An Australian man who was expected to be online from 5am for a meeting and work until 8pm quit his $140,000 job despite having “nothing at all.”
Fed up with ‘terrible’ management and ‘stress and anxiety’, Greg* is one of many Australians accepting a big resignation.
A study by Allianz Australia found that 2 million people nationwide are ready to quit their jobs, and the phenomenon is set to hit the workplace in the next 6-12 months.
Some people want a stress-free life. Like Paul*, who quit his $100,000 finance job, got fed up with “stupid meetings” and a terrible culture, and took a job as an overnight janitor at his local McDonald’s. I was. corporate nightmare.
Many other Australians also have six-figure jobs with nowhere to go, and would rather be unemployed than unhappy at work.
Greg, who managed the sales team, doesn’t expect to be paid $140,000 in the rest of his life because he doesn’t have a college education.
The 37-year-old says exhaustion, a stressful week off, pressure from management, and being cut off from the team while working remotely contributed to blowing that particular career.
“My mental health suffered. Calling me at 5am, expecting to call me at 8pm or 9pm at night, and missing the call at 5am and asking for new product updates. The stigma if missed – it was very anxiety-inducing,” he told News.com.au.
“There was no work-life balance. I was having dinner with friends and family, checking emails to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
“We were dealing with offices in the northern hemisphere, so meeting requests would come in at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. with little or no notice.”
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The Melbourne man said management also sent emails until 1 a.m. and worked insane hours from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., promoting a “poor culture.” I was.
He said that if he tried to raise concerns, they would be “poorly” addressed or completely ignored.
However, he said he still has many friends in business.
“People are the ones I regret most about quitting,” he said.
“The role, process and workload are not what I see in the rearview mirror, but it’s crazy to take a job I used to enjoy and end up pushing it out the door for reasons of mental health, stress and anxiety.
“I’m still scared of leaving nothing behind when I feel like I’m being forced into it.”
A married homeowner said a colleague resigned the day after he saw the company lose 14 years of experience “overnight.”
He said he wouldn’t have stayed even if the company offered him tens of thousands of dollars more.
“I quit right after my salary increased, so it didn’t affect my thinking,” he said. “If they had told me they were serious about their declining culture, I would have stayed.”
Greg is currently looking for a salary role well below his previous role in the $70,000 to $90,000 range.
“I trade down a good salary, but trade up a better work-life balance,” he said.
“There is more to life than a good salary. There is much more to be gained from a job than just cash.”
Elizabeth*, also Australian, landed the $140,000 job without any other preparation after just seven months in the position.
Global buyer says promises of extra staff never materialized after working 12 hours a day in ‘endless’ Zoom meetings and ‘burnt out’, and after no work-life balance, she’s done Told.
“You had no life because you were tied to a computer all day, dealing with a time zone abroad. com.au.
“I had a lot of back-to-back meetings, so I woke up, had coffee and a shower, sat at my desk all day, had dinner with my husband, and then went to bed.
“Staying in front of a computer all day, dealing with meetings and crises is exhausting.”
The 52-year-old said Generation X like her usually work until the end, but the coronavirus has made her realize that 12-hour days of hanging out in the office is “not enough.” .
As a senior member of the team, she said her resignation after just a few months on the job meant “shock ripples” throughout the company.
“I never emailed my boss and said, ‘Thank you, two weeks is enough,'” she said.
“I was so fed up. I have savings, which is very lucky. You can get stuck in a rut and think, ‘I’ll make it through.’ is immeasurable.
“I’m completely exhausted and there was no way I could do this any more. It’s not worth it.”
The Melbourne woman said four other people had left the company in the short time she was there, and more people were realizing it wasn’t worth “breaking their health for the company”.
“There’s going to be a big shift in the mentality across Australia. I think everyone has absolutely enough,” she said.
“The days of working hard five days a week are over.”
Nathan McCracken, an Australian who had left a 20-year career in financial services to make $150,000, started a garbage and junk removal business in Sydney using a battered old truck he found online. I was.
Although his academic father and microbiologist mother said they were “shocked” when he moved five years ago, and now fully support them, his wife, Sara, has been skeptical of the idea. to “liked”.
It was his mom and dad who actually gave him the business idea.
“My parents became enforcers on the estate of a neighbor who had no family left. They were tasked with preparing the house. All the lottery slips for the year were piled up at home,” he told news.com.au.
“They needed to prepare the house for sale. My parents were in their 70s, so my wife Sarah and I helped with the gardening and helped with the furniture.
“My wife called some people doing junk removal and they came and did the job, but it wasn’t a great experience. There was swearing, swearing, and laughter, but I thought we could focus on our customers in a slightly different way.”
The 48-year-old, who runs Crackers Clearout, is currently based in Sydney and Canberra and is expected to make $500,000 this year.
However, like other companies in Australia, he finds it difficult to hire staff and hopes to bring recent “job downsizers” into the team.
He conceded that paying $50,000 to $60,000 would make it harder to attract staff, especially in Sydney, but believes it provides a decent opportunity for people.
“During Covid I worked with some older and more experienced people. We had Qantas pilots, travel agents and professional dancers and we can’t do it like we do now But it was great to have people with different experiences,” he said.
“Nowadays, most people are students and casual. I’m looking for someone who wants
*Names have been changed to protect personal information
