Happier At Work: Leadership, Culture, Performance

Director of the InsideOut Charter, Sarah Restall and host Aoife O’Brien discuss the importance of mental health and wellbeing within the workplace. A selection of key points covered in this captivating episode include; - Focus on engagement with senior leaders & the importance of having them on board to enhance a happy and balanced work environment for all. - How a business ethos has a ripple effe...

Clare Kennelly, founder of Inclusive Cork and Inclusive World Training and Aoife O’Brien discuss what is disability and the importance of disability inclusion within the workplace. In this in-depth episode, Clare opens up personally and professionally about disability along with her own vision impairment and covers; - Behaviours towards disability. - Shines a light on how companies are limiting th...

Kelly Hartman and Aoife O’Brien speak about what it means to really be yourself at work. We talk about being honest, being bold, and being who you are. Kelly shares some tips on how to show up as your truly authentic self by being around people who bring out the best in you. Always create a judgement-free zone, accept that you’re not going to be liked by everyone, but that this gives you more time...

Lasse Rheingans and Aoife O’Brien speak about the 5 hour work day and what this means for the future of work. Lasse shares some key insights and practical tips from his own experience. We talk about things like what productivity means, what rules you can put in place to become more focused at work, outcomes versus outputs, automation, why it’s important to be happy at work, the concept of ‘urgency...

Bhushan Sethi and Aoife O’Brien speak about the future of work. With everything happening in the world right now, Bhushan shares some key insights and practical steps you can take today to make work better for everyone. We cover topics such as the health and wellbeing of employees, mental health and wellbeing, vulnerability in leadership, outcomes versus outputs, worker preferences, leadership rol...

Aoife Mollin and Aoife O’Brien speak about fitting in at work. Aoife Mollin shares her research on job satisfaction in remote working teams, which ultimately led to a finding of the importance of ‘fit’. We discuss needs satisfaction, with a focus on autonomy and flexible working, as well as trust as a key component of a well functioning team. We talk about culture, communication and what makes for...

Zoe Routh and Aoife O’Brien speak about leadership and self-awareness, the importance of understanding yourself in order to become a better leader. Sometimes power can impact on our humility, and we lack empathy, compassion and service to others - the reason we became leaders in the first place! It’s important to be aware of our triggers, observe ourselves without judgement. Two critical areas of...

Shane Twomey and Aoife O’Brien speak about the distributed hybrid workforce, focusing on how to manage people in this new world of remote (working from home, wfh) and office working. We cover why it’s important to manage staff on outcomes, not inputs, and how to make that change. Shane speaks about “being deliberate” in your actions, and the three key dynamics within an organisation - social dynam...

Karin Tischler and Aoife O’Brien speak about flexible working, specifically job sharing, and the impact this has on gender equality. We cover topics such as the gender pay gap, transferable skills, top sharing (a new concept to me!), the importance of role models, unpaid care work. We also touch on the difference between the US and Europe, and Karin shares some wonderful examples from SAP. Karin T...

Helen Joy and Aoife O’Brien speak about first time managers, and answer the question: what makes a great manager? In this current Covid world, we cover the non-verbal cues and how to check in with people to make sure they’re doing ok. Traditionally the role of the manager has been to make sure that stuff gets done, now it is more focused on getting the best out of people. We talk about the key ski...

Katharine Slattery and Aoife O’Brien speak about mentoring: the difference between mentoring and coaching; the benefits of mentoring specifically; what makes an effective mentoring programme. We also talk about the preparation needed for both the mentor and the mentee when it comes to designing and delivering an effective mentoring programme. Katharine Slattery established Mentoring Resources in 2...

Garima Gupta and Aoife O’Brien speak about how HR can implement better self-care practices. HR tend to be the ones looking after everyone else, which can lead to increased levels of burnout within the team. We discuss how HR should be the ones to put on their own oxygen mask first and Garima shares some very practical tips on how to make that happen. The advice she shares is applicable not only to...

