Radio boss: We provide condoms to stop staff having babies (and work-life balance is bullshit)

Whoa. Debate time.

This is going to be a cracker.

Wow, just, wow.

She’s brave…!

Refreshing.

Her staff must be sooo proud of her. I wonder if SCA’s HR team will be calling anytime soon. I guess not.

Oh, good morning, 2015!

We have an utter dinosaur in charge.

What an appalling attitude this woman has.

Seems some in commercial radio still think they have a right to simply use staff to grease the machine.

Geez – lucky these opinions come from a woman… or there would be outrage.

Valid views…..look forward to the day when a man can say stuff like that without getting lynched

Marginalising women for taking their workplace right to maternity leave is a pretty odd management strategy I would have thought. And telling someone they owe their career to absent staff on maternity leave…is that supposed to be motivating?
The condom jar is borderline sexual harassment. Not appropriate at all.

Maybe this is supposed to be funny. On paper, it doesn’t read like it.

@Ummm… you know businesses have to make money to pay everyone’s wages, right?

This could only happen in Perth.

Part of 92.9’s target market is 10 – 17 year olds. I thought they would have wanted more of them.

This is exactly the sort of broken internal culture that has led to the plague of issues now facing SCA.

i’m not sure if i agree with everything this woman says but good on her for being honest about her views. these sorts of debates are healthy for society. in a free and uncensored public sphere it should be acceptable for men and women to voice controversial opinions like this and have them debated, dissected, criticised, evaluated without fear of reprisal.

@Bear No shit?

Where did I suggest they shouldn’t be commercial?

There are very specific laws to protect people against discrimination and bullying in the workplace. Including protection for women who go on maternity leave and have children. The ad/media industry does not get special dispensation to flout them because it doesn’t suit their outdated management practices.

The issue is not just what’s right for the employee, but also whats right for the business.
Large businesses – like a bank, or a Clems – can manage flexibility/job sharing etc., much easier than a small business simply because they have the resources.
Small businesses, who rely on a more personal interaction between agency and client are much more vulnerable to staff movements. For them, constant changes in staff can create real uncertainty in the client/agency relationship and that puts at risk the jobs of everyone, including the women who aren’t on maternity leave, or those, following the birth of their child, prefer to work part-time etc.
As a small agency that prides itself on how we care for our staff above and beyond the 9:00 – 6:00 [and yes, often much later], we had 3 x GAD in 3 years on our major piece of business all due to pregnancy leave.Imagine how pleased our client was about that?
‘Umm…’ at 9:37am says ‘marginalising women for taking their workplace right to maternity leave is a pretty odd management strategy’. I agree, but if it was you and your money that was operating and funding a business you’d also appreciate that, after 3 x GADs leaving in 3 years, the possibility of women exercising their ‘workplace rights’ to maternity leave makes the idea of employing men very attractive. [And just for the record – GAD number 4 is a woman].
Its not a simple as employees make out. Even the most compassionate and understanding of small business operators can tell you that.

Bravo
Bravo

Can 2DayFM send Kyle Sandilands’ old 10 second dump button over to SCA Perth, I think this lady needs it!

@an opinion…

SCA is not a small business.

Its brilliant to see a high ranking media executive have an honest stance on the subject. It definitely helps she is a woman, but bravo for tackling a sensitive subject with objective bluntness. Great article, well covered Mumbrella

Hey Linda, what about the third of your staff that show up hungover or are covering for a hungover colleague? HAve you thought about providing jars of Berocca for them. Im sure that would assist their productivity.

Dear Umm…
I was talking about small businesses generally, not SCA.

Simply put, this is a brain drain.
You think that ‘all businesses’ do this to win. Actually, the businesses who are smart about this issue will continue to be competitive in the future.

The other thing is that this isn’t a female issue, it’s also a men’s issue. Certain business owners have yet to see it.

