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What I learned here: trust is costly when leadership treats ethics as optional and probation as policy. The real lesson wasn’t about me, it was about how far an organisation can fall when accountability is replaced by loopholes.
To expand: I spent 10 weeks in probation, 4 of them without a single direction from my manager. HR never met me, and performance was never discussed. The job description looked good on paper, but in reality it was ignored — especially by a bully who could use F-words at newcomers while management stood silent. Even the previous GM wasn’t spared. This isn’t onboarding, it’s revolving-door probation
I believed this company had a real plan. The price? Tens of thousands lost and months of my career wasted. I’ve led global teams in far tougher environments and always succeeded, until Pact. What failed here wasn’t me, but leadership that normalised chaos, dodged responsibility, and treated ethics as optional.
If any of this sounds familiar, know you’re not alone. Others have walked this path too. Solidarity matters, and voices together carry weight. Reach out through the usual safe channels, there’s strength in numbers.
The real problem? Companies like this thrive on loopholes. Australian law gives them a free pass to cycle people through probation, avoiding the real work of leadership. It’s cheaper to burn through employees than build them up — and it shows.
Probation here isn’t a trial, it’s a weapon. A shortcut for managers who dodge responsibility instead of coaching, guiding, or supporting. The turnover speaks for itself — professionals in, professionals out, leadership unchanged.
When I asked why I ‘failed’ probation, the answers were classic cover-your-back material. Nothing concrete, nothing credible. Just "the law allows us to terminate probation". Just excuses designed to protect managers, not grow people. The irony? Even those managers may be forced into this immoral cycle just to survive themselves.