What are your memories about your parents and work, and how have they influenced the way you manage your own work-life? We explore these origin stories and the changing landscape of workplace flexibility. Guests: Professor Lyndall Strazdins, clinical psychologist and researcher of work and family life, Australian National University, and Director and Chair of the University Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Jono Nicholas , founder and managing director The Wellbeing Outfit...
Apr 11, 2025•28 min
Tips and advice on how to prepare for your performance review ahead of time. Plus, how to handle feedback during the meeting and go for that performance rating you're after. Guest: Emma Power , education-focused lecturer, Melbourne Business School and independent HR consultant And check out the companion episode: Can performance reviews "exceed expectations"?!...
Apr 08, 2025•18 min
Whether you’re having one or doing one, it can feel like the official performance review process is missing the mark. We explore the art and science of performance reviews and get some ideas about what could make them better. Guests: Michelle Brown , Professor of Human Resource Management, in the Department of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne Dr David Burkus , former business school professor turned consultant, author Look out for our bonus episode Try this: performance review e...
Apr 04, 2025•30 min
Studies show more of us are looking for purpose and meaning at work. But what if the work we do doesn't fill that need? From group giving activities to individual arrangements that allow you to volunteer in an area that means something to you, explore the different ways organisations are attempting to facilitate the need for purpose at work. Guest: Debbie Haski-Leventhal , Professor of Management, Macquarie University Mick Liubinskas, CEO, Climate Salad...
Mar 28, 2025•26 min
If you have a tendency to take on too much, you might want to look at the boundaries you have with your co-workers and your boss. It seems hard, but setting boundaries could improve your life, and your work as well. Boundaries expert Nedra Glover Tawwab teaches you how. Guest: Nedra Glover Tawwab , therapist and author of New York Times best seller, Set Boundaries, Find Peace
Mar 21, 2025•25 min
Job sharing could soon be back in vogue as some businesses and governments push for return to office policies. What are the pros and cons of job sharing and could it be the answer to work life balance? Guests: Rosalind Dixon, Professor of Law at the School of Global & Public Law, UNSW Mariebelle Malo, job sharing consultant Angela Dally and Kath Slack, job sharing lawyers for a large corporate retailer
Mar 14, 2025•25 min
In helping young people prepare for a life of work, asking them what they want to do for a job, or what they’re good at may limit their options. Learn a different way of thinking about careers that focuses on challenges, rather than job titles. Learn a different way of thinking about careers that focuses on challenges, rather than job titles. Guests: JP Michel, organisational psychologist and author, The World Needs You: A New Mindset for Career Exploration Kate McBeath , who works with career a...
Mar 07, 2025•25 min
Most of us are faced with managing multiple changes in our work lives , sometimes all at once. Learn how to anticipate, accept and grow with change, and be the "pilot" of your own career. Guest: Andrea Clarke , futurist and author of Adapt...
Feb 28, 2025•25 min
Most of us are faced with managing multiple changes in our work lives , sometimes all at once. Learn how to anticipate, accept and grow with change, and be the "pilot" of your own career. Guest: Andrea Clarke , futurist and author of Adapt...
Feb 28, 2025•25 min
The CEO is retiring, your team leader is moving interstate, your key IT architect has been poached by a competitor. How do you keep an organisation running smoothly without people who can step up into key roles? The answer lies in careful succession planning. Here's how it works. The answer lies in careful succession planning. Here's how it works. Guests: Donald (DJ) Schepker, Associate Professor, Research Director at Centre for Executive Succession, Darla Moore School of Business, University of...
Feb 21, 2025•25 min
Helping you navigate your way through the world of work.
Feb 14, 2025•26 min
Dealing with sweaty palms, talking for too long, and fumbling your answers are all possible scenarios that can kill off your chances of getting the job. So how can you prepare yourself and perform in a way that gives you a solid chance of landing the role? Guests: Dave Wolovsky , Career coach, Effortwise consulting Annique Teycheney , Careers Counsellor...
Feb 14, 2025•26 min
An anti-diversity, equity & inclusion rhetoric is gaining steam in politics. So why is there resistance to “DEI” in the workplace? Are there ways to improve implementation of programs so that everyone is on the same page? Guests: Colin D. Ellis , global workplace culture expert and author, Detox Your Culture Michelle Lim , organisational culture, intersectional DEI and ethics specialist, and Director, Asian Australian Professionals Collective Lily Zheng , workplace strategist and consultant,...
Feb 07, 2025•25 min
From AI to DEI, we’re looking at the year ahead, and what’s on the agenda for organisations and employees. What are you picking up at work that might be signalling a future change at work? And how can you prepare for it? Guest: Dr Ben Hamer , futurist
Jan 31, 2025•25 min
It’s time to plan for the changes you want to make at work this year. What are you trying to do differently, and how are you going to make that happen? Learn how to understand your behaviours and form new habits to improve your work life. Guests: Dr Kelvin Wong , clinical psychologist and senior lecturer, Swinburne University Dr BJ Fogg , behaviour scientist and creator of the Tiny Habits method, Adjunct Professor, Stanford University You can find recipe cards for Tiny Habits here ....
Jan 24, 2025•25 min
Are you feeling ready to tackle another year at work? Or are you a little detached and uninspired? Many of us are kicking off the new year by asking, ‘why are we here’ ?! So what is it about the culture of work that’s leading to that feeling ? And what can we do about it? Guest: Jennifer Moss , workplace culture strategist, author, Why Are We Here: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants...
