It's the Final Countdown

Just like that, we are closing out the year with a bang after hitting 100,000 Aussie Corporates on our Instagram over the past few weeks.

Given the slowdown that typically occurs post Melbourne Cup, we know some of you have probably already checked out for 2023, so hopefully this final edition of Flat White of the year will give you some procrastination reading to do.

We’re thankful to all our followers, readers, fans and sponsors, and anyone else who has supported us on our journey so far. Looking ahead, we’re excited at what’s in store in 2024 so hope y’all enjoy the ride ahead.

First… an Xmas gift from Ansarada

🚀✨ Turn 'Pls fix' into 'Tech fix' effortlessly with the most user-friendly Virtual Data Room (VDR) on the market - and yes, you can fix it yourself!

Our sponsors over at Ansarada have made Microsoft magic with the ability to quickly fix those missed typos that live rent-free in our ‘Pls fix’ nightmares. No more app-switching, version control hassles, or security concerns. Now you can edit, save, and collaborate on your MS Office documents securely online within your data room. This solution doesn't just tackle your ‘Pls fix’ fears but also saves you valuable time and turns your work into a smooth operation.

Keen to learn about this new feature (and get some free goodies)? All you need to do is:

• Book and attend a meeting with an Ansarada sales rep (we promise it’ll be short!)

• After, receive a free tech pack or duffle bag absolutely free!

If you use Ansarada, their MS editing function will turn chaos into order through a seamless “Tech fix” experience. Book a demo!

💡 Brain’s Trust - conversations in AusCorp

I. 2024 AusCorp trend predictions

With 2023 coming to the close, we’ve been asked by a few of you to whip out the crystal ball. Now whilst we have our fingers on the pulse, we are by no means clairvoyants. Disclaimer aside, here is our take on the emerging trends of 2024.

FIRST, companies push for greater RTO

Funny how a global pandemic becomes such a distant memory all of a sudden. We know AusCorp has poor short-term memory, but we would have thought with all the benefits of hybrid working, WFH would be here to stay.

Incredibly, according to a KPMG CEO survey, 64% of the 1,300 global chief executives polled believe that there will be a full return to in-office working by the end of 2026.

The fight will continue between the Gen Zs (many of whom see 5-days in the office as a novel concept)/parents/long-distance commuters and the boomer MDs/commercial property owners/tech illiterate. Game on we say.

SECOND, more layoffs but theres’ hope

We think the layoff cycle is not done yet, but there is optimism in the air, with the 2024 Employment Outlook Survey conducted by Randstad indicating that nearly 79% of respondents expect the economy to stabilise or improve during the next year. Tech, consulting and finance have been hit especially hard this year as firms and companies alike look to trim the fat, but when boom times come, the sentiment will inevitably reverse.

Recent commentary predicts a hold to interest rates until the last quarter next year, before a cut. If this is to be believed, companies will be in good spirits in the lead up to this. Many are already getting itchy feet, and Board directors with their terms ending soon (and who wish to be reappointed) will be keen to take some sort of corporate action to show they have added value.

THIRD, salary transparency increases

It has been just over a year since the government passed legislation to ban pay secrecy laws. Since 7 June 2023, pay secrecy clauses are no longer allowed to be included in any employment contract.

Whilst pay secrecy terms in contracts entered into before 7 December 2022 continue to operate, until those contracts are varied. As time passes, contracts will be varied (most commonly as a result of a pay bump or promotion) and any pay secrecy terms will become unenforceable.

In 2024, companies with more than 100 employees will need to also report on their gender pay gap between 1 April and 31 May. We predict that this, coupled with increasing number of pay secrecy clauses becoming redundant will form the centrepiece around further discussions on pay next year.

II. Best office chairs (AusCorp edition)

We ran a poll earlier last month about what AusCorp thought about office chairs. There was one clear winner but a few alternative names also popped up. So here they are:

Herman Miller Aeron - the undisputed champion: Coming in at a whopping $2,700, this iconic chair is the go-to for anyone who doesn’t care about money, or really really values an epic chair.

