Hello!
I have been busy compiling your favourite workplace newsletter – a combination of things you need to know and things that will make you laugh out loud.
In this issue there’s a workplace trend, news snippets, case updates and sage advice in the “Dear Jen” column.
And of course, I share my recommendations for your viewing pleasure.
I hope this newsletter brings you some wisdom and joy!
Cheers,
Jen
What trend am I seeing across the workplace world?
Employees are staying in jobs that make them miserable – because interest rate rises, rent hikes and Federal Government Budget backflips have made “stable but soul-destroying” feel like a “sensible life choice”.
Observation of the Week
Recent ABS data is catching up with what I see crossing my desk. The official unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in April – up from 4.3% in March with employment down by 18,600. Youth unemployment is at 11%.
In plain English: the job market is getting tighter, younger workers are feeling it, and “just get a job” is starting to sound like advice from someone who thinks applying on Seek means politely joining a queue, not entering The Hunger Games with 500 other applicants.
Job of the Week: Tree Cop
Do you own binoculars, sensible shoes and a strong sense of civic outrage?
Mosman Council may have the job for you.
After 159 cases of tree vandalism in five years resulted in only 38 fines and one court case, the Council is hiring a Tree Compliance Officer – aka Tree Cop.
See: Tree Cop
Meta Workers Storm Their Own Offices
Is it just me, or does the idea of IT workers storming a building feel like the start of a very niche action movie?
Meta employees have reportedly protested over mouse-tracking software on work computers, amid concerns they were helping build systems that may later replace them.
The lesson for employers? Monitoring is not just a tech issue. Introduce it without explanation, consultation or trust, and the fallout can quickly move from “new workplace system” to “the nerds are storming the building”.
Take Out Point: If you are introducing monitoring, explain what is being collected, why, and how it affects employees. Silence is where suspicion logs in.
See: Meta workers storm their own offices over AI surveillance
Office Slang Is Becoming a Workplace Risk
Office slang is funny until someone misreads the group chat and suddenly HR is investigating whether a skull emoji means “that’s hilarious” or “please preserve this evidence”.
The risk is not that managers sound uncool. The risk is that tone, instructions and intent get lost in translation – especially across different generations.
Take Out Point: A workplace should not require subtitles. Keep communication clear, especially when the message matters.
See: The new slang that’s baffling older office workers [Behind paywall]
CASES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
Aspiring Author Clears First Hurdle in Flex Work Case
A 67-year-old employee’s flexible work dispute can proceed after the Fair Work Commission rejected his employer’s argument that his request was not covered by the Act.
The employee asked to work his weekly hours over 4 days instead of 5, saying he wanted more time for creative writing as part of his transition to retirement.
The employer argued there was not enough connection between his age and the arrangement sought. The Commission disagreed, finding the request was sufficiently linked to his age and retirement transition. The substantive hearing and discussion of the employer’s right to refuse on “reasonable business grounds” is still to come.
Take Out Point: Flexible work requests made because of age can extend to transition to retirement plans – even where the employee is not asking to reduce their total hours.
See: Paul Murray v Watpac Construction Pty. Ltd. [2026] FWC 1442 (11 May 2026)
Contractor and Customer Hit With $116,000 Sexual Harassment Order
A contractor and a customer have been ordered to pay a site manager $116,000 after subjecting him to homophobic and sexualised harassment at work.
The Court accepted the worker developed a depressive disorder and awarded $90,000 in compensation. Each man was also ordered to pay a $13,000 penalty, with the Court stressing the need to deter serious workplace harassment.
Take Out Point: Sexual harassment “in connection with work” is not limited to bosses or co-workers. Contractors and customers can also face serious personal consequences.
See: Eklom v Marshall & Anor [2026] FedCFamC2G 772 (31 March 2026)
3 June – World Bicycle Day – Be on alert for those colleagues who arrive at work looking smug and wearing lycra.
5 June – National Doughnut Day – The rare workplace initiative with near-unanimous support, provided someone remembered the gluten-free, joy-free options.
9 June – International Archives Day – A quiet salute to the person who knows where the file is, which version is current, and who visibly ages when someone says, “I just saved it to my desktop.”
14 June – World Blood Donor Day – Some people give blood. Others give 47 minute updates on projects that could have been an email.
1 July 2026 – Payday Super commences. Start preparing now! Please don’t leave it until 30 June.
1 July 2026 – Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave Scheme increases again and reaches 26 weeks, paid at the minimum wage.
Hot, Healthy & Unbreakable! Midlife: Reimagined
Midlife does not politely stay at home. It comes to work too. Peri and menopause are workplace issues, and the more we understand them, the easier it is to support experienced women to stay healthy, confident and to thrive.
Hosted by Australia’s own Peri Godmother, Shelly Horton, with experts Dr Vonda Wright and Dr Kelly Casperson, this event promises real talk, evidence-based advice and practical tools – without the boring lecture energy.
Touring Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney this July/August.
Tickets are on sale now. Don’t miss the chance to hear from world-class experts and embrace the next chapter with confidence and vitality.
https://www.tegdainty.com/tour/hot-healthy-unbreakable/
Dear Jen,
I work from home and my boss says I need to be available during working hours to take her calls.
This is proving tricky, as I have a post-school-drop-off coffee catch-up routine with friends and I like to keep my phone on Do Not Disturb when I am concentrating.
Unfortunately, my boss seems to schedule her calls during my peak unavailability windows.
When I reminded her of my right to disconnect, she said I had misunderstood the concept.
Can you help me explain my rights to her?
Cheers,
Disconnected Deb
Dear Disconnected Deb,
I do admire the confidence of declaring a coffee catch-up a “peak unavailability window”, but sadly that is not quite how the right to disconnect works.
The right to disconnect is about unreasonable contact outside working hours – not a right to go fully submarine during them. If you are being paid to work, your boss can generally expect to contact you, and yes, inconveniently, she gets to decide when she needs to call.
By all means use Do Not Disturb when you need focus time, but agree on it first – otherwise it is less “right to disconnect” and more “unavailable at the exact moment your boss needs you.”
Cheers,
Jen
We didn’t know “romantic hockey drama” was a genre we needed in our lives before Heated Rivalry. Now Off Campus has arrived on Prime. Is it high art? No. But it is perfect viewing at the end of a long day when you feel like watching attractive people make poor emotional decisions near an ice rink.
Season 1 of Rivals on Disney+ was one of the best shows of 2024. Now Season 2 has landed, dragging us straight back into Jilly Cooper’s glorious 1980s world of English television, stately homes and people making wildly poor decisions in excellent knitwear. It is a Cotswolds romp packed with lords, TV stars, shoulder pads, backstabbing and enough hanky-panky to fog up a conservatory.
The Yellowstone franchise is the gift that keeps on giving. Dutton Ranch on Paramount+ brings back everyone’s favourite couple, Rip and Beth, and sends them to Texas. Add Annette Bening, Ed Harris, rival ranchers, big hats and Beth Dutton’s gift for making grown men reconsider their life choices with one eyebrow, and honestly, that is television gold.
The team behind Beckham has now given us KYLIE, a three-part Netflix docu-series about everyone’s former neighbour turned global pop princess. Perfect viewing for anyone who has wondered how one woman can make “spinning around” sound like a strategic life plan.
