Work etiquette in Australia is unique. Our common description as being ‘laid -back’ is known in a lot of countries but we are also regarded as very hard working.
According to ‘Great Managers’, Australian workers like to socialise in the workplace as well as keep things quite casual. It was also noted that Australians are very hard working and don’t say no to extra work.
A survey about Australia’s workplace culture was conducted to a group of new arrivals to the country. Here is what they found:
Australians get an early start
For most employees in Australia, they arrive to work by 8:30am or even earlier. And on the whole, Australians tend to work longer hours than people in other cultures. We are very efficient and get a lot of work done during work hours.
We rarely say no to extra work
It was noted in the survey that Australians rarely say no to extra work. We seem to make time to fit everything in and generally say “no worries” to any additional work that comes our way.
Australians value punctuality
Many foreigners working in Australia noted that people are sticklers for punctuality. Because there is a lot of work to get done in the day, time management is very important to Australians.
There’s less hierarchy in the workplace
According to the survey results, Australians don’t place as much value on office hierarchy. Employees enjoy the same treatment and there’s a strong emphasis on being a ‘team player’ rather than focusing on the individual.
Australians speak their mind
Ok, probably no surprises with this one but we are more likely to speak our mind when compared to other countries.
Executives often encourage their staff to give input and share their thoughts – so another difference to offshore work environments.
We use slang terms
Australians are known to shorten words and use a lot of slang in everyday office talk. For example, people will say “arvo” instead of “afternoon” and “doco” rather than “document.”
For someone who is new to the country this form of language can be quite unusual but for us Aussies, it’s common practice!
So, the summary of the survey is that Australians know how to work hard… but also how to relax and enjoy themselves!
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