Podcast

In this episode Angela Priestley from Women’s Agenda interviews Katrina Troughton, Managing Director at IBM, Australia and New Zealand about the power of the little things that make a difference for parents and carers in the workplace.  Katrina speaks candidly about her own experience as a working parent of three children and describes some of the benefits she received to help support her fam...

A look into what make a workplace and employer family friendly and what organisations can do about it if they need to change or enhance how their working families are supported at work and at home.

As modern parents, we're all struggling to stay on top of both our own, and our kids mental health. In this podcast, Gus Worland talks about dads and their relationships with expression. He says it's time to get rid of outdated ideals of what masculinity looks like, and start letting boys and men know that it's ok to be vulnerable and emotional. And not just letting them know it's ok, showing them...

Medibank made history earlier this year when they rewrote the rulebook, scrapping ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ carer labels and adopting a fair approach to Parental Leave. "Medibank wanted to "make a stand" for their people, and "create an exceptional experience around parental leave," Kylie explains.  In this podcast, Medibank’s Kylie Bishop (Group Executive, People & Culture) is interviewe...

As school holidays approach, most of us are thinking about re-connecting with family, taking some well-deserved time off as well as finding creative ways to engage the kids over the break. In this podcast Fiona Hitchiner from Parents At Work interviews Adrian Rokman, co-founder of KidsCo, known for their award winning School holiday programs in the workplace and recently named as one of the most i...

With all the events that have transpired this year, carers deserve recognition now more than ever. In this podcast, Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents At Work, interviews CEO of Carers Australia, Liz Callaghan, to discuss both the work of Carers Australia and National Carers Week. National Carers Week aims to recognise the 2.65 million unpaid carers in Australia and the work they provide for their loved o...

Blake Woodward is a dad, management consultant and founder of suittiestroller.com - a website supporting corporate dads in finding work life balance while raising a family, as well as advocating for gender-equal parental leave and support policies. In this episode, Parents At Work talk to Blake about his Global Dad Survey on the impact of COVID-19 on fathers, and his views on empowering working pa...

Over 80% of women are feeling anxious right now about birth during COVID-19 and over 40% are changing their birthing plans. What does giving birth during a pandemic mean? What are some of the restrictions? What can expecting parents do to still have a beautiful birth? In this podcast, Parents At Work talk to Nadine Richardson from She Births about what expecting parents should know at this time. N...

How will work-life be re-imagined post COVID-19? Remote work is radically reshaping how we work and live. As organisations busily plan to welcome employees back to the office post COVID-19, they are fast re-imaging how and what 'working from the office' will actually mean in reality. Workplaces acknowledge we're still months away from having everyone back behind their desks as they used to be, pro...

This webinar recording shares highlights of the National Working Families Report and discusses implications for the future of work and family in light of the challenges posed by Covid 19. The focus is on exploring the key recommendations for employers committed to creating family friendly, flexible workplaces. Contributors include: - Kate Jenkins, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human...

“We need to recognise that people cope with trauma in many different ways, so there isn’t a standard pattern of reaction to the stress of traumatic experiences. And when it comes to children, they aren’t always able to express complex feelings in the same direct way that adults can … so it’s really important is that we are looking out for changes in children’s behaviour that can suggest they may b...

Join Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents At Work as she is interviewed by ABC Radio's Jonathon Gould about the current Australian Paid Parental Leave System. They discuss the barriers holding men back from sharing the care as well as the practicalities and details of the current system. It is an insightful listen for both parents and employers alike.

It's not often you get to hear from a professional couple who have both taken parental leave, and in this podcast, Michael Brosnan, Manager at Deloitte, and Annaliese Van Riet, People and Culture Leader, share their experience following the birth of their son Louis ten months ago. They discuss how the implementation of non-gendered, non-labeled, paid parental leave at Deloitte has benefited their...

