Moving from an Australian company to an American company is a bit of a culture shock, I have worked for Americans before, so I know they operate on big budgets and no expense is spared.

Unlike Australian companies dominated by accountants whose only goal is to constantly slash costs and conditions, American companies seem to be far more generous in my opinion. Of course you need accountants, just don t let them run the company. I understood this when I stepped on the company jet at O.R. Tamo International Airport, they really fly a jet aircraft. Sure, I used to fly to site with Australian companies, they are generally propeller aircraft operated by small aviation companies with tight budgets.

Flying to the assembly/departure destination at Johannesburg, after the initial six month probation period they then fly all staff to point of hire business class. They pay well so they attract the best talent, they look after staff and staff turnover is generally low while morale is high. So, after my probation period I can look forward to business class travel, being put up in pretty decent hotels when I am in transit and meals paid. I think I am going to get very used to this lifestyle, it is going to be hard to go back to what I was doing before – that’s for sure.

My final day of employment in the Western Australian government began with 4 hours of sick leave on Friday morning. I was departing for South Africa at 11:45 the next evening and I still hadn’t had my Yellow Fever vaccination.

This was cutting it close but not that close, it was mid January and we were unable to obtain the required vaccination as I guess the live culture was in short supply due to the Christmas shutdown period. Through the medical centre, they had tracked down a single dose of the vaccine that was held a a pharmacy – that was a lucky break. We nearly had to delay my mobilisation to site, I would then have to wait another week – a terrible outcome.

I had been waiting weeks for the vaccine but the lab was unable to supply, I was getting concerned as the last thing I wanted was to be stopped at the border and denied entry into the country. This was not how I wanted to start a new job, detained at the border requiring assistance from company representatives. I had decided to return to work for two weeks in 2019 despite holding a firm offer of employment, I would be able to use some of my professional leave for 2019 and 4 of the 16 hours of non-accruing sick leave.

My accruing sick leave stood at 165 days that I had accumulated over the years, I couldn’t cash that in, but I had always kept a reserve in case of major illness, I am careful in such an instance as I am getting older and suffered some slight illness. So everything was now in order, I had dinner and drinks at my parents house Friday night, sailing Saturday afternoon and then head home, pack my bags and head to the airport. Life is pretty good, I have no complaints, I am off on my next adventure and I am really looking forward to this next phase of my life.

I came to work Friday three hours late, it was planned as I had my final appointment booked for my medical, I still didn’t have clearance to travel to site, that happened after midday. I received notification during the afternoon when I checked my email at 4 pm, then I knew I was going. I forwarded the notification and prepared myself for the next step, the contract was now live.

I took a class, it was tuning diesel engines that involved inline pump timing, rotary pump timing, mechanical injector setting, EUI setting and finally hydraulic injector testing. This was a routine class for me but it felt nothing like a routine class, when you know you are finished there is a sense of relief that you don’t need to do this anymore. Naturally, I was counting down the sessions with four hours to go, two hours to go and then thirty minutes to go, this was it – I was done.

When I walked back into the staff room it was almost empty, that’s exactly what I wanted as there were just three people left, one left early and as I checked my computer for the final time, I walked through the near empty staff room and headed for the door. I shook two hands and walked out, didn’t look back and headed towards the bus stop. This is exactly the way I wanted to leave, no discussion, no fanfare and I would have been happy to not see anyone. What I wanted to do was walk out, disconnect and never look back and my first action was to do exactly that – I walked out the door and kept walking.

The role of the manager is to get the job done through the efforts of others; therefore, the manager’s task is to elicit superior performance through the efforts of the team they lead. Seems pretty simple so far, so how does it all go so wrong?

So, according to CIPHR’s research, the manager controls more than half of staff happiness, yet why do poorly trained managers fare so badly in aspects of organisational behaviour? I believe it should be mandatory for all managers to receive tertiary level training in organisational behaviour. Non-recognition of effort sends a pretty clear message of why bother; furthermore, allowing non-performing staff members to keep doing what they are doing reinforces the demotivational forces.

In these days of flat organisational structures after years of downsizing, overworking of team members is mandatory and people accept that, what they don’t accept is a lack of employee care. Not honouring commitments and dishonesty are clear demotivational forces that don’t really require discussion yet present in most workplaces. When managers hire and promote the wrong people, everyone in the team suffers motivational, attitudinal and finally productivity issues. Along with a lack of coaching and staff development, the lack of constructive feedback hinders team and individual performance.

Finally, the lack of an intellectual challenge after being stuck in the same job could be addressed by job rotation allowing creativity to prosper. Micro-managing employees leads to a lack of trust that flows into every decision undertaken with team members just biding time until another opportunity presents. A poor manager hinders creativity in the team, motivation suffers and productivity is much lower that what it should be, this is a factor that prudent managers must address. 

I’m done, after 13 years in a state government position, it is time to return to private enterprise. Even after nearly a decade and a third in the government I still don’t think like a government worker and I hope I not viewed as a typical government worker.

I possess an entrepreneurial mindset and the slow mechanisms of government infuriate me, the opportunity to provide a taxpayer funded service is hindered by the bureaucratic infighting and empire building that plagues the sector. I have opportunities presenting in a recovering economy, I don’t want to run the risk of being viewed as institutionalised and unemployable in the private sector anymore. Yet, I know how to apply for positions in the government sector and I can always return should I want to see my career out in a government managerial position.

