WhyWork Podcast

Season 06 Episode 10: Moooo – It’s a stampede!

WARNING: A fatality is discussed in this episode – listener discretion is advised.

Country boy Alan shares a story about cows in Wales. In this case, a cow went haywire while farm workers offloaded it from its transit vehicle to a pen. The cow was agitated, jumped off its ramp, killing a 75 y/o farmworker, and injuring another man. “Can you keep the cattle calm?” begs Trajce. They team dissect the case, remarking on the lack of enclosures and barriers as restraints on the spooked bovine creature. This case prompts Trajce to recall one of his prosecutions involving cows at night. “Like SpongeBob SquarePants who does not like taking the trash out at night,” he explains, “these cows get spooked at night. These are live, heavy beasts, not just doughy-eyed innocent creations." Sara, in contrast, shares some cute and marvellous cow stories including stumbling upon the birth of a calf.

Trajce remarks, “Well, wasn’t’ that a buckin’ excellent story?”

Alan remains on point with stories of tragic circumstances in the case of a fall from heights - a rigger who fell from a hanger on a movie set, while the team debate the merits of fall prevention, protection, and arrest in work design.

Season 06 Episode 09: IRL? In Real Life? Software solutions and AI in work design

Trajce struggles with the ideas of ‘flow efficiency,’ likening this to urine tract functioning. Sorry, Anna Linning - a subscriber who asked about ‘flow’… Alan connects the idea to Flo’s scones, Flo Bjelke-Petersen’s famous pumpkin scones. Sara brings the boys back around to discuss psychological flow, theories from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and links these ideas to job redesign and software solutions. She shares one of the ViVA team’s software solution partners, “Beam me up with Beamible” for agile job design with what-if scenarios and cost analytics to build a business case. Alan tongue twists the word, “discombobulated” because of interrupted workflows, while he shares content on legilsative obligations of company directors.

Sara provides a human factors perspective on interruptions - about 20 minutes of task reorientation. She gives the example of nurses getting interrupted during medication administration and the risks for administration error. Sara talks about information and business architecture while organisations grow organically like a wild beast. The design objective, she explains, is to aim for ‘reliability with resilience’ – the right ‘tensions’, the ‘R&R Tensions.’

The conversation takes a twist as Sara discusses her brother’s, Robert’s, lectures in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the historic development of AI from the 1950’s. Sara mentions more of ViVA’s tech partners, Lachlan Phillips of livemind.ai, develops closed-domain data support systems, and Real Serious Games for extended reality solutions. She recalls a conversation with Lachlan who asks her about doing a joint presentation, “IRL?” “In real life?” – like there needs to be an acronym to distinguish the real versus virtual world.

Season 06 Episode 08: The sentinel gateway - keeper of the path ahead

WARNING: This episode discusses a workplace fatality - listener discretion is advised.

Alan shares an industrial safety law case involving the disrepair of a gate, which prompts Trajce to reflect on his early-career prosecution of an industrial gate failure, leading to the news headline, “Fallen gate crushes mum.” The team remark on the feasibility and severity of these events deserving serious assessment, challenging the reliance on probabilistic risk assessments versus consequence. Sara shares a work reality of the difficulty of industrial gate use, especially as a visitor unfamiliar with the urban layout. Trajce solves the problems of reaching industrial gate activation panels from the window of his sportscar by using his selfie stick, causing the team to burst in laughter. “It’s funny, right?” Sara asks, “The language, ‘you’re off your rails’ implies that someone is acting unpredictably, and that they are out of control. Similarly, a gate off its sliding rail, demands some serious intervention. Trajce uses these ideas in lyrical recall of gate-related song titles.

Season 06 Episode 07 - We revisit the right to disconnect.

Trajce provokes conversation on the Fair Work Amendment (Right to Disconnect) Bill 2023 among the team again. Sara asks, “Why did we throw legislation at this? I want to know - how did they develop their problem statements? Is this legislation really hitting the mark? Are there system designs to protect workers versus needing to rely on legislation to advance these rights when the world of work has moved on from the 9 to 5pm, five day a week, patriarchal workplace?"

“Court is the last resort,” marvels Trajce, “But I think these sensible measures are failing.”

