This Working Life

Working as a first responder can have a huge mental toll. Compared to the general public police and emergency services workers are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, PTSD and struggle with alcohol and substance abuse. They are the findings of Answering the Call, the first national survey into the mental health and wellbeing survey of more than 20,000 police and emergency services personnel. Dr David Lawrence from the University of Western Australia led the research and discusses these findings.

It took a long time for former police officer James Maskey to even realise he had PTSD and he shares how the trauma he faced at work led to him leaving a job he loved. Now, as national engagement manager of the Beyond Blue Police and Emergency Services Program, James helps others going through the same issues.

Producer: Maria Tickle

What will 2021 hold for you at work? We've wrangled the experts and polished the This Working Life crystal ball to bring you our best predictions for this year.

Demographer, Bernard Salt thinks this is our chance to hit the reset button and rebuild our working lives to a much better place than ever before.

Insecure work was a strong theme for 2020 and Alison Pennington, senior economist for the Centre for Future Work, says 2021 will be no different. She argues that it may however provide us with an opportunity to improve some of the worst quality jobs in the workforce.

And if you're hoping to 'thrive, not survive' in 2021, Pip Dexter who leads Deloitte's Human Capital Practice has one top focus for this year - adaptability. She shares why she believes this characteristic will matter above all else and how you can cultivate it in yourself and your workplace.

Last to place their predictions is Dr Ben Hamer, he's the lead for Future Work at PWC Australia. He works with their 8000 employees to look ahead at what could be coming for them and their clients. They recently put out an organisation wide survey to learn about the impact of 2020 on their work. The surprise? Most people thought workplace culture had actually improved thanks to the pandemic. Ben shares why that is and what we can learn from it.

Producer: Edwina Stott

Supervising Producer: Maria Tickle

How do you find your work mojo now that your holiday halo has started to dim?

January is the most popular month to give your job the flick (and to file for divorce apparently - but this is outside the scope of our show!). We talk motivation with sports and organisational psychologist Dr Travis Kemp and Chris Low, head of vibe at Canva which has twice been named Australia's best place to work.

We discuss why things come to a head in January - just what's going on in our brains? Plus why personal values trump free beer, why money isn't our primary motivator, and how eating breakfast and lunch together helped online graphic design business Canva become a unicorn company (a privately-owned start up worth more than a US one billion dollars).

Chris also refers to the importance of psychological safety in the workplace. To hear more about this, listen to our previous show on this topic:

After ramp up your motivation, you might want to tackle one of the toughest challenges in the workplace and have that difficult conversation. Karen Gately from Corporate Dojo gives us her very practical and imminently doable take.

Producer: Maria Tickle

(This program first aired on ABC Radio National on January 27, 2020.)

A trifecta of CEOs share why they introduced the four-day work week to their companies, how it has actually helped them navigate the economic downturn, and hard lessons learnt along the way.

GUESTS: Andrew Barnes, CEO Perpetual Guardian, Kath Blackham CEO Versa, Nikki Beaumont CEO Beaumont People.

Andrew's book: The Four Day Week: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability and Well-being, and Create a Sustainable Future.

(This program first aired on ABC Radio National on August 24, 2020.)

What to eat, how to move for peak brain power.

We dig into what science says about what to feed your brain and how to move your body in order to perform at your best at work in these stressful times.You'll hear:* The good oil on the good fats and how NOT to cook with them. * Are supplements useful additions to our diet or just expensive wee?* Coffee, yay or nay?* And the best way to exercise to increase focus and creativity at work. This one may surprise you, it surprised the researchers!

(This program was first broadcast on July 13, 2020.)

GUESTS:Dr Delia McCabe, is a nutritional neuroscientist her book is Feed Your Brain.

Dr John Ratey, is a psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, who has studied the effect of exercise on the brain for more than 40 years.

Producer: Maria Tickle

Routines and rituals boost productivity and wellbeing - but how? We explore why we need routines and rituals, how to create your own and how they can improve your work ethic, output and satisfaction.

(This program first aired on ABC Radio National on July 20, 2020.)

GUESTS:

Dr Sean O’Connor, Director of Sydney University’s Coaching Psychology Unit Casper ter Kuile, Harvard Divinity School fellow and author of The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices

With thanks to: 

Kate Christie, time management expert

Steph Clarke, podcaster

Susie Hopkins, TWL listener

Producer: Zoe Ferguson

When your boss mentions "brainstorming" what do you picture - rapid, creative, ideas generation or death by Post-it Note?

Pick up your permanent markers and unroll that butcher’s paper because we’re diving into the art and science of brainstorming - what works, what doesn’t and why some people are doing it all wrong.

(This program first aired September 14, 2020.)

GUESTS

Professor Gerard Puccio, organisational psychologist from Buffalo State

Art Markman, Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas, Austin.

CASE STUDIES

Sarah Crowley, transport and precinct planning specialist

James Atkins, director and strategic planning facilitator

Crisis = life lessons. Who hasn't learnt some serious life lessons and made some painful personal growth this year? At home and at work. Oh that's right they became one.

In our final new episode for 2020 we meet up with our guests from throughout the year to hear the most important thing they learn about work, and themselves, this year.

GUESTS:

Deirdre Dowling, professional classical musician

Dr Kirstin Ferguson, company director and author

Oscar Trimboli, author of Deep Listening

Kayley Chu, founder author of 100 Lunches

Nir Eyal, author of Indistractible

Kath Blackham, founder and CEO Versa Agency

Jennifer Petriglieri, associate professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD and author of Couples That Work

Producer: Maria Tickle

Office politics can be a minefield but we hear opting out is not be best option, you need to have skin in the game but with a special mindset.

And it’s been an interesting year in national and international politics. The pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in leaders around the globe. 

So when it comes to talking politics at work how can we talk politics at work without starting a workplace war?

GUESTS:

Dr Raina Brands, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School

Dorie Clark, entrepreneur, branding expert and executive coach.

Producer: Maria Tickle

As the saying goes “money can’t buy happiness”, but does getting paid more make us happier and more motivated at work? And if not, what does? And why is it still such a taboo topic? We also hear negotiation strategies to use with your boss and what you need to do to stay employable after 40.

GUESTS:

Professor Adrian Furnham, author of The New Psychology of Money (and about 100 other books)

Adjunct professor at BI Norwegian Business School and professor at University College London.

Emily Barnes, mediator

Kate McCallum, financial advisor and co-author of The Joy of Money.

Producer: Maria Tickle