Culture at ACT Government

The culture within Argon is quite relaxed and flat in terms of hierarchy. Those in upper management or in the leadership team actively make themselves available and approachable to those who may be earlier in the careers. We often have social activities and get together, which allows you to get to know your colleagues and build relationships outside of work. People are also very understanding that we have lives outside of work so it is not always the expectation that people stay for after work activities.

I can't really comment on the wider culture of the ACTPS as I believe that graduates aren't necessarily exposed to it. However, the social connections that have developed out of the graduate program has been amazing. I've developed some good friendships which has been a great bonus, especially moving to a new state.

The TCCS team is very social which is nice. While there is a hierarchy within the team, everyone is equally able to contribute and have their work valued. However, generally, I get misgendered frequently which, as a trans person, is distressing when it happens. I hope ACT gov culture changes to make it more common for people to share their own and respect people's pronouns.

The culture in each of my rotations has been very welcoming and friendly. We looked up to our supervisors/directors/branch managers for guidance and help, but socially the structure felt very flat and not hierarchical. This makes it easy to socialise and makes teamwork smoother. In my first two rotations there was no interaction between staff after hours, but in my current one the staff frequently commit to social activities on weekends and after work.

Grads are a cohesive and social bunch. Frequent employer organised social events. More frequent post-work beers

Very good. In my current team they are lovely people. They achieve a nice balance between being friendly and close while at the same time maintaining professional structure and boundaries.

Company culture was unremarkable overall but better than other workplaces I have experienced. Culture between teams, divisions and directorates is different though. Rotation 1: - rigid, somewhat risk-adverse - small team - senior director reported to deputy director general as opposed to traditional hierarchy - limited socialising - no after hours contact and work Rotation 2: - expectations of self-sufficiency, casual - medium sized team - siloed work between team members but collaboration with other teams generally required - reasonably traditional structure and hierarchy - socialising limited between some team members - no after hours contact and work Rotation 3 (to date): - sociable, casual, welcoming - medium sized team - some collaboration for work with other team members and teams - reasonably traditional structure and hierarchy - socialising in office - no after hours contact and work as yet

R1: I think the work seemed a bit silo'd off. I wish I knew more on how each person's role and tasks interrelated. I also think this might be because of the subject matter being so wide. R2: I think they were too meeting heavy. Office days were frequently made up of 4+ hours of meetings which I think nobody is able to realistically do.

Education, particularly Early Childhood Policy, was extremely supportive and deliberately integrated team building into regular processes, leading to high levels of cohesion and a positive atmosphere. CMTEDD does these things much less, if at all, to its detriment.

In the office it is very collaborative. Hierarchy exists from a approval and process perspective but I very regularly work with people of all levels. Everyone is really supportive and likes to do social stuff after work hours.

The culture I experienced at CMTEDD is less than adequate. I feel it is a psychologically unsafe space and while it promotes itself as being inclusive and diverse, it does not practice it. Graduates are treated poorly and devalued. I was given work many levels above my pay grade and expected to work ridiculous hours to get work done to a very short deadline that was overdue and handed to me when it was already past its due date. Many people I met that worked there talked of feeling the same and feeling very overworked and stressed. The hierarchy is very obvious and the higher ups do not talk to the lower downs. This is not my experience at other directorates.

The culture is great.

Whilst there is a hierarchy in place, and certain clearance processes need to be followed, there hierarchy is not super noticeable. By this I mean that the senior executives usually sit out with the rest of the staff, and you are welcome and encouraged to engage with them at any time. Team members always offer to lend a hand when another team may be short staffed or overloaded with work, when they have capacity.

Culture is exceptional. People are really lovely. A lot of female / diverse leaders. A lot of genuine care shown to me moving cities to make sure I was okay in and outside of work. Super encouraging of diverse voices.

The culture seems none existent in this office outside of branch meetings - there is not after-hours engagement. Very little socialising opportunities, and when they do come about, a lot of people have work they are worrying about and therefore spend very little time attending social events, which can involve something like a lunch BBQ.

The teams I have worked with are respectful and supportive during work hours. However, there is not so much socialising after hours. It's hard for me to tell as I am not in the loop socially with colleagues.

Depends on directorate and how invested those at the top are in fostering a positive culture in all aspects.

There is a relatively good culture at ACTPS and in my experience, at MPC. A lot more could be done to break down silos and diffuse barriers between executive and working staff. Systems are outdated, I think new starters would find it difficult to connect if they weren't a graduate. Resourcing could be better allocated as well. I think there are some teams with more than enough staff, and others with not nearly enough. More agile culture needs to exist where as people are more free, that have not only the ability but the capability to support other teams as needed or feed into a support network to help others. Ultimately one of the biggest drivers of under-resourcing is where one's substantive work is much greater than another's, but they have the same reporting requirements. Reporting can be burdensome. It's important but needs to align better with staff's lived realities in their work. Having a rigid executive top-down requirement to report is completely out of touch with the lived experience of someone's day-to-day.

There is a great culture of working together, and people are always happy to have a meeting to discuss ideas or give advice. In most areas the hierarchy is not too strong, people at senior levels are very approachable, and are keen to hear ideas from all levels.

the teams are co-operative and friendly. the branch is under the restructure so there is kiosk on the hierarchy. I am new to the team so did not get chance to socialise.