This is emblematic of sca’s culture. As someone who worked there recently it’s pretty blokey, old school and off colour

This article is a damning indictment on the kind of society we have created where profit and business is deemed more important than family and child rearing. The latter of which is the fundamental essence of human life. It can’t be that hard for business to allow flexible working for parents – leave an hour early to pick up kids but start an hour early to make up for it. Any business that says that’s not possible is lying.

Refreshingly honest?! No. No, not at all.
This is a massive over-reach and she has no business asserting such a viewpoint, let alone encouraging an environment of potential repurcussions upon those wanting to start a family. Shameful. She should be sacked.

No one is going to give a flying **** about SCA when lying on their death bed. But they are going to care about their kids and their family.

Personally, I prefer not to have sex with condoms. With a person wearing a condom, sure, no worries, but with the condom itself? Hm, tricky.

Hooray for the blunt honesty! Once you have owned and run your own business, had a baby, returned to work because you had to run the business then dealt with how to cover other staff having babies… While still running a business, paying staff, keeping clients serviced impeccably and raising that baby… Then I will listen to criticism of such a blunt stance. I do it all because I love it all and it can be shitful at times and worth it in the long run.

hahaha. Condoms to stop pregnancy. Least the office are having safe sex. What a stupid thing to come out and say. I get what she is trying to say, she just said it terribly! Great topic of debate…idiot leading it.

A short-sighted viewpoint.

I have noticed that media (particularly radio stations) have a high turnover with lots of burnout. I would guess that the women going on maternity leave have stayed with the company longer than most. If these staff members were taking a year off to travel overseas they would probably get more help/sympathy/support. However, because they are having babies they are denigrated and sidelined.

But it explains a lot about their editorial philosophy.

And the condoms in the office are just wrong.

Wow, yes indeed… A frank and fantastic article, please go to Perth more often and get GOLD like this…
“We had a breakfast host who had a huge work ethic. She had a baby, then another one. She used to do breakfast, then the house cleaning because her husband wanted to go surfing. I offered to go and shove a vacuum cleaner up his arse because that’s how supportive I am of our female staff.”
I’m happy to engage with the above style of feminism as opposed to have the life sucked out of me by the platoon of new wave ‘Mummy Bloggers” parading as feminist’s who for some reason think being boring, earnest and so bloody predictable helps the status of women. Oh FFS i’m scared to read any more comments in case one of the MAMMA MIA ‘sisters of perpetual preaching’ adds. their unctuous ‘Uria Heep’ like crap. Final point, ‘work life balance’ is bullshit for women…all blooody tru.

This lady is just not a part of the future. You can tell that by looking at her, but also what she has to say. Working mums are amazing and they are unavoidable from here on in. They juggle so many tasks and spend waaaayyy less time at the agency bar and foosball table. Companies need to get used to this. There’s a reason why your fourth GAD hire is a female, @an opinion, it’s because she was the best person you could find for the job… All the male GADs probably only fancy themselves at big agencies where there’s plenty of minions for delegation. You know she won’t be afraid to roll her sleeves up in your small environ and she will work tirelessly with way less bravado and bullshit. Wayman’s thinking is so depressing and uninspiring… And reflective of a woman who has been trying to crack the boys club for too long. And BTW it’s radio we’re talking about… it’s not like we’re talking brain surgeons here… No one is saving lives.

This is just so sad. That in this day and age with all the information out there about the commercial benefits to having working parents in flexible roles, that this ridiculous attitude still exists. Talented and competent business owners and managers will have the intelligence to look for viable solutions which allow for flexibility, which by the way ensures that they are able to retain staff, talent and experience within their own business.

She’s right, its really really hard doing the juggle as a working parent, but you can be good at and enjoy both when you have the right support at work from management. Maybe part of the problem is the expectation that work is the number 1 priority in life. I know when i’m on my death bed it’s not my office I’ll be wishing I spent more time at. And that’s what makes me a great employee, I’m super efficient and motivated to get it all done and do an amazing job so I can get out and live.

