John McKinstry

Work Words

Business EN ↓ 30 episodes

Welcome to Work Words, a fortnightly poetry podcast. Poetry can be found anywhere and the inspiration for the poems in this podcast is taken from the world of work – specifically the offices and call centres so many of us call home. Join me for poems about things that most office and call centre workers will be all too familiar with – including such things as team building days, good (and also terrible) managers, what it’s like to work in sales, the horrible impact of redundancy and the perils of recruiting the wrong person or blaming everything that goes wrong on the training.

Author

John McKinstry

Episodes

Ep 5 - Curry 09.06.2025 15:50

The poem in this episode is “ Curry ” – a look at the joys of team building and forced fun… Music https://www.purple-planet.com Work Words – Poems about the world of work and life in the office https://amzn.eu/d/etSDojJ The Pressure Cooker – A solo journaling game about toxic workplaces, office politics and the price of success https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/515353/the-pressure-cooker-fat...

Ep 4 - Please don't clap 26.05.2025 10:20

The poem in this episode is “ Please don’t clap ” – the story of a manager who really wants to (publicly) recognise someone in their team.  Sadly this manager - despite their enthusiasm - doesn’t really know the person in question all that well… Music https://www.purple-planet.com Work Words – Poems about the world of work and life in the office https://amzn.eu/d/etSDojJ The Pressure Cooker –...

Ep 3 - Spitting, snarling ball of rage 12.05.2025 11:39

The poem in this episode is “ Spitting, snarling ball of rage ” – the description summing up a member of the team, the office thug and bully and someone who glories in being a person not to be trifled with… Music https://www.purple-planet.com Work Words – Poems about the world of work and life in the office https://amzn.eu/d/etSDojJ The Pressure Cooker – A solo journaling game about toxic workplac...

Ep 2 - Worry beads 28.04.2025 10:59

The poem in this episode is “ Worry beads ” – where a staff member worried about redundancies approaches her manager for more information and perhaps a little reassurance… Music https://www.purple-planet.com Work Words – Poems about the world of work and life in the office https://amzn.eu/d/etSDojJ The Pressure Cooker – A solo journaling game about toxic workplaces, office politics and the price o...

Ep 1 - Probationer’s smiles 14.04.2025 12:17

The poem for our first episode of the podcast is “ Probationer’s smiles ” – a look at a new arrival at a company who may have their own agenda… Music https://www.purple-planet.com Work Words – Poems about the world of work and life in the office https://amzn.eu/d/etSDojJ The Pressure Cooker – A solo journaling game about toxic workplaces, office politics and the price of success https://www.drivet...