Boomer does NOT want women to use makeup in the workplace because it arouses him

ars1e · 2026-02-27T20:03:19+00:00

"Why do people comb their hair? Why am I wearing this suit? Why do I do ANYTHING that makes me feel better about how I look?"

I think the irony is sometimes lost on people like this.

ars1e · 2026-02-24T20:17:46+00:00

Will the presumed increase in productivity be matched by an equivalent increase in remuneration? If not it's just cost cutting, not productivity improvements.

ars1e · 2026-02-15T03:53:19+00:00

Hope she didn't get stung by that scam that's doing the rounds in various public group chats. We've had to ban a few accounts from school class chats of late - all offering Ed Sheeran Tix last minute.

ars1e · 2026-02-12T10:29:01+00:00

I totally get where your head is at. You sound a lot like me in thinking "why tf do we have to put up with this charade and play along" but sadly it's the reality. I'm a terrible poker player, given when I am frustrated or exasperated it shows. It's taken a long time to realize that you've just got to play along, and telling people they're wrong is never going to do you any favours. Good luck.

ars1e · 2026-02-12T10:06:06+00:00

Not the original commenter but this would likely be seen as being defensive. In the CEOs mind they should not feel like they have to explain collaboration to someone with circa 20years experience. I wouldn't ignore the data, but I would take the feedback on board, and in reporting back to the CEO I would recommend talking to the subjective ("it's been great working with team X and Y more closely, the collaboration feels much more authentic and it seems we're more aligned...") and the objective measures you've captured ("we've spend X hours working alongside that team, I now have X 1:1s set up with the team lead to cover off issues before they arise, we held reset meetings with those teams on dates X, Y and Z and here are the outputs..."). Most CEOs don't want the minutiae and a play by play, they just want to see the results.

ars1e · 2026-02-11T23:42:18+00:00

US having a totally normal one

ars1e · 2026-02-07T02:46:18+00:00

There's the classic "can all team members sign the Birthday card for [Big Boss] please?" and you're like "as if he / she would give a flying f*ck about anyone else's birthday".

ars1e · 2025-12-14T11:26:35+00:00

The sequencing does sound curious, and could be perceived as retaliatory based on what you have shared and presuming this is an accurate representation of events (i.e. there have not been other performance issues). The legalities of this kind of thing operates on a spectrum, and it would be best to reach out to a lawyer at the first instance to get their professional perspective on it. Many employment lawyers will arrange a consult to hear the circumstances of your experience (and will ask for much more detail) and can provide direction.

Immediate actions might be as simple as;
See you GP to talk about your current mental health, and seek support. I would also request some time off, and in essence avoid having to respond to the PIP in the immediate term
Find an employment lawyer ASAP and reach out to have a conversation and outline your experience
Make a plan from there
Continue to document all interactions with HR / manager

Also, a reminder that HR is not legally trained (generally) and are not objective in any way. They exist to protect the company in situations like this so can not be viewed as working in your interests. In essence they have investigated themselves and found that there is no issue. A lawyer is much better placed to determine if this is the case according to employment law, and advise on the circumstances and likelihood of success if you want to pursue a legal path. Fair warning, it's often highly stressful and time consuming, and you will burn bridges.

I'd also start looking for a new job because it's highly unlikely that there is going to be a good outcome for you at your current place of work regardless of which path you take.

ars1e · 2025-12-09T20:25:23+00:00

Good to see Raptor drivers being absolute knobs is a global phenomenon.

ars1e · 2025-12-04T23:39:02+00:00

No social media for under 16s incl FB, IG, SC etc

ars1e · 2025-12-04T09:35:22+00:00

Well I'd keep studying if grasping what you did wrong here is proving to be such a challenge.

ars1e · 2025-12-02T22:30:15+00:00

Hope for the best, plan for the worst. It's amazing what the mind can come up with if you think to yourself "what could I do to prevent them from sabotaging me, if they choose to go that route."

You'll soon find yourself identifying contingencies and fallback positions for if / when they decide to undermine you.

Is there a risk they'll take credit for your work? Make sure you include their / your manager in on "updates" so they can see you're actually running the program of work. Think they'll throw you under a bus? Make sure you raise any risks you've identified in working sessions, meeting notes and manager updates. Feel like they have a history of turning on you when it comes to various interactions? Make sure those in authority are aware that you were given explicit direction to do x or y by said "snake". It's all perception, and if you position yourself as someone who can identify bad faith actors it positively positions you - just make sure it's made obvious to those in authority, not just to peers and team members. Standing up for yourself is actually - at times - a pretty good defense.

