WhyWork Podcast

Season 07 Episode 09: Gilmore versus Blue Care: A hankering for sex WARNING: This episode includes discussion on a workplace sexual assault – we advise listener discretion. Alan introduces the case, Gilmore versus Blue Care, a community home care provider. In this case, a personal carer submitted her claim against her employer because of her report of sexual assault when providing daily living sup...

Season 07 Episode 08: Bollywood & The Digital Footprint This episode starts with Sara reflecting on the nature of her spirit animal and the symbols of her brand identity: a mix of frivolity and banditry. For more on spirit animals, tune in to S02 E14: Spirit Animals . Trajce introduces a case on an injured worker who submitted a claim against her employer, a national grocery chain. The claim a...

Season 07 Episode 07: AI Ethics: A Beautifully Shambolic Disaster WARNING: This episode includes discussion on a workplace fatality – we advise listener discretion. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is off its tree!” protests Trajce. “This stuff is dangerous. Its hallucinogenic – a beautifully shambolic disaster. Society must put the rails on it.” “Are you going to try to reign in Sara?” asks Alan, “I...

Season 07 Episode 06: Free to air - The blue channels and digging in the trenches WARNING: This episode includes discussion on both sex and serious workplace fatalities and injuries – we advise listener discretion. “Have you guys heard about the airline kerfuffle?” nudges Sara, as she shares a media report, “There was a flaw in the movie selection technology.” “It was a bit romantic, maybe a bit t...

Season 07 Episode 05: Tickle versus Giggle for Girls WARNING: This episode discusses a fatal incident – we advise listeners to use their discretion. Alan shares a human right’s case on 'Tickle versus Giggle for Girls,' an alleged case of discrimination from joining a ‘club’ via a service App based on gender identity. “This is squarely political,” says Trajce, “each party has a strong interest grou...

Season 07 Episode 04: Cheap and nasty: The unintended consequences of workplace interventions This episode extends the discussion from Season 07 Episode 02 on workplace incentives. Thank you, Michael Grima, who shared a media report on paid Tinder leave benefits. “You get paid to go out on a date?” Alan marvels. “Love me, Tinder…” Trajce croons. “I guess being in love is supposed to make you produ...

Season 07 Episode 03: Passionate or polemic? Alan and Trajce poke the bear of workplace diplomacy with examples from politics. Alan share a story of a city mayor who referred to a new councillor as a ‘ranga.’ “What’s a ‘ranga’?” asks Trajce. Listen to this episode to find out! Trajce shares more stories about politicians and their apologies to cover their gaffes. In turn, Sara challenges the boys...

Season 07 Episode 02: Workplace incentives to combat the return-to-office ball-&-chain The WhyWork crew, Alan, Trajce, and Sara, revel in entertaining stories about novel workplace incentives to motivate staff to return to the office. Thanks to Dr Agustin Chevez for sharing the story about cosmetic Botox booths as a workplace return-to-the-office incentive. Alan cautions, “Take care not to mak...

Season 07 Episode 1: Two Years of WhyWork: Celebrations, Travel, Trivialising Workplace Safety, and Design Celebrations - The team, Alan, Trajce, and Sara reflect on their two years of podcast recordings together. “Has it been two years?” Alan and Sara marvel as Trajce announces their two-year anniversary. Trajce delivers a delicious view on his recent travels to Montmartre, France, and his experi...

In this special WhyM’scal Mash re-mix episode with Alan, Trajce, and Sara, we dive into the unpredictable world of psychosocial exposures at work, blending excerpts from jaw-dropping, thought-provoking stories from past episodes. From the festive chaos of a Christmas party gone awry (S01 E01: Bubbles of Trouble ) to a tourism industry tale featuring unexpected and unwelcome behaviour in shared acc...

Season 07 Bonus o1 - Re-Release Episode - a little frivolty to start the new year. What is your Spirit Animal?. The river otter, the wise owl, and the transformation of a deer to a stag and back again. When ‘fuzzy science’ can be meaningful in terms of personality profiles, values, and our behaviours. Why not have fun and reflect on who we are, how we are, and why? This episode reveals more intima...

Season 07 Trailer 03: We're back to unpack - Botox, s3x offences, Bollywood dancing, and work from home topics are on their way to your listening ear.

