Atlassian and Canva turn screws on staff and how HECS debt shapes love lives

The famous work cultures at Atlassian and Canva are shifting as the two companies try to get more out of their workers to survive a potential downturn.

After hiring thousands of workers on generous packages and building a reputation for perk-filled cultures during a pandemic-fuelled tech boom, the companies have?introduced tougher performance management metrics?to root out underperforming staff.

Both companies have borrowed methods pioneered by the likes of General Electric in the US to focus staff in what is perhaps the toughest operating environment in their histories, Nick Bonyhady and Mark Di Stefano report.

And while some employees are worried the changes suggest they are being marked down for redundancy, others reckon it’s about time the tech giants cracked down on some of their underperforming colleagues.

“The fact that people were doing two hours of work and socialising all day was a zero interest rate phenomenon,” one Atlassian employee said.

Elsewhere, we review data suggesting the Great Resignation is still going strong, talk to an Australian lawyer about?what it’s like to work for Amazon in Seattle, and?reveal what one CEO considers the secret to good leadership.

Plus check out our Funded blog - the new home for news on Australian tech deals as soon as we hear about them.

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Wealth Generation

HECS debt shaping graduates’ love lives While few Australians regret taking on higher education, 50 per cent of those who borrowed to fund it say it has affected their life choices, Lucy Dean writes.

Here’s what you can (and can’t) claim on your tax return About 8.6 million Australian taxpayers claimed nearly $21.6 billion in work-related expenses last year. Here’s how to get it right.

Seven experts on the risks you’re not thinking about Chanticleer columnist James Thomson asked CEOs, investors, economists and strategists to nominate the risk or opportunity that we’re not paying enough attention to. The answers will surprise you.

How inflation cruelled these women’s dreams of investing like Buffett

Natasha Loosemore started investing last November, but the double whammy of moving out of home and?months of high inflation?meant the 22-year-old had to hit pause in March.

According to research by investment platform Pearler, Loosemore’s story isn’t uncommon:?women are hitting “pause” on their investments faster than men because of cost-of-living pressures.

And the latest Financy Women’s Index finds that inflation is the biggest risk to gender equality.

“We know from the index that we’re already seeing women disproportionately affected by these cost-of-living pressures because there’s just less to spend,” says founder Bianca Hartge-Hazelman.

“Warren Buffett says to be active when other people are not, and I do lean in to that a lot, but it is something that’s difficult to lean into when you’re struggling to make ends meet week to week.”

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