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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Thanks for watching me, a humble American, react to Australian Workplace Culture
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I'm a 72 year old Australian, and I've never heard anyone shorten anyone's name to the initial, here in Australia, my whole life! At work or anywhere else!
I get called B 😊
Many people are called by initials eg Charles Tomas , CT, I have a female relative who is called by her initials by her Dad and it runs together as a name
@@micheledix2616Who's Charles Tomas? Sorry, I don't know who he is. But I actually meant just calling someone by the ONE initial of their first name (like S for Susan). I've not come across that in my life. I have known people who were called both initials, but not just the one.
@@micheledix2616 oh yeah they do, but she only used my first initial. Silly me only realised a few years ago my initial’s before I was married. My maiden surname starts with S. My initials were BS lol. It hit finally hit me, some people say, That’s BS for Bull S*** 😂
@@7Melancholia7 Charles Tonas was.an.example.
Australia is pretty multicultural all over now, not just in Sydney or Melbourne. Most larger towns have a mixed diverse population now. You were wondering about holiday pay. Full time employees have a minimum of 20 days a year paid days off with leave loading, plus public holidays with public holiday pay, 10 days sick leave and long service leave after 10 years. Some industries have more paid vacation time. I am in the health industry and have 6 weeks of paid holidays per year which accumulates to a maximum of of 30 weeks. This year i had 12 weeks long service and 8 weeks holiday so i had 5 months off all fully paid. To hear about the way the USA treats their workers is totally mind blowing to us.
The Liberals made leave loading optional some time ago. Not all businesses pay it these days.
Yep. I live in a regional area and we are very multicultural. Quite a number of migrants move to areas that remind them of their homeland. So we have people in rural and remote areas as well
Salaried employees definitely don’t get leave loading. LL is a thing of the past.
@@GenZMother it depends on if you work for the government. I work in a public hosptial and get leave loading
@@kymharris269 LNP did its best to turn us into US Down Under, aka privatise everything and destroy the middle class.
This lady is originally from Argentina and her videos are targeted at other ppl from Spanish-speaking countries, who may have different social etiquette. That's why some of her advice may not quite gel with you. Also, someone called Susan would more likely be called Sue or Susie than S 😊
I do believe that this "Lady" is not Argentinean. I do believe this social commentator was originally from Brazil.
I was going to comment this too.
I don't think I've ever met someone who was referred to as just their initial.
Wherever she is from the European culture is both friendlier/affectionate and not... as an aussie chick who married into a European family I love the 'kiss kiss' but I am a hugger and it took my father in law many year to not be rigid when I then followed the kisses with a big hug. After 20year he now hugs me back immediately ❤
I don't think its common practice to abbreviate to the first letter, but it probably happens time to time if the right person decides to make up the nickname and it sticks.
I reckon S is her preferred nickname not the name applied to her by others. I went to a private girls school and you can get everything from your full name, your nickname/s or your surname.
I feel in a few of her videos she conflates personal observation in her own circumstances with what’s normal and accepted for us.
I think an very important thing she missed is there is no class system. Every job is as respected as any other. A doctor could easily be best friends with a plumber with neither feeling superior to the other.
we are the great levelers
True, everyone has a part to play.
Although, I've seen tradies get into arguments with each other and hang shit on one another plenty of times
Painter's painting over the Sparkies power sockets
Everyone paying out on Plumbers with "Shit flows downhill"
That’s special , how it should be
Yep I married a builder so I’m living proof of that. Not sure I could bear being around someone else like me 😂
She is talking from her experience in her particular work environment. Calling someone mate is acceptable anywhere, especially if you know them. No-one would take offence. In Australia it's not about the word you say but how you say it, the intent behind it.
Incidentally, the same can be said of the word 'Bastard'.
@@Lord_Numpty and many other words , not allowed here.
Very true, it's not uncommon for Australian guys to call each other the C word as a term of endearment.
