She's On The Money - Overworked, Underpaid, and Burnt Out—Now What?

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

Have you ever felt like you can’t log off, can’t say no, and can’t ask for more money? Welcome to hustle culture, where doing more for the same pay has somehow become normal. This week, we’re unpacking a community dilemma about being overworked and underpaid, and asking: When is it worth pushing back, asking for a raise, or walking away? We’re also breaking down ATO activity statements... what they are, why you might have received one, and whether you actually owe money. Because let’s be honest, anything from the ATO is enough to make us nervous. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Friday ep without money wins and broke tips. Including how one listener is turning recycling into cash, a gaming hack that made an easy $50, and the most awkward budget dating move we’ve heard in a while. Ready for more laughs, lessons, and unhinged money chats? Check out our oh-so-bingeable Friday Drinks playlist. Listen here. Join our 300K+ She's on the Money community in our Facebook Group and on Instagram.  Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

Hello and welcome to She's On The Money, the podcast that makes personal finance fun, especially on Fridays it is our favorite day of the week because we got a new studio and that's really exciting but also because we get our team together in a more relaxed couch environment now which is very exciting to celebrate you how incredible she's on the money community Miss Jessica Ricci is here on her couch and she's going to be sharing her best money wins from the community Miss Bex Syed is also here and she has a number of broke tips for us and this week we're going to be helping to answer a juicy money dilemma. It's not that juicy, but it's going to be really interesting. This week, it's all about what it means when you get an activity

statement from the ATO. Juicy. Juicy. When I said juicy, I was like, okay, so maybe I'm just excited to explain this one. And other people will just be like, yeah, what do I do when I get an activity statement? And something that you slid into our DMs about, potentially more juicy, whether you should stay in a job where the culture is of overworking and whether that's the norm or not. I don't like it already. Yeah. I don't like it already. Like, and we're not even slackers that she's on the money, but like overworking cancelled. Absolutely. There's definitely somewhere between overworking and being slack. Yeah. There's a whole lot of middle ground. There's a whole lot of middle ground. We can cover a lot. But before we get there,

guys, how were your weeks? Jess, you go first. it might be good i'm so excited to be here in our new studio it's so fun i feel like we have leveled up yeah it is so so fun we have a new home um and on socials you see it'll look beautiful oh my gosh our videos are gonna go to the next level like that's why we're here basically because we just thought you guys deserve better content the couches are comfy the cokes are crispy we are so ready beck how's your week been really good i'm also really happy about this new studio I know that people won't be able to see but you'll hear it in our voice oh you can just hear how excited we are yeah yeah um but you know it's it's been a gorgeous week just full of love light

and laughter I love that and what about you yes I'm doing a little bit of live laugh loving um I am getting prepared for Harvey's first birthday which is so exciting um I have finished thankfully my golf cart and there are photos online. I will definitely be sharing that. Don't you worry because it's like my pride and joy. I feel like I completely hyper fixated on it and was like Googling every single person who's ever done a DIY Renault on one of these things and watching their tips and tricks and how they, anyway, I'm very excited about that. And I can, at the end of the day, yes, I did spend more on paint than I did on the actual cozy coupe, but like it's the thought that counts also why spray paint so expensive it is actually really expensive yeah

i did end up doing a little bit of a budget hack there i i bought the expensive primer and the expensive top coat and then i got cheap color yes smart i feel like that was a good middle ground because i didn't realize spray paint 20 bucks a can oh 20 bucks a can yeah i was thinking like But then at, like, the $2 shop, $2 a can. The hairspray. No. Oh, the coloured hairspray. No, I didn't use coloured hairspray.

Oh, okay, well, you could have. It was genuine paint that I'm aware of. But, I mean, it could technically become coloured hairspray. Yeah, that's true. Permanent. Yeah, it definitely could. I don't know that you ever want to try and wash that out. No, no, no.

