This Working Life

Епизоди

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  Simone Stolzoff wants you to be uncertain! 14.09.2026 25мин

  It feels like we’re constantly being asked to know things, to be rock solid in our information.   But is this desire for control and certainty stopping us from making better decisions both at work, and about our working lives?   Journalist and author Simone Stolzoff has a lot of ideas about our brains and how we go to work!  He’s  been circling the globe hunting out people who trying to understand doubt and uncertainty for his new book How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World That Demands Answers.   So, what don't you know?  Guest:  Simone Stolzoff, journalist and author of How to Not Know  and The Good Enough Job ====== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  You're being measured! 07.09.2026 25мин

  Do you measure up? Digital and AI tools coupled with an increased desire for productivity means we’re being marked more closely than ever before.  New research shows that when we know how we're being measured we stop prioritising the work that isn't measured, especially if we think the systems aren't transparent or fair.  Lisa gets stuck into the modern map of "metricisation" to see how to defend soft skills from a passion for measurement!  The Radio National Top 100 Australian Books countdown is underway - make your vote count!  Our Work Book guest is ABC Business reporter Daniel Ziffer and his pick for the This Working Life book club is Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich.  Guests:  Dr Martin Edwards, Organisational psychologist and Professor in Management in the University of Queensland Business School Daniel Ziffer, ABC Business Reporter and author of A Wunch of Bankers: A Year in the Hayne Royal Commission ====== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  Fluorescent lights burning you out? 31.08.2026 25мин

  How does your office make you feel? Are you an open plan convert or dying under the halogen lighting?  We spend a lot of time in our workplaces and the way they’re designed can have a huge impact on our mental and physical wellbeing.  Psychologists and architects are worried we've sleep walked into a world where the standard office design is actively burning workers out quick smart. It's a problem for employees stuck in environments draining them of the will, and employers losing good staff to bad design.  So how do we fix it? Lisa dons a hard hat and goes looking for a smarter way to design modern workspaces.  And it’s the first week of the Radio National Top 100 Australian Books countdown! We kick off our series Work Book, getting the skinny on books that have changed the way people work.  Rob Kelly's pick for our Work Book reading list is The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis.  Guests:  Dr Patrick Aouad, Neurologist, neuroscientist and the CEO of healthcare company CU Health.    Natalie Phillips-Mason, Founder of Inclusive Change Michael Spinoglio, Design director of Spaceful Rob Kelly, Producer of This Working Life   ====== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  What do you do in a crisis? 24.08.2026 25мин

  How do you react in a crisis? Are you fight, flight, fawn or flee?  We all react differently to moments of panic and stress but one thing we all have in common is that they cause us to make rash and poor decisions.  Are we stuck like this or can we re-train ourselves to respond to panic and act or lead with a clear head?  Guest: Dr James Donald, Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies at Sydney University and co-author of The Clear Leader ======= You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  How to get hired in the AI age 17.08.2026 25мин

  Artificial intelligence use in the job hunt is happening so fast it's hard to keep track and applicants and employers are feeling harassed by the speed of the change.   Candidates find themselves trapped in a paradox where they need to write applications that make it through the screening while also standing out when an application eventually reaches a human decision maker.  AI interviews are increasingly popular as well for hiring organisations which job hunters are reporting can make the process depressing and dehumanising.  Research on the impact of these tools in their first years also suggests that the use of AI tools for hiring runs the risk of discriminatory practices being baked into the process. There's also a concern that employers run the risk of ending up with a distinct lack of diversity of thought in their teams.  But employers and hiring managers love these tools and argue that they can improve the process for job candidates as well.  So, what do we do?  Lisa logs on with a legal researcher into the impact of AI hiring models and gets the goods from behind the digital curtain on how to beat the bot!   Guests:  Dr Natalie Sheard, Lawyer and McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne studying discrimination by AI systems, particularly those used in employment. Rudy Crous, Organisational psychologist and CEO of AI Human Relations firm Compono  ======== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  We're too tired to work! 10.08.2026 25мин

