This Working Life
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You spend so much time on work, why accept the status quo, when there are ways to do it better? Get expert advice, research and hacks that will crush your inertia.
Join Lisa Leong and other This Working Lifers as we experiment and explore the latest in the world of work.
We cover policy issues, like hybrid workplaces and remote work, employee wellbeing and organisational culture, the use of AI, employee surveillance, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion. We talk about progress on wider issues that relate to work, like work life balance, organisational change, restructures, and casualisation. On This Working Life our focus is on everything related to the people in a workplace too, including culture, individual experiences, performance management and career advice.
Join Lisa Leong and other This Working Lifers as we experiment and explore the latest in the world of work.
We cover policy issues, like hybrid workplaces and remote work, employee wellbeing and organisational culture, the use of AI, employee surveillance, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion. We talk about progress on wider issues that relate to work, like work life balance, organisational change, restructures, and casualisation. On This Working Life our focus is on everything related to the people in a workplace too, including culture, individual experiences, performance management and career advice.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 10, 2023 • 30min
Why the 'Great Unretirement' movement has been on the rise
While you might be dreaming about the day you can clock off work forever — why are we instead seeing so many people leaving the green and re-opening the laptop?It's all part of a trend being dubbed the 'great unretirement', in which 40% of the nearly half a million people who entered the labour force in the last three years were over the age of 55. Which has led to Australian workers now retiring at the oldest age since the early 1970s.So, what's driving it? And who are the people getting back into work when they're meant to have their feet up?
Mar 3, 2023 • 30min
How to get along with anyone at work - even ‘that’ difficult person
We’ve all had to work with ‘that’ difficult person that we just clash with. It’s tense. It’s stressful. And it’s exhausting.So, do we have to get along to do our best work? Or is it in our best interests to make peace and move on? And how can we best do that? The solutions might surprise you.
Feb 24, 2023 • 30min
When less really is more: The power of Anti-Striving
We’ve seen the Great Resignation, Lying Flat in China and Quiet Quitting. And now we’re hearing murmurings of another movement that some are calling ‘Anti-Striving’. So what exactly is it? And what will making peace with feeling less ambitious bring us in the long-term?
Feb 17, 2023 • 30min
What real inclusion looks like so LGBTIQ+ people can bring their true selves to work
How inclusive are workplaces for the rainbow community? What is working and what needs improving?We hear how small things like conversation starters can help LGBTIQ+ people feel more welcome and safe at work, and how larger things like equitable design in physical and virtual spaces can improve belonging and job satisfaction.
Feb 10, 2023 • 30min
How balancing these two things makes a true modern leader
Our image and expectation of a good leader is changing, and increasingly we’re needing them to use both their head and their heart in making decisions. Dr Kirstin Ferguson argues that the art of this type of leadership is knowing what is needed when. So what does this balancing act really look like?
Feb 3, 2023 • 30min
The power of saying No at work
Saying "yes" too often can leave you feeling overwhelmed and perhaps a bit resentful. You might hear yourself saying "yes of course I can" when your inner voice is screaming "no!"So here's how you can say "no" more often at work, without feeling rude.
Jan 27, 2023 • 30min
Motivation Hacks Part Two: How To Be Truly Engaged In Your Work
We've learned about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and how they can influence each other. But if we go deeper into the heart of motivation, we find its kernel: engagement. So how can we be truly engaged in our work?
Jan 22, 2023 • 30min
How to kick your motivation into gear
Forget what you think you know about motivation. We’ve done the work for you and found some science-based motivation hacks, so you can get the job done and actually enjoy it. We bust some myths and find out what really motivates us - from incentives, to mindsets and increased empathy.
Jan 15, 2023 • 30min
How to begin: Set yourself a worthy goal
Resolutions don't work. Set goals the right way. For us to really commit to a goal and achieve it, we should ensure we’re making a ‘worthy’ goal. That’s according to author Michael Bungay Stanier who, in his new book How To Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters, gives us nine steps to help us find our worthy goal, commit to it and just begin.
Jan 8, 2023 • 30min
Harnessing the power of stress to improve your work and well-being
We all know the impact of stress on our minds and bodies. But it turns out that it’s not the stress itself that’s impacting our health - it’s how we think about it.We hear from people about their experiences of work-related stress and how it impacts them, and our expert panel tell us how to change our stress mindsets so we can harness its power to work and live better.
