This Working Life

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• Is being good at your job holding you back? 13.07.2026 25Min.

  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 thisworkinglife@abc.net.au if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
• Take a break! 06.07.2026 25Min.

  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. 
• How to avoid "Wellness Washing" 29.06.2026 25Min.

  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.    
• Why are we so bad at onboarding? 22.06.2026 25Min.

  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 thisworkinglife@abc.net.au if you would like to get in touch, we read them all and love hearing from you! 
• What your boss is getting wrong about AI   15.06.2026 25Min.

  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
• Don't be left out in the cold: why you should care about your organisation’s strategy 08.06.2026 25Min.

  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 
• Tackle overwhelm with the 'Teamwork Doctor' 01.06.2026 25Min.

  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 
• Try This: how to quit 27.05.2026 16Min.

  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?  
• Should you really quit your job, like Oprah? 25.05.2026 25Min.

  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. 
• AI will change your job. Here’s the SMART way to redesign it. 18.05.2026 25Min.

  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.  
• Nir Eyal on how to stop sabotaging your career 11.05.2026 25Min.

  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 
• Sir David Attenborough is doing it, what about you? How to work until you're 100 04.05.2026 27Min.

  Working for longer can help you financially, as well as giving you purpose, a social life and a healthier brain.  We speak with three Australians working past retirement age, and an expert coach who helps individuals and organisations achieve longevity goals. Guests:  Ronni Kahn AO, social entrepreneur, Founder and Visionary in Residence, OzHarvest   Brian James, co-founder, The Copper Doctors  Alison Hernandez, co-founder, Re-create 100  Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty, co-director of Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, UNSW, 2026 Senior Australian of the Year   You can find Professor Henry’s Brodaty’s healthy brain ageing tips at the end of this episode. 
• Why 9am meetings might be failing your team 27.04.2026 24Min.

  Circadian rhythms dictate our peak times or chronotypes and they vary across the workforce, so why does everything start so early?  Learn how these biological rhythms interact with cognitive and emotional performance and how practicing circadian-influenced leadership can help get the best out of your team.  Guest:  Stefan Volk, Professor of Management at the University of Sydney Business School 
• Kyle and Jackie O safety complaint heads to Federal Court 20.04.2026 25Min.

  Jackie O’s lawyers claim ARN breached workplace health and safety obligations by failing to protect her psychosocial health while she was working with co-host Kyle Sandilands.   As the case heads to court this week, find out how leaders should manage psychological safety at work, and learn the potential consequences if they fail to do so.  Guests:  Martyn Campbell, former Chief Executive of SafeWork SA and Secretary-General of the International Association of Labour inspection.  Fay Calderone, employment lawyer and partner, Hall and Willcox and author, Broken to Safe: tackling toxic workplace cultures and burnout 
• Marcus Buckingham says love is the most powerful force in business 13.04.2026 25Min.

  Marcus Buckingham’s latest research shows that love is a driver of super productive human behaviour. He argues the case for "designing love in" to experiences at work. Learn how to create experiences that inspire your colleagues and staff to say, "I love that!" Guest:  Marcus Buckingham, global researcher focused on unlocking strengths, increasing performance and pioneering the future of work. Author, Design Love In 
• How to help a young person find a career in the age of AI 06.04.2026 25Min.

  Worrying about your young person’s future? The impact of AI is already changing the job market in some industries. So what’s the best approach for guiding them into a career during this time of uncertainty?  Guests:  Alana Kilmartin, speaker and author, Unserious Careers: a fun guide to the first five years of your career David Carney, Executive Director, Career Industry Council of Australia 
• The power of inspiring vs. infuriating leadership 30.03.2026 25Min.

  When your boss sends a text complimenting your work, it feels amazing! But if they point out a mistake in front of your peers, you may feel shattered.  What does it take to be an inspiring leader, and how can you avoid being an infuriating one?  Guest:  Adam Galinsky, Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Columbia Business School  This interview was recorded at the Power, Status and Influence Research Conference, for the Melbourne Business School. 
• How Don uses his digital twin 23.03.2026 25Min.

  You may soon have a digital clone of your work-self that can take care of many of your tasks, make decisions on your behalf, and even give presentations as you.   As the emergence of “identic AI” generates more potential for digital human twins in organisations, we discuss the ethics of using them.  Guests:  Don Tapscott, co-author, You to the Power of Two, Redefining Human Potential in the Age of Identic AI 
• Is more annual leave the answer to preventing burnout? 16.03.2026 25Min.

  With burnout and overwork a problem for staff and employers alike, a proposal to add an extra week to annual leave balances for Australian workers is on the table.   We speak with a business that already offers five weeks of annual leave per year, and hear from management and labour law experts on whether this add on is the answer, or if there's a better solution. Guests:  Shae McCrystal, Professor of Labour Law, The University of Sydney Law School  Carol Kulik, Bradley Distinguished Professor, Centre for Workplace Excellence, Adelaide University  Greg Day, Co-worker Experience Manager, IKEA 
• Esther Perel on conflict and power struggles at work 09.03.2026 34Min.

  What’s really behind the reaction a colleague has when you disagree with them? And how do you manage a conflict when it arises?  Esther and Lisa delve into workplace conflict and power dynamics and explore how to understand them and find a way through.   Plus answers to your questions and an exercise Esther wants you to test out for Try This. Don’t forget to report back! thisworkinglife@abc.net.au  Guest:  Esther Perel, New York Times bestselling author and psychotherapist   For more from Esther Perel, check out these episodes from our colleagues at All in the Mind:  Family estrangement and infidelity: Esther Perel answers your questions Mind Hacks: Esther Perel