Nearly 50% of new parents experience adjustment disorders, with 1 in 5 new mothers and 1 in 10 new fathers suffer perinatal anxiety and depression. Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Week aims to spread awareness about the mental health implications associated with entering parenthood. According to an analysis done by PwC Australia, Perinatal Depression and Anxiety is costing Australia $877 millio...

The 10th - 16th of November marks Perinatal Mental Health Week. This week aims to spread awareness about the mental health implications associated with entering parenthood. Nearly 50% of new parents experience adjustment disorders, and from that, 1 in 5 new mothers and 1 in 10 new fathers will suffer from perinatal anxiety and depression. According to an analysis done by PwC Australia, Perinatal D...

There’s never been a better time in history to be a dad – we all know how much society has changed when it comes to parenting in the last 50 years – expectations of fathers have grown and men want to embrace the role of ‘dad’ like never before. But fathers often feel the pressure to conform to unhelpful stereotypes like the ‘fun dad’ or the ‘breadwinner dad’. It’s clear fatherhood needs a makeover...

Diageo launched a new Parental Leave Policy recently - one that leads the nation let alone the industry it operates in. The company offers 26 weeks of paid leave to all new parents, regardless of their gender or their role as primary or secondary carer. Previously (as it is in most organisations) paid leave was provided for only the primary carer and 19 times out of 20 the primary carer was female...

1 in 5 Australians live with chronic pain including adolescents and children, according to Pain Australia. As chronic pain is invisible, sufferers can feel misunderstood and stigmatised – even discriminated against – by co-workers, friends, family and even the medical profession. There is no easy solution or quick fix however there are some very practical ways that people with chronic pain can use...

When ‘bad news’ or unavoidable circumstances at work or home leave you feeling overwhelmed or like giving up - is resilience the answer? That is, is ‘just getting on with it’ or ‘fighting fire with fire’ the best way to deal with adversity. Or is there another way that does not compromise your sense of ease and harmony in the world? Katie and Sam will address some of the common reactions we have w...

With 27% of men and 49% of women experiencing discrimination upon returning from parental leave, and 48% of companies in Australia not embracing flexible working practices, Flexism shows itself as a very real and extremely determinantal issue within the workplace. This month, Emma Walsh interviews Vanessa Vanderhoek, founder of Flexible Working Day, and discusses Vanessa’s journey to how she start...

Can you be yourself at work? Are you consistently authentic with everyone you interact with? When we do or say things from a place of wanting to make others happy or be seen as doing a ‘good job’ it often comes at the expense of our self-worth. Being fixed on achieving a particular outcome also has its effect. If we push ourselves in a way that denies any part of our personal health and wellbeing...

No matter how passionate and dedicated to your job you are there’s no doubt there are doubts about how you will feel about your work after you’ve welcomed a bundle of new found joy into your life. The doubts may come from internal questioning on whether you’ll be capable or even willing, or they may come from the external – managers, colleagues, clients etc. Of course you’re also up against the st...

Self-care is crucial to enjoying parenthood – especially the first year of baby’s life. Without it we risk of leaving ourselves behind, hence why many people put on weight, feel more stressed or generally ‘let themselves go’ when a child comes along. There can be no perfection, particularly in those early years of adapting to being the chief decision maker and carer of a small person, however as w...

A gender neutral, flexible and paid parental leave policy in a small business? Yes it’s possible and the benefits are huge but it doesn’t come without some challenges. The biggest challenge for many SME’s about introducing a paid PL policy is knowing where to start, says Nikki Beaumont, CEO of HR business, Beaumont People. That, and how to finance it. So, what difference does it actually make to a...

This month Emma Walsh interviews Christina Hobbs, Founder of Verve Super – Australia’s first and only super fund dedicating 100% of its resources and passion to building the wealth and financial power of women. With Australian women retiring with an average of 47% less savings than men the retirement gap is very real. The reasons for this vary, making the ‘retirement gap’ complex and on par with t...