Let's move on from that, though. Would you guys like to hear a five-star review that we received this week? Yes, please. Absolutely. We've been so lucky. there have been a few of them pop up recently, and I'm not going to lie, every time I read them, my heart is just so happy. This one is from SLP and they say, I can't say enough how grateful I am to have come across this podcast. As someone who grew up with a mum who lived paycheck to

paycheck and wasn't financially smart, I always believed that would be my narrative too, and I couldn't thrive financially. This podcast has gotten me excited about my family's finances and made me believe that I can thrive financially and change the narrative for my own kids. I always thought investing was a rich man's game, but Victoria has given me the confidence through this podcast to dive right in. It's been life-changing.

That's cool. Isn't that like the coolest thing in the entire world? That's amazing. I was trying to think of like what SLP would stand for and I came up with She Loves Podcasts was where I landed. I would love that you're like She Loves Podcasts. i'm like yeah so that's um sarah lee parkinson that would make so much more sense sarah jessica parker the sarah jessica parker i know jay is not the same as y'all but in my brain they look

exactly the same yeah it's like the automatic yeah it's like wow sarah jessica parker is writing in yeah well i feel like i'm really excited about this and i feel like our five star reviews they just like set the tone of the week totally like oh it's such a good finisher but my other favorite thing is our money wins and confession thread in our Facebook group. And every single week, Ms. Jessica Ricci gives us a wrap of some of either her favorites or the most popular ones. So Jess, what have you round up for us this week? All right, this week, we're starting with a solid but simple one from Katie. She said she sold her old fridge on Facebook Marketplace when they thought no one was going to buy it. That's a good money win. Just list it. You never know.

Just list it because then you don't have to take it anywhere yourself is what I think. I was talking to my dad about facebook marketplace the other day because he had a whole heap of old tools that he's like honestly i want to give them away yeah but i don't want to give them away because people on facebook marketplace are savages so he listed them for like 20 and then just gave them away when the people arrived and he was like oh i just can't be bothered like don't worry but like also it was because i didn't want crazy people who just wanted free stuff yeah yeah that's a great idea a little strategy very clever next one's day yeah next i've got a money win from lynn who said she set up an automatic savings debit about a year ago she checked it today and she's got just over 15

grand i'm sorry what lynn said she was in shock she was in shock because she didn't miss it i think so i think she must have just set and forget an amount that she wouldn't notice debiting away and then she had a little squiz and was like oh my goodness i actually have been killing it yeah well done i'm so happy when people find things that just work for them yeah that's great next I got a money win from Nadine who said I made $5.37 on shop back by playing the games after listening to Friday's episode. Thanks Beck. Oh my God. Yay. Oh, I'm so proud of you. Now I've got one from Devani who said money win. I've switched to fortnightly repayments from monthly repayments to save myself interest along the way. Smart. And then Desley got in the comments and said,

go to weekly. It'll be even better. It will be. Go daily. Owly. Imagine. How often can you do that i wonder if there's limits on like how frequently you can make those transfers oh yeah i also like where does your mental health come into play right sure yeah how do you live your life the limit does not exist just as like anything for free points absolutely next i've got a money win from indy who said i sent my first invoice for my small side business and also asked for a higher fee for the next booking with the same client after i realized how much prep and post time went into the first job yeah good yes queen I love that and it's always good to like reflect and be like okay we need to change this like in business you are always changing you

are never staying stagnant or the same yeah especially in the early days where like she said she's figuring out how much time and effort goes into things even just like invoicing like how long is that taking you that needs to be taken into consideration a hundred percent and then lastly I've got a money win from Tay this week who said we've been collecting the 10 cent cans and bottles I've asked my mum to save hers my fiance brings them home from his employees and we have been accumulating them so quickly and putting all the money aside for our daughter that is actually so good my niece and nephew collect them as well and now they have a separate bin so they've got like recycling they've got their rubbish and like their green waste but

then they have a separate bin and it's just for cans and things like so smart yeah even if it's just like an old box in the laundry or something that way you don't have to sort them I feel like it's a great way to be teaching kids about money too I feel like there's more to it like I feel like we need to create and like I'm putting the pressure on myself here by publicly sharing this but I have been thinking for ages about creating like a savings plan for kids so you know on our website how we have the goal tracker yes like that but it's like smaller amounts that kids can do that you can achieve with like collecting bottles and cans. Yeah, pocket money.

