Q&A with Sinéad Stubbins about her latest novel, Stinkbug

In this wildly original and deeply unhinged story, Sinéad Stubbins turns her keen but empathetic eye on the lies we tell about ourselves in order to belong. Part anxious millennial fever dream, part searing workplace satire, Stinkbug follows Edith and a select group of employees at Winked advertising agency who are sent to an elite three-day work retreat in the remote mountains, ahead of an inevitable restructure.

Sinéad Stubbins is a Melbourne/Naarm-based writer, editor and cultural critic, and the author of In My Defence, I Have No Defence. Her work appears in print, online and on TV.

Q&A

Congratulations on the publication of Stinkbug! The novel offers a humorous satire of office culture; were you inspired by any real life experiences?

Thanks! I was inspired by lots of things: the (many) jobs I’ve had, jobs my friends have had, stories in the news, the film The Lobster (the comparison makes sense to me!) and miserable millennial memes on Instagram.

Things become quite unhinged after the characters enter the closed, mysterious and cult-like corporate retreat, Consequi. What inspired the nature of this retreat?

Something that I’ve noticed more in the past few years is the infiltration of wellness and sometimes psychology speak into corporate vernacular, which is really interesting. When you look at sports, those sort of motivational mindfulness workshops have existed since the ‘70s, but recently some of those retreats and training camps have come under fire for triggering trauma and being culturally insensitive. Places like this do exist! Maybe not as full on as Consequi though…

I giggled at the pressure on the employees of Winked to find a ‘work best friend’ – I have completed workplace satisfaction questionnaires which certainly use this as a metric! Do you think that workplace friendships can ever truly be as deep or meaningful as friendships outside of work? Do they need to be?

They can definitely be as meaningful as friendships outside of work. I think where it gets complicated is when workplaces use team-building activities to force people to socialise in these artificial ways. Let people make friends organically! Whether you have friends at work is no measure of your dedication to your job.

Stinkbug’s main character, Edith, is revealed to be a somewhat unreliable narrator. How did you craft her character?

I think Edith is in denial for a lot of the book! She doesn’t really trust her own instincts and has a flimsy relationship with reality, so I wanted to have her withhold some information from the reader in the same way she hides things from herself – usually out of shame.

Edith also struggles with being a people pleaser in both her office and personal life. Why did you decide to highlight this character trait?

I think a workplace like Winked is tailor-made for someone with a fairly broken sense of self, because it encourages self-sacrifice. Edith is a classic worker at any arts adjacent industry: constantly told she’s lucky to be there and that there are a thousand other people waiting to take her place, so she can’t put a foot wrong. This desperation and a need for validation means that Winked becomes her entire identity. She’s someone who is dazzled by free drinks on Friday and the idea of belonging to a family at all costs.

Multiple characters in Stinkbug lament about the difficulties balancing motherhood and a career, including observing how mothers are treated more poorly in the workplace. What changes do you think are needed at Winked – and in real life – to better support working mothers?

Oh gosh, I wish I had the answers! Aside from compensation and leave, I think a recognition that having a life outside of work doesn’t make you a lesser worker, but in fact widens your perspective and skillset, would be a great start.

Stinkbug is out now through Affirm Press.

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