Working in Australia

Here I am working in Australia, and I realized that I haven’t written a word about it!

I have to say that working in an office in Australia is much like working in an office in the US, except with a MUCH better view. I’m currently located in a Telstra building that consists mainly of local Aussies (versus expats), and it is amazing how the office is pretty much empty by 5:30 – 6:00pm every day. Even the security guards are gone by 6:30 – 7:00pm. I have heard that this is typical across most Australian companies. It is really refreshing to see that type of work life balance. At the same time, it is a bit scary when I am the only person working past 6pm in a huge office building! The lights are also set on timers, so they automatically go out at 7pm each night. Of course I can always make my way to the switch box to turn on the lights at 1 hour intervals, but I’ve watched enough scary movies to know that it is safer to work from my hotel after 7pm!

I have also come to learn that desk space and meeting rooms are scare at Telstra. I am not sure why I thought it would not be a problem here; perhaps I was just suffering from the-grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome. I often find myself traveling (by traveling I mean walking or if I am lucky catching the free Circle City Tram) to buildings across the city for meetings. I like walking, so I don’t mind, but it can also be a pain if you have to go back and forth between buildings all the time.

Week 6 Observations:
Chips are not chips; chips are what we Americans know as french fries (should’ve seen my expression the first time I ordered “chips”)
Reservations at almost all good restaurants in the CBD need to be made 3 months in advance
The best cafés and/or bars tend to be hidden in the alleyways; I’ve been told alleys are perfectly safe despite the fact that they are covered in graffiti and look shady
Coffee breaks or meetings over coffee are very popular (no wonder there are so many cafés!)