Steelcase Leap / Steelcase Gesture - the pinnacle of gaming: A bit cheaper than the HM Aeron, but not by much. Exudes functionality and class. If it’s good enough for a pro gamer smashing his keyboard 10+ hours a day, it’s probably good enough for most of us.

Secretlab Titan - comfort built on comfort: One follower said that this chair literally fixed their back. Expensive but a worthy investment.

Haworth Fern - “godlike chair”: Coming in at a cool $1,000, this chair is a bit more “affordable” for still an amazing seated experience.

Humanscale Freedom - “mixed bag”: Some tout it as a Herman Miller but at a lower price tag. Others say it’s terrible.

HAG Capisco Puls - unorthodox sitting: Not that comfortable in the traditional sense but designed to encourage movement and shifting of positions to keep ya active.

📮 Postbox - DM highlight

Side Hustlin’

It’s come to our attention that AusCorp is pretty entrepreneurial. We recently had a Q&A where we wanted to know what side hustles Aussie Corporates are getting up to in their spare time.

Amongst the army reservists, netball referees, moonlight musicians (and OnlyFans content creators), here are a few that we wanted to spotlight!

• Atypical Coffee - A new wave of specialty coffee enthusiasts that offers fun, delicious coffee. All ethically sourced and sustainably packaged. The founder has kindly given an exclusive discount to the AusCorp fam… enter TAC25OFF at checkout for 25% off the Atypical Candid blend!

• BY RBNSN - A minimalist candle brand inspired by calm, quiet and simple living. The candles feature in homes, offices and are used to style properties for sale. Slowly poured and packed in Brisbane, Queensland.

• Hydrotech Computers - A small team of enthusiasts who design and build highly customised peformance PCs, specialising in state of the art liquid cooling.

• The Dough Co. - A ready to bake cookie dough company that lets you bake fresh cookies on demand. They offer 4 flavours and are available online and at over 30 up-market grocers Melbourne wide.

• Warranilla: Australian Rural Crime Mystery - Book 1 of the Nick Vada Thriller series! Synopsis: February 1992. Billie Vada is murdered in cold blood, while her children sleep. Present day, Detective Sergeant Nick Vada has returned to his hometown Milford, for his younger sister’s wedding. When a young woman is murdered, he must return to his past, and aid the local police force in catching a killer, all while navigating long-lost relationships with family and friends.

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

One curious Aussie Corporate DMed us about the “hypothetical” question (asking for a mate, amiright?) around the legal rights that employers might have if they discovered you had an OnlyFans account.

Now, no one should be judging anyone about scraping together a few extra dollars in this era of inflation, and we would hope that employers are in the same category. However, based on some commentary we have seen, this does appear to be risky business. The analysis below also probably extends to any public-facing content creation page (e.g. influencers, blogs etc) so take heed aspiring famous people.

An “employee's employment may be validly terminated because of out of hours conduct”, but these are limited to some tests being satisfied:

• the conduct needs to cause serious damage to the relationship between the employer and employee;

• the conduct damages the employer's interests; or

• the conduct is incompatible with the employee's duty as an employee.

Suffice to say, if an employer did take issue with an employee’s OnlyFans page, it doesn’t seem like strictly, this only would be enough grounds for termination. So yes, whilst we have ended up with a lawyer’s answer (“it depends”), the best advice is to probably to keep your stuff locked down and to err on the side of caution.

🩺 Health Check - health tip/reminder

Vitamin D

Despite being a sunburnt country, it’s crazy to think that more than 1 in 3 Australians have a vitamin D deficiency. Get outdoors all of ya!

Why is it interesting?

Vitamin D is essential to keeping bones, teeth and muscles healthy, and importantly, also helps the body’s immune system in fighting off bacteria or viruses as well as cell growth.

According to the Australian government, the recommended dietary intake for:

• teenagers and adults aged 19–50 years is 5μg (micrograms) per day;

• adults aged 51-70 years is 10μg per day; and

• adults aged over 70 years is 15μg per day.