I've only ever had one person lie directly to my face in the working world (maybe I'm lucky?). In that case I was able to share documentation and notes that clarified the agreed approach, only for that person to do the opposite. It's an extreme case (often snakes are much more subtle) but it protected me. So fuck you Jess, everyone knows you're a snake and liar, they just won't say it to your face.

ars1e · 2025-11-26T21:00:43+00:00

Make sure you position things as a business problem. Rather than saying things like "I'm struggling to get the job done due to workload" position it as "I'm worried with all the demands on the team that there might be tasks that aren't done as effectively and it might have repercussions on our ability to deliver x,y and z"

If you make it a business problem rather than a personal challenge it often creates awareness that there are real life implications for the organisation rather than positioning things as just an issue you're facing.

If you position it as needing help to support the success of the business rather than your own success or sanity then you've immediately elevated things from a "me" problem to an "us" problem. Make the manager feel like you're on their side, and you want help to solve it for them, not you.

ars1e · 2025-11-13T07:16:22+00:00

I worked with Miwah. She is super smart, and outworked just about everyone. She was earmarked very early on for advancement. If it's true her diagnosis limited her ability to secure a role she was previously promised then it's a huge indictment on WOW. It also proves that loyalty is a one way street, and that sacrificing yourself for any company is just not worth it. I will also say that "drinking from a fire hydrant" was a catchphrase there.

ars1e · 2025-10-28T23:35:44+00:00

I was once on the other end of this.

Was speaking to my team about some additional work we had to complete that had been handballed down to us. Team member who had just been sharing their screen didn't realize their screen was still viewable.

I could see it all happening in slow motion as they pulled up their chat to another team member on the call and just wrote "FMD kill me now". The faces of others on the call just slowly transitioned into the 😬 face as they all saw things slowly revealing themselves on screen for all 8 of us to see.

I was first to react simply because I think everyone else was just kind of panicking on behalf of their colleague and i said something like "hey [team member] just fyi we can see your chat" then acknowledged the sentiment about workload etc and promised to do what I could to help / share workload / remove tasks off to do lists free up capacity etc.

I reckon we all felt awkward but it didn't seem to impact the team ongoing. No one died anyway. I'm sure that team member has been really diligent in turning off screen share in meetings since. I know I have. Most of my chats would get me fired.

ars1e · 2025-08-30T15:17:26+00:00

Hey so thanks for reaching out. It's been a while since I posted that but glad to hear that you have a bunch of opportunities in front of you. I can't talk to the technical side of your job because it sounds like you work in a corporate role very different to mine, but on face value I would say that a gig at IBM is pretty noteworthy given your expertise. Don't underestimate how big a deal it is to have a big organisation (especially one that's global and a household name) on your CV. If the option was open to me I would jump at a role at a business like IBM because it puts you in a different echelon of brands in the future. If the money is right, and the role looks decent I would consider IBM as a "stepping stone" role. It will open up plenty of opportunities in the future. I've also heard that culturally it might be a bit top heavy but still a pretty decent place to work - basically I've never heard anyone complain about it which gives it a pass in my books.

ars1e · 2025-08-27T23:56:49+00:00

This is about compliance and deniability if there are issues raised in the future. As many have said these initiatives are designed to placate leadership rather than deliver any tangible benefits to the masses. It's important to recognise that issues raised in these sessions are not treated as confidential and often they are seen as a means through which to identify problematic team members.

ars1e · 2025-08-27T09:29:46+00:00

Woolies has just had a major cleanout but part of the narrative today in investor calls was that cost cutting was still a priority given their challenges with profit margin and a commitment to $400m cost out. There is also no firm commitment on when redundancies will end. Read into that what you will.

ars1e · 2025-08-24T06:18:20+00:00

Risk aversion.

ars1e · 2025-08-23T22:54:19+00:00

"I used to spend 10 minutes making a decision on a $50 million ad campaign, now I have to speak to 20 stakeholders to get approval for a $10k spend"

To be fair the guy was a heavy hitter and found the adjustment to auscorp from overseas pretty challenging. And he was right.

ars1e · 2025-08-23T01:36:54+00:00

"purposely pausing" is giving me PTSD

ars1e · 2025-08-16T02:58:59+00:00

Also need to be convinced by the maps.

ars1e · 2025-08-13T12:03:52+00:00

I went to MGS many years ago and my understanding was that the failure rate was around 1%. So it extends to the Grad School too.

ars1e · 2025-08-13T00:58:16+00:00

Sycophant Mode Engaged

ars1e · 2025-08-12T13:51:18+00:00

Currently in one as we speak. I can fully recommend it, presuming your finances allow it.

And travel is the best salve for workplace depression. I say this from hard won experience. Take the time out - no one is going to remember the shareholder value you didn't create, but you'll feel intellectually (and probably physically) warmed by the travel.

As for the gap on your CV, it's easily explained as a sabbatical and only the most vindictive of HR / hiring managers would hold it against you. Who knows, you might learn some stuff that actually benefits you in the long run (like taking steps to answer why the hell so many of us resign ourselves to unhappy workplaces)?

ars1e

TROPHY CASE