As a male, I am careful about expressing these views, but the bull shit lines that working parents are more organised, may be true for some people, but over the last few years my department has seem 4 parents 3 women and a father all leave to be stay at home parents, there is the expectation that we have to bend over and accomodate, but some roles, simply aren’t sharable, and can’t function part time. What is worse, when you put up with 12 months maternity leave, to get to the 11month point and have them resign.
Here here to this person for expressing an opinion, media is having a hard enough time as it is, big, medium or small business, it doesn’t matter, it’s time to let us grease the machine as someone said, because, two many of us have seized altogether and collapsed due to a failing bottom line.

Ready my medal… I am happy to listen to criticism of such a refreshing blunt stance once you have owned and run your own business, supported staff, paid their wages, serviced clients impeccably well, had a baby, returned to work quickly to keep running the business then deal with how to support your staff having babies too. They don’t want to comeback to work after a few weeks. They have rights. I still run a business that needs to service clients and pay their wages and grow their careers. And raise that baby. I do it because I love it – I love going to work and I love going home. Would life be easier if no one else in my business wanted to every have a baby. YES!

What a legend.

I cringe whenever I read about peole who “have sex,” as in [quote] “I do encourage people regularly, to have sex with condoms. That is a big area of focus for me, encouraging people to have sex with condoms.” [unquote]

I cant remember ever having sex with a condom, though I have used a condom when engaging in sexual intercourse many a time. I don’t care for the expression “had sex” Its like had a coffee, had a hissy fit, had lunch etc.

This article about the workplace dilemma, may be just the tip of the iceberg. The commercial world, everywhere infected by greed, has had its domination of the masses compromised by social pressures and legislation. Has the truth leaked out? Is there a fight back, a determination to rule the lives of the common folk? This kind of thinking may well be the thin end of the wedge of Malthusianism.

Well the Angelina Jolie Christmas Party prize just has to take the cake for instilling in a young women her worth and value as an employee. Must have done wonders for her self esteem. Perhaps Ms Wayman could adopt a little more sophisticated and intelligent approach towards staff management and embark upon some training herself. A trip perhaps to German or Scandinavian commercial radio may offer some insight. There is a little and quite successful company in Europe called Bertelsmann which she may have heard of which might give her a few pointers.

IF A MAN SAID THIS – ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE !

Double Standards at play here – outrageous …

This would be quoted all over the media if a man said it.

Oh she works for Austereo… Well if her colleagues are anything like Kyle Sandilands, Jackie O and other FM hacks, I;d encourage them not to breed as well.

Provocative but bullshit.

I work for a global tech company. I work 3 days a week remotely from the head office in another state and manage a team across WA, NSW , VIC and QLD. I also have a 3 yr son and am looking to have a second.

I have more flexibility with my time, I achieve all my KPI’s and I get to spend time with my family. Its not impossible you just have to have the right company attitude.

@straight shooter…’quoted all over the media’ like if it was picked up by all the major online news channels and currently the lead story on the SMH home page? Like that? Would that satisfy you that a woman is not getting special treatment (god forbid!)

Does anyone do a Google search before they shoot their mouth off these days or is the desire to stick the boot into women for no reason just too strong?

Double standards. A man would be sacked if he behaved the same way.

If you weren’t disgusted by the Angelina Jolie prize, maybe the “Best Tits” prize awarded to a female staffer at a Christmas Party when I worked at SCA (Gold Coast) might better outline the attitudes to women and workers in general by this company full of unintelligent dinosaurs. Get with the times and realise providing flexible arrangements for staff = better retention = less training and turnover = happy employees and happy clients. Working staff to the bone for minimum wage has to stop sometime SCA …

A sad indictment of society where profit is deemed to have more value than child rearing and family life. Parents don’t really ask for much – we need to leave a little early sometimes to pick up the kids and sometimes they get sick. Businesses need to deal with it.