  Are you just too tired to work?  Australians feel exhausted. Eighty two per cent of Australian knowledge workers reported being on the verge of burnout last year, and businesses are scrambling to catch up with the cost of mental fatigue.  But sleepiness can be a killer too and a major shift is underway in how Australian industries treat tiredness in the workplace.  It's not a new phenomenon, people were talking about "brain fag" in Victorian England, but the way we think about fatigue and the way we treat it in the workplace is in flux.  So why are we so tired and what can we do about it?  Lisa puts matchsticks in her eyes and tries to solve the tiredness trap.  Guests:  Dr Drew Dawson, Professor, Director of Research Development at Central Queensland University and expert in Fatigue Management Strategy Dr Elizabeth Stephens, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland and co author of the new study - A Cultural History of Workplace Fatigue which will conclude in 2029 Dr Kari Leibowitz, Health Psychologist, Speaker and author of How To Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days  Further Listening & Reading! Dr Kari Leibowitz on This Working Life in 2023 speaking about the power of harnessing stress =========== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  Is Gina Rinehart right about cash bonuses? 03.08.2026 25мин

  Australia’s richest person and long time supporter of Australian Swimming Gina Rinehart has been offering cash bonuses for Aussie swimmers at the Commonwealth games, $20,000 for a gold medal! It can be a nice to have after a huge challenge or a drawcard to make people work harder, but there can be a danger to motivating your team with extra dollars. So, Is Gina Rinehart right, do cash bonuses work?  What actually motivates us?   Lisa digs into the world of motivation and incentives to try and figure out what works for us and how you can motivate people without alienating them.   Stacey Parker's co-authored article on compensation and design for Motivation Science Mark Puncher's work sheet on connection with work  Guests:  Dr Stacey Parker - Associate Professor and endorsed Organisational Psychologist at the University of Queensland's School of Psychology Mark Puncher - CEO of Employer Branding Australia ========== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you!   
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  The dangers of silence at work 27.07.2026 25мин

  Speaking out at work is hard. It's even harder in a culture of silence.  To take the decision to break the quiet is an act of bravery, ands it's one many of us are unwilling to risk.  But the dangers of a culture of silence are many, and they impact employers and employees alike.  While it can be a scary thing to do, research has found that people staying silent to protect their own heath and wellbeing almost always have worse results for their mental health in the long term in a silent workplace.  Lisa speaks, loudly, with an expert on why people stay quiet.  Guest:  Dr Nate Zettna: Lecturer in leadership at the Business School of The University of Sydney 
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  Is it getting harder to find a job? 20.07.2026 25мин

  After the 100th email auto reply, the AI application screening and writing the umpteenth cover letter of the week, the job hunt can feel like a real drain.  If you're feeling like it's harder to find a job now than last time you were looking you are not alone. A combination of people staying put, international forces and a tight economic market have all impacted the white collar worker world. And that's before we think about AI! Despite unemployment numbers remaining pretty flat the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that in the first 3 months of this year one point one million people without a job wanted one, with one million available to start within four weeks. Job application numbers per role are up as well. Employment website Seek found that in May this year job advert numbers were down 4.5% on May last year, and that applications per job advert have gone up 5.5% in a year.   So what can we do if we need a gig? How do we prepare ourselves and our children for a rapidly changing world of work?  Lisa digs into the data and goes hunting for answers for you.  Guests:  Hari Hara Priya Kannan - Chief Data Scientist at The Demographics Group  Nic Cola - CEO of RMIT Online  ======== You can find more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  Is being good at your job holding you back? 13.07.2026 25мин

  Are you being asked time and again to be the one who gets everything done, is your reward for crushing it, just more “it” to crush?  You might be paying a competence Tax!   Research consistently shows that people who are seen as high achievers are stacked with more of the same rather than being given pathways to doing new things. it's a story a lot of people can relate to but it can be a very difficult trap to escape.  Lisa is joined by a world expert in what she calls "the curse of competence" to give you the tools to break the hex!  Guest: Dr Ruth Gotian: Success researcher, Associate Professor at Columbia University and Author of The Success Factor and the Financial Times Guide to Mentoring. ========== You can find more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  Take a break! 06.07.2026 25мин

  When you’re under the pump, it can feel like taking a break at work is impossible. But that can be habit forming, and bad for your physical and mental health.  Learn the benefits of building breaks into your workday, and how to do it in a way that feels manageable. 
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  How to avoid "Wellness Washing" 29.06.2026 25мин

