WhyWork Podcast

Season 08 Episode 12: Jumping Castles Part Two WARNING: This episode includes discussion about fatal events impacting children and families – we advise listener discretion. The WhyWork Podcast Team, Alan, Trajce, and Sara, discuss the complexities of a prosecutorial strategy when fatal events occur at a school: children who die as a result of a windstorm and out-of-control, airborne jumping castle...

Season 08 Episode 11: Toolbox Talk: Acknowledgement of Country WARNING: This episode addresses cultural sensitivity issues in the workplace – we advise listener discretion. Trajce challenges his podcast team, Alan, and Sara, with a claim about cultural sensitivities. He shares a tale about a street sweeper’s unfair dismissal by a local government city council after he raised his concerns about the...

Season 08 Episode 10: Darth Vader and the handshake of death Alan, Trajce, and Sara start this episode in discussion about the social etiquette of handshakes. Alan advocates for the politeness of the handshake in business negotiations, and Trajce explains his handshake aversions, and the origins of a handshake. In this reverie, Trajce reflects on his support band, warming up big names in the 1980’...

Season 08 Bonus: WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: Creating joyful paths This wisdom shot challenges workplaces to think about creating joyful paths in their workplace, versus hoping someone falls into a path of joy. It's about using service design combined with human factors approaches to construct manageable and meaningful work while managing psychosocial risks.

Season 08 Episode 09: Psychosocial Hazard Salad In this episode, the team discusses the challenges in the contemporary workplace of managing the complexity of psychosocial risks that can cause mental health disorders among workers – disorders like anxiety, stress, low mood, and depression. Sara laments the literature and assessment approaches that reveal the “What?” without explaining the “SO What...

Season 08 Episode 08: Levellin’ Up: Health Screening vs Human Rights “It is my human right to grab a meat pie from the local pie cart,” Trajce defends his actions. “Everyone is stressed, so what is your stress level?” enquires Alan, in his effort to empathise and disarm a respondent. “What’s your level, not your age, but your level?” asks Sara, “We’re levelling up – that’s empowering!” This episod...

Season 08 Episode 07: Danger, Design, and Digital Realities WARNING: This episode discusses injuries caused by recreational fixed plan – we advise listener discretion. “How do you design better work when the risks are invisible, intangible, or hard to map?" asks Trajce. In this forward-thinking episode, the WhyWork crew explores how Shared Virtual Presence (SVP) is transforming the way organisatio...

Season 08 Episode 06: Rootin’ Tootin’ Wild Theme Park Rides: When Fun turns Fatal WARNING: This episode discusses a serious injury to a child – we advise listener discretion. “Theme parks are workplaces where serious harm could eventuate,” bemoans Trajce. In this gripping episode, the WhyWork crew dive into the devastating case of a child who suffered a traumatic scalping injury while on a Wile E....

Season 08 Episode 05: Is it a crime? The syrupy sweetness of criminal recovery, comebacks, and swearing in the workplace WARNING: This episode discusses human rights breaches - we advise listener discretion. Does a criminal record mean a life sentence of unemployment? This episode dives into how past convictions keep people locked out of work. Alan reflects, “Inclusive hiring isn’t charity. It’s g...

Season 08 Episode 04: Nipple Tweaks & Bottom Taps: The border between play and predatory assault WARNING: This episode includes discussion on sexual harassment - we advise listener discretion. Ever wondered when ‘just joking’ becomes sexual harassment? In this eye-opening episode, we unpack real stories of workplace encounters that cross the line—like unwanted bottom taps or nipple tweaks (Are...

Season 08 Episode 03: Too much to carry: The case that alters the landscape of mining prosecutions WARNING: In this episode, the podcasters discuss extreme mental health duress - we advise listener discretion. Noone died. But two workers were emotionally broken by the weight of their jobs – this time, the system noticed. In this episode of WhyWork, we explore a landmark $1.2M enforceable undertaki...

