Working Conversations

Episode 175: AMA: Diving into Leadership, Communication, and the Future of Work In this Ask Me Anything (AMA) episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares insights into the Working Conversations podcast. She discusses what inspired her to start the show, what to expect in future episodes, and how she stays updated on the latest workplace trends. Dr. Anderson also shares her perspective on key leadership qua...

Episode 174: Work-Life Balance: Myth or Reality? In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the elusive concept of work-life balance, arguing that it's not a myth but a dynamic state requiring regular adjustments. She emphasizes the importance of shifting our mindset, setting clear boundaries, prioritizing tasks, and making time for self-care. Dr. Anderson discusses why work-life balance is...

Episode 173: Burnout Alert: Signs, Symptoms, and Solutions for the Overworked In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson addresses the critical issue of burnout caused by overwork. Sharing her personal experience, she identifies key signs of burnout, including behavioral and cognitive changes. Dr. Anderson outlines six essential strategies for preventing and recovering from burnout: setting boundaries, p...

Episode 172: How to Make Friends at Work In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson dives into the essential topic of making friends at work. Highlighting the pivotal role of curiosity, she discusses practical strategies like initiating small talk, finding common interests, and offering support to build meaningful relationships. Dr. Anderson also introduces three types of curiosity—diversive, empathic, a...

Episode 172: How to Make Friends at Work In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson dives into the essential topic of making friends at work. Highlighting the pivotal role of curiosity, she discusses practical strategies like initiating small talk, finding common interests, and offering support to build meaningful relationships. Dr. Anderson also introduces three types of curiosity—diversive, empathic, a...

Episode 171: Remote Work Gone Wrong: Employee Secretly Outsources His Job In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the remarkable true story of an employee who secretly outsourced his job to someone halfway across the globe. She explores the intricate details of how this audacious scheme unfolded, the impact it had on the corporate world, and the crucial lessons every employer needs to abso...

Episode 170: Building Community in the Hybrid Work Environment In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores ways to build community in a hybrid workplace. From creating shared interest groups like pickleball or parenting groups to promoting virtual coffee breaks and publishing in-office days, she offers practical strategies for fostering connection and engagement. Dr. Anderson highlights the impor...

Episode 169: Debunking the Myth that No One Wants to Work In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson debunks the pervasive myth that "no one wants to work." She tackles the real reasons behind the labor shortage, including demographic shifts, the impact of the pandemic, and wage stagnation. Dr. Anderson also highlights the importance of matching skills to employer needs and the role of immigratio...

Episode 168: Telephonobia: How the Fear of Phone Calls Is Hurting Work In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the phenomenon of telephonobia – fear of using the telephone – and its impact on workplace communication and productivity. She explores the decline in telephone use among both younger and middle-aged professionals, citing reasons like digital communication preferences, anxiety, an...

Episode 167: Too Much of Your Work is About the Work! In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the phenomenon of back-to-back meetings in remote work culture, revealing that 60% of work time is spent on 'work about work.' Using insights from Asana's Anatomy of Work Index, she delves into the inefficiencies caused by unnecessary meetings, duplicative work, and excessive status updat...

Episode 166: Listeners’ Picks: The 5 Most Downloaded Episodes In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson celebrates hitting 20,000 downloads by recapping the five most downloaded episodes of the Working Conversations podcast. From handling conversational narcissists to crafting compelling career stories, she revisits topics that have resonated most with listeners. Dr. Anderson also delves into common lea...

Episode 165: Navigating Negativity Bias at Work In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the intriguing concept of negativity bias in the workplace. With a keen understanding of how our brains tend to focus on the negative, she provides practical strategies for both combating this bias within ourselves and managing negativity in coworkers. Through a listener's email seeking advice on ha...

