Working Conversations

Episode 101: Do Careers Matter as the Future of Work Unfolds? As the pace of change in how work life is constructed and conceived of, is the concept of having a “career” still relevant or meaningful? In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the notion of traditional careers and how that notion has changed over the past couple of decades and will continue to evolve into the future. And instead...

Episode 100: What the Most Persistent People Do Where does persistence come from? Why are some people able to persevere in the face of setbacks and obstacles and others are more likely to throw in the towel and give up? In this 100 th episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the art and science of persistence and uncovers that it is not simply mind over matter. Some of us have a genetic pre-dispositio...

Episode 99: Where Smart Appliances are Headed in the Next 5 Years In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the Internet of Things and specifically smart appliances. She takes a critical look at what smart appliances can offer the consumer and what the downsides are, both in terms of privacy and practicality. She also shares the latest research on consumers taking advantage (or not) of the feat...

Episode 98: How to Get Laid Off You can’t avoid the headlines about the massive number of people who are getting laid off in the tech industry. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson analyzes the substantial layoffs in this sector and offers some fresh insights. If you are laid off (or want to be), she’s got some advice for you, including what to do, what not to do, and when to ignore other people&#3...

Episode 97: Why Interpersonal Skills are THE Most Important Skills for 2023 In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson continues to explore the future of work in 2023 by offering a deeper look at her fifth prediction for the year: Interpersonal communication skills are the most important skills to develop and maintain this year. Analysis of 12 million job postings show that communication skills are the m...

Episode 96: The Tug-of-War Between WFH and RTO In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores her fourth prediction for the year as she continues to delve into her predictions for the future of work in 2023. She offers a deeper look at the current tug-of-war going on between those who want to work from home and those who are starting to require employees to return to the office. She reviews the main...

Episode 95: AI Won’t Steal Your Job But Here’s What It Will Do In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson continues to explore the future of work in 2023. She offers a deeper look at her third prediction for the year, that Artificial Intelligence will become more useful in everyday work. She explores the new AI platforms like ChatGPT that have made their way into the headlines and popular use in the past...

Episode 94: Live to Work or Work to Live: Conflicting Values in the Workplace In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson continues to explore the future of work in 2023. She offers a deeper look at her second prediction for the year: That there will be a values clash in the workplace between those who live to work and those who work to live. Dr. Anderson explores some of the generational dynamics that ar...

Episode 93: The Labor Shortage and What it Means for You – and Your Burrito  In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the current shortage of qualified workers in the labor force. She explains the various factors that led to this shortage including fewer people opting in to the workforce (this started well before the pandemic), the impact the pandemic had on the workforce, and how a rising gro...

Episode 92: My Predictions for Work Life in 2023  In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson looks into her crystal ball and predicts the future of work in the coming year. Thinking about the future can help us understand the present and be ready for what’s coming next. Dr. Anderson’s predictions address the shortage of qualified workers in the labor force, where and how we will work, a clash of values t...

Episode 91: My Word of the Year for 2023 – And Why You Need One Too In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explains what a Word of the Year is and how choosing a word can be a great addition to your new year plans. Having a Word of the Year keeps your attention on the goals you have for the year and motivates you toward achieving them. And if you ever feel overwhelmed or if you are overthinking somet...

Episode 90: Why Procrastination is Your Friend (and How to Beat it Anyway) In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tackles the issue of procrastination. A life-long procrastinator herself, she is no stranger to doing everything EXCEPT the thing that most needs to be done. She unravels why we procrastinate and the tremendous value that procrastination brings (not just getting your office cleaned or wha...

Episode 89: Decision Making and Your Year of Wonders with Nick Tasler In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson is joined by industrial psychologist Nick Tasler, an expert on decision-making and change. In their wide-ranging conversation that spans decision fatigue to making decisions with others (including coworkers and family members) to collaborating when personality and individual differences get in...

Episode 88: Get a Jumpstart on 2023 2023 will be here before you know it. Do you want it to happen by accident or by design? In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson recaps the lessons of the past year, noting that 2022 was much, much better than its recent predecessors but also different from the recognizable past of a few years ago. She then puts on her futurist hat and turns her attention to the yea...

Episode 87: 6 Ways to Overcome Perfectionism If you have perfectionistic tendencies – or you know someone who does – this episode is for you. Dr. Janel Anderson explains where perfectionism comes from and explores why some of us tend to be perfectionists. She shares her own journey in overcoming perfectionism and offers six strategies for overcoming perfectionism. This episode also comes with a fr...

Episode 86: An Experiment in Gratitude The research on the positive impact of gratitude is compelling. On this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson tests for herself whether gratitude makes a difference in daily work and personal life. She shares the results of a six-week gratitude experiment she conducted on herself. On a daily basis, she recorded small moments and significant events that she was grateful...

Episode 85: Managing Your Energy During the Holidays Dr. Janel Anderson interviews Kristen Brown, keynote speaker, master of personal energy, and stress and resilience expert. With the holiday season fast approaching, Janel asks Kristen for tips on managing workplace stress and overwhelm, hosting gatherings with friends and family, and how to handle the (sometimes) dreaded office holiday party. Th...

Episode 84: Why Talking to Yourself Makes You Smarter If you think talking to yourself is a shortcoming, think again. Research demonstrates that speaking your thoughts out loud to yourself increases the quality of your ideas and tempers your impulsiveness. From vetting ideas before sharing them with a colleague, to managing your frustration, to finding your keys, talking to yourself can have treme...

Listening is a gift. When we focus entirely on the person who is speaking and are free from distractions and give them our absolute undivided attention, we are giving the present of being in the present. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson digs into issues that can get in the way of effective listening and offers strategies to overcome them. She reviews five barriers to listening that come from ex...

Episode 82: What to Do When You Don’t Like a Coworker We don’t always like everyone we work with. If we liked everyone the same, there’d be no distinction between our very best friends – our inner circle, if you will – to casual acquaintances. It’s perfectly fine to like some people more than others. Even if they are coworkers. But when that dislike (or its opposite: a great deal of affinity for s...

Episode 81: How to Get a Second Chance at Anything Some say there is no such thing as second chances, but we mere mortals do not get everything right the first time. Especially when we are trying something new, taking a risk, or working outside of our comfort zone. All of us have made mistakes in our lives, and if there was never an opportunity to try again, we’d have no motivation to try new thin...

Episode 80: The Two Most Powerful Words in the English Language In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson explores the power of two little words: I am. When we use these words, we declare something to be true about ourselves. Whether it is the work we are going to get done in a given day (as in, “I am going to complete this project”) or who we consider ourselves to be on a more macro level (like, “I am...

Episode 79: A Crash Course on Negotiation with Linda Swindling Negotiation skills are critical in today’s work world. Whether you are negotiating your schedule or your salary, you need to know how to ask for (and get!) what you want. In this episode, Dr. Janel Anderson interviews negotiation expert Linda Swindling. Linda reminds listeners to stop thinking about what’s in the negotiation for oursel...

Episode 78: How to Network in the Hybrid World - And Why You Need To! Having a strong network is critical for a thriving career and a thriving life! And, networking – that is, getting to know others and developing relationships that can be mutually beneficial – is more challenging in the virtual and hybrid world than it was when we spent more time together in the same spaces. In this episode, join...

Episode 77: Let’s Talk about your Well-Being – at Work It goes without saying that the past couple of years have had a lasting impact on the future of work. We’ve covered a lot of those changes over the past year and a half here on the podcast, but one of the critical areas we haven’t talked about is employee wellness and mental health. If your company is like most large organizations, the offerin...