Culture at Department of Transport and Planning

The office culture is typically relaxed and I get along well with my coworkers from other teams who also regularly frequent the office. We often go for a quick walk together each morning to get coffees/hot chocolates and have no issue having a joke every now and again. Most of the members of my team work from home however. I wish they would come to the office more often to make it easier to collaborate with on work.

Some people can be a bit insensitive. People still also discriminate against people with disabilities. People higher up in the hierarchy only seem to care about themselves and not listen to or interact with anyone below a certain level. If they have a problem they do not talk to the parties involved, instead passing messages onto higher ups to trickle down.

The culture within my team is great, we not only get along but we also respect each other, we are small but tight-knit. Though I would like to not be the only one in the office most days.

Everyone I work with, at all levels, is incredibly supportive and friendly. I am always able to get help when I need it. My workload is reasonable and there is no expectation that I work overtime hours unpaid. I've been put in contact with a mentor, and have had the opportunity to work with senior executives who value my time and efforts and support my learning. Professional development opportunities arise often and I'm encouraged to take these opportunities as they suit me.

great culture in the office, friendly and professional coworkers and managers are very encouraging. one of the adjacent teams holds a lunch once a week and they always invite everyone in the office to join.

My branch was very welcoming, socially, but also eager to get me involved early on. Structure is fairly flat - direct managers are involved in the day to day work while also providing some direction.

We work hard when things get busy. We enjoy break together during the time which is chill. Socialising amongst colleagues is very pleasant as everyone is friendly and cool. Celebrate success together and discuss lessons learnt as well for one common goal. Very knowledgeable managers who always tries to help us.

Very varied across teams and business areas. My current area has a strong culture of inclusivity and teamwork, with occasional after work bonding activities such a board games and drinks. However, my previous business area was very hostile, with no after work activities or comradery amongst colleagues. Hierarchy is once again dependent on the business area. Some areas have minimal separation between worker levels, but other areas have a very clear separation with no/minimal interaction amongst different worker levels. This is more prevalent in the senior directors vs. standard worker levels.

The culture of DTP is extremely good, managers and directors are extremely supportive and helpful. Colleagues are very nice and friendly. I am not expected to work after hours, however, I do sometimes work after hours to catch up on some things.

Team culture is great, there are a number of meets and chats through the day, both formalised and impromptu. After hours is less but l am ok with that, especially as we are all in the office less. The structure and hierarchy are very compressed, my current team is very small but we are very affiliated with a number of surrounding teams so l get a good team experience.

I feel that the company culture is inclusive. As a neurodivergent person I feel part of the team and I receive accommodations where required. I was encouraged to have a work life balance, and in my home department provided opportunities to socialise. The grad program itself also had socialising opportunities.

The culture is very supportive of work life balance and personal development. My managers have been supportive of the personal well being of team members. In the service delivery departments I saw a great desire to consult with the community, especially diverse groups within Victoria.

My home department has a fantastic, flexible and supportive culture. Hierarchy can depend on the division, but in general there is flatter structures. This is not the same for other departments. I've been able to work from home 1-2 days only in all of my roles, which has helped my work life balance.

The current team has four to five hierarchal levels with the Minister on Top. From Directors to Grads, all people sit on the same floor and are interactive throughout the day. The team also often organises after work drinks to celebrate any accomplishments achieved. All in all, a pretty good work culture.

Quite hierarchical with set grades and responsibilities Cooperative culture

The company's culture is very diverse and friendly and I feel very welcomed by my coworkers.

The R1 culture (ESC, Enforcement) was welcoming. On my first day my team took me out for lunch and over the next few weeks people from all levels of the commission introduced themselves - including the commissioners and CEO. My team worked together well, with people being very willing to help each other. I was invited to work on investigations being run by all of my core team members, which gave me an opportunity to get to know them all. Each of my team members were supportive and took the time to answer and questions I had. My team members and manager also regularly asked for my opinion on issues and took my responses seriously. Nobody appeared to work overtime. More broadly, the commission put on a number of staff events in the time I was there, and the grad coordinator put on a special event for us as well. These events were attended by people from across the commission (including commissioners), meaning there was lots of opportunity to get to meet people. My R2 team (VSBA, Priorities & Quality Assurance) was super welcoming and friendly. This was definitely the most fun rotation for me, which was entirely the result of the work culture of the team. Even though they knew I would only be there for a short time, all my team members were willing to share their knowledge and answer any questions I had. The team worked very effectively in getting all its tasks completed within the short deadlines, and the workload was shared fairly amongst the team. If anybody became overwhelmed by a task, somebody was always willing to step in to help. I always felt very well supported in this team. People rarely worked overtime - and if they did it was only ever the team leaders. The team leadership had also built team social activities into the work schedule, so we'd all come together for a quiz and a game of Pictionary each week, and team meetings always involved an 'ice-breaker' type activity. There were also often opportunities to socialise after work. I felt very included in this team and was actually quite sad to leave :( - 10/10 team. The work culture in R3 (DEECA, Office of the ED for P&C) has been very different to my previous two. On my first day, I didn't feel very welcomed. My manager didn't think to take me out for a coffee or even show me around the office. I didn't feel like my manager was particularly prepared for me when I arrived, even though they knew I was coming months in advance - in the first couple of weeks I didn't have much work to do. In this role I don't have a great deal of connection to my team other than my manger (in fact there are a couple I have never met). When I've attended meetings with different groups for the first time, I've not really given a chance to introduce myself (I'm just 'the grad') and in some instances my manager has not remembered to introduce me, which has left me feeling awkward about being in some meetings. Most of the work I do is on my own, and there are very few (if any) chances to socialise casually. People are generally nice, but I feel they are all very busy - which is probably partly due to the MOG changes - so I don't really speak to anybody much. One thing my manger has been really good at is checking in with me regularly 1:1, with meetings scheduled most days. My manager has also been very helpful in guiding me on the bigger project I'm working on, and assisted me in generating some ideas for my GLT project during the period where I'd still had no contact with my project sponsor. I feel my manager is doing his best, but is often overwhelmed by work that he has often missed small things that would make me feel more connected to the P&C DEECA teams - he always feels in hurry. The role I'm in was originally attached to a different team, so has changed drastically since the R1 grad was there - the grad role has moved with the manager rather than remaining with a team. I wonder whether the Office of the ED for P&C is really an appropriate team for a grad to be in given there seems to be no type of work that unifies the team members that a grad can really get involved in. Overall, I've found this role somewhat isolating and feel apathetic towards it.