A job that changed me: I mulched city parks in the dead of winter – I was not cut out for manual labour or working with family
Source: Guardian Jobs ↗
In early 2020, after quitting a human‑resources role in Canberra and facing both financial pressure and his mother’s demand to move out, the author accepted a job with his brother’s newly launched landscaping business, which had secured a municipal tender to mulch city parks during the COVID‑19 lockdown. Alongside a small, eclectic crew that included an ex‑sports physiotherapist, a former Canberra Raiders player and a former plasterer, he spent pre‑dawn mornings driving a Toyota Hi‑Lux to designated parks, loading a skid‑steer loader with mulch, and manually spreading the material around the bases of trees. The work proved inefficient—each truckload covered only five trees and often left the crew idle while awaiting the next delivery—yet it highlighted the author’s physical unsuitability for the role, as he suffered lower‑back spasms, struggled to maintain focus, and frequently distracted teammates with chatter, leading his brother to label him “terrible at mulching.”
The experience underscored the broader challenges of manual labour and family‑run enterprises, especially amid the pandemic’s disruption of normal employment patterns. While most of Canberra shifted to remote work, the author and his team were sent to empty parks, where onlookers occasionally questioned the sight of five men in high‑visibility gear lying on the ground beside rakes. The job’s physical demands clashed with the author’s recent indoor office background, creating tension between him and his brother over commitment and performance. The author’s struggle also revealed a recurring family theme: relatives urging him toward further education, a suggestion he initially dismissed but later reconsidered after recognizing his own intellectual strengths over physical endurance.
After quitting the landscaping contract, the author briefly worked in communications before relocating to Melbourne to study journalism, a field he describes as his true calling. He reflects that the stint in mulching taught him the value of a mentally stimulating career rather than a physically taxing one, and that without this detour he might never have pursued higher education. The mulch application itself proved counterproductive, reportedly sparking weed outbreaks that required subsequent de‑mulching, and the brother’s business ceased operations a year later as normalcy returned. The episode remains a personal turning point, illustrating how an ill‑suited manual job can catalyze a shift toward a more suitable, passion‑driven profession.
⚡ Effects Interpreter
🌍World Economylow impact
What this means for you
- ▶World markets have a habit of reading between the lines of stories like this.
- ▶Trade and investment between countries could shift a touch if things escalate.
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💷Wealthmedium impact
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- ▶Redundancy or a pay cut can eat into savings and delay retirement plans.
- ▶Uncertain work usually means postponing big financial decisions for a while.
🏠Housinglow impact
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- ▶First-time buyers watching the market closely may see little change in the short term.
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🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.