Yeah, exactly. And I feel like kids just need to learn about money earlier and it's not about how much they get, it's about what they're doing with it and how they feel about it. And it's like a little bit of work ethic in there too with the cans because they've got to save them up and then go and put them in a thing. Like I think that's quite clever. Yeah, and then it teaches them how to budget.

Like, you know, what are you saving for? Like let's talk to them about goal setting and like what's the difference between short-term and long-term goals? like you know if you wait a little longer you'll get something a little bit better like I think that's a good lesson to learn especially early on totally leave it definitely work on it oh leave it with me I've got plans now over to you Miss Bex Syed yes it is your turn to share your three broke tips what should bring you to the table so as always I have two from the community one from myself this first one comes from Vanessa who I feel like we've mentioned something similar

to this before but um I just thought I'd give it a go anyway but she said that uh if you are looking for bits and pieces for your car and I'm a big fan of these a car pick apart uh where you go in to the junkyard yourself and you find what you need you grab it I've gotten like little fuses and stuff out of like a fuse box which probably doesn't make a lot of sense to maybe some people even like mirrors um off cars like side mirrors can you take me there because I have a broken part on my what do you have oh well let me tell you oh my god please I still own my my first car that I bought yes because I can't part with it like and and just to like reverse a little bit I'm very grateful that I can still afford to keep it but if I sold it I maybe would get maximum

fifteen hundred dollars like it's still a lot of money it's still a lot of money but like it's not like I'm I've got like a thirty thousand dollar car sitting in the driveway I don't want people thinking that but there's also like this deep emotional attachment that I have you know my little Mercedes so it's a Mercedes she's really old yeah clearly cheap there's so many things on it that are broken but how do you know that that's going to work for all cars like do you have to get the same model well that's the thing VD is that all you have to do is google like if you have like my one's quite generic I just have a Toyota so like a lot of things can fit on it but if you even just take photos you can google your make and model in year and what kind of mirror you need

if you go through these like junkyards with you know the scrap parts and stuff so you try and find a model of car that you'd be surprised to see like there are so many in there that like it doesn't have to be the same year necessarily so many of my car in a junkyard now yeah and it doesn't have to be the same year um a lot of all of the time like a lot of the you know like even tires and stuff they have like different measurements and if you just look for roughly the same car and take photos of your car you can google it as well you are so resourceful i'm always yes what is the place called um so in melbourne it's called pick apart i was thinking pick apart yes pick and mix like the lollies yeah and it's oh my god for like people like me it is

like a lolly shop it's like oh my i'm so excited but even like the thing is even if you bring home a tire that doesn't fit you're like well now i know exactly what i'm looking for when i go back it is this measurement by this measurement it's very cheap i got fuses i got mirrors um i even got like little like those i can't remember the name of the terminology but the little lock thing uh if you open up your car you look on the side on the little lock stick i don't know i can't remember what they're called but um i like that you're looking at us as though we might yeah you guys know what i'm talking about but uh i got mostly all of it for free i feel like it's quite small they're just like i'll just take it like fuses and stuff just take it mirrors like five

bucks and in instead of going in to a mechanic who will oh i mean through the nose it is in the Fair enough. A lot of labor. I mean, it can be a lot of labor, so I understand, but yeah, just do that and Google how to fix it yourself. So I think it's a great broke tip. The other one comes from a friend who went on a date recently and the date took her to this little like pizza shop, like a hole in the wall. And there was a deal that was like two large pieces and a drink and something like that for X amount of money. And the date and her went and sat and ate these pizzas. The date only ate her pizza and then took a whole pizza home with the drink. And so my broke tip for this week is to- Sorry, what? Hold on, hold on, hold on. Finish the broke tip and then we'll