Season 07 Trailer 02: A teaser on the exploration of the entertainment industry and issues of principal contractors managing subcontractors - it all blows up when there is a fatality.

Season 07 Trailer 01: Botox and Bollywood, a teaser on more to follow in WhyWork Season 07.

Season 06 Episode 15: Turbulence on the ground WARNING: we discuss a passenger fatality - listener discretion advised. Thank you to subscriber, Grace Kennedy, for suggesting this topic. Grace described her experience in the airport arrivals lounge when passengers headed down an escalator to collect their luggage. The passenger congestion was significant, causing a pile up so severe that this led t...

Season 06 Episode 14: From the club to the courtroom WARNING: This episode includes refences to both sex and suicide - listener discretion advised. Trajce presents a judgement from the United Kingdom involving a lawyer hiring a law student as his legal secretary. The confronting aspect of this scenario? They first met in a strip club where she worked as a stripper to fund her studies. “This reeks...

Season 06 Epsiode 13: From underwear to underworld: Criminal ties WARNING: This episode includes sexual references - listener discretion is advised. Trajce jokes about purchasing a pair of Tradie’s underwear, a discussion thread continuing from Season 05 Episode 04 . Trajce wonders if ads like this offend peoples' sensibilities. Alan responds, “There will not be many situations in a workplace when...

Season 06 Episode 12: It's going SWM'ingly The podcasters, Trajce, Alan, and Sara, discuss the conventions of establishing Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS). Alan likens SWMS to mythology, rigorously enforced from powers that be, though he believes that the legal doctrine supporting them is unclear. Alan asks, “Do they really work?” Trajce shares his research on breaches of work health and safety...

Seaon 06 Episode 11: The collective sighs - let's talk about s-X, baby Let’s talk about…. sex as a primal survival urge. The WhyWork Podcast reflect on their debate about the Australian Tradie’s underwear ads discussed in Season 05 Episode 04 . Sara makes a joke about performance drivers much to the chagrin of the boys, when Trajce quotes a Talking Heads lyric, “We’re on the road to nowhere…” Sara...

Season 06 Episode 10: Moooo – It’s a stampede! WARNING: A fatality is discussed in this episode – listener discretion is advised. Country boy Alan shares a story about cows in Wales. In this case, a cow went haywire while farm workers offloaded it from its transit vehicle to a pen. The cow was agitated, jumped off its ramp, killing a 75 y/o farmworker, and injuring another man. “Can you keep the c...

Season 06 Episode 09: IRL? In Real Life? Software solutions and AI in work design Trajce struggles with the ideas of ‘flow efficiency,’ likening this to urine tract functioning. Sorry, Anna Linning - a subscriber who asked about ‘flow’… Alan connects the idea to Flo’s scones, Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s famous pumpkin scones. Sara brings the boys back around to discuss psychological flow, theories from...

Season 06 Episode 08: The sentinel gateway - keeper of the path ahead WARNING: This episode discusses a workplace fatality - listener discretion is advised. Alan shares an industrial safety law case involving the disrepair of a gate, which prompts Trajce to reflect on his early-career prosecution of an industrial gate failure, leading to the news headline, “Fallen gate crushes mum.” The team remar...

Season 06 Episode 07 - We revisit the right to disconnect. Trajce provokes conversation on the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill 2023 among the team again. Sara asks, “Why did we throw legislation at this? I want to know - how did they develop their problem statements? Is this legislation really hitting the mark? Are there system designs to protect workers versus needing to rely on le...

Season 06 Episode 06: Scope creep and Snag-arees WARNING: This episode includes sexual inferences. “The power of the beep is getting to Trajce’s head,” says Alan. “This is a very serious podcast,” Trajce protests. The cause for the bleep is revealed: “Oh my gosh,” Sara says through laughter, “There is a ‘snag, drag, and bag’ phrase online describing people pulling fish out of the ocean, a ‘snag dr...

Season 06 Episode 05: I spy with my little eye Sara introduces the topics of ‘design for crime’ and surveillance systems with predictive analytics generated by artificial intelligence. Alan speaks about his experiences with intelligent surveillance systems and their ability to see, feel, hear, and determine responses. Alan explains that business must establish their purpose and context when using...