Working Conversations

Episode 242: Master Microshifting: How Flexible Work Bursts Are Shaping the Workday In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of microshifting—breaking the traditional workday into flexible bursts tailored to individual energy cycles and life demands. She explains how microshifting emerged from post-pandemic work trends and highlights its benefits, such as improved well-being, auton...

Episode 241: Adapting to Unannounced Change In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores how rapid, unannounced changes in technology—like unexpected software redesigns—can create frustration even among those who embrace innovation. Drawing on her own volatile experiences with changes in her bookkeeping and email software, she highlights the importance of key design heuristics: visibility, consist...

Episode 240: How Big is Too Big? What the AWS Outage Can Teach Us In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the ripple effects of a major AWS outage and the hidden infrastructure our digital lives depend on. She shares real-world examples of how a single system failure can halt food delivery apps, smart devices, company tools, and even government services. Through the lens of “normal accident t...

Episode 239: Hybrid Work Needs a Redesign In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tackles hybrid work and why it isn’t delivering on promises of flexibility, connection, and productivity. Drawing on research and real-world conversations, she highlights the three core challenges—missing personal relationships, workspaces that hinder collaboration, and meetings that fall short. Dr. Janel offers nine pra...

Episode 238: Garbage In, Garbage Out – Now with AI In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of “workslop”, the new term that refers to the low-quality, AI-generated work that lands in our inboxes and diminishes trust and productivity. Drawing on recent research and her own experiences, she explains why workslop is fundamentally a design problem rooted in skipping over empathy, cont...

Episode 237: It’s not Job Hugging – it’s Desperate Clinging In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tackles the trending phenomenon of “job hugging,” a term she finds deeply misleading. She unpacks why so many employees are clinging to jobs out of economic fear, not affection, and highlights the costly impact of disengagement on both organizations and individuals. Dr. Janel argues for calling this beh...

Episode 236: How to Avoid Micromanaging In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of micromanaging through both personal and professional lenses. Drawing from a kitchen mishap with her son and her extensive management experience, she explains the usability principle of user control and freedom—and why it matters at work. Dr. Janel outlines three actionable strategies for leaders: se...

Episode 235: Meeting Strangers on the Internet – AKA Networking In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores how to make networking feel authentic, intuitive, and effortless by applying UX thinking and the principle of consistency in standards. She shares her own networking conventions across platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, emphasizing the importance of being genuine, following up on promis...

Episode 234: Difficult Conversations Simplified In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of “kitchen sink conversations”—those difficult discussions where multiple unrelated grievances get thrown together and nothing gets resolved. Drawing on principles of minimalist design, she offers practical strategies for keeping workplace (and even household) conversations focused, productive...

Episode 233: Timing Is Everything: How to Make Big Changes Stick In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the power of timing when launching new projects, habits, or organizational changes. Drawing on recent research about CEO transitions, she explains why aligning change with natural cycles—like the start of a new year or quarter—leads to more successful, less disruptive outcomes. Using user...

Episode 232: Beat Workplace Overwhelm with UX Thinking In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tackles the challenge of workplace overwhelm caused by competing priorities and shifting demands. Drawing from cognitive load theory and UX thinking, she explains the difference between volume and complexity of work, and shares practical tools—including card sorting and the Eisenhower matrix—to help listener...

Episode 231: The Real Reason Employees Quit and How to Fix It In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores why high-performing employees leave organizations—not due to burnout or pay, but because of gaps in their workplace experience. Drawing on design thinking principles, she introduces three key heuristics—visibility into the system state, error prevention, and minimalist design—to help leaders...

Episode 230: Innovation by Design: Lessons from Airbnb In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson unpacks the myth of innovation as a lightning-bolt moment and reveals the deliberate design behind truly innovative ideas. Using the story of Airbnb as a case study, she explores how innovation thrives through a structured process involving Personas, Divergent Thinking, and Storyboarding. Dr. Janel draws pra...

Episode 229: Why Planning Fails – and What to Do Instead In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores why traditional planning no longer works in today’s unpredictable environment and advocates for a shift toward design thinking in leadership. Drawing from her keynote, she illustrates how prototyping, feedback loops, and iterative design help leaders adapt amid constant change. Through practical e...

Episode 228: Chunking Change: A Smarter Way to Lead Through Innovation In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores how software teams can drive innovation without burning out their people. Sharing the story of a team struggling to integrate AI into their core product, she delves into the concept of “chunking” from UX design—breaking down big changes into smaller, manageable micro-cycles. By movin...

Episode 227: Fix Miscommunication with UX Thinking In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores how slowing down to create a shared language can boost team efficiency and effectiveness. Drawing from UX design principles like “speaking the user’s language,” she illustrates how clarifying terms and aligning definitions reduces friction, miscommunication, and cognitive load within organizations. Dr....

Episode 226: Powerful Paradigm Shifts Can Change How We Lead In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of paradigm shifts and how they radically transform the way we see the world. She shares both personal and organizational examples, from learning not to believe everything you think to embracing a growth mindset, challenging industry assumptions, and responding proactively to marke...

Episode 225: Turning Technical Expertise Into Everyday Leadership In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson challenges traditional notions of leadership by highlighting the hidden leadership skills within technical teams. Drawing on real-world examples, she demonstrates how technical professionals routinely showcase leadership through skills like debugging, systems thinking, process design, and rapid pr...

Episode 224: The Hidden Leadership Power of UX Thinking In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson redefines user experience (UX) beyond digital design, exploring how UX thinking can transform leadership and company culture. Drawing from her extensive background in UX and leadership, she explains how principles like empathy, clarity, and iterative improvement can be applied to team management, policy cre...

Episode 223: Owning What’s Mine and Coming Full Circle In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores her journey back to her roots in user experience (UX) thinking and how it shapes her approach to leadership. She recounts the launch—and abrupt pause—of a keynote on "The Experience of You" just as the pandemic began, and how she pivoted to support organizations through virtual leadership ch...

Episode 222: Netflix and the Adjacent Possible: What Streaming Made Possible In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson dives into the concept of the “adjacent possible,” exploring how game-changing innovations often emerge from small, strategic steps rather than giant leaps. Using Netflix’s pivotal shift to streaming as a contemporary example, she illustrates how new futures can open up when we recogniz...

Episode 221: The Power of Small Gestures In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the power of small but meaningful gestures at work. Drawing on personal stories and neuroscience, she highlights how quick compliments, handwritten notes, and offers of help can make lasting impressions, boost engagement, and strengthen workplace culture. Dr. Janel unpacks why we often overlook these simple acts—...

Episode 220: Five Ways Humans Outperform AI In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson introduces the EPOCH framework developed by researchers from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, offering a refreshing perspective on the future of work alongside AI. By breaking down Empathy, Presence, Opinion, Creativity, and Hope, Dr. Anderson highlights five uniquely human skills that machines can’t replicate and exp...

Episode 219: Unlocking the Power of S.M.A.R.T. Work Design In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson introduces the SMART Work Design model, a research-backed framework created by organizational psychologist Sharon Parker. She breaks down the acronym—Stimulating, Mastery, Agency, Relational, and Tolerable demands—showing how each component contributes to motivating, sustainable, and human-centered work....

Episode 218: Mini-Retirements for Mid-Career Professionals In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the concept of mini-retirements—self-funded, intentional career breaks taken for rest, exploration, or personal growth. Drawing on her friend Steve’s early experience taking a self-funded sabbatical and research from thought leaders and positive psychology, Dr. Janel unpacks why mini-retirements...