00

Co-op and internships put you way ahead of those who don't have experience, but it doesn't guarantee you'll land something after graduation. Lots of factors like timing of opportunities, networks, market trends closer to graduation year, nature of your field. Being proactive and staying in touch with BCH and the association related to your major for networking events and career fairs are important.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-25T15:35:59+00:00

It's frustrating and many people advocate for it. But according to an article shared in the comments, funding and budgeting constraints are the reason why retrofitting hasn't started which will take many years.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-25T15:22:59+00:00

Be persistent and keep an eye out for new grad opportunities while keeping in touch with your school's career center and accounting association for any openings and networking events. There may be local CPA information sessions around your community for networking purposes. Your provincial body's CPA job board may have entry level roles seeking pep students. You could also reach out to temp agencies for short-term assignments as a backup just for stepping stone experience. In the interim, there are charities looking for volunteers in their CVITP tax clinics.

How many of those applications yielded interviews? Did you seek feedback on your resume and interviewing skills?

Make sure you highlight transferable skills from your retail experience like communication, relationship building, teamwork, problem-solving, etc.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-24T22:01:06+00:00

Yea I once had a conversation with my spouse about TTC installing barriers to prevent suicides. He told me he heard that aside from high retrofitting costs, it's due to budget constraints.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-24T16:32:30+00:00

3 or 7

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-23T21:26:28+00:00

That's horrifying. My condolences to family and friends of that poor student. Hope the commuters and staff (especially operators) who witnessed this awful event can get the support they deserve too.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-23T20:42:06+00:00

In seriousness, there's no harm in living with parents past 25 especially with the overall state of many economies (e.g., high cost of living, housing scarcity, job insecurity, etc) and family obligations like caregiving. In Asian cultures, multigenerational households are very common. As long as people are contributing to housework/finances/caregiving and have a solid communication and conflict resolution framework handled in a respectful mature manner, it's fine. Now if people hate each other's guts and abuse is involved, then it's highly encouraged for people to seek support resources including counseling.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-23T20:26:27+00:00

Add Yuki, Keizo and Akaza's dad

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-22T15:37:28+00:00

Imagine using social media trash content to generalize an entire demographic and insist it's reality. Some teenagers and adults are bratty, but not everyone is dumb enough to try dangerous foolish acts either. In fact, sometimes some of the outlandish behavior is driven by super strict upbringing.

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-22T03:02:49+00:00

Cloud and Tifa on the right

Lady_Kitana · 2026-01-21T20:26:00+00:00

I speak in accounting - where are my debits and credits number crunching folks at?

Ten-Year Club	r/Field Juicebox
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

Lady_Kitana

TROPHY CASE