A Bit to Think About

July gave us a range of topics to mull over - an increasing number of restructures across companies in AusCorp, the grilling that the Big 4 got in front of the Senate Inquiry and the latest Barbie/Oppenheimer memes.

At TAC HQ, we recently launched AusCorp Jobs, which provides our community with a sleek jobs board listing open positions across law, consulting, finance, tech etc at the biggest companies in Australia. Drop us an email if you’re interested in partnering with us and if you are looking for a new gig, do check it out weekly for the latest curated listings!

💡 Brain’s Trust - conversations in AusCorp

Rewind and Repeat

Coming off the back of blistering demand for labour during the pandemic, we’ve been hearing a lot more about company restructures and redundancies. For many of you that may remember 2008, we went through a similar boom and bust with power shifting from employee to employer.

Why is it interesting?

Both prior to the GFC and during the height of the pandemic, business boomed. As a result, companies needed extra staff and employers fought fiercely for talent. So much so that during the pandemic, even graduates were able to negotiate higher pay and sign-on bonuses with absolutely zero relevant work experience (something that has been pretty unheard of). Fast forward to 2023, and the labour market has tightened, with restructures and redundancies being common themes so far this year (particular in support / business / back-office departments).

But we’ve seen this before. Companies overhire, stretch their budget and need to cut. Luckily, the labour market still remains relatively robust. Despite this, it’s clear that the balance of power is starting to slowly shift back to employers.

Almost as a natural consequence, the expectations set by companies (and in particular, working from home and bonuses) are being reset. Through deliberate messaging and crafty PR, we are starting to see more calls for a return to office, lower pay rises and will probably see benefits slowly erode over the next year or so. The question is however, exactly how long will this go for?

Hollywood Recession Indicator?

Heard about the growing strikes in Hollywood recently? This has been happening for around three months! Film and TV writers are wanting a larger share of on-demand streaming profits and rallying against an A.I. use in the industry.

Why is it interesting?

The Writers Guild of America, who started the current strike activity, have only gone on strike four times in 42 years and each time appeared to be a bellwether to a significant economic phenomenon. Here were the last three:

• The Hollywood Writers’ Strike in 1981 demanded more pay for writers, during a time when increased profits came from program re-runs and VHS. 

The subsequent 1981-82 US recession was the worst in 50 years.

• The Writers Guild of America Strike in 1988 lasted 22 weeks, and writers demanded more profits from exploding video sales and rentals of TV shows and movies.

This strike followed Black Monday and the next 14 months saw interest rates increase from 6.5% to 9.8%.

• The Hollywood Strike in 2007-2008 saw writers wanting increased pay from on-demand streaming profits.

The world entered ’The Great Recession’ in 2007 and stayed there until mid 2009.


Today, we are again experiencing strikes in Hollywood amidst the fastest rate hike cycle in history as a result of buoyant inflation. Coincidence or something more?

📮 Postbox - DM highlight

Being flashy is only human

If you are an avid watcher of Succession, then you might have heard a very closely linked fashion trend known as “quiet luxury”. In a nutshell, it is the preference for expensive, subtle but high-quality dress rather than noisy and obvious branding. All this however links to the innate human need to virtue signal.

Why is it interesting?

Quiet luxury may be the newest term going around, but virtue signalling has been around for eons. For example, white clothing has historically been a signaller of wealth & status (aka a “flex”) as it suggested the owner had other clothes, could afford to clean them more frequently and probably didn’t frequently partake in activities that would stain them (like manual labour).

One of our readers noted that your watch is a classic example. Take your Rolex (if you’re lucky enough to own one), the whole Swiss watch industry grew out of a loophole during a time when jewellery (a symbol of wealth) was banned.

So next time you find yourself questioning your own or someone else’s bougie purchase, just remember that we’ve all got a bit of this virtue signalling behaviour hardcoded into our genes.

🙊 Community Bantz - DMs that didn't make the feed

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

Everyone makes mistakes, but not all mistakes are equal. No matter how badly you think you messed up, here are a few additional submissions that didn’t make our story highlights. Hopefully, you’ll realise that what you did probably wasn’t so bad.

🩺 Health Check - health tip/reminder

Burnout, Get Out?

Now that winter is here, we’re seeing shorter, colder days, less sunlight and naturally, more hibernation. The hours spent cooped up working from home and/or the long hours in the office add up, and sometimes you really start to feel it.

