Oicur, the issue that staff have with managers like Ms Hrdlicka is having to deal with the sanctimonious rubbish such as:
Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says workplaces won't change until woman and men start to demand to work in different ways and draw the line.
She told him she couldn't spend two weeks a month in Asia doing deals as well as a heavy domestic travel schedule, "that's not the kind of parent I want to be".
Referring to Alan Joyce:
"He said: "There is a must better way to run this business and the role modelling you will do by running it differently is exactly what the business needs'."
Discussing her own views on "work-life" balance.
"I am very clear about my work balance rules. She said 80 per cent of the time she wants to drop her kids at school and get home by 6pm. She gets back online after dinner and bedtime. "You have to be very clear about where the that line is and manage that line because nobody else can manage that for you.
And then her view of the type of workplace she wants to work in.
"If you don't have commitment at the top to create a diverse work environment, you're not going to get there." She advised people to "dig in and check the settings on things. . . ask why we do that?"
Just to keep your head down and keep going was dangerous, as more diverse workplaces benefited everyone.
The reality is that aviation is a 24 hour business and the vast majority of people who work in the industry accept that and understand that sacrifices must be made. This sort of "preaching from the pulpit" by someone who has the ability to afford a nanny who takes care of everything at home and is able to negotiate to drop the kids off to school and be home by 6 pm sticks in the craw while most staff have to work shift work for perhaps 5% of her salary (and accept that) and their own family life suffers as a consequence.
The problem is that this issue feeds into a broader narrative of hypocrisy emanating from the offices of Coward Street and management have lost all credibility as a consequence of it.
At a time when staff are receiving emails telling them that every dollar is precious and front line staff are being asked to do more with less, are watching their colleagues being made redundant and are fearful for their jobs (what effect do you think that has on people's home life and "work-life balance"?), QANTAS is handing out goodie bags including $300 bottles of champagne to celebrate the Emirates tie-up to D-list celebrities.
At a time when the staff desperately need leadership and managers they can believe in they get this sort of stuff and it completely undermines any confidence that the staff have in senior management and destroys any remaining willingness to work co-operatively for the good of the company.