ORC Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 hello I want to preface this saying i love sydney and i love where i'm living and the people and everything around me. I'm good at what I do career wise too. I am finding i'm struggling a little with work, not because i can't do the job, just everything feels different. Is this normal? I think I've figured out the culture pretty well so that's fine but after being at a company for 8 years, feels like i'm a junior, except i'm not. new way of doing things, needing to learn the company and how it works etc, I just feel overwhelmed some days. when it comes to doing the job though, i excel there but i don't know, just feels so different. thoughts? am i the only one? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malans Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi ORC You're definitely not the only one! My hubby struggled with the exact same issues when he first started. Hang in there, it takes a little while to settle in and get used to the way things are done in Aussie companies. All our SA friends (when we were in Sydney) had the same problem. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Maybe because career paths are different in a first world country. If you think about how we are in SA (I am still here), since the 90s people became very driven to make as much money as possible as we really didn't know what would happen tomorrow. If i look at my fathers generation (during the cushy apartheid era), they had a very blase outlook and didn't worry about tomorrow. In fact they should have as a lot of them now have retirement money not keeping up with our deteriorating economy. Australia is not going to collapse tomorrow so what is the push there? Its an insecurity thing you bring from SA where you want to advance out of fear maybe? I for one am looking forward to finding a well paying job without the constant retrenchment fears her. The constant retrenchments happening in my industry (construction and engineering) at pretty much every place i have ever worked at is scary and a reality for many of my friends who wont find employment being white. So maybe you need to understand why you feel uncomfortable without pushing the boundaries and try to understand that Aussies don't have that fear driven ambition we do........ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charne Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi ORC, I think after 8 years at the same company you've managed to learn the ins and outs and reached the point where nothing can surprise you anymore and most of the thaught processes you went through were automatic. The same cannot be said about the new company you're working for. I think it's a symptom of starting at a new company not neccesarily being in a new country. Companies are entities with their own personality. You had a very long time to get accustomed to the personality of your old company, just give yourself time to grow familiar with the personality of this company. I'm confident that you will acclimatise (usually around the 8 month mark). I know that doesn't help with the feelngs of being overwhealmed now but before you know it you'll feel like you fit better and like your way of thinking is more automatic again. Hang in there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 3 hours ago, ORC said: I think I've figured out the culture pretty well so that's fine but after being at a company for 8 years Have you figured out the politics yet? Do you make your boss look super smart - not yet? Are you very focused, driven and ambitious....mmmm major problems - you look too smart instead of your boss! Any other migrants around that started 8 years ago - how did they do? Do they socialise along with the bosses in those informal groups yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 @ORC for how long have you been at this new workplace now? Some of the other people have also commented on the exact things that you are describing, and then after some months they mention that it starts going better... I don't think you are alone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 I found it had a lot to do with finding the right company for me. I love the fact that my boss is ambitious and needs me to shine to make him look good. Add to that I work at a company that really cares about their performance like reducing the time it takes to get orders to customers. So, there are opportunities for me to shine by helping with those issues. But I have been in jobs where my boss pretty much knew she wasn't good enough to get promoted and was riding things out till she retired. She would even complain bitterly about her staff to her boss, just to cover her butt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORC Posted May 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2016 I wanted to update this as almost another 3 months have passed. I'm really shining at work and have found my groove. I think being in a company so long in SA before this has displaced me when I first started here. Right now I feel alive and it's great to work in an environment where I feel appreciated and it feels like family. Really grateful. If anyone has just moved and has started a new job and is feeling lost or not sure what's up. Stick it out. It's really worth it. It takes a while to find your feet and place. Not everyone can adjust in a few weeks. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted May 2, 2016 Report Share Posted May 2, 2016 Glad you're happy now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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