come back. I'm so sorry. Call it in. My broke tip this week, or my friend's broke tip, I should say, is first of all, pretend you're not hungry. And second of all, only eat the date, other date's food. Third of all, try and find a place that will do a deal. That way you get to go home with a whole ass meal and a whole family size drink absolutely not definitely not a second date there's no second date right that we never know no but like this friend how did they feel well it's honestly I think the the majority majority being just me was kind of impressed kind of impressed and I respect that yeah I kind of respect it would I be going on another day with you probably not. No. Daddy is just, daddy's next level. A good story to tell. And so I feel like

experience, cha-ching, and free pizza, cha-ching. Okay. All right. All right. That's a really beautiful broke tip. Thank you. Yeah, that's stunning. And mine. Oh, yep. And yours. Yes. I'm hoping yours is better. Yeah. Well, I don't think it is. And in fact, maybe it's worse than everything you've ever heard before, but I don't know if this is bad or not, but I, when I drive right now, I've been like kind of broke. I, well, what am I talking about right now? I feel like I'm always kind of broke, but I have noticed, and I don't know if this is, I don't know if this is like bad for my car or not, but I've noticed that when it's only for manual drivers, when I'm driving, it doesn't matter what speed I'm doing. If I can safely be in fifth gear without my car

stalling I'm talking like over 50 kilometers an hour I know people tend to be on the freeway before they put their car in fifth gear I know this also doesn't really make a lot of sense you guys don't really know I'm so embarrassed right now strictly an auto girl that's so fair for my manual drivers be in fifth gear unless it's like you're about to stall stay in fifth gear because your engine is not working as hard and you will save petrol it's my broke tip your broke tip is stay in fifth gear stay in fifth gear I have nothing to add to that because I don't even know what my car does no I feel like it's bad for my car it's so embarrassing but I have legitimately no idea I'm embarrassed because I brought some things that I feel envious because my sister got

to learn in a manual so she can drive a manual and I immediately like there are rules in life that are just like they're rules like no one said that it was a real rule but it exists right like how the number 25 that's a pointy number yes it is yeah I would agree with that and 26 round exactly yeah exactly like i don't make the rules but that's a rule um another rule people who drive manual immediately cooler no see manual is a manual car is a big part of my personal law i don't know what is it for you oh we're gonna learn the jess law so my parents insisted that i learned to drive in a manual car because my mum said like what if there's an emergency and the only car available is a manual car what are you going to do die or like my dad used to say

like what are you going to do if you don't learn your times tables you're not always going to have a calculator in your pocket oh look how that worked down eric um so i started to learn to drive a manual car i hated it i didn't like it i was not very good at it and then one day we were driving we took a long road trip and we drove over train tracks and i stalled and the boom gates started coming down and i started to have a panic attack because i'm as a normal person would and at the time my anxiety was also undiagnosed so like I like it was like curtains for me I was like this is it I die in my train in this moment anyway obviously we were fine mum got the car going we got off the tracks it was all good but I literally pulled over to the side of the road I got out of

the car and I looked her dead in the eye and I said over my dead body will I ever drive a manual car ever again wow haven't touched one since wow that really is Jess law isn't it that actually kind of gave me goosebumps yeah fifth year don't know her like i don't know nor will i ever no i'd rather die on the train tracks wow anyway jess i'm so sorry in an emergency we're running there yeah yeah get on my back i'll piggyback you to the hospital like whatever i'll run away from the murderer i thought you meant running to death in an emergency i will admit my fate yeah the thought of driving a manual car just triggers my anxiety something shocking now i understand I understand I understand I thought you were also going to say that like manual drivers it's like

