This Working Life

Australia’s renowned for its multiculturalism. But when it comes to the workplace and leadership positions, that diversity isn’t represented. So, what’s going on?In part one of our special series we dive into cultural diversity and inclusion at work - what’s behind the lack of diversity in leadership roles, and what can be done about it.Guests:Jieh-Yung Lo – Director, Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership at the Australian National UniversityTim Soutphommasane – Director, Culture Strategy & Acting Director, Sydney Policy Lab, and Professor of Practice (Sociology and Political Theory) at the University of Sydney. Former Race Discrimination Commissioner (2013-2018)Octavia Goredema – Career Coach & Author of PREP, PUSH, PIVOTJean Jing Yin Sum – Life Transformations Coach & Host, Asian Women Rising

We’ve been living through the greatest workplace disruption in generations. Now, two years and counting of Covid here in Australia, that volatility isn’t going anywhere and business managers are struggling.Energy is low, resilience is low, and staff numbers are fluctuating as people fall ill to Covid. Combine, mix and stir and you’ve got the ‘Covid shiftstorm’.We go inside the world of managers and hear what’s happening, how they’re feeling and get some tips on how to get through this tough period.Guests: Professor Kim Felmingham - Chair of Clinical Psychology in the School of Psychological Sciences, University of MelbourneKaren Gately - Founder, Corporate DojoWith thanks to the managers who shared their stories with us: Natalie Feehan - Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, EstimateOneLia Pacquola - Head of PR and Corporate Communications MYOBAdam Chalk - Owner and Manager, Buddha Bowl Cafe

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.Guests:Alison Earl, Author, speaker and trainer on mindset and resilienceDr Kari Leibowitz, Health psychologist and mindset researcher, Stanford University

What we want in our leaders has evolved; we’ve seen a growing desire for more ethical and empathetic leaders. But destructive leaders are still in charge in many workplaces and their impacts are far-reaching. So how can we identify them and, more importantly, change them?We look at the personality traits and four styles of destructive leaders and get some tips on how to avoid them to help improve employee and business wellbeing.Guests:Professor Paula Brough, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing at Griffith UniversityDr Vicki Webster, Founder and Director of Incisive Leaders

Since the start of the pandemic, the global take-up of the four-day work week has accelerated. We first looked into the pros and cons of the four-day work week back in 2020 when it was very much in its early days in Australia.Since then, more companies and industries in Australia and around the world have adopted the four-day work week. We get the latest on what is and isn’t working in this global workplace experiment and what we can learn from the early adopters.Guests: Andrew Barnes – Founder, Perpetual Guardian and 4 Day Week GlobalAlex Pang – Founder, Strategy and RestNikki Beaumont - Founder and CEO, Beaumont PeopleKath Blackham – Founder and CEO, VersaSasha D’Arcy – Four-day-week employee at Inventium

Workplace bullying is a complex and insidious problem that one in 10 of us in Australia experience at some stage in our careers.We look at the organisational structures behind bullying itself, how many of us might be unwilling bystanders, and the impact it has on us physically and mentally. Guest:Michelle Tuckey, Professor of Work & Organisational Psychology within UniSA Justice & Society and the Centre for Workplace Excellence.With thanks to Jessica, Neil and Therese for sharing their stories of experiencing workplace bullying.

Do you feel exhausted after being on Zoom? You’re not alone. Thanks to COVID-19, we’ve been on Zoom more than ever. From our day-to-day work to meetings and after-work social catch ups, our time spent video conferencing seems endless and it’s tiring us out.Studies have shown that our brains are in overload during these video meetings, and that’s leading us to feel emotionally and motivationally exhausted.We’ve asked the experts what exactly is going on in our heads when we’re in an online meeting and how we can reduce and prevent fatigue so we can feel energised and work better.Guests:Professor Julie Bernhardt, Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental HealthProfessor Jeff Hancock, Stanford University

If we confront our regrets and use them as signals, they're a powerful force for working smarter and living better.That’s according to New York Times best-selling author Daniel Pink. He’s collected the regrets of thousands of people around the world and discovered what connects us in our regrets, and how we can use them to live and work better. So let go of any shame around your regrets, and learn how to harness their power.Guest:Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author, most recently The Power of Regret.With appearances from people who proudly have regrets:Dr Tim Sharp, Chief Happiness Officer, The Happiness InstituteGinger Gorman, Award-winning print and radio journalistMark Brandi, AuthorJanelle Delaney, Partner at IBMAmanda Rose, Founder of Western Sydney Women, #bossladyJuliet Bourke, Author and Adjunct Professor UNSW Business School

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.

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.Guest:Michael Bungay Stanier, Author of The Coaching Habit and How to Begin.