Wired to Work with Jess Chapman

In this special season finale, Jess Chapman looks back at the five conversations that challenged her thinking the most - and the ideas that every leader, HR professional, and workplace designer should be paying attention to. From the hidden burnout crisis facing HR professionals to what healthcare can teach us about designing better systems, this episode explores the themes that kept resurfacing a...

Healthcare workers are asked to make high-stakes decisions in fast-moving, overloaded systems. But what happens when the systems around them make the work even harder? In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Jennifer Woodland, experimental psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick, for a fascinating conversation about healthcare, burnout, cogniti...

Meditation still gets dismissed as “woo-woo” in a lot of workplaces. But the science tells a different story. In this Wired to Work summer repost, Jess is joined by Tina Pomroy and Roz Mugford for a practical conversation about meditation, mindfulness, and why slowing down may be one of the most useful tools we have for modern work. They explore how meditation can support focus, memory, emotional...

Most people aren’t afraid of feedback. They’re afraid of the awkwardness, defensiveness, tension, and fallout that often comes with it. In Part 2 of Jess Chapman’s feedback series, she shares the N.I.C.E.R. framework — a practical, brain-friendly approach for having difficult conversations without triggering defensiveness or damaging relationships. You’ll learn: • Why most feedback conversations f...

Feedback is one of the most important tools a leader has. It’s also one of the most avoided. In this replay episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman explores why feedback conversations feel so difficult, what neuroscience tells us about our reactions to feedback, and how leaders can create conversations that help people grow instead of triggering defensiveness. You’ll learn: • why feedback activates...

Menopause is having a moment. There’s more conversation, more awareness, and more information than ever before. But when it comes to the workplace, many leaders still don’t understand what menopause actually looks like—or how it can affect performance, wellbeing, and day-to-day work. In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with counselor and researcher Tina Pomroy about the biologica...

Gen Z is entering the workforce with completely different expectations about stress, mental health, flexibility, and what a meaningful life should actually look like. And many workplaces aren’t ready for that shift. In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, Provost and Vice-President Academic at Acadia University, for a fascinating conversation about how uni...

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with Dr. Jo Burrell, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Ultimate Resilience, about the mental health crisis facing HR professionals and why the people responsible for supporting everyone else at work often have too little support themselves. They discuss why HR has become the emotional shock absorber of the workplace, how the profession ha...

Most leaders know trauma-informed practice matters. What’s harder is knowing what it actually looks like on a Tuesday morning, in a real workplace, with real people. Angela Crockwell has been blazing that trail for years. As Executive Director of Thrive in St. John’s, an organization supporting people navigating exploitation, addiction, homelessness, and complex trauma, she’s built one of the most...

Most organisations pour money into wellbeing programmes and still end up with teams that are flat, disengaged, and just getting through the week. The problem isn't the programme. It's the target. Behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak has spent 30 years studying what actually makes people - and teams - thrive. His research shows the brain has a measurable mechanism for the value it gets...

You’ve had the conversation. You were clear. Direct. Professional. …so why didn’t anything change? Because feedback isn’t about what you say. It’s about how the other person experiences it. And most people get that wrong. In Part 2 of this series, Jess Chapman breaks down the structure behind feedback that actually works, introducing the NISA framework. A simple, practical way to: • start conversa...

More than two thirds of people say they want more feedback. Fewer than a third feel they're actually getting it. What's getting in the way? Your brain (and your team's brain!) is wired to read feedback as a social threat. It can shake your sense of status, belonging, fairness, and certainty all at once.  And if you walk in carrying the wrong energy, your body language transmits it b...

Burnout is often treated like an individual problem, but what if the real issue is the system people are working inside? In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess speaks with Cherri Forsyth about what burnout actually looks like, how it builds over time, and why recovery, not just resilience, has to be part of the conversation. They explore the difference between acute stress and chronic burnout, the...

