I Had a Day off - and So Did Everyone!

Mintee on 13/06/2025 - 17:06
Last edited 13/06/2025 - 17:43 by 1 other user

Hello, so today was one of those rare gems, a weekday off work. I work full-time, and with four weeks of annual leave a year, it’s not often I get a random day to myself midweek.

I decided to make the most of it: hit up a larger shopping complex, grabbed a few things, then stopped by a smaller local centre to get some cash out. What totally threw me, though, was how packed everywhere was. People of all ages—young, old, families, even what looked like working-age folks just like me—all out and about in the middle of the day, sitting at cafes!

It really made me stop and wonder… how? Do that many people have flexible jobs, shift work, or remote gigs? Are they on leave too? It's not school holidays…. what am I missing?

Education & Work

Comments

  • Craze on 13/06/2025 - 17:12
    +5

    Always nice to peg that leading up to a weekend- and weather today was nice despite chilly!

    even what looked like working-age folks just like me—all out and about in the middle of the day, sitting at cafes!

    Many working age folks in Sales/real estate/business/entrepreneur type sectors can work while having a cuppa at cafes is what I'm thinking?

    • Dr Phil on 14/06/2025 - 17:27
      -1

      It was lunch time !!!!!!!!!!!!

      Doesnt OP have lunch when at work?

  • Hybroid on 13/06/2025 - 17:21
    +19

    "WFH lunch breaks".
    Day off like yourself.
    Part-time or roster workers.
    Govt workers with day off per fortnight.
    Tourists.
    Newcomers to the country (~400,000 last year).
    Events happening?

      • outlander on 14/06/2025 - 10:37
        +26

        Right. And after they've spent their whole $10 of disposable income for that week, they do what exactly?

        • Scrooge McDuck on 14/06/2025 - 13:08

          You missed the shibboleth that there are no business hours today (Saturday)…

        • Purp on 16/06/2025 - 07:06
          -6

          people on government benefits can get more money in services than people actually working would make per year it's that stupid. Between being provided housing, paying for their electricity, government rebates etc.

          Don't act like people on welfare are doing it tough in this country, it's a choice that a lot of them go on willingly because they get handed money for doing nothing and can live comfortably off it without having to lift a finger.

          source: I work for gov and see this shit every single day

          • Randolph Duke on 16/06/2025 - 10:28
            +2

            @Purp:

            source: I work for gov and see this shit every single day

            What part of government?

          • tessel on 16/06/2025 - 11:51
            -3

            @Purp: Couldn't agree more.

          • outlander on 16/06/2025 - 14:41
            +6

            @Purp: Don't pull a muscle punching down

          • Protractor on 17/06/2025 - 13:01
            +1

            @Purp: With an attitude like that mate you wanna hope the HR dept don't get access to your social media data.
            In that regard, AI is not your friend any more.

          • smartazz104 on 17/06/2025 - 13:15

            @Purp:

            I work for gov

            "work"

          • Arturo88 on 21/06/2025 - 09:40

            @Purp: ozbargain rage bait is just so stale at this point it could be sold as a biscuit

      • SupeNintendoChalmers on 14/06/2025 - 14:28
        +3

        You can't afford to be a dole bludger in this economy

        • eddyah on 14/06/2025 - 18:50
          +8

          Yeah gotta be on NDIS instead

        • tessel on 16/06/2025 - 11:54
          -1

          There are other payments besides jobseeker.

          • eddyah on 17/06/2025 - 12:24
            -1

            @tessel: some of us aren't willing to sell our bodies.

            (talking about faking disability for NDIS, not sure what you're thinking).

    • MessyG on 14/06/2025 - 20:11
      +3

      Shiftworkers too.

    • notewar on 16/06/2025 - 09:50

      You forgot to include full-time centrelink

  • Nutrino on 13/06/2025 - 17:26

    Why don't you ask them?