the whole identity like people that drink espresso that's just like everybody else manual drivers are cooler like they're just cooler like they're just they they've just got their lives together I can't do that I am not one of you I could see Alex being a driver now that you say that yeah exactly yeah my sister Alex is just much cooler than I ever will be and it's been the way like that's been the way of the world forever she's cooler than me it's subjective you will literally say oh i see what you were talking about right i remember saying to jess yeah i remember saying to jess before she met my sister i was like my sister is much cooler than i'll ever be and she's like yeah sure sure sure and then after she's like yeah you're right you know when you like

don't want someone to meet someone because you're like they're you're gonna think they're funnier than cool like i like having a cool sister oh that's good it's way better than going oh my sister's weird like yeah that's true like I don't want to be like oh sorry it's like when you're watching maths like I would be mortified if my sister maybe she does introduces uh me as like oh yeah my sister's controversial like oh my sister's it's got melancholic music playing in the captions yeah like I don't want people to say I'm so sorry yeah I wonder what you would be on maths. Anyway. All right. Let's go to a really quick break because on the flip side, we're going to be talking about activity statements. Very exciting. What happens? What are you going to do

when you get one from the ATO? Who are you going to call? She's on the money. That's who you're going to call. And we're also going to be talking about something that you slid into our DMs about. This week, we're talking about whether you should stay in a job with a culture that overworking is the norm. So guys, don't go anywhere. Welcome back, everybody. Let's take a listen to this week's Money Dilemma. Hi there. Have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve? The She's on the Money team is here to help. Every week, we tackle your dilemmas, both big and small, to answer your most burning money, career and life questions. To get involved, simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you

might just find yourself on the show. Now, let's take a listen to this week's Money Dilemma. Hi, she's on the money. I've just received an activity statement through the ATO. I've never had this before. I'm assuming it's because my bank interest was quite high on my last tax return, which left me owing a fair bit more tax than had been estimated throughout the year. because I've never had this before I'm not really sure what it is I assume it's just to kind of give the ATO tax throughout the year rather than having a larger balance at the end of the year but all the information I can find about it online is more so directed at sole traders which doesn't apply to me there wasn't really a lot of information shared just an activity statement

saying I owed x amount of money by the end of the month I was just wondering if you could sort of explain what this is and maybe provide some information. Thanks. I thought it was a business thing. I didn't know it wasn't a business thing. So there you go. I'm learning something today too because I get activity statements. So an activity statement and a business activity statement are two different things. Okay. There you go. Tell us more. Which is exciting and they are used to kind of report and pay like a number of different tax obligations but then also business obligations and what would have happened is if you're an individual like if she's a business like same kind of applies but usually a BAS or a business activity statement or a BAS or whatever you want

to call it it's a statement that you get and some companies pay them quarterly some pay them monthly like for example she's on the money pays their business activity statement like I pay tax every single month and that to me is actually a relief because I'm like okay cool what tax do I oh I feel like I'm on top of it like it's kind of like a little check-in every month I'm doing financials anyway it's just like I feel like my house is really clean and I didn't like this is just me personally but I didn't like when I was paying basses quarterly because I felt like it was a really big chunk of money like I want to just get rid of it like if it's not my money and it's in my bank account I actually want to get rid of it sooner rather than later because like

it's sitting there and watching it going like oh like what's going on anyway you as an individual may get an activity statement if in the last year your payable tax was actually more than what your employer deducted. So it's actually to protect you. And the same is for BAS. Like the ATO isn't doing BAS because they're like, oh, we don't trust that you won't pay your tax. It's so that you don't get a rude surprise at tax time and what might have happened. And it might be all of the things she suggested, but more probable is just that there was a discrepancy between what your employer said you were going to have to pay in tax and what they deducted and paid on your behalf and then you got a big tax bill it's to actually stop that happening in the future because there