Spot on blue collar don't follow these rules strictly
So true.@@davidcruse6589
The one thing I have noticed that a majority of Americans order without saying the word “please” but they always say “thank you”. A lot of the young people in Aust are picking up that now. I fear that has come out of US shows and movies. I have been to the US many times and have noticed this.
I hope in Aust we get to keep our “Englishisms” and say “please” when ordering. When we were kids and asked for something, our parents used to say”What’s the magic word?” So we all learnt to say please when asking for things.
Totally agree, rudeness in the younger children is coming out 😢
I even say please to Hey Google 😊
Story:
Magician about to do trick: “What’s the magic word?” (Expecting “abracadabra”.)
6-year-old kid: “Please!”
Magician: “Can’t argue with that.” Finishes trick.
I don't know where this lady lives or works but she really has generalized a bit much.
I've never been called an initial at anywhere in my life & especially not anywhere I've worked. Never!
Saying 'Whaaat?" in any circumstance is just rude! I said that to my Mum, once, when I was a teenager & was soundly rebuked for my rudeness!
There is a very broad multicultural dynamic, even in the country areas. Maybe not the same denseness as in the cities, but the % is possiblely still similar.
She's originally from Argentina and her videos are targeted at other ppl from Spanish-speaking countries, who may have different social etiquette.
the initial thing kind of struck me as odd as well, nick names sure, that happens more than calling people their actual name, but never heard of someone being called just their first initial like "hey S, what are you up to"
and I work for a company that had a system for assigning work to people based off their first and last initial. but the only time that was used was inside the system and for shorthand in emails and work orders. for example "RW is going to handle the towel rail at job X while JP is installing the wall mount at job Y"
I have a colleague that gets called by their initials both though and only one person.
My Dad's name is Harold and a lot of his work mates call him H,
Hey H how ya going
Do you mean "generalised"?
Couple of things: We dont shorten names down to the letter unless its an obvious phonetic reason like Debra might be Dee which to a foreigner speaker they might think its the letter. We have drinks with our workmates after work and then go home. Our wives dont join us because only the single people stay on, the married and whatnots leave early then catch up on who rooted who on monday.
LOL You may have to explain what "rooted" means.
😮😊
One of my sisters friends is called P, because her name is difficult to pronounce
😂
my name is Jay-Pee short for Jean-Paul. hard to say for Aussies. Go figure!
As an Aussie who worked with an American (from Chicago), apparently our humour in the workplace can be confronting. We tend to ‘pay out’ on each other. She thought we were really rude and unkind until we explained that if we’re making jokes at your expense, you’re one of the gang.
My husbands an asset inspector (fancy name for checking power poles) in the far north, he contends with snakes most days. And every now and then they have to check poles near mangroves, so they have a spotter to keep an eye out for crocs coming near them. I offered to be a spotter for them, I could have so much fun with that. 😂
Our son moved to Brisbane from Canada a month ago and found a similar job last week at almost double his previous salary plus profit share for 36 hours a week. He asked to reduce lunch from one hour to half an hour so he could leave early. No problem. He has a take-home high spec laptop and has a paid public holiday after only 9 working days. MUCH better conditions than in Canada. Everyone gets 10 paid public holidays a year plus 4 weeks paid annual leave. Workers not on contracts get 17.5% extra leave loading on their annual holidays. There are also 10 paid sick days a year (they accumulate) and the employer is required to contribute the equivalent of 12% of income to superannuation (pension fund). An average worker will retire at 65 with maybe $500,000 tax free in super, and more if he/she adds up to $25,000 a year. It would be very rare not to call your boss (even the CEO of a big company) by his first name. No wonder people want to move to Australia.
Hey Ryan 👋
That coffee she showed is a mocha ( half coffee half chocolate) and it’s amazing 👌
it looked like chocolate, I'm getting one next time im at the coffee shop.
if you like coffee they are not so amazing. Kinda ruins the taste of coffee
And if u don’t like coffee it’s worse.
Immigrants to Australia are amazing. It's been a while since I've had to bring lunch to work because all the Thai, Lao, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, German, Italian, Greek and Filipino ladies bring extra for me because I help them at work. I take the rest home for dinner. My grocery bill is very small.