  • May4th on 13/06/2025 - 17:29
    +9

    also today is Friday, common WFH day for the hybrid workers

    • Mintee on 13/06/2025 - 17:32
      +4

      But it was like…. not lunch time!? when I WFH… im at home…. working!?

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 13/06/2025 - 17:34
        +41

        Jeez mate you gotta live a little and get creative with the time sheets.

        • MS Paint on 13/06/2025 - 17:42
          +7

          Being creative makes cents. Cheers

      • May4th on 13/06/2025 - 19:03
        -6

        hate to break it to you buddy by WFH on a Friday it means a long weekend

      • Matt P on 15/06/2025 - 00:11

        My wife works retail. She has people come into her store daily (homewares/variety) with laptops(!!)/phones in the middle of teams calls, airpods in etc..

      • OzBarAnon on 15/06/2025 - 02:09
        +3

        People don't take lunch at the same time. Depending on the tasks at hand, my lunch can start anywhere from 12 to 1:30, and on rare occasions, even later. With flexible working, lots of people arrange their working hours around what they want to do. For an 8 hour workday, some people might start at 8, take a 3 hour break from 12-3, and then work 3-7.

      • RTX9090Ti on 15/06/2025 - 19:39
        -5

        Some or most of them are WFH people that abuse the privilege. We now mandated video on all meetings so we can tell if they working or walking around shops at westfield all day.

        Before and after covid doesn't make any difference on employees right, they still have to work the same as before, its just a matter of time before we abolish WFH completely.

  • Drakesy on 13/06/2025 - 17:29
    -7

    Just consider that only 50% of Australia is actually working full time. Yep 50% of Australia is supporting the other half who aren't working or are only picking up part time hours…

    The other 50% are Stay at home, retirees, students, children.

    • Mintee on 13/06/2025 - 17:44
      +1

      I didnt realise this…. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unem…

      • lonewolf on 14/06/2025 - 17:12
        +1

        Last i heard and this was several years ago so not sure if it still is this way, but australia looked at people who worked more than 2 hours a week as employed.

    • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 18:18
      +18

      And 50% of the ones at work are under-productive.
      X% of them are smokers. They don't work at all when outside in the alley choofing.

      • Hydralyte on 13/06/2025 - 20:28
        +2

        can confirm. Plenty of choofers in the middle aged bracket and young adult bracket who work for a few hours then choof all their energy away after a few ciggies then look stoned for the rest of the working day

        • Assburg on 13/06/2025 - 23:11

          I don't smoke often but when I do, it's because I need to lock in and get some solid, high quality work done.

          Maybe it's just like this for me and not others owing to very low consumption.

          • Hydralyte on 14/06/2025 - 14:08
            +2

            @Assburg: maybe you aint choofing the weed m8

            • Muppet Detector on 14/06/2025 - 15:33
              +4

              @Hydralyte: Smokers tend to take deep breaths. They inhale deeply, hold it in for a while and then gently exhale.

              This is pretty much a breathing technique therapists prescribe to people to help manage anxiety. Without the smokes though.

              All that mindfulness and meditation foohickey is swamped with controlled breathing exercises, so next time your colleague ducks out for a smoke, think of it like he's looking after his mental health.

              • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 15:35
                +3

                @Muppet Detector: Nothing like being calm, while the lung they remove signals a life well lived, wallowing in carcinogenic Nirvana.

      • lew380 on 14/06/2025 - 08:46
        -3

        We've found the bitter and angry dol bludger. Using a random fact to smear workers. Lol.

        • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 15:37

          And who would that dole bludger be?

    • tenpercent on 13/06/2025 - 20:23
      +1

      The other 50% are Stay at home, retirees, students, children.

      Don't forget the independently wealthy, people working cash in hand, etc.

      • Daabido on 13/06/2025 - 21:41

        So Santos?

        • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:12

          Is that the plural for Santa?
          They wouldn't have much work this time of year anyway.