Season 08 Trailer 06: Profiling workers: Who is most at risk? Season 08 probes these contemporary work design strategies - from construction workers bitten by a spider while they visit the loo to healthcare professionals prone to work stressors and cardiovascular events.

Season 08 Episode 02: Christmas Day Code Blue: A Tassie healthcare system wake-up call WARNING: This episode describes a fatality – we urge listening discretion. In this episode, the WhyWork team debate the issues surrounding a senior hospital doctor who, for years, carried the weight of a health system on his back. His widow’s lawyer claimed he worked seven days a week and was on call 24/7. He sh...

Season 08 Bonus: WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: Work, rest, and play Should employees be permitted to disconnect from their workplace during their 'downtime'? Alan discusses The Fair Work Ammendment Right to Disconnect Bill 2023 which makes it legislatively clear that the provisions in work health safety laws intend to support workers. Alan contends that workers need to recharge and replenish versus alway...

Season 08 Episode 01: Flora, Fauna, and the ‘Port-a-Loo’: Beware the arachnids In this season opener of WhyWork Podcast, we forgo the spreadsheets and the performance statistics – we go straight to storytelling. A toilet. A spider. And a young worker’s unforgettable encounter with risk realities interrupting his routines – when faced with an arachnoid phenom, it was up close and highly personal. “...

Season 08 Trailer 05: 'Feasibility and foreseeability of becoming a croc sandwich for a day' toys with the season's examination of exposure to wild critters during both work and tourist play. Coming soon.

Season 08 Trailer 04: 'Stress, and more stress,' warns Trajce, "Ai-O, Ai-O, It's off to work we go..." Get ready to listen to Season 08 releases coming soon...

Season 08 WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: Botty Botch Botox - Trajce is excited by Botox at work as his incentive to get back to the office. Sara is dismayed, and Alan is humoured (we recommend that you use your own discretion in this debate!).

Season 08 Trailer 03 Teases stories about healthcare, male-on-male workmate attention, Darth Vader, mining prosecutions, and so much more. "It's extraordinary!" exclaims Alan. "Watch this audio space," invites Trajce.

Season 08 Trailer 02: Secret handshakes Criminal work, health, and safety law convictions, children injured on theme rides, and secret handshakes - do you have one? Tune in, more coming on these topics in Season 08.

Season 08 Bonus: WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: To sink or to SWMS?! The Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) debate is hot and Trajce summarises his research while giving it to us straight: SWMS or no, they have made little difference in organisations, and with or without one, fatalities may still arise in organisations. Listen to Season 06 E12: It's going SWM'ingly to learn more about this finding!

Season 08 Trailer 01: Faux Paus and Flummoxes: life is like a maze, listen to the WhyWork Podcasters recording mishaps as they prepare to release Season 08 - we're back!

Season 07 Bonus 05: Mock Podcast: "Diamonds were her best friend... until carats became complaints - Part 3 Listen to this Part 3, final in a series of 3 Parts, of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Association of Australia (HFESA) 2024 Annual Conference, Brisbane, Queensland special-episode interactive workshop on work design and case law. This episode encourages workshop delegates to examine a cas...

Season 07 Bonus 02: Mock Podcast: "Diamonds were her best friend... until carats became complaints - Part 2 Listen to this Part 2 of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Association of Australia (HFESA) 2024 Annual Conference, Brisbane, Queensland special-episode interactive workshop on work design and case law. This episode encourages workshop delegates to examine a case of a jeweller, his magnanimou...

Season 07 Bonus 03: Mock Podcast: "Diamonds were her best friend... until carats became complaints" - Part 1. This episode was presented during the Human Factors and Ergonomics Association of Australia (HFESA) 2024 Annual Conference, Brisbane, Queensland . The episode outlines the details of workplace affairs when too much bling and not enough boundaries become fodder for a workplace complaint. Th...