You are one lucky bugger. :)
One time an Indian colleague of mine made Indian ice-cream for the entire work section and brought it in to work for morning tea, good times 🍨
Okay, where do you work because we all want in... (Joking yet jealous in a good way 😁).
I lived in Laos eight years. Some of the best cuisine on the planet. You are very lucky.
Australia has been very multicultural for a long time. During the goldrush of the 1850's, people moved here from all over the world.
Regarding the multiculturism in Oz, not necessarily just in the major cities as many people move to a lot of rural areas also. As a child our neighbours came from Holland, Malta, Italy and Greece. Today you will find people from all over the world living here.
I think most Aussies would consider the US to be our closest friends and most similar cultures. Far more so than the UK. I was in San Diego buying a ticket to visit a maritime attraction. There was a sign saying there was a discount for veterans. I jokingly said I was a veteran but not from this country. The ticket seller gave me the discount saying, "you're Australian right? That's close enough to being American". Never felt more humble...
I have lived in both the US and Australia, and worked a lot with US and British teams as an Australians and I find British culture more similar to us than the US, but it does depend on the particular thing you are thinking about. We are definitely between the two
@@kevc5532 Depends on the tradition I think. A lot of older Aussieisms are defenitely related to the UK. stuff your grandparents instilled in you. a lot of more modern changes are influenced by all the USA media and we've started picking up on that. both the positive and the negative.
A Victorian with a Seniors Card in WA will get no discount on public transport. Hows that go down
Friend has worked US and UK with long hours and vg remuneration but craves Aus work/life balance .
Worked hard here too, but easier to "escape" to a surf beach/hiking/cycling in down time. 4 weeks annual leave + public holidays wp helps.
I work in Aged Care in Queensland, and our staff members sometimes just bring their own food (indian, thai, chinese etc) and share it with everyone else. Sometimes we even have staff functions where we all bring something from wherever we came from :)
I work in a Federal Government agency and we do hat at least twice a year. It's fantastic. Food from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Greece, Scotland, Indonesia, Chile, Fiji, and a woman from England who makes the best sausage rolls any and all of us have ever tasted.
I work in a busy kitchen and breaks vary drastically. I usually work from 10am-10pm and will get 30mins to 2 hours break depending on the workload and what I get done. Some staff prefer not to take breaks and work all the way through, I don't know how they do it standing on their feet for 12 hours a day.
I was taught at a young age to stand when greeting someone especially in a formal/semi formal situation
Ryan was proudly brought to you by Chick-fil-A.
I work in an office but in a blue collar industry and everyone swears a lot and uses slang and calls each other mate. In blue collar industries you get 2 breaks, smoko in the morning for 15mins and then a midday lunch for 30mins. Your break entitlements are dependent on the hours you work because they are legislated, some companies opt to give longer breaks or an afternoon smoko as well but for an 8 hr day everyone is entitled to 45mins usually split into 15mins then 30mins.
oh yes l worked in a mine site and loads of swearing and slang. It was the best work environment because people were focused on getting the job done than trivial things. When l worked day shift l found my self swearing which shocked everyone on that shift.
G'day Mate! On working hours it depends on the industry in which you work. I worked in a major teaching hospital and we would be there for 8 &1/2 hours but there was an unpaid 30 minute lunch/dinner break. That said we also had 2 x 15 minute "tea breaks" as part of the 8 "working hours" Our award did let you work for more than 3 hours without a break...Fun Fact:- the term "mate" was banned from being used by staff in the Aussie Parliament back in 2005 but it was so heavily ridiculed that the ban only lasted 24 hours! Cheers!
It is the way you say "Mate" that can be a friendly way or particularly angry way.
My husband loves baking, he works 3 days in the office each week, so when he goes he always bakes something and takes it in for morning tea.
Australian here, named Susan. I hever never been called"S", not in any environment!