Episode 164: Women's Wealth: Unpacking the $30 Trillion Baby Boomer Inheritance  In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson sits down with financial expert Karen Coyne to discuss the profound implications of the anticipated transfer of $30 trillion in Baby Boomer wealth to women by 2030. As a Certified Financial Planner, Karen provides key insights into how this wealth shift will impact industries, w...

Episode 163: Norms Not Working for You? Change Them In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the critical need to evaluate and potentially change workplace norms that emerged during the pandemic and may no longer be useful or are even counterproductive. She provides a comprehensive guide on recognizing, questioning, and revising these norms to enhance effectiveness and adapt to the evolving pr...

Episode 162: Navigating Employee Types: Strategies for Stayers, Players, Slayers, and Glaciers In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into managing four distinct types of employees: Stayers, Players, Slayers, and Glaciers. By understanding and addressing the unique challenges and contributions of each group, managers (and co-workers) can approach employees with tailored strategies to enhance m...

Episode 161: The Tyranny of the Inbox: How Late-Night Emails Impact Your Team In this insightful episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tackles the impact of late-night work emails on employee well-being. She examines whether managers should voluntarily curb after-hours communication or if legislation is needed to enforce boundaries. Analyzing the balance between workplace flexibility and potential stress an...

Episode 160: Five Reasons You Need White Space on Your Calendar In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the crucial yet often neglected practice of preserving white space in your calendar. She outlines five compelling reasons, including fostering strategic thinking and enhancing creativity, that make unscheduled time vital for both personal and organizational success. By advocating the imp...

Episode 159: Why You Need a Work BFF In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the profound impact of forging close friendships in the workplace, revealing their contribution to both individuals and organizations alike. She notes some of the dramatic business outcomes that arise when people report having a close friend at work, including a 36% decrease in safety incidents and robust profit surg...

Episode 158: Office Peacocking and What it Means for You In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson digs into the trend of "office peacocking," where companies go to great lengths to entice employees back to the physical office through extravagant amenities and perks. She discusses the potential pitfalls of inequity and distractibility that come with such flashy office perks and emphasizes the im...

Episode 157: Exposing Affinity Bias to Create a Fair and Just Workplace In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the intriguing world of affinity bias in the workplace. Covering the subtle yet impactful ways in which this bias can shape hiring decisions, team dynamics, performance evaluations, and even mentorship opportunities, Dr. Anderson sheds light on the hidden influences that may impa...

Episode 156: Clear Your Mental Cache by Decluttering Your Mind In this episode of the Working Conversations podcast, Dr. Janel Anderson delves into the concept of clearing mental clutter and applies the principles of clearing the cache on a computer to our own minds. Drawing from her personal experience with a glitchy app, Dr. Anderson shares how she discovered the power of decluttering the mind a...

Episode 155: Handle with Care: Return to Office or Not? Research at the end of 2023 projected that 90% of companies would be requiring staff to return to the office by the end of 2024, but remote workers are saying “not so fast.” The tension is continuing to mount and returning to the office has become a hot-button issue between many employees and the companies who employ them. “Why go back if the...

Episode 154: Tulsa Pays You $10K to Move There Tulsa, Oklahoma will pay you $10,000 to move there as a remote worker. You get not only $10,000, but also a housing stipend, co-working space, and a built-in community of other remote workers. All you have to bring is your job. The program, called Tulsa Remote, is now in its fifth year and it has landed Tulsa a whopping 2,800 new remote working reside...

Episode 153: 6 Tips for Better Virtual Meetings Virtual meetings are here to stay – that’s not up for debate. And Zoom fatigue is real. So are disengaged meeting participants and multitasking. But with a few new tips and tricks up your sleeve, you can drive engagement, interest, and collaboration in your online meetings. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares some of the latest research on vir...

Episode 152: The 10 Best Things I’ve Done in My Career In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson shares the 10 best career decisions she’s ever made. From being on both sides of mentoring relationships to investing in her own professional development to getting a certification that few in her industry attain, she shares universally applicable strategies she has followed to build a thriving career. Regar...