    • supersabroso on 13/06/2025 - 22:37
      -5

      Wow, interesting, I didn't realise that only 50% of us worked! Out of the 50%, a lot are part timers too, no wonder everyone's complaining about the cost of living. There are so many people slacking off out there mooching off the full time workers! Times are tough when you don't work/barely work, it's tough when you just want to sit on your butt and enjoy the goods and services produced by the hard workers!

      • Drakesy on 13/06/2025 - 22:44
        +3

        Yep pensioners are keeping up with CPI

        Pity about the rest of us

        • jrvb42 on 14/06/2025 - 16:15
          +3

          Even if pensioners are keeping up with CPI - prices are way ahead of CPI for EVERYONE - it's completely bogus.
          Everyone is suffering with increased cost of living, and the huge difference between CPI and RealPI doesn't put any indexed folk that much ahead of you/us.

        • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 16:33
          -1

          You must live in isolation with no elders in your family circle.Or the ones you have you hate, such is the frequency of your bagging of anyone getting social support. The greatest leaners are at the top dude.

          • Muppet Detector on 14/06/2025 - 20:32

            @Protractor: Not just our elders either.

            Most kids are supposed to be 14 and 3 months old before they're legally allowed to work and I'd assume that most of those are only working part time or casual hours.

            Then there wouldn't be a lot of full time uni students working full time hours.

            Then you've got your stay at home parent, many of whom only work a casual job around the school hours of their children.

            Finally, there are those with illnesses or disabilities that exclude them from full time work. Many affected by disability just aren't capable of holding down full time employment, if at all.

            Nearly forgot our volunteer population who whilst not necessarily earning an income, contribute a significant supportive role within their local and wider communities.

          • Drakesy on 15/06/2025 - 00:10

            @Protractor: I'm not biased either way
            Just stating the facts and figures.

      • Assburg on 13/06/2025 - 23:13

        My hot take is too many salaried workers accept more than 37.5 hours a week at work to get ahead, so it means less full time jobs for the people who want them.

        I know only very few part time workers who are so by choice.

      • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:13
        +1

        Remind me how many unfilled jobs there are?
        There's certainly not enough for "50% of us".

      • frewer on 14/06/2025 - 12:10
        +3

        I don't think the current economic conditions are just 'work hard and you will get ahead'. It's much more complicated than that

    • morse on 14/06/2025 - 08:09
      +2

      Or they make enough money working part-time or running their own business.

    • quick-dry on 14/06/2025 - 08:43
      +2

      as I read this comment, my minds eye saw Mr Safran and Mr Paxton standing in a street - but where, oh where, is Ray?

      "why aren't you at work Mr Martin?"

    • alexdagr8 on 15/06/2025 - 10:16

      They skewed the stats years ago including those that work part time or casually as “employed” made the government look good at the time.

  • MS Paint on 13/06/2025 - 17:44
    +6

    I often wonder how I have time to go to work. Start living mintee.

    • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 17:50

      Don't knock them. They maintain the iron lung being heavily modified to make you viable again.

      • jv on 13/06/2025 - 18:47

        They maintain the iron lung

        👷🏼

        • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 20:41
          +3

          That's private 'work for govt' contractors . They milk more than every dairy farm (on earth) combined. Not an ALP centric malady by any stretch.

          • jv on 13/06/2025 - 20:42
            -4

            @Protractor:

            That's private 'work for govt' contractors . They milk

            Hired by the government without accountability and paid for by us…

            Didn't we just pay an extra 1 billion for the Metro Tunnel?
            Why do the ministers and premier responsible for this still have jobs ???

            • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 21:02
              +2

              @jv: If every contractor does it to every govt (both majors) and mining as a business model, then one half of politics aint the problem. It's capitalism. Corruption runs deep, but they call it economics.

              I agree accountability is crucial, it's other ppls money but guess what…..?
              Also, jobs and growth.

              • jv on 13/06/2025 - 21:10
                -3

                @Protractor:

                If every contractor does it

                It's not just the contractors, it's all the gov employees too…

                Budgets blow out 100%, 200% and nobody cares…

                • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 21:34

                  @jv: Mate, they wrench mining companies too.

