This Working Life

In her new book Storytellers, Leigh Sales shares hard-won lessons on how to craft a story, how to listen and how to be brave enough to ask hard questions at work. We also learn from her music practice, what helps her flow state, and how anxiety has been a pretty consistent part of her work life.

A colleague gets promoted. A friend lands their dream job. You feel happy for them, but also, a pang of pain... what is that? Is that envy?? It’s natural to feel envious, but many of us deny it or try to ignore it. But how we react to this feeling can be the key in unlocking its power. So how can we use it for good?

What can guiding a horse teach us about leadership?  In recent years, ‘Equine Assisted Learning’ has been used in leadership development. But what is it exactly, and what can it teach us about leadership for the workplace?

We spoke with original Matildas player Dr Shona Bass in our recent episode The Matildas Effect but we loved her insights so much we decided to bring you the whole interview.  She reflects on what makes ace teamwork, the DNA of the Matildas that persists to this day, and what we can learn from them for our own working lives. With thanks to intern Kate Lawrence.

Yesss, we’ve got World Cup fever! So what lessons can we learn for our work from the amazing gameplay the Matildas have shown, even without star player Sam Kerr playing in the first few games? We’re unpacking the 'Matildas Effect' and figuring out how we can pull together as a team and unlock the power of ‘us’ to do our best work.

How can we best protect (and repair) our relationships at work? When we start working with someone we tend to just dive into the work at hand. But what happens when we start by learning how we can best work together? Coaching expert and author Michael Bungay Stanier believes this can be the key to building the best possible relationship. And it starts with five questions. So what are they? And how...

What does it mean if you declare your workplace to be anti-racist? Where does lip service end and actual systemic change occur? How does this differ from diversity and inclusion?   How do you begin to dismantle the structural racism in your workplace and rebuild an organisation where everyone feels safe, where everyone thrives?    This episode will cover the multifaceted approach of anti-racism ed...

There's the age old saying, do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. But how easy is it to find what you love? What energies you, what fulfils you?   Acclaimed author and researcher Marcus Buckingham helps us bring love into the workplace and helps us find love in what we do every day, no matter our job.  

Micro stressors - they’re just a normal part of the day, right? From when you wake up and check your messages, listen to the news, wrangle your kids, jostle your way to work, and then deal with that colleague…you’re stressed without anything major actually happening. Rob Cross says the people who maintain and prioritise their social connections, often through shared activities, are way less affect...

This week we meet some of the next generation of Indigenous entrepreneurs who are influencing the way we think about business and community. Drawing on the strength and resilience of their elders, these business leaders show us what makes First Nations businesses stand out and what helps them thrive. 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions, but in the workplace, we don’t tend to talk openly about them.   Based on her own journey, entrepreneur, podcaster and author, Morra Aarons-Mele Morra learnt that through understanding her anxiety and others’ mental health, it made her a better leader. Through empathy, vulnerability and kindness she also challenges traditional underst...

In Seth’s latest book, The Song of Significance he gives us insight into what real leadership looks like and how it can transform the way we work.  

“It just seems some of the lessons about ethical behaviour don’t appear to have really sunk in” - Peter Ryan,  ABC's senior business correspondent, reflecting on the recent PwC scandal. Often when we think about ethics in business and work we focus on the wrongdoer - the bad apple. But it’s also those surrounding them that are at fault. Those who are complicit. Turns out we can all be complicit, s...

If you could work four days instead of five, for the same pay, would you?  Organisations and businesses around the world are tentatively saying 'yes' and trialling the four-day work week.  Recently, Bunnings announced it will trial a version of the four-day week for tens of thousands of its full-time employees. It’s a first for the retail industry and will be watched with interest. And just last m...

What happens when we feel stuck in our job or career, and how can we get unstuck? From overcoming fear to discovering what really makes us tick, we discover the best techniques to get unstuck and have a breakthrough. We hear personal stories, famous anecdotes and practical tips to help you navigate being stuck in your work.  

On average, workers are in the office half the time. But some leaders say that’s not enough. But why? Should leaders really be worried about office culture dying, and teams suffering? We explore what’s behind these calls, what time in the office is good for, and what experts have found is more important than time in the office that leaders should really pay attention to.

Do you feel frustrated at work? Maybe you feel like you're not playing to your strengths, or not being valued.  Well, before you chuck it all in: have you heard of Job Crafting? Since this foundational work started over 20 years ago, it’s come into its own with the rise of hyper-personalisation of work through the pandemic. So how can we craft our jobs? Surprisingly, it’s much easier than you thin...

We’ve got more generations in our workplaces than ever before. And as a shortcut we often box people according to their age - known as generational stereotyping. In this episode we look at how we box others, and even ourselves, and learn how it affects our workplaces and how we can change this behaviour.

You’ve finally landed your dream job. You’re filled with excitement and optimism but after only a couple of months something doesn’t feel right. And you realise that this job is not so dreamy after all, and even becoming a nightmare. Welcome to Glossy Work. So what’s going on here and what can we do about it?

Why is Dungeons & Dragons good for the workplace? Since it came out in the 1970s, D&D has gone from geek subculture to the pop-culture mainstream. And now, it’s being recognised as a great way to develop skills for work. Yes, now you can finally say that your time spent playing games is actually upskilling. But it’s not just D&D - card games, board games and other fantasy games give us...

A new study has revealed that we trust management decisions made with AI involvement more than those made by humans alone. But what does the future of this digital co-worker look like? And how many of us actually trust the technology, and how does where we live change that level of trust?

“It’s not reasonable to ask people to function without daylight, sleep and proper food for weeks and months at a time” - Ruby, lawyer. There’s been a lot of talk lately about reasonable and unreasonable work hours, thanks to a certain high profile legal case. Research has found Australians are working some of the longest hours in the world. It’s costing us tens of billions of dollars in unpaid wag...

The weekends are easy to fill with a long list of things you want to get done. Chores, errands and, yes, even work make their way onto that list. Then all of a sudden it’s Sunday night and you feel like you haven’t rested at all, and another work week is right around the corner. So how can we better harness the power of the weekend for an energised and productive week ahead? The good news is that...

It’s being called “world’s best practice” and we’re being told to take it seriously. A new code of practice and regulation will be protecting your psychological health at work from April 1st. It explicitly addresses psychological harm and the psychosocial hazards at work that can cause things like burnout, depression and anxiety. So what are these hazards exactly, and how will the code work in pra...

Picture a capital T.  The vertical line is the Expertise line - your deep experience in your field. Then the horizontal bar is the Generalist line - your other interests and experiences that can combine with your expertise to strengthen it. This is called the T-shape - and it’s being recognised as a powerful tool for people and teams to innovate at work.  But what exactly we can put into the horiz...