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Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)

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4.0
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Culture at Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)

7.0
7.0 rating for Culture, based on 11 reviews
Please describe your company's culture both in the office and after hours. Let us know about the structure and hierarchy, cooperation and teamwork, and socialising amongst colleagues.
Very hierarchical, which inhibits information flows between teams, resulting in very busy managers, not very busy staff and lots of duplicate work across the organisation. Culture is generally overly formal, but can vary wildly from team to team.
Graduate, Canberra
Workplace relations culture worked better than current team as the body is its own branch and did not have many other colleagues to converse with.
Graduate, Canberra
Overall the culture feels good, but the department is still working out how to get every division of the department together and on the same page. My observation is that the machinery of government (MOG) was disruptive and there are cultural di_erences between employment, education and the attorney generals o_ce. My team have a strong culture and understanding of our priorities and work. Outside of the o_ce, there is a positive graduate culture. There is a good sense of togetherness and support within and outside of the graduate program. Most graduates are well supported by their peers.
Graduate, Canberra
I think the culture promoted by SES in the Department is positive and has all the characteristics of an exemplary company culture. Middle management doesn't always embrace these characteristics and features, due to what I consider to be the result of fear of change. I feel that while there is a hierarchical structure to support accountability measures, I feel this department is more horizontal than other departments that embody more traditional models of governance. The department is large but I feel greater integration would enhance the culture of the company.
Graduate, Canberra
There is a strong bureaucracy, however, people are friendly and genuinely happy to help others around them.
Graduate, Canberra
Company culture in the office is good, staff in my current group are nice and welcoming to new starters. Staff generally supports one another to ensure the workload is evenly spread. Having previously worked in another group in the department this is not always the case and some areas are more overworked than others.
Graduate, Canberra
SES and entry levels (as a result of interaction with SES, awareness of APS reform agenda, other depts.) are enthusiastic about an innovative, responsive, new culture for DEWR. Yet the real change agents are middle managers (branch and team leaders). These are usually people who have been in the department for the longest, so there is little motivation to change and get out of their comfort zones. They create siloed, insulated cultures in teams and branches, and hire those that fit their culture. Having highly relevant subjects and assignments in the grad cert that pushes us to think critically about continuous improvement is one thing, bringing new ideas to innovate and improve e_ciency to ambivalent middle managers who are incentivised to maintain the status quo system of bureaucracy and overclearing every single piece of work is another. Ultimately, SES needs to maintain more control and hold EL sta_ to account to drive innovation, otherwise culture cannot change. General culture also varies significantly between groups. WR seemed to be much more organised in processes, o_ce management and social club events.
Graduate, Canberra