That reminds me, when I was in high school the tuckshop was run by two women named Sharon and Susan. So they called it "Shaz & Sue's". I've never heard of anyone being called by their initial, except when being referred to anonymously like in letters to the editor (for example "A, from Brighton")
Classic S response 😂
Lunch times are usually an hour long, sometimes longer or shorter depending on demands of the job and work ethic. Most places have an agreed workplace award which not only pays a certain amount but guarantees break times like Smokos or morning and afternoon teas...about 10 minutes. Evolved from the amount of time it took to have 1 or 2 cigarettes away from your desk. I used to meet up with colleagues during smoko. We also worked Flex time where we could work extra hours to have a half or full day off every fortnight.
I had African registered nurses who spoke in their own language. I asked them politely to speak in English, they were fine with that.
Breaks depend on where you work and what work agreement/laws are in place. Where I work we do 12 hour shifts and we get 3x 15 minute breaks and 2x 30 minute breaks in the shift.
At the moment as long as you have a pulse you can get a job.
Yes, Ryan, it is polite to stand up to shake someone's hand for sure. That clip surprised me for that reason. I would stand up even to say hello in that situation. Hmm?
I am Australian born and in 30 years in the workplace I worked it was very professional and formal. No idea where she worked.
We have a barista that visits our workplace every day in his coffee van. Love it
I always stand up to shake hands in Aus but it's true, others seem to take it or leave it. I can't abide sitting through a handshake though unless the circumstances make it weirder to stand.
As an Aussie just a heads up, have u ever heard an Aussie say "what?" not very professional i would say. our accent is crazy 💀
Workplaces in Australia have minimum conditions set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, including a minimum of 20 days paid annual leave for full time employees, 10 paid sick days, a minimum wage A$23.23 per hour [currently], maximum hours 38 hours per week [plus reasonable paid overtime on request]. 12 weeks paid parental leave. Long Service Leave which differs by state - here in NSW is an extra 8.67 paid weeks of leave after 10 years service. - These are the basic requirements, but you can sign a contract or have a different workplace agreement, as long as it passes the boot test [better off over all test] i.e you can't be forced to sign away conditions without something in return. In addition to this there are about 10 public holidays a year that you also get paid for [differs by state]. The Work Health Safety Act says you must have a minimum of 30minutes break after 5 or 5 and a half hours work, but most people get 60 minutes for lunch in offices. Your lunch break is unpaid time, so employers are usually okay with you taking an hour. Of course there are loads of people, that work really hard and don't take their breaks too. Its the culture in certain industries [especially finance] to work loads of unpaid overtime to reach unreasonable sales targets, because if you don't reach them you will be performance managed and probably lose your job, and since the pandemic our hospitals are so short staffed you hear constant horror stories of nurses working 20 hour shifts, but they would at least be paid for the excess hours.
Brisbane Queensland Australia here! My daughter is GenZ. Her name is Erin. Two syllables. She gets called Eri or E.
I think she is talking about working in an office in a city. This is not indicative of our overall workplace environment!
I live in a town of about 3-4000 people, we have indian, Pakistani, german, south African, Thai, French and Indonesian people who live here
Aussies are blunt, but generally kind in the workplace. We tease each other a lot in the workplace, and sometimes that can be taken the wrong way by people from different cultures.
Ive found that initials are used in emails referencing others, but usually will only be verbally referred to when the initials flow and are both names (DJ, JG, KC etc), others will simply be shortened appropriately (Daz, Jen, Susie, Haz, Bray, Sar, Ry).
End of year parties- depends on the workplace, organiser and open bar!
I live 500 kilometres North of Perth, we have a large Cocus Islands population who are traditional Malay muslims, my doctor is from Zambia, multiculture is everywhere
Lunch breaks, 30 mins is the most common. When i worked in office environments, your hours were flexible, i'd stay late to have a longer lunch break. In blue collar work there's "smoko" and 30 mins lunch breaks, sometimes upto an hourif you're doing 12 hour shifts
30% of Australians were born overseas and 49% of Australians were either born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas. I live in a smaller rural town, 56,000, and while we don't have a large number of multicultural population, but we have Indian, Thai, Chinese restaurants, pub food, contemporary modern food, and unfortunately, far too many fast food outlets, Macca's, Hungry Jack's, Domino's, Taco Bell. We are a tourist destination, vineyards abound.