  You may have heard of greenwashing, now experts are worried about wellness washing where workplaces paper over the cracks with wellbeing measures but leave the chasms underneath.    
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  Why are we so bad at onboarding? 22.06.2026 25мин

  You're starting a new job but you don't have what you need, or you certainly feel like you don't! Why is this such a universal experience and why are employers so happy to leave people to sink or swim?  We dive in to the good, the bad and the ugly of onboarding and try to figure out how we can be doing it better, for bosses and for workers.  Lisa also checks in with the Australian HR Institute about new research showing the global "job hugging" trend has arrived on our shores.  Guests:  Dr Talya Bauer - Professor of Management at Portland State University  Sarah McCann-Bartlett - Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australian HR Institute  =========== You can binge more episodes of the This Working Life podcast with your on the job correspondent Lisa Leong on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
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  What your boss is getting wrong about AI   15.06.2026 25мин

  AI usage is on the rise, but its implementation within jobs and workflows is causing problems.  Research shows there is a capability gap amongst Australian workers, and a lack of AI fluency and context-poor AI use is creating job strain.  What can leaders do to turn this around? Guests:  Dr Rebecca Hinds, head of the Work AI Institute at Glean  Dr Sean Gallagher, founder of Humanova and the former Director of Swinburne University's Centre for the New Workforce
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  Don't be left out in the cold: why you should care about your organisation’s strategy 08.06.2026 25мин

  Tying together what your team does within your organisation’s strategy is a key skill for middle managers and something workers at all levels can benefit from.   Learn how a strategy is put together and ways you can work towards it.  Guests:  Brandon Lee, Associate Professor at Melbourne Business School, consultant, researcher and executive educator    Rebecca Murray, principal of strategy consultancy, Marlborough and Ferdinand 
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  Tackle overwhelm with the 'Teamwork Doctor' 01.06.2026 25мин

  If you’re always busy but feel as though you’re not getting on top of things, you may be experiencing cognitive and emotional overload.  Liane Davey, the ‘Teamwork Doctor’, calls this “thoughtload” and offers ways to manage overwhelm and focus attention, to improve productivity and wellbeing in individuals and teams.  Guest:  Liane Davey PhD organisational psychologist and author Thoughtload: Manage the Madness and free your Team to do great Work 
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  Try This: how to quit 27.05.2026 16мин

  Once you’ve made the decision to quit your job, it’s worth considering how to do it in a way that fits the situation.  The researcher who coined the term, “The Great Resignation” shares his insights on different resignation styles, from the “grateful goodbye” to “bridge burning” and what managers can learn from the way employees quit.   Guest:  Professor Anthony C. Klotz, UCL School of Management, author Jolted, Why we Quit, When to Stay and Why it Matters  Check out our companion episode Should you really quit your job?  
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  Should you really quit your job, like Oprah? 25.05.2026 25мин

  The researcher who coined the term, "The Great Resignation", says most of us are only one event away from quitting our jobs.  He calls them “jolts” and describes the one that led Oprah to quit her new job at 60 Minutes, and Jürgen Klopp to give up his successful role as manager of Liverpool FC.  What motivates us to quit, what should we consider before we do it?  Guest:  Professor Anthony C. Klotz, UCL School of Management, author Jolted, Why we Quit, When to Stay and Why it Matters  Look out for our companion episode Try This: how to quit in your podcast feed. 
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  AI will change your job. Here’s the SMART way to redesign it. 18.05.2026 25мин

  The narrative around AI at work is moving away from “job apocalypse” towards jobs transforming.  So how do you redesign roles to improve productivity and take care of the psychosocial safety and wellbeing of workers? Guests:  John Curtin Distinguished Professor Sharon Parker, Director of  Centre for Transformative Work Design, Curtin University  If you’d like to try the S.M.A.R.T. job design assessment, the link is here.  
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  Nir Eyal on how to stop sabotaging your career 11.05.2026 25мин

  Have you struggled to make lasting behaviour change at work, and wondered why you can’t get to the next level?   The author of bestsellers Hooked and Indistractable, spoke with readers who loved his books but couldn’t nail the change part. He spent the next five years researching what was missing, Beyond Belief is the result.   Nir Eyal, behavioural design expert, author, Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Extraordinary results