Whether it be fatigue, a lack of motivation, feelings of negativity or something more, it’s always good to take a second to check yoself.

If you’re feeling the pinch, here are a few tips that might help you through it.

• Enjoy breaks - use the Pomodoro Technique to break up your hour. This might be hard during intense deep work periods, but if you can get into this routine, it could do wonders.

• Draw a line - don’t let your work bleed into your life. If you really need to check your emails, do it once at night but only after you’ve had a chance for some quality time with your partner, family or yourself.

• Take a walk - get into activewear in the morning (easier when WFH), so you can spontaneously go for a walk around the block when you have a gap in your day. Disconnect whilst doing so.

• Be selective - try and be selective about the work and people you work with. Choose deals/projects that interest you, and make that known to your supervisor or resource manager.

• “No one is going to die” - treasure and cherish the present. Have some perspective and realise that whilst you can always get another job or another career, you might not always be able to get that friend / partner / time back.

If you feel it getting worse, there’s nothing wrong with taking a holiday (even if you feel like you can’t), seeking professional help or even taking a career break.

Want more?

Check out this short piece from Reach Out Australia (which includes a “Are you burning out?” quiz) or nifty questionnaire from The Burnout Project to see where you stand.

👴🏻 Old is Cool - meme throwback (1 July 2022)

👍 The Nook - AusCorp recommendations

⚽️  FIFA Women’s World Cup (event) - Hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the Matildas will need to beat out a number of strong opponents (including favourites, United States) to clinch the World Cup this year.

📕 Red Notice (book) | Goodreads 4.4/5 | "About an investment banker who is one of the first to get into ex Soviet privatisation. Along the way has some run ins with oligarchs and putin, then left fearing for his life. Gripping like a fiction but a true story. Couldn't put it down."

📕 The Mezzanine (book) | Goodreads 3.85/5 | "A slice of mid century office life through a whimsical, semi-autobiographical lens."

📺 Dead Loch (TV show, Amazon Prime) | IMdB 7.1/10 | - "Dark comedy tv series about a series of murders in small town Tasmania. Tassie noir, but make it comedy and filled with lesbians. You'll love it or hate it - perhaps too much swearing for some."

📺 Vinland Saga (Anime, Amazon Prime) | IMdB 8.8/10 | - "It’s an anime about a boy who becomes a mercenary, but war changes him. Provides a bit of perspective on existentialism."

🗣 Who shat on the floor at my wedding? (Podcast) - "It’s a very funny true crime style investigation into who shat on the floor at a couple's wedding on a boat. There is even a very dodgy lie detector involved!"

💻 Made in Australia - showcasing Aussie start-ups

Lyre’s Lyre’s, You’re on Fire!

A great pick for those good souls that were doing Dry July. Quickly becoming one of, if not, the leading brand in its field, Lyre’s is a Sydney-based non-alcoholic spirits producer that recently closed a $34.6m strategic funding round to bolster its global expansion (valuation of $500m).

What is it?

Founded in 2019 by Mark Livings, Lyre’s launched a range of 18 non-alcoholic spirits before releasing a non-alcoholic sparking wine in 2021 and most recently, a non-alcoholic whisky-styled drink in 2022. Given the increasing trend amongst young Aussie Corporates that are shying away from alcohol, Lyre’s provides an alternative for those looking for some social drinking with their peers.

The recent strategic round allows Lyre’s to continue driving momentum in key markets, such as Australia, North America, Europe and the Middle East. And who knows, with this momentum, we may have our first non-alcoholic (and Aussie!) beverages unicorn on our hands!

🚗 Under the Hood - what we're working on

Jobs Board

We’re talking to a few top companies at the moment who are interested in partnering up with our AusCorp Jobs platform to bring you those open roles that they need to fill the most. Watch this space!

Partner/MD Insights Survey

We received ~50 detailed responses from Partners / MDs at law firms to the Big 4 and our interns are working diligently to get these gems of wisdom across to you.

AusLaw Billable Hours

Want to know how many billables other law firms are asking from their lawyers? We received over 600 submissions which should cover most, if not all, major law firms in Australia.

We are currently looking for long-term partners at The Aussie Corporate. If you are interested, hit us up at [email protected]

✍️ Feedback Loop - share your thoughts

If you have want to provide more detailed feedback or have any topics that you want to hear more about, you can let us know HERE.