Podcast

- What’s getting in the way to making sustainable change with your wellbeing goals?

- Why does change feel hard? i.e. losing weight, getting fitter, new job roles, finding time to connect with the kids?

- Is it possible to feel well and full of vitality every day?

Most of us start the year with the intention to keep New Year’s resolutions. The genuine desire to support ourselves is there yet most of the time these intentions fall by the wayside a few months or even days later.

So what is getting in the way of being sustainable and consistent when it comes to our health? This podcast will look at why embracing flexibility and dropping the rigid approach to health and wellbeing is key in consideration of modern day living, families and work.

Katie and Sam start the year by addressing these foundational questions. They will also be looking at common pictures we have around what we think we need to do to be healthy, busting some of the biggest myths about what true wellbeing and balance is.

The Father Hood talks to Professor Richard Fletcher, who has been studying fatherhood in Australia for the past 20 years. Richard leads the Fathers and Families Research Program at the University of Newcastle, and also started the SMS4dads program. In this podcast he shares his insights into why father's mental health is so important and what men can do to look after themselves. Today, 1 in 10 new dads experience perinatal anxiety & depression (Beyond Blue), and Richard believes it's more important than ever to address these issues.

Menopause is a normal life event for women (trans gender and non-binary people too), and yet we very rarely talk about it, even amongst our friends and particularly not in the workplace – but why? 

Given that women aged over 45 comprise 17% of the Australian workforce and menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55 – you would think that conversations about such a natural event would be common place.

In this podcast, Parents At Work’s Customer Experience Director, Fiona Hitchiner, interviews workplace wellbeing practitioner Thea O’Connor to learn more about menopause, some of the signs and symptoms, what we can do to prepare for this phase of life, and even find joy in it. Thea O’Connor is a senior advisor on workplace wellbeing and productivity, helping leaders, teams and individuals improve their workplace engagement and effectiveness through body intelligence and better health. She draws on 30 years experience in health promotion including in the fields of nutrition (as a dietitian), body image, sleep science and workplace health. 

Here are some useful resources to learn more about menopause:

https://www.thea.com.au/menopause/

https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/menopause

https://www.menopause.org.au/

We all want our children to be at ease in themselves - the adult that is capable, responsible, warm-hearted and, most importantly, genuninely enjoys being themselves. The question is, how do we support our child to have this foundation within themselves? “Not only do those who struggle with the core curriculum, but equally those who excel, have unhealthy reactions to not understanding, also refusing to put their hand up or admit they don't understand.” Vanessa McHardy. This 1-hour podcast covers:

How do children learn and why is this important for us to know as parents?

What biological aspects should we be aware of in our child’s learning development?

What’s going on for our children when they get frustrated with making mistakes or are find something challenging?

Responses vs. reactions

How do we help children foster a connection with themselves and feel secure?

There are few people who don’t have some form of self-sabotaging behaviour these days. Be it excessive social media checking, overeating, working in overdrive mode, smoking, drugs, alcohol – even simply not leaving enough time to get ready so that every morning we rush ourselves and the kids out the door. Anything that leaves us feeling less than amazing within ourselves is having a detrimental effect to our well-being on some level or another.

Even if we know this, which in most cases we do, why do we stay in this seemingly perpetual cycle of self-sabotage? And if we do manage to break the cycle for even one day, how do we make lasting shifts in our behaviour? Wellbeing Coach, Lucy Dahill and Complementary Health Practitioner Katie Walls explore what’s behind this set-up and provide tips on how to break away from it once and for all.

Self-doubt is a sure-fire way to kill off any career progression. The ‘should I’ ‘can I’ ‘what if’ thoughts all hamper our style when it comes to going for it with our work.

Hear Parents At Work, CEO, Emma Walsh and Work Life Wellbeing Executive Coach Gill McLaren address the big challenges both men and women face when it comes to taking a career to the next level. What do you really want your career to look like? What holds you back? Where can you bring more clarity to the direction your heading with work? Can you really do it? Yes is the simple answer.

Join the latest Career Wellbeing Podcast episode for some great tips to take you there.

What if every movement we made had an impact on our bodies, our mental health, our contribution to the world? What if the quality in which we moved made a lasting impression on our cellular memory? If, as Einstein proved - everything is energy - could it be that the effort or energy we put into caring for ourselves (and all the benefits that abound from this - including greater productivity at work, more connection in relationships, a healthier body etc), could it be that this has a significant impact on those around us, an impact we may not have fully appreciated yet?

Self-love is not a bad word. In fact, it's our number one job as role models to showcase a loving me for all it's worth. In this episode, Katie and Sam look at why prioristing you is not only good for 'you', but for your children, your relationships and your work too!

We have had a bit of time to settle into the New Year now – are the cracks starting to show?

In our first episode of the Teen Clinic Podcast youth advocate, teen expert and mother of three, Lucy Dahill from Why Be You, answers some common questions from parents of teenagers.

It’s a jam packed episode for parents that includes: “how do we deal with parties”, “how do I support my teenager to do homework?”, “why isn’t my son eating at school?”, “what if I don’t like my kids friends or think they are a good influence?”, and “what about wearing make up to school?”

Is your career integrated in your broader life? Is your career in line with who you are? Are you actually happy doing what you do?

Parents At Work, CEO, Emma Walsh talks to Executive Career Coach and Author, Gill McLaren on how to have a fulfilling career that integrates well with your life.  

Emma and Gill address how you bring clarity and purpose to your career including what this concept of ‘career wellbeing’ is and how to do a health check on your career. They talk about finding clues about what needs recalibrating, reflecting on and moving forward with.

This episode, the team talks to Aaron Williams about the challenges that arise within relationships when we become parents. Aaron Williams is the CEO and co-founder of Mindstar, a leading workplace wellbeing provider that works with some of the biggest companies across Australia on how to manage these challenges.

Aaron is a counsellor who has worked closely with many couples to help them adjust to this change in relationship dynamic. He has found that many people upon becoming parents, had difficulty balancing work and family and found that their personal wellbeing and relationships with their partners is what suffers the most.

Aaron states "to be that bloke you want to be it takes a lot of work and a lot of balance… it takes self discipline and self leadership”. 

Join Aaron and the team at The Father Hood as they explore how we can keep a strong connection with our partners amongst family life with kids.