must be a reason why so the way tax is calculated and to be clear I am not an accountant so you might need to or you should talk to your accountant but the way tax is calculated is on an average right so if you had a month where you earned heaps of money and you are employed your employer would deduct a heap more but then the next month what if you didn't work or you went on unpaid leave then when the ATO looks at your annual income they spread that out over all of the months and then go oh well you know if in one month you know let's pretend you had a taxable income of 30% which is the most normal in Australia but one month you like made bank and you jumped up a marginal tax bracket for that month and your employer withheld more tax

then later down the track when the ATO is doing your tax return they're like oh you didn't actually earn more than 180 grand Jess like you actually earned less but we taxed you at that amount because that's what you did that month so we're actually going to give you a refund the opposite could be true and it could just be out of sync and they're just protecting you and that's what an activity statement would do it's so that you check in more regularly and you're not going to get a rude surprise so is it is it possible that the employer say for example they're paying you a hundred dollars a week and they're like we're putting thirty dollars a week to we're sending out to tax but they only sent like fifteen dollars yeah but they said that they're sending

thirty is that sometimes a situation like is that why that's illegal um yeah they should not be doing that no but is that possibly what it's not going to have the same ramifications it's business not paying tax not using like yeah that's a whole different oh okay but it's very important to make sure that your employer is paying their tax and your super and all of that which is why we need to read our pay slips and understand our pay slips and i think that there's actually going to be an episode coming up of me just breaking down a pay slip i know that that's really basic for some people but for lots of you you might be like i don't actually know what these things mean or like why does it say this many hours here I felt like I had it like we're just

going to go through line by line all the things that could be possibly on your payslip and I think that'll be a really good super helpful yeah that's very cool also if the in case this person you know accepts their fate and is like well I gotta pay this you can pay by installments yeah you can always just call the ATO up and have a chat with them and even ask them hey what was the specific reason I got an activity statement and they might be able to open your file and have a chat with you about it. More often than not, it's literally just because that discrepancy exists. I know she was like, oh, it might've been because of this or that. It could literally be because you're a good investor. And like, let's say you were a really great investor and you had a heap of shares that

performed really well. So therefore you went up a tax bracket, but your employer, they don't know your personal business or what you're investing in. So you've only paid X amount of tax, but at tax time you owe a little bit more. Sure. It's a good problem to have like paying more tax as much as it hurts and it's not fun it's a good problem to have and paying it more regularly means that you're not going to get stung come June 30th yeah yeah yeah should we enter the juicy stuff are you ready guys all right I have a DM for you hi queens I'm currently doing a job that's draining me imagine a consulting job where you are paid for 37 and a half hours but end up working 50 hours a week to make sure the job is done no one forces you to but everyone does it and then

expects you to do it? I'm currently in the process of applying for permanent residency. Exciting. And I can do so thanks to one year working as a consultant. Although I love my team and currently have financial security, my mental health has never been so low. I have zero work life balance and almost no time for hobbies. When the weekend comes, I'm so tired I just stay home. question is would you quit and prioritize mental health although it would make it harder for you to find another job as a not yet permanent resident what would you do oh I really am so strongly against this culture of like it's expected that you stay back and you work late and you work extra hours it is so bad it's gross and where did it come from and why is it there

why does it exist? Because if you're paying me for these amount of hours and you're doing your job in those hours, if you're severely overworked and you must work overtime, that's a problem with the company. It's not a problem with you. It's probably the company not actually hiring enough people to keep up with all the work. I should never, ever, ever fall on any person to ever have to pick up. So I don't like it. And I think you need to get the hell out of there. But did it did did this person mention how long they have left until the one year okay well if you if you I feel like if you're close enough maybe stick it out and just like just honestly like just deal with it for now the feeling of like oh everyone kind of hates me because I'm not doing more hours

because honestly they're the ones who will eventually be like deeply deeply sad about the fact that they wasted so much of their free time not spending time with their family not spending their time with their friends, not going out and seeing the sun. Isn't it crazy that we don't see the sun for most of the week? I don't like it. You must leave. This is not a normal way to live your life. We should not be working more hours than we are expected to every now and then, of course. But at the same time, every now and then leave early. Just don't tell anyone, whatever. So it all comes out in the wash. If it's like, I remember one time my friend, her boss said, the only criticism I have is that you never work late. What do you mean? What is that?