            • Daabido on 13/06/2025 - 21:49
              +6

              @jv: Small potatoes, but Brisbane ratepayers just paid $300 million plus to upgrade a roundabout that didn't need upgrading for a projected saving of 9 seconds per trip (no joking). It was at least three years of pain for no gain. I would have to live to 500 to get all those extra 9 seconds back lost during construction.

              • jv on 13/06/2025 - 22:01
                +1

                @Daabido: kickbacks

                • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 22:33
                  +4

                  @jv: absolutely kickbacks .It's the model. It begins with tenders . They start out with a bang for buck big print,get the gig, but the small print is all about the profit part.Unforeseen add-ons, overruns etc and other clauses, aka ways to print money.The cream on top.Where all the $$ are made.
                  Don't kid yourself it's neither a govt thing, nor a Labor thing. It's just a thing. The way it rolls. We all care, but there's zero push to clean it up, because the movers and the shakers at the top lose diddly, the way it is.The rich get richer.They never make waves for a rea$on..

                  • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:14
                    +1

                    @Protractor: Sounds like we need some kind of government department of efficiency to clean this sort of thing up.

                    • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 10:18

                      @tenpercent: So employ a private contractor to DOGE it? LOL. Aussies aren't as stupid as the Yanks.

                      • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:26

                        @Protractor: Hook. Line. Sinker.

                        I was being facetious.

                        But seriously there's two options:

                        1. Do something (what though?), or
                        2. Don't do anything other than (i) saying 'she'll be right', or (ii) complaining about it in a dingy corner of the internet or to a brick wall.
                        • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 15:43

                          @tenpercent: The White House USA is the current and future way business will operate.Can you see a single sign of winding back the gangster model?

                          • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 20:38

                            @Protractor: No. The gangster model has been in full swing since before 11/09/2021.

              • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:16

                @Daabido: $300 million for a single roundabout upgrade?!

              • alexdagr8 on 15/06/2025 - 10:26

                @Daabido: The state and federal governments are raping this country and us the tax payers have to pick up the tab from their career incompetence!

            • supersabroso on 13/06/2025 - 22:49

              @jv: The contractors that bid for these jobs are very sneaky, they find every excuse under the sun and claim that it was outside the scope of the original contract. As such, instead of the discounted rates that they bid for, they now need to charge their full profit rate to complete the "additional" work/pay for the additional costs (eg. Due to COVID, due to underground services not shown on any plans, due to floods, due to waking up on the wrong side of the bed etc.)

              • jv on 14/06/2025 - 01:06
                +1

                @supersabroso:

                outside the scope of the original contract.

                who signed the contracts?

                • Protractor on 14/06/2025 - 10:21
                  -1

                  @jv: Who? It's 100% standard commerce dummy . So > Every corporation,,minesite,corporation,govt dept and countless other business, but you keep your mono-focus blinkers on,lest the truth smack you between the eyes.

    • alexdagr8 on 15/06/2025 - 10:17

      Spoiler (it’s not just Victoria)

  • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 17:50
    +3

    Friday is mid week?

    If posting inane posts is called WFH these days , we are further down the shitter than I thought.

    • mooseca on 13/06/2025 - 17:53

      This is what I was thinking

    • Trekky on 14/06/2025 - 09:30

      I thought he meant a Wednesday - that's midweek!

  • randomusername2017 on 13/06/2025 - 18:06
    +3

    Dear Diary …

    • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 18:16

      Diary did a runner months ago. Threw itself in front of cement truck.Died smiling.

  • Gunnar on 13/06/2025 - 18:14
    +1

    Did you buy wedding clothes?

  • ForkSnorter on 13/06/2025 - 18:18
    +11

    It really made me stop and wonder… how? Do that many people have flexible jobs, shift work, or remote gigs? Are they on leave too? It's not school holidays…. what am I missing?