The success of a business is reliant on the intellect that you have at the top and ability to appreciate an asset or employee or both.
It’s recognising great talent and retaining them, irrespective of whether they are a mother or not. Talent simply doesn’t disappear because you have had a couple of children. However a lack of talent at the top leads to an insular view on what is important for the company and the inherent success going forward.
Linda Wayman in my opinion you are the epitome of the ‘lack of talent’ I am referring to.

@Straight Shooter, I think you will find that all hell is about to break loose. It doesn’t matter if she’s a woman, she is still a dinosaur.

This is symptomatic of the reason why Southern Cross Austereo’s business is in trouble. It is clearly not a modern business.

There is a race for talent, and companies that figure out how to retain and engage working parents are the companies that win in the 21st century. Businesses that think they don’t have to change won’t be around very long.

For the commenters above who complain about people going on parental leave for 12 months and then resigning, they should look to the reasons why and fix them. Maybe the new parents can see that the business is not family-friendly in a way that they couldn’t see before they understood the reality of having children. It is the company’s loss if they can’t figure out how to retain these people.

Thank goodness Perth is such a long way away.

Thank goodness Perth is such a long way away.

+1 to what straight shooter said.

Have any of you slamming what this woman has said actually taken the time to listen to the audio?

You can hear in the tone of voice and the comments that she made (which were omitted from this article) that she has a strong belief in supporting women in the work place, but that it must be balanced with the good of the company, otherwise, nobody has a job!
I think you members of the audience on the day might also be able to attest to how the comments we’re received, because they laughed… it was clearly a bit of a joke. In good taste? Probably not, but maybe everyone needs to chill out and have a look at this woman’s track record of promoting and supporting women within her organisation.

Its not fair to put additional pressure on other staff members by bringing people into the work place who aren’t able to complete the job at hand in the time they have available to them. Some women (and men) can do it, some can’t and each case needs to be assessed on the merits of the person and position in question. It should not just be a given that a role can be made part time, not all roles can, its that simple.

Linda Wayman was my editor-in-chief when I became pregnant 20 years ago..before it became compulsory to rehire after maternity leave. She supported me throughout the pregnancy and fought tooth and nail for me to come back 3 days a week after six months away.
She was and is an exemplary boss and friend. Those who brand her anti-feminist are doing women a huge disservice. She’s absolutely right in these comments – and to cherry-pick what she says is again reducing debate to tabloid levels.

What a fool!
“Thirty five per cent of my staff at the moment are on a maternity leave contract or maternity leave and that’s significant.” Meaning that 17.5% of her staff are on maternity leave and during that period someone else is covering for their role, of course doubling the number makes the whole thing sound much more dramatic!

It makes me mad!

Agree that not all roles are suited for part-time though.

On another note, she must think highly of her staff if she thinks that condoms are the answer. Because all of those women on maternity leave must have skipped sex-ed at school and accidentally fallen pregnant. How about educated professional women making a choice to bring a member of the next generation to this world and then work just as hard at both being a mother and as good an employee as before going on maternity leave. By the way, ‘as good’ means also ‘as bad’. There are good employees and bad employees and having been on maternity leave will hardly change that, maternity leave is not the issue here!

http://fortune.com/2015/03/03/.....work-with/

& it’s gone international http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/03.....ian-radio/

What a joke of an article. Linda is a huge advocate for women in the workplace and after having worked for her for many years I have nothing but respect for this lady. This is a classic example of taking comments out of context to try and get a headline.

Sorry, but exactly how is radio “a demanding industry”? Compared to what? Mining? Healthcare? Isn’t it just playing records and selling advertising?

Hopefully her approval of people ‘having sex’ and the ready available supply of condoms will mean a spike in SCA office trysts.

Not related to the real issue, I just support office rooting.