Happy Arvo!😂😂🤣 We don' say that in Australia...not in that context!
I wouldn't say it's a common thing in workplaces but I've been called my initial since 2005 and it stuck. I like it! It didn't happen to all employees, just a few of us e.g. T, M, G and J. The rest were given initials only via emails or written notes. Also, we can wear flipflops (which can lead to walking barefoot!) and we have an office dog. It's a design company of 50 people but everyone gets a say, from the big boss to the graduate students there for work experience.
We had a pie day at work today, in celebration of the AFL Grand Final happening tomorrow. I’m permanent part time working 4 days a week from 8.20am to 5.20pm with a 30 minute lunch break….I do have a full time position if I want to go back but it’s a work life decision. We have 4 weeks and 3 days holiday per year, but I have reached long service of more than 10 years employment, so you are rewarded with an additional 12 weeks off. I get a further 9 days long service leave for every additional year. Not bad at all!
Even at home as a kid if I said "Whaaat?!" I'd get in trouble 😅
Hi Ryan👋, just another Aussie fan of yours. Just to correct this lady, we don't call people by their initial ie: Susan would be Sue not S hahahahaha. Just had to correct that. Have a great day. Oh! And by the way, we don't say happy Arvo, but it's cute when you say it 😊
Lunch is typically half an hour to an hour depending on the hours you do each day. and off the top of my head. I think some companies allow you to negotiate for more time.
I work in a office. I work a 38.5 hr week with an hour for lunch. Annual leave for all full-time employed Australians is 4 weeks at full pay. We also get between 10-12 weeks full pay long service leave for every 10-13 years of continuous service depending on the state we live in and the industry. I get 12 paid sick leave days per year and it is cumulative where I work, so after 26 years of service I’ve accrued over 1000 hours or about 6 months paid sick leave.
I'm an Aussie and I would say calling someone mate is acceptable in practically any workplace. Also names are not commonly shortened to their first initial. Often people have a nickname using first or last name eg if your last name is Johnson you might be known s Johnno. She must work in a very formal workplace and is using her experience as a typical one. This is not the case folks.
I’m Aussie and I used to go to Bondi for swim in my lunch break and I worked in the city , granted it was Central Railway but still !
"say again, over" is my natural response to anything said I didn't hear first time. Yep ex Australian Army.
I personally love Zaraffa's iced coffee with vanilla icecream and cream hehe...enough out of me now lol, bye Ryan, thanks for sharing our culture etc :)
Many workers around Australia are laid back, friendly, call you mate and are different to the office worker who are stricter in the work place. Do your job and all is good.
Ryan, this video relates to executive levels within a business or company. For the grunts in the workplace the environment is totally different.
I have never worked anywhere where you call someone by their initial, that's weird. And I work in Sydney. Lunch can be 30 minutes to an hour. After COVID most companies have let people work from home for 3 days out of 5. A lot of companies are now asking for employees to come back to the office full time but there is a lot of employees that are not wanting to go back to full time. The reason is that leasing office space is expensive, so companies want everyone to go back to the city. Also the cafe, eatery, restaurants are suffering because people want to work from home and not eat out for breakfast or lunch. Lots of cafes have had to close down because people are not wanting to commute to the city. 14:14
Most lunch breaks are 45 minutes. It’s important to have that time out. 4 weeks paid holiday.
That coffee was a Mochacino it is chocolate syrup/liquid of some description with coffee. It is one of my go to drinks.
I work 8.30am to 5pm and get an hour lunch break and a morning and afternoon 10 min break.