Jan 19, 2025•25 min
Friction is everywhere - from our systems to our relationships at work. But there’s good news - not all friction is bad and if you know how, you can be a friction fixer. Robert (Bob) Sutton is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Stanford Business School and co-author of The Friction Project. He takes us through the different types of friction and how we can fix it. Meanwhile, we hear personal stories from a few This Working Lifers about how they tackled friction in their jobs - thanks to Ha...
Jan 19, 2025•25 min
Our childhood phantasy careers (different to fantasy with an ‘f’) help uncover our unconscious motivations and can unlock job satisfaction in our careers. Here’s how to figure out yours. Guest: Paul Harvey - Lecturer and Executive Coach at the INSEAD Business School And thanks to Afrouz, Karen and Ryan for sharing their stories. This story was first broadcast on 19 May 2024
Jan 12, 2025•25 min
It’s estimated we make up to 35,000 decisions every day so how can you make better decisions at work? Before you start drawing up pros and cons lists, listen to this episode to hear how you can make decisions with less stress and a lot more satisfaction - from small everyday ones, to big ones like changing career. Guests: Dr Ellen Langer - Professor of Psychology, Harvard University. Author, The Mindful Body. Dr Janneke Blijlevens - Senior Lecturer in Experimental Methods, RMIT University Dr Adr...
Jan 05, 2025•25 min
Have you ever been in a room with a leader who has you hanging on every word, and leaves you feeling inspired? Some would say that person has ‘executive presence’. But what do they have really? And are the qualities that make employees willing to really listen to and follow a leader, changing? Guests: Colin James , speaker, lead facilitator, executive coach, author, How to Influence Anyone, Anywhere, Every Time Megumi Miki consultant in leadership, culture and diversity and inclusion, author, Qu...
Dec 29, 2024•25 min
Put a pin in it, leverage that, circle back, LMK (let me know) - ugh! Some of us are drawn to use jargon and buzzwords, while others are annoyed by them. Learn when and how to use jargon so that you can avoid miscommunication at work. Guests: Dr Howie Manns, senior lecturer in linguistics, Monash University A/Professor Zachariah Brown , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology This story was first broadcast on 30 June 2024...
Dec 22, 2024•25 min
Close relationships can contribute to personal happiness, and that can extend to work too. But can having besties at work sometimes get in the way of organisational goals, or cause other problems? Get some tips on how to manage the roles of friend and co-worker at the same time. Guests: Shelley Rogers , founder, From Mates to Manager Dr Amanda Ferguson, organisational psychologist Steph Clarke, futurist, facilitator and friend enthusiast Julie Parker, career coach...
Dec 13, 2024•25 min
Leave entitlements are building up on business balance sheets. At the same time, some employees feel they don't get enough flexibility around when they can take holidays. We explore the reasons why workers are accumulating leave, and what it says about workplace culture in Australia. Guests: Sarah McCann-Bartlett , CEO, Australian Human Resources Institute Dr Libby Sander , Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Bond University Madeleine Dow , management consultant and Adjunct Professo...
Dec 06, 2024•25 min
Stepped entry points, heavy doors, images and documents without screen reader access: these are just a few of the things that make work harder for those with a disability. Hear from two workers about the adjustments and supports they use to help them thrive at work, and an expert explains how to design a workplace that’s accessible, for the benefit of everyone. Guests: Teresa, support worker James O’Brien, Manager of planning (audio), ABC Tom Bevan, dignified access lead, Australian Disability N...
Nov 29, 2024•25 min
Many returning ex-pats who have worked overseas find it hard to transition back to work in their home country, and feel their overseas experience is not always welcomed. We get advice on how to plan the career move and learn how to support a fellow Australian who is trying to break back into the job market here. Guests: Margot Andersen, founder Insync Network Group Kate McQuestin, CEO Advance Global Australians Jacinta Reddan , returned ex pat And thanks also to Brett and Natasha for sharing the...
Nov 22, 2024•25 min
You may love your work, but are you working too much? Despite awareness of burnout, many of us still see working long hours as a badge of honour. We hear from reformed 'workaholics' and experts to uncover how to address our culture of overwork, and what recovery looks like. Guests: Malissa Clark , Associate Professor of industrial-organisational psychology, University of Georgia and author, Never Not Working:Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It Audrey McGibbon , Charte...
Nov 15, 2024•25 min
The preference for hybrid work is strong among employees and managers alike. So what's the winning formula for communication, workflow and team harmony?
Nov 08, 2024•25 min
Amazon wants all staff back in the office, and other return to office mandates are being issued here and abroad. But what is the evidence for that being a good idea?
Nov 01, 2024•26 min
Recorded live at SXSW Sydney 2024, Lisa Leong is joined by a panel of industry leaders to explore the transformative shifts of managers in the not-so-distant future.
Oct 25, 2024•25 min
How do we go from wanting to do something to actually doing it, and doing it well? According to Organisational Psychologist and Professor Adam Grant, we need to tap into our hidden potential and hone our character skills. Guests: Adam Grant - organisational psychologist, Professor of Psychology, Wharton school at Pennsylvania University. Author, Hidden Potential Thanks to Siba Diqer, Ali Killaly and Megumi Miki for sharing their stories This story was first broadcast on 10th November 2023...
Oct 20, 2024•25 min