Cheers

D Hip

WARNING *** Sense of humour failure ***

I think this particular industry is deemed ‘demanding’ because of the fact that it’s 24/7 and governed by deadlines. It’s also extremely competitive to get into, much like other creative professions – advertising etc. There’s always someone waiting to take your role / work longer hours than you / accept less pay just to have ‘XXX radio station’ on their resume.

I’m not so sure the speaker / radio boss was saying that work/life balance is ‘bull$hit’. She was trying to express that it was simply hard to achieve; and it is! Anyone who works full time, particularly those who have a family, would surely agree with that.

Brilliant! I too, as an employer, hate it when staff go and have a baby, then want to come back only part-time. Totally understand why, but from a company point of view, hate it. Not great for productivity. I’m a woman by the way. With no desire to have any children anytime soon or EVER.

Just shows how far behind the times Perth is.

In Sydney, we keep a fresh pile of porno’s in the bathrooms so staff are too tired to have sex when they get home.

Saves a lot more money and our employees are quite relaxed during the day.

Personally I think she is right, when it’s 6.00 o’clock on a Friday night and I’m looking around the office it’s NEVER women who are still working, it’s always the guys, the women have all left because of ‘Family’.

Frankly this single gay man is sick to death of having to cover for these pregnant women (because I have yet to see just one of them who comes back to work and wants the same position).

AFTER having 12 weeks or six months off they ALL come back and want reduced hours. And it’s the ones who have covered their jobs who don’t get the same rights.

Imagine if the guys took 12 weeks off and then came back and wanted to only work part time, how would anyone run a business? Talk about discrimination.

I hope the union is not successful. If women are not prepared to work a full week like everyone else in the office why should they get special treatment?
Most women complain about the glass ceiling but from every job I’ve worked in they don’t deserve a management position they don’t work. It’s the guys that are working year in year out!

Hi Lenny – I suggest you read up on the guidelines concerning parental leave because if a man is the primary carer for a new born child then they can have Parental Leave too. They can also request a flexible working arrangement once they come back from parental leave. It does happen.

Although I do believe your entire comment is just one huge troll but just thought I would give you a big FYI

@John, your wife called, wants to know if you would prefer burial or cremation.

Just employ more men…

😉

I find it bizarre that someone thinks they can ‘stop’ someone from anything. We have to change the work culture that makes your employee think and act like they own you. More and more people are going freelance – not because they want babies but because they are saying ‘f**k you’ to the culture of work and nonsense like this.

It’s interesting to see most of supportive comments are from male-named users.

@Lenny… I’m a guy. Just got off 6 weeks paternity leave and came back to work on reduced hours. I work for SCA. And aside from me, the people working late here are generally women. Grow up.

Lenny, I went back to working full time in the same high pressure position when my baby was just a few months old. It was hard work and very tiring, but I did it. I think the important thing to remember is that every person’s situation is different, and their decision to return to work or stay at home or take on a part time role is exactly that: their decision.
John, I enjoy coming home to a baked dinner too.

…are people still discussing this??!!

@Brain Drain.

No, they are not. You just asked a doubly exclaimed, double question to a dead segment in cyberspace.

…and you entertained it Richard!

“Personally I think she is right, when it’s 6.00 o’clock on a Friday night and I’m looking around the office it’s NEVER women who are still working, it’s always the guys, the women have all left because of ‘Family’.”

Lenny – don’t be a doormat – just GO HOME when they do. Lie about picking up a niece or nephew from daycare the first few times if you have to.

If you set an expectation you are available around the clock and then do anything less, and you’ll be perceived to be slacking. So set the correct expectations early. If you want to leave at 5pm every day and can get your work done in that time, then do so.

Anyone who fires a 100% productive employee because they won’t keep a seat warm after hours is a fool and not worth working for.

Great idea EXCEPT the business is open until 6.00pm, not everyone can leave at 5.00pm, your a bit old fashioned to think everyone leaves work at 5.00 in this day and age.