Alan explains the origins of these laws, protective of schoolteachers and principals. She asks about why we did not pivot, leverage a rich opportunity in the pandemic, to radically review how and where education is delivered to schoolchildren. Trajce agrees, “Maybe the parents might be less stressed too!”

Sara pontificates on workplace rhythms and tribal culture. She speaks about the top level of Maslow’s Hierarchy, activities that inspire, elevate, and meet aspirations. Sara explains Charlie Grantham theories on work-life balance versus aspirations that require work intensification: wellness, wellbeing, and wholeness. This episode includes some remix of S05 E03: Grab the Pilates socks - its our 'Right to Disconnect' time!

Season 06 Episode 06: Scope creep and Snag-arees

WARNING: This episode includes sexual inferences.

“The power of the beep is getting to Trajce’s head,” says Alan. “This is a very serious podcast,” Trajce protests.

The cause for the bleep is revealed: “Oh my gosh,” Sara says through laughter, “There is a ‘snag, drag, and bag’ phrase online describing people pulling fish out of the ocean, a ‘snag drag queen’,” she jeers, while exclaiming that, “This is a ‘snag-aree’!”

Trajce gets back to case law, telling a story about a newly-appointed receptionist at a UK law firm. He describes all the ‘extra work’ she takes on, resulting in work conflict. Sara comments, “This sounds like ‘scope creep’."

Sara reports on a media story about the covert reenactment of a congested hospital ER system during a ministerial visit. “A spurious scenario re-enactment?” Trajce is incredulous. Alan exclaims, “Like the boy who cried wolf!” Sara reminds subscribers that these stories are the reason why she and other chapter authors developed the Healthcare Insights book.

For more about the origins of the bleep and snag-aree conversation, listen to Season 05 Episode 05: Shimmyin' on the dance floor .

Season 06 Episode 05: I spy with my little eye

Sara introduces the topics of ‘design for crime’ and surveillance systems with predictive analytics generated by artificial intelligence. Alan speaks about his experiences with intelligent surveillance systems and their ability to see, feel, hear, and determine responses. Alan explains that business must establish their purpose and context when using video surveillance before consulting legal teams. “Bingo!” exclaims Sara, “Explain the design brief.”

Alan presents a work health and safety case in which the regulator charged a work health and safety manager for their alleged inadequate development of a work procedure. “Wait, WHAaaaT?” questions Sara, “This will rattle the industry because workplaces encourage worker involvement in developing procedures – it is fundamental consultation.” Alan explains that this is a hallmark case, marking a new area for the intrusion of work health and safety legislation. “There is a high level of immunity for health & safety representatives and government-approved work health and safety officers, but at any other level a worker’s involvement represents risk exposure.” “What a discouragement,” resigns Trajce.

Season 06 Episode 04: A bonza boom & crash: Decommissioning with dignity

Trajce and Sara compliment Alan’s dress sense - smooth, Italian, Mafioso, modelled after a Kappa soccer sports brand, while Sara reflects on her ‘rugby mum’ look for the day. Trajce teases Sara with her unlaced shoes in contemporary gangsta-fashion, primed for larceny. “It’s a sport and leather vibe,” says Trajce.

Trajce contemplates the need to evaluate a design journey, going beyond the pointy end of an event with direct causational pathways. “A designer is a parent of consequences,” he declares. The crew focus on examples of decommissioning in design phases. “Deconditioning with dignity,” Trajce phrases.

WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: BONUS. Respectful workplaces contrast with those in which managers demand working to unrealistic standards. Trajce cautions, "Attitudes like this could be construed as belittling, bullying, and harassment."

For more on this topic, listen to S05 E11: German work.

Season 06 Trailer 06: An uppy or a downy - potty talk prep - WhaAAT? We've reached the lowest watermark - prelude.

WhyNOT? A Wisdom Shot: BONUS. Alan explains that work health and safety law penalties are deterrants. Often, executives and officers are not intentional criminals, and yet criminal law applies to breaches of workplace health and safety obligations. Alan elaborates, "It's extremely rare that an employer has wanted an employee to be injured or consciously thought about causing injury, but the penalties serve as deterrants and are thought to improve workplace practices across industry." For more on this topic, listen to: S05 E08: Smooth criminal: The sociology of industrial crime.