Authenticity exceeds popularity
20 business days a year vacation plus some workplaces you can get extra purchased leave and plus public holidays
This is Australia mate, coffee here is really good.👍
I have heard people be called by their initials if they have a difficult name to pronounce. If there are a bunch of Davids or Kates in the same department, they’ll get a variation on their name to distinguish them from others, in this case I’ve heard both initials used such as LJ for Luke Jones, and also just a surname. I know someone who is so widely spoken of with his surname that everyone thought it was his first name. I’ve seen my friends refer to their children by a single initial in emails and DMs but will use their real name when speaking. That’s just cos we’re lazy. ;)
Mate us used everywhere in Australia, including workplaces.
We get 4 weeks of paid holidays in Australia. Some award wages even pay a 17%loading ... that's 17% EXTRA in your pay for you holiday. Some employers also give the option tp "buy" extra annual leave. At one job I bought an 5th week of leave and they deducted my pay by about $20 a week top pay for it.
Holidays and leave:
By law we have 20 days (4 weeks) pro rata annual/holiday leave.
We have 10 days personal/sick leave. It can be used if I'm sick or my child/partner is sick.
Lunch break in Europe is at least one hour long by law in most of the countries. Some have 1.5 or 2
That coffee looked like a "Mocha" which is a milky coffee like a latte that has added chocolate powder added to the cup before the coffee is made, or as in this example, chocolate syrup drizzled around the sides of the cup/mug before the coffee and frothy milk are added.
Oh, BTW, some workplaces do not have official meal or rest "breaks". Meals and refreshments are squeezed in if you can but no specific break is allocated. The enterprise agreement (work contract) makes allowances for this.
You would go for an work drink usually before you go home, because home could be up to a two hours away.
Im a New Zealander whom lived in Australia for 15 years , I worked in construction road and rail , Im these industries , the fellow workers and bosses can be quite brutal , blunt and to the point if you have messed up , but there's a reason the average true blue Aussie is a hard as nails , everything is trying to kill you so if you forget to do something it literally could be a life and death situation, that and unfortunately the local indigenous population , at least out bush , live life very hard , which means when their children attend school they bring that anger to the yard . So some violence is baked in , which in turn leads to mental issues one to many kicks to the head etc .
I am 75 years old and have never heard anyone addressed by their initial. When I first started work in the distant past we had to address everyone by Mr, Mrs or Miss, as in Mr Ryan.
It’s common manners to stand up when shaking someone’s hand, and it’s acceptable to say “what was that?” when you didn’t hear something properly.
Hey Ryan, a standard here when it comes to annual leave, is 20 days per year, or 4 weeks leave.
Ryan, re: eye contact, look at their ear, it doesn't make them feel as uncomfortable but still feels like you are making eye contact
The only person I every heard called by their initials was a girl whose initials were E C. We used to call her "Elsie" (Ellle C).
Average lunch break when working an average eight hour shift is one hour and then two 15 minute tea breaks. At least that’s been my experience in retail. But can be different depending on the industry you are in for example hospitality you’re lucky to be able to grab a smoko or loo break here and there. But average lunches are an hour
Holidays approximately 6-7 weeks a year & an average 38 hours a week as an employee
Saying What is rude in Australia! She’s correct! If someone says’WHAT’ in a loud voice, then you are right to say that he/she is angry!
Some companies have a more laid back culture, others don’t. It’s common to call everyone by their first name, including your boss. Mate is also very common. I’ve never heard anyone called by their initials. Suzanne or Susan will most often be shortened to Sue or Susie but not S.
Punctuality is important, here and we don’t usually discuss controversial topics, like politics or religion, at work. Unless it’s with close friends.
End of year parties some companies allow plus ones, others don’t. It’s normally down to the budget, or the venue.
Some ESLs people do feel embarrassed to speak their own language in front of you but, unless they’re actually talking to you or about you, it’s nothing to worry about.
Do Americans greet each other with Happy Afternoon? I don't think so. Noone says Happy Arvo either! It's not a greeting it's a time of day.
We shorten everything, so casual friendly version is usually "g'day" or "hi" or if you want to mention time of day just say "afternoon". In a more formal setting it might be "good afternoon".