In this episode of Wired to Work , Jess Chapman sits down with strategic HR professional Meghan Morrison to unpack why workplace learning so often fails to create real change, and what it would take to make learning actually stick. They explore why sending someone to a workshop is not the same as helping them grow, why application matters more than attendance, and why learning has to be built into...

Most workplace “relationship problems” aren’t personality problems. They’re pressure problems . In this episode of Wired to Work , Jess Chapman sits down with leadership coach Kate Franklin to unpack why stress turns reasonable people into version-2.0 disasters.. and why “just be more resilient” is NOT the answer. You’ll hear: •Why chronic pressure makes behaviour worse (and normalizes it) •The re...

Fight. Flight. Freeze. Flock. These are the four ways your brain responds to stress — and they show up at work more often than you think. In this episode of Wired to Work , Jess Chapman breaks down what’s actually happening when you react instead of respond — and why stress makes it harder to think clearly in the moment. This isn’t about personality or willpower. It’s about how the brain processes...

Most people still treat meditation like it’s too “woo woo” for work. That may be exactly why we’re missing its value. In this episode of Wired to Work , Jess Chapman sits down with meditation teachers Tina Pomroy of Going Om and Roz Mugford , producer of the show and founder of Double Barrel, to talk about what meditation actually is, what it isn’t, and why it may be far more relevant to work than...

Most leaders assume that if people know what to do, they’ll do it. But behaviour doesn’t change that way. Why? Because habits aren’t just a willpower problem. They’re a brain wiring problem. In this breakdown episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman unpacks neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to strengthen, weaken, and reorganize connections based on what you do repeatedly. In practical terms, thi...

Most workplace “relationship problems” aren’t personality problems. They’re pressure problems . In this episode of Wired to Work , Jess Chapman sits down with leadership coach Kate Franklin to unpack why stress turns reasonable people into version-2.0 disasters.. and why “just be more resilient” is NOT the answer. You’ll hear: •Why chronic pressure makes behaviour worse (and normalizes it) •The re...

Menopause is having a moment. There’s more content. More conversation. More noise. And yet, we’re still getting it wrong.. especially at work. In this week's episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with counselor and researcher Tina Pomroy N.D., MEd, MBA, CMEC, RYT about what menopause actually looks like - biologically, psychologically, and professionally. They unpack: • What’s happeni...

Burnout, disengagement, leadership fatigue — we’ve been trying to solve these problems by fixing individuals. But what if the real issue is how work is designed? In the first episode of the newly rebranded Wired to Work , workplace strategist Jess Chapman speaks with systems designer and founder of All In Agency Jules Maitland, PhD about why traditional workplace models no longer fit the world we...

As Season 2 wraps up, Jess looks back on the moments that stuck — the insights, laughs, and leadership lessons that made this season one to remember. From kindness at work to navigating change, clarity in relationships, and what it really means to connect with people, these are her Top Five Takeaways to make the tough people stuff easier. ️ Featuring highlights from conversations with Chelsea Colw...

What really happens when your business starts to grow — and your people have to grow with it? In this roundtable episode of Unlocking Your People, Jess is joined by Atlantic Canada entrepreneurs Mike Randall (Portfolio) and Stephanie Hovey (Allied Therapy) for a candid chat about leading through change, managing emotion at work, and finding the right cultural fit when hiring. From the hidden costs...

Contracts, corporations, and co-founders — oh my! In this episode, Jess sits down with Anna Cook, Partner at Cox & Palmer, for a practical, plain-language look at the legal side of running a business. From when to incorporate, to why every partnership needs a “business prenup,” Anna breaks down what small business owners really need to know — including how to avoid common legal pitfalls as you...

Giving feedback doesn’t have to spark defensiveness — if you know how to do it right. Jess walks through her NICER  framework: Notice the behavior, validate intent, and explain consequences in a way that matters. It’s a simple, powerful way to turn tough conversations into growth conversations — minus the friction. Chapters (00:00:03) - How to Coach a Terrible Co-worker (00:04:34) - How to Give Fe...