Another joke on the platform is that Matos is waiting at the turnstiles to check when people leave the Docklands building each day after work (ANZ says this is not true).
In other cases, bank staff are turning to Reddit to share information about which sections are being affected by job cuts, or to support each other.
One user wrote last week they were “getting the chop after 40 years”. “I’m still doing my best as I work out my time. I feel for those left behind – most already work like hounds and they’ll be asked to do more,” the user wrote.
Other posts offer support. At the start of this week, one user wrote to wish their colleagues all the best for a “crazy week” and passed on a tip they’d received from a former boss: that looking for other employment options doesn’t cost you anything.
Some of the information published online has been highly embarrassing for the bank. An apology email sent to staff because some workers had been alerted they were being made redundant by an automatic email was published on Reddit before it appeared in the mainstream media.
‘We maybe don’t have those physical peer groups that we once had before, but we have these peer groups online.’
John Hopkins, a professor of management at Deakin University
Reddit was founded in the mid-2000s, growing over time into one of the largest online forums globally, with communities (“subreddits”) that discuss every interest or niche topic imaginable. Today, beyond sports and hobbies, employees are using the platform to discuss their workplaces – often anonymously – to voice concerns and share inside perspectives.
The use of Reddit in corporate Australia goes far beyond ANZ staff, of course. The “subreddit” r/auscorp has 211,000 members and is described as a place where professionals can “ask questions, seek career advice and discuss the latest company news and gossip”.
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Professor of management at Deakin University John Hopkins said the trend did not surprise him as Reddit could provide a place where people could vent or share their thoughts about an employer.
“I suppose it’s just a reflection of the culture that we have today,” he said. “These people are upset and are turning to their keyboards for affirmation or support from like-minded individuals. We maybe don’t have those physical peer groups that we once had before, but we have these peer groups online.”
Hopkins cautioned that staff posting on Reddit should remember that once posts appeared online, it created a permanent record of their comment, “which could potentially lead to issues in the future for the individual who posted it”.
“Whilst users may think they are posting anonymously, it often doesn’t require too much detective work to identify the account owners, and their identities can sometimes be uncovered through methods like doxxing,” he said.
Matos on Tuesday described the plan to cut 3500 jobs, or about 8 per cent of ANZ’s workforce, as a last-resort measure, but argued the cuts were needed to simplify ANZ. After announcing the cuts, Matos held a call with people leaders from across the bank – a group numbering in the thousands.
The Finance Sector Union, which has slammed the move as a profit grab, held four online meetings with staff on Wednesday and has said it will challenge the cuts in the Fair Work Commission.
With David Swan
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