End of year parties are popular because it’s Summer and Christmas break plus the bosses usually pay for the party
In regards to lunch breaks
It’s unpaid 30-60mins with a 10 -15min morning and afternoon break paid.
So depending on the business you would have a 38 hrs week.
if you want the hour lunch break or the business gives it to you then you leave work 30 mins later eg
Work from 9-5:30 mins break
Or 9-5:30 and and hour break
Both work out to 7.5hrs per day
This is just an example
Omg that’s so strange
I’m Aussie and my name is Susan
And yes actually at one job everyone called me The S lol
I nearly fell over hearing this 😂
However never before or after have I been called that
Usually it’s Sue Suz or Suzy
Maybe "The S" wasn't for "Susan".. hmmmm? Ever think of that? haha. 😂
Good rule of thumb for any interaction with another person, BE POLITE.
About commenting on looks and the like - obviously if you're close with your colleagues and know each other well you can do a "Oh, that colour suits you!" or "You look nice today!" or the like. The laws are more about DISCRIMINATION, not compliments, though of course creepiness is definitely looked down on. Usually you don't get fired on the spot or anything like that - you have a talk with HR or whoever is in charge of your position about any comments made that cause an issue - a warning. If you persist in your behaviour or if they've been looking for a reason to get rid of you or if you said something incredibly bad, then you're likely gone.
Remember - we're laid back, but are all about being polite and conscientious towards each other. It takes a really off sort to go off on a polite comment about their hair. XD
Sorry Ryan, NO, we don't love Starbucks. Under 20s who are obsessed with American culture like some Starbucks drinks, but most of us seek out independent coffee roasters or our favourite local barista for good coffee.
I'm 63 and have never heard anyone's name shortened to the letter their name starts with. Sue, Suze and Suzy/Suzie is short for Susan and Susanne/Suzanne. I have worked with people with a foreign name that I can't wrap my tongue around, so I give them a nickname close to their name. Knock off time (the time your workday finishes) you are already out the door. Some companies have RDO (Rostered Day Off) days for working longer hours every day you get a day off every fortnight (two weeks).
The only time I've really seen the initials thing is when you have 2 or more with the same first name, then we would just refer to all of them by initials. So if you have 3 Jasons you would have JD and JC and JT for example.
I am Australian and I have people called D, T and J.
The AFL Grand Final starts in 4 hours you should watch it if you’re able
I was surprised in American bars when the patrons didn't say please with their order, like Gin and tonic please. I got some funny looks. I said thankyou too. Australians call all colleagues by their Christian name, including our bosses. When we deal with foreigners, they take awhile to get used to us.
I greet workers at shops with Darling, regardless of gender, but being older I've never had any say they were offended. I say it automatically to basically everyone, so I suppose it comes across as natural anyway. Being direct to my bosses has always been respected and not taken as offensive or disrespectful too. Humour is also acceptable in most workplaces, especially stressful ones .
I'm guessing she got a job in a big city office in Sydney or Melbourne. I'm 59, born in and never left Australia, and I've never worked a job that was that formal. Almost any company that said don't call people mate would be laughed at. Shortening names to a single initial is not that common, but two initials is, (ie, CJ for Christopher John, or AJ for Aaron James...). Shortening to a syllable then adding an ie/y, a or an o is far more common. For instance, Robbo or Thommo, Shazza or Suzy, for Robert, Thomas, Sharon and Suzanne. But then short names might get lengthened, like Ross becomes Roscoe. The kiss on the cheek is definitely a no no. That's about the only thing she said that sounded spot on. Yes, construction workers here quite often greet each other as words that probably should not be written here... :P :D
Regional areas is a whole different world to cities
In my office, people do use the term mate.
In UK religious studies in school cover a lot of other religious festivals and cultures. Our kids are well educated on the whole
I remember one end of year party at my old job we got to do archery so people aren’t trying to get out of that
Four weeks annual leave, generous sick leave, Christmas shutdowns, 12 public holidays, 7.5 hours a day. Three months long service leave after 10 years.
If you say thank you in Australia, the response is most likely 'no worries'.