As an Advanced Skills Lecturer I had a pretty good position but it wasn’t enough, there was no further opportunities for me, the white-anting, undermining and backstabbing that occurs in the government has to been seen to be believed. I’m getting out of a safe and stable job that is slowly suffocating me.

I have ten years left in the workforce before I can access my retirement benefits, I have a decade to set myself up and retire. Most people do not have the opportunity to officially retire at 60 as a self-funded retiree. Instead, they have to keep working until they are 67 before they can draw a government pension that leaves most on or below the poverty line. I have a decade to ensure this isn’t me.

So it’s chino shorts for fashion and cargo shorts for utility. I can’t believe cargo shorts have been copping such a bad wrap by the fashion police, I reckon they look pretty good on the right person, the sporty outdoors type.

I don’t dispute chino shorts are the better option in a more formal setting, if indeed you can wear shorts out formally. What I mean is on a hot summer’s day in an outdoor party, drinks, races, lunch or barbecue, the chino shorts look best. Whenever I am out in South East Asia, the look is mostly casual anyway and the extra pockets are more than handy for carrying what I need so I don’t need to carry a backpack around as keys, sun glasses, wallet and mobile phones all fit in pockets. The fashion police can make their rules, only the easily influenced will heed them.

Ray Ban is a brand I really identify with, I love the style and my preference is the glass lens as opposed to the plastic generally on offer – the style is timeless.

The Wayfarer is the style I identify with. A number of years back my Ray Ban glasses were broken and I sought some driving glasses to keep in my glove box. I ended up with these wrap around glasses that made me look as if I was a member of a motorcycle gang. Naturally I sought out Ray Ban but the just couldn’t deliver the style I wanted.

Since then I have purchased another set of Ray Ban glasses in the Wayfarer style that carry the Ray Ban name but feel a whole lot more flimsy than I normally experience with Ray Ban. Notwithstanding, since I have checked out Wayfarer glasses in shops I notice that they always carry the Wayfarer name on the inside of the frame where as mine do not. So I went out and purchased a new set of Wayfarer glasses – I’m happy again.

I have spent the last twelve years back and forth to the Philippines as I had a terrific holiday regime through my former employer. I had amazing diving adventures during that time, the Philippines is my favourite South-East Asian country to dive.

After thirteen years of employment I have now resigned am poised to take up another position for an international firm with a reasonably generous leave roster for an international position. During those travels I have been able to visit countless beaches and enjoy the Philippine beach lifestyle. I have ten years to save for retirement, I need to start planning now.

I am considering living part of the year overseas during my retirement phase of life, I will consider a number of options including both renting and buying in the Philippines. The cost of apartments in Manila is outrageous, similar to developed countries despite the labour content being considerably less, I would suggest the price of land to be less too, even in a major centre.

The possibility to be able to purchase a property in a provincial area is very appealing to me. The Philippines frequently cites there are 7107 islands in the archipelago with some outstanding islands and beaches at these islands. Admittedly I would prefer an apartment in a centre like Manila despite the high density living and pollution as I have spent some time living in regional areas. I can head down to the beach every day if I select an island carefully.

That being said, the reduced cost of living in provincial areas coupled with a retirement pension converted from AUD to PHP is very alluring. Naturally I would need to be very selective in both the region and the island. I would want enough of a population to have access to facilities such as medical, recreation and groceries. I still have plenty of time to research and select a property as long it is at the right price as I am only allowed to own a 49% stake.

Mobile phones are a great device; they act as a calendar, an organiser, a document writer and editor, eBook, a tool to connect to the internet, a message tool and even sometimes a telephone.

Yet, people can’t leave their phone alone, they walk around weaving all over the place, getting in people’s way and obstructing the flow of pedestrian traffic. This even involves crashing into people, stationary objects or even mobile objects such as motor vehicles. I don’t understand why people can’t put their phone down while they are walking. They are not only a hazard to themselves, they are a hazard to others around them. Just stop and get out of the way, pull to the side and lean against a wall, a rail, sign post or tree – just get out of the way. I hate it, it is so rude as people only care about themselves these days.

I am looking forward to retirement, I want to give it away and work part-time, volunteer more and maybe undertake some more study. Naturally, my ROI will be zero so I will have to choose a subject that will challenge me intellectually.

Maybe this is the time to undertake an arts degree, critical thinking, philosophy or creative writing. I used to ugh at some of the university degrees but may find myself at least taking some units. What I know it won’t be is business or engineering. I could take up painting or woodworking; forget metalwork, I did that to earn a paycheck. I think I may take up some part-time work at Bunnings (a national hardware store) as I have seen plenty of old guys working there, I guess to supplement their pension or self-funded retirement account and keep active.

I am considering a similar pathway, when you are semi-retired you don’t feel the stress of the job, you are providing advice and serving customers. You work part-time and just learn your job tasks making a small income to ease the burden on your finances. I’m even thinking of becoming a barista, there is an art to coffee, you can be a little creative and I can talk coffee to interested people. Really, all I need to do is keep myself busy during the day, a challenge is required and a little income is always helpful. I am warming more to becoming a barista the more I think about it.