Like what is, why? You just told me I do my job. Exactly. Do you mean I'm efficient, I do my job? Why should anyone be expected to work late? It's so bad. If you see our team at work late, there's literally nothing going on except espresso martinis and it's usually on Thursdays.

Totally. And I regret nothing for that decision. Totally. It's like some people think that like I'm shocked that you want to go and live your life outside of these four walls. Absolutely not. and it's up to the managers as well to be enforcing that yeah obviously that's I would assume being driven by management but like it's also up to management to nip that in the butt

and make sure that your team have a good work-life balance because otherwise you're going to burn them out yeah like at the end of the day literally a terrible business decision you're going to see higher turnover less engagement like and you know what I used to work as a culture and engagement consultant and businesses see 50% higher shareholder return when you have engaged employees. Yes, exactly right. I'm so sorry. One more thing. The only other thing I was going to say was that because it's 37.5 hours, I'm assuming that means that you're not getting paid for your breaks, which also means you're still in the area. You're probably still in the office when you're taking your break. So you're giving them X amount of time. Yeah, 50 hours a week at

least yeah that's a bargain for your employer it's ridiculous so like okay you're not paying me for this amount of time so that's the extra time that's the extra time when I'm still not at home I'm still not seeing my friends I'm still not seeing my family still not doing things that I like to do so there's the extra time you have it you're not paying me for my breaks don't do any even a nanosecond uh later than what you have to get out of there leave ASAP Jess what are you doing I think like there is you have to acknowledge that there is unfortunately a really strong culture of this particularly in corporate like I can think of two jobs that I've had specifically that had very much on the money and then Zella no no no but very much had the same culture and

similarly I had a manager talk to me once about the fact that I always left right on time um and I was like sorry like what of it anyway what I don't think it's right I completely agree maybe it's a reflection of you manager yeah like it shouldn't be the norm at all but I think the The risk adverse part of me says that you should stick it out until your permanent residency comes through because I know that there are a lot of hoops to jump through. I know someone through someone that's recently had like they left their workplace, they're having to leave the country

because like they couldn't get a job. I just think you've put in so much time already and knowing that it can be difficult to find companies that are willing to sponsor or willing to do whatever, it adds a layer of complication and stress that would, do you know what I mean? Like you'd kind of be trading one kind of stress for another. I don't know how far you have left to go until you hit your residency. I personally would make the decision to stick it out until it was secured. And then I'd be booking it out of there. Yeah. I'm the, I'm the same. And in most

situations I'd say absolutely not. Like you are not going to stay in this job that, you know, is depleting you, but there's obviously a bigger picture in mind. First, never quit a job before having another job especially when you're in a risky situation but then the second one is let's embrace this concept of quiet quitting oh absolutely let's just start enforcing the fact that I have to leave early you can lie like I'm gonna let you lie yes say that you've got appointments say you've taken up a hobby after work sorry on Thursdays I have to leave at five yes and also start taking your sick days because they don't get paid out start taking them now and sick days I think lots of people just go I need to take a sick day because I have

a really bad flu and I'm in bed your sick days cover your mental health like if you need to go all right well I'm actually going to take a sick day today because I just need the space mentally because I cannot return to the office on Monday without having an extra day this weekend yeah that is a sick day to me and your doctor can give you a certificate to cover that if that's required check your contract like this is me maybe not being a good employers aren't going to like me but I don't care check your contract how often are they going to be asking for six certificates like obviously if they're going to ask and this is not me saying abuse the policy but sometimes companies are like oh any sick days need a six certificate some companies will say oh six