For the lot of us who spend most of our waking hours indoors in front of a desk, we probably are in the deficient category. Most of us do not get enough vitamin D from foods, and too much Aussie sun exposure is also harmful to our skin health. Because of this, doctors will commonly recommend vitamin D supplements so you can fill up that vitamin D tank.

Whether you have been looking into supplements to ensure healthy bodily functions or simply feel like you don’t get enough sun, upping your vitamin D may make you feel a lot better about yourself.

👴🏻 Old is Cool - meme throwback (20 December 2022)

👍 The Nook - AusCorp recommendations

🎄 Carols in the Domain (16 Dec) - Australia’s largest Christmas celebration kicks off in Sydney, with performances expected from The Wiggles, Dami Im and Casey Donovan.

📕 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum (book | Goodreads 4.2/5) - "For every burnt out Aussie corporate who has dreamed about running away and opening up a bookshop. This book lives out the dream. Trigger warning though if you are losing it at work, hits too close to home."

📕 Bite Back by Hannah Ferguson (book | Goodreads 4.5/5) - "An easily digestible book that helps frame potentially difficult discussions around politics/feminism/etc."

📕 Billion Dollar Whale by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington (book | Goodreads 3.69/5) - "Tells the story of Jho Kho, the Malaysian social climber that defrauded the Malaysian national pension fund and influenced royals and Goldman Sachs. Very interesting book and insights about someone who clearly wanted more in life and used social connections and had zero moral compass, to get what he wanted."

📕 The Big Con - by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright (book | Goodreads 4.1/5) - "Good book about the brain drain and crutch of capability that Big 4 causes in the public sector. Very topical given events that have happened to these firms this year."

📺 The Saddle Club (TV Show | IMDb 6.1/10) - "Streaming on Stan - because sometimes, you just need to sit back, de-compress and embrace the nostalgia of seeing kids running around outdoors not being glued to technology. Also, Hello World is a BOP!"

🗣 Smartless (Podcast) - "If you need a good laugh and to forget about work for a hot minute - this is your show. Hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett & Sean Hayes interview a wide range of guests while throwing shit on one another."

💻 Made in Australia - showcasing Aussie start-ups

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Grannybots

Andromeda Robotics, a Melbourne-based AI and robotics company, has launched trials of its humanoid companion robot, Abi, in partnership with Allity, an aged care provider. Hopefully, this reduces a bit of loneliness for Gramps and Nana in the nursing home!

The trial announcements closely follow a $1 million capital injection led by Galileo Ventures. The funds are earmarked for further product development and trial expansion.

What is it?

Abi utilises Chat GPT-4 AI and is designed to interact conversationally with aged care residents, recognising them and tailoring interactions based on previous encounters. The aged care facilities see Abi, which can gesture and move its head and eyes, as a valuable tool for enhancing resident interactions, especially given the staff shortages in aged care.

While the concept of companion robots isn't new, recent technological advancements, especially in AI and machine vision, have greatly enhanced their interaction and emotional connection abilities. Andromeda’s planned trials will help evolve Abi's capabilities.

To date, collaborations with animation experts from Pixar and DreamWorks have been crucial in making Abi's body language empathetic. The additional funding, including participation in Amazon's AWS Robotics Startup Acceleration Program, aims to bring a fully functional robot to the market within 18 months. We may have robots waking amongst us

🚗 Under the Hood - what we're working on

📰 Pick & Scroll

For the eagle-eyed TAC fam, you will have seen we have been big supporters of Pick & Scroll News. We’re currently working with them to bring this IG-focused biz news publication under our wing, which is super exciting!

💼 Jobs Board

We are struggling to find good traction on our AusCorp Jobs platform given the dire jobs market and are a bit hampered by our IT limitations. But the dream lives on!

If you’re interested in this idea and would like to help us build out this platform, please do drop us a DM!

We are currently still looking for any companies interested in sharing their finance, law, accounting, consulting or tech jobs.

✍️ 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.