Casey Ryals and Aoife O’Brien speak about his new book Last to Least. Casey shares some wonderful insights about how we can lead ourselves better. Leadership books often cite the importance of leading ourselves before we can lead others, however they don’t address the way to do this. Casey wants to share with the world this new way of thinking and being. He encourages us to make decisions based on...

Pattie Grimm and Aoife O’Brien speak about empowering women at work. Recent studies from McKinsey & Lean In and IBM show that one in four women is considering leaving or stepping back from work duties due to Covid-19. This particularly impacts on women in leadership positions. In this podcast, we discuss ways for women to empower themselves as well as others. Pattie Grimm shares her 5 step approac...

Chris Pinner and Aoife O’Brien speak about all things wellbeing at work. We speak about getting leadership buy-in to the wellness programmes in organisations, the basics of wellbeing at work and what that means, the importance of investing in addition to role modelling in an organisation, using statistics versus stories to share about wellbeing at work, e.g 90% of CEOs are investing in wellbeing i...

Nate Regier and Aoife O’Brien speak about his latest book, Seeing People Through. This is a fable-based book which focuses on the types in people (rather than types of people). We speak about compassion, the importance of diversity of personality, PCM - observable communication behaviours - hypocrisy; honesty; influence; self-deception; trust, the importance of leveraging diversity towards a share...

The podcast returns after an extended break, with lots of juicy content lined up for you well into the new year! You'll find the survey at: https://www.happieratwork.ie/survey and connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

Elysia Hegarty from CPL’s Future of Work institute and I speak about the future of wellness. We speak about work-related stress and burnout, the causes (time pressure, work overload, job insecurity, poor leadership, long hours, lack of progression, not feeling valued). The eight dimensions of wellness are: spiritual, environmental, physical, mental, intellectual, occupational, social, financial. H...

Enrique Rubio from Hacking HR and I speak about the future of work and the opportunity presented to us during this difficult time. We cover topics such as creativity at work, how there is an opportunity to allow people to be more curious and innovative. Trust featured highly in the podcast - could it be that you are not hiring the right people (because you don't trust them to do their job) or you...

Henry Stewart (from Happy) and I talk about the future of work. We talk about the three fundamentals of what makes a happier workplace, as outlined by Daniel Pink’s book Drive: Mastery; Autonomy; Purpose. Mastery is about playing to your strengths – imagine spending most of your time doing something you love, and not having to do the things you really hate?! Managers should act as coaches, and be...

Mike Vacanti (from Humans First) and I talk about the future of work. Let's start with what's wrong: we don't treat people very well at work! Most organisations are set up for competition rather than collaboration, and most of what we see and read is about "getting ahead" - but what if we took a different approach? Giving employees a choice in what they do and how they do it will really drive thei...

This is an exciting episode on the Future of Work series, I speak with Andrew Barnes (for the second time) and Charlotte Lockhart – first time with two guests! Andrew and Charlotte are from 4 Day Week Global. We talk about the impact of COVID-19 on how we currently work, what this means for the future of work – remote working, flexible working and the positive impacts of this global pandemic. We a...

In this 3rd episode of the Future of Work series, I speak with Dr Kelly Monahan. We talk about the impact of COVID-19 on how we work; how the impact of accelerating technology, and the shift away from maximising shareholder wealth towards purpose-driven business will separate the great companies from the rest. Leaders who show compassion and confidence during this crisis will thrive. Ask yourself,...

This is a special episode featuring 5 guests, plus my own perspective on the future of work, given the current global pandemic we find ourselves in with COVID-19, the coronavirus. Fiona English shares in sights on the impact of this trauma which leads to a shift in perspective and a desire for change "how things are versus how we think they should be". Acceptance and choice is key here. Bernard Ja...

This is the first episode in the “Future of Work” series. I speak with Stephen Dargan from Wake Up. Stephen and I talk about how work is going to change in the immediate future as well as further down the line. It’s time to question the way we worked – where we work from, and the time spent at work. We talk about the importance of autonomy at work, as well as meaning and purpose. Stephen Dargan wa...