certificates are required if you have more than three days off so just know that as well just so that you've got a little bit of flexibility, but using your sick days, asking for some more accommodations. Can you work from home? Can you do some stuff around that? Also just going, oh, sorry, I don't have the capacity for that. Like you can also just stand your ground a little bit more and it's quite hard to do, but saying, oh, thanks so much for that work. You've just allocated me Beck. You know, there's so much on my plate right now that, you know, with this additional thing, I'm not going to be able to do all of that this week. What ones did you want me to prioritize? and just like starting to slowly push back and be like oh actually that's not feasible because I

think in those cultures you just get a yes mentality you go oh yep no worries oh yep no worries but when are we pushing back when are we saying oh actually like which ones did you want me to prioritize because like there's actually not enough capacity yeah you should have hired someone else totally I will say mentally prepare yourself it goes one of two way with cultures like this either everyone resents it and you might find that when you start pushing back other people start pushing back or you might find that people are a little bit unkind about it yeah so I would say just be mentally prepared yeah that's so true because yeah if I think back to the job that I had where it was very much the norm you know when I wasn't willing to participate in those types of

things or I was like no I'm not coming out to after work drinks because I don't really like you guys and like I've spent enough time working and whatever you know or whatever it was like the reception was not like the nicest and like that's not your fault. That's reflective of them not you. A hundred percent it is but it's just something I wanted to say because I think like if you're already not in a great space mentally facing like additional adversity might make you feel a little bit shittier but that's as exactly as you said that's not on you. A hundred percent. Do we want to talk about what the community had to say? Absolutely. Yes. All right so we asked the community what would you do if you were in this situation? Twelve percent of you said quit and

prioritize mental health. 26% said stay and set boundaries. 35% said stick it out, but start job hunting. And 27% said write it out until you get PR, then reassess. It's quite a split. It is a split, but I feel like the split is really across like being a little bit more conservative than like quitting and focusing on mental health, which as we all know, like that's a privilege to do in itself like not many people are in a position where you can go oh just quit my job yeah like I'm sorry like I wish that we were and that's why we have emergency funds and stuff and totally we're going to build towards that but I would say 99% of people can't just quit and prioritize their mental health we have to have some strategies at play yeah next question we asked was have you ever

worked in a place where overworking was part of the culture surely it's like 99% said yeah sure No, it's actually 81. 81% of people said, yep, I definitely have. Isn't that so sad? So gross. I know. 13% of you said, no, I haven't worked anywhere like that. You lucky ducks.

Lucky. And 6% of you said, I'm in that situation right now. Oh, no, get out. Yeah. Then we said to the community, give us your two cents. First person said, this is two-parter. Two-parter. trust me unless you have another pr pathway see an immigration lawyer wait until you have that

visa enjoy your freedom once you can also enjoy the security of the pr yeah fair it's true next person said participating in free labor is what normalizes it stop immediately true easier said than done i know i wish it wasn't but it is next person said that was me i quit and found another job. PR has taken longer, but it was worth my mental health. That's great to know that it's worked for someone. Yeah. Also, I like that you found someone else that supported it as well. Yes. Next person said, experiencing work-life balance post-burnout is wholeheartedly the best thing ever. Another person said, as for me, I'm starting an online course and doing job hunting while I continue working there. So trying to upskill while they're looking for something

different. That's a good idea. Yep. Another person said the extra hours aren't worth it. There is no benefit for yourself only for that company. Exactly. And then I'm just going to give you one more. And it was, I was her, I studied, I got a new job. It was so scary, but now couldn't be happier. Great. I love that so much. And I feel like that's a really great place to leave it guys. What a week, what a new studio, what a vibe. I love it. We just sound better sitting on these couches yeah i love it here all right guys i hope you have a really beautiful weekend and we will see you bright and early on monday morning for a money diary till then bye bye the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your

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