Rory Tait

7.00 AM

I wake up at 7 and have a fairly relaxed start to the day, having breakfast in my flat, catching up on the latest news from overnight and chatting with friends in other time zones. Once I've made my packed lunch, I cycle into the office which takes me about 15 minutes. This saves me time and helps build in some more exercise into my day. 

 8.30 AM

I usually get to the office around 8:30. We hot-desk so I'm able to find a desk near others on my team so we can work together and bounce ideas off each other. This is really great as a graduate, as it means I can easily ask questions and get help when I need it. Other times I might find a quieter spot so I can just power through my work. 

9.00 AM 

We have an office group chat for the daily 'Coffee train' which departs each morning to get coffee from the nearby kiosk. This is a great time to catch-up with others who you might not directly work with and learn more about the work that is going on outside of your team.

10.00 AM 

My mornings are usually free to work on whatever policy projects or research I'm currently assigned to. At the moment I’m writing up some drafting instructions for a policy project in an upcoming bill and doing some research tasks for double taxation agreements. While most of my scheduled meetings are in the afternoon it is pretty normal to end up on at least one impromptu with team members either online or in one of our quick meeting pods. 

12.00 PM 

I usually take 45 minutes to an hour for lunch around midday. I like to get out of the office for some fresh air and a walk before sitting in a park, or on the lawn at Parliament to eat. Once a week at lunch I go and play indoor netball with other younger members of the Policy team. There’s also an indoor football league that Inland Revenue has a team in too.

 2.00 PM 

Once a week, I have an informal coffee catch-up, in the kitchen, with the other grad in my cohort where we’re able to share helpful tips we have picked up on our jobs and chat about how each of us is going. It’s really nice knowing there are other people in the same situation learning similar things to you.

3.00 PM

As tax touches so many facets of our lives, a lot of our work at Inland Revenue involves engaging with stakeholders or consulting with other agencies on policy proposals. So most days I'll have at least one external meeting. Our most frequent partner is the Treasury, who we share joint policy responsibilities with. We often speak to them about the fiscal costings for projects. But depending on the project I've also had the chance to meet with the Office for the Privacy Commissioner, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Commerce Commission and lots of private sector groups. 

 3.30 PM 

Like most people in Wellington workplaces, we do the quiz each day. We meet as a team to have a quick catch-up and then test our knowledge. It's a great opportunity to touch base with everyone and discover who has niche expertise in details of the world's deserts or British TV soaps, among other things. With some of our team working remotely it’s also a nice way to stay connected with colleagues that aren’t in the office.

 5.00 PM

Depending how busy the day has been, I'll leave the office somewhere between 5 and 5:30pm. When it's still light out in the evening I'll take a scenic route home on my bike, along the waterfront and around Oriental Bay. Watching the dolphins play in the harbour during golden hour is definitely a beautiful way to end the day!