    Most of the wealth in Australia is generated by owning multiple properties and watching the numbers climb. Once you're in that club, work is optional.

    • Mintee on 13/06/2025 - 18:21
      +1

      surely…. not everyone is in this bucket? then wouldnt there still be a mortgage

      • ForkSnorter on 14/06/2025 - 07:44
        +8

        You'd be surprised how many are in this bucket. With house prices rising faster than people can save money from working, and with rent hitting $700-$1200 for a small house, and with the government paying investors' mortgages when rent doesn’t cover repayments, it can actually make sense to buy investment properties when prices are low. Then, you just ride the wave of rising property and rental prices until you can effectively stop working—letting the government's property policies make you wealthier and wealthier without lifting a finger.

        No other country has negative gearing and capital gains tax discount policies as relaxed as Australia’s. Here, they overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Australians. And nowhere else does the government funnel so much taxpayer money into the property market—driving prices ever higher at the expense of lower- and middle-income earners, all to the benefit of the already-rich.

        At some point, people may simply stop putting up with it—and something will have to give.

        • tenpercent on 14/06/2025 - 10:22
          +4

          At some point, people may simply stop putting up with it—and something will have to give.

          It won't happen. Too many disparate cultural groups. Too many fresh off the boat third worlders who will literally work as slaves (or will gladly cross the picket lines) in return for medicare and running water and working sewage systems and relatively clean and usable roads. For them they have already arrived in paradise or Nirvana and they have minimal conception about how bad it has become (relative to decades past).

      • outlander on 14/06/2025 - 10:34

        What I worked out once, is that it doesn't have to be everyone.
        It only takes a few extra percent, to add to the 'regular crowd' and make it feel super busy.

        Like how if you stay home on a long weekend, the streets are super quiet. Because its the same people driving everywhere during the week that go away camping or something, so even though the home population is only down by sub 10%, those 10% of people where responsible for 50% of the traffic

      • alexdagr8 on 15/06/2025 - 10:35

        Yes, the same people that don’t understand that- negative gearing means spending $1 and only getting up to 30cents back off tax - means that a rental property is not a windfall and takes the sting out of a sudden unexpected cost.
        It also means that renters get a better place to live and they don’t live in dilapidated properties.

        • Muppet Detector on 15/06/2025 - 15:00
          -1

          Even weirder is how people ignore every other industry that accesses negative gearing.

          Technically everybody who claims a tax deduction on their tax return is engaging in negative gearing practises.

    • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 18:37
      -2

      Someone has to drop guano on the masses below.
      AI and BTC will save us all.
      Suck a Turd has joined the 'superintelligent AI' rush,now.
      Happy, happy, joy, joy.

    • frewer on 14/06/2025 - 21:45

      Yep most politicians are doing it, hence the negative rearing is there forever…

  • bic on 13/06/2025 - 18:49
    +1

    When you work Friday-Tuesday, having Wednesday and Thursday off is like your weekend. Not everyone has to follow the same Monday-Friday work cycle in this 24/7 economy

  • bic on 13/06/2025 - 18:50
    -3

    When you work Friday-Tuesday, having Wednesday and Thursday off is like your weekend. Not everyone has to follow the same Monday-Friday work cycle in this 24/7 economy

  • MS Paint on 13/06/2025 - 19:06
    +10

    When you work Friday-Tuesday, having Wednesday and Thursday off is like your weekend. Not everyone has to follow the same Monday-Friday work cycle in this 24/7 economy

  • Asian on 13/06/2025 - 19:10
    +4

    When you work Friday-Tuesday, having Wednesday and Thursday off is like your weekend. Not everyone has to follow the same Monday-Friday work cycle in this 24/7 economy

  • Mikeer on 13/06/2025 - 19:48
    +4

    When you work Friday-Tuesday, having Wednesday and Thursday off is like your weekend. Not everyone has to follow the same Monday-Friday work cycle in this 24/7 economy

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