Wired to Work | Neuroscience, Psychology & Leadership

In this special season finale, Jess Chapman looks back at the five conversations that challenged her thinking the most - and the ideas that every leader, HR professional, and workplace designer should be paying attention to.

From the hidden burnout crisis facing HR professionals to what healthcare can teach us about designing better systems, this episode explores the themes that kept resurfacing all season: cognitive load, psychological safety, technology, boundaries, climate anxiety, menopause, and why the future of work has to be designed around humans, not just processes.

Jess revisits powerful conversations with:
• Dr. Jo Burrell on the growing burnout crisis in HR
• Dr. Paul Zak on measuring whether people are actually thriving at work
• Ange Crockwell on why boundaries are an act of leadership—not selfishness
• Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo on climate grief and its impact on today’s workforce
• Tina Pomroy on reframing menopause as an evolution rather than a decline

If there’s one thread running through every conversation this season, it’s this:

Work isn’t broken because people aren’t trying hard enough. It’s broken because we’ve spent too long designing systems without fully considering the humans inside them.

Whether you’ve listened to every episode or you’re just discovering Wired to Work, this is the perfect place to catch up on the biggest ideas from the season, and to start thinking differently about what work could become.

🎧 Join the Wired to Work Substack:
https://substack.com/@wiredtowork

🌐 Episode archive:
https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com

Healthcare workers are asked to make high-stakes decisions in fast-moving, overloaded systems.

But what happens when the systems around them make the work even harder?

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Jennifer Woodland, experimental psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick, for a fascinating conversation about healthcare, burnout, cognitive load, technology, and the real-world messiness of clinical environments.

They explore why healthcare work places such intense demands on the brain, how poorly designed systems and technology can add to stress, and why resilience can’t be treated as an individual problem when the system itself is creating overload.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Wired to Work: https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com

📩 Join the Wired to Work Substack for leadership insights, practical tools, webinar invitations, and behind-the-scenes content: https://substack.com/@wiredtowork

#healthcare #burnout #leadership #workplaceculture #healthcareworkers #cognitiveload #technology #ai #workplacepsychology #wiredtowork

Meditation still gets dismissed as “woo-woo” in a lot of workplaces.

But the science tells a different story.

In this Wired to Work summer repost, Jess is joined by Tina Pomroy and Roz Mugford for a practical conversation about meditation, mindfulness, and why slowing down may be one of the most useful tools we have for modern work.

They explore how meditation can support focus, memory, emotional regulation, stress management, decision-making, and the ability to respond instead of react.

This episode is for anyone who has ever said, “I can’t meditate,” “I don’t have time,” or “isn’t that a bit woo?”

Because meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting cross-legged on a cushion for 30 minutes.

It can start with one breath, one pause, one meeting, one mindful lunch, or one moment of noticing what’s happening before you react.

💬 Join the Wired to Work Substack community for exclusive content, behind-the-scenes conversations, bonus clips, and leadership insights:
https://substack.com/@wiredtowork

#leadership #meditation #mindfulness #workplacewellbeing #emotionalintelligence #stressmanagement #workplaceculture #neuroscience #wiredtowork

Most people aren’t afraid of feedback.

They’re afraid of the awkwardness, defensiveness, tension, and fallout that often comes with it.

In Part 2 of Jess Chapman’s feedback series, she shares the N.I.C.E.R. framework — a practical, brain-friendly approach for having difficult conversations without triggering defensiveness or damaging relationships.

You’ll learn:
• Why most feedback conversations fail
• How to reduce threat responses and defensiveness
• The five-step N.I.C.E.R. framework
• How to address behaviour without attacking the person
• What to do when someone doesn’t change after receiving feedback

If you’ve ever put off a difficult conversation, this episode is for you.

Want to go deeper?

Join Jess live on June 24 at 12 PM EST for Fearless Feedback, a practical webinar on how to give feedback that actually lands.

The webinar is free for Substack subscribers and will include real-world examples, tools, and opportunities to practice these skills.

Sign up through the Wired to Work Substack for access.

#leadership #feedback #communication #management #emotionalintelligence #leadershipdevelopment #workplaceculture #wiredtowork

• (00:00:00) - How to Get a Bad Person to Change Their Behavior
• (00:00:50) - How to Make Feedback More Annoying
• (00:06:29) - "I hear your intention" in the following conversation
• (00:07:27) - How to Manage Time in a Meeting
• (00:10:28) - Lesson 6 on Validating Intent and Talking to People
• (00:16:07) - E3CA: Working In The World of Work

Feedback is one of the most important tools a leader has. It’s also one of the most avoided.

In this replay episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman explores why feedback conversations feel so difficult, what neuroscience tells us about our reactions to feedback, and how leaders can create conversations that help people grow instead of triggering defensiveness.

You’ll learn:

• why feedback activates the brain’s threat response
• the hidden reason leaders avoid giving feedback
• how to normalize feedback so it becomes part of everyday work
• why mindset matters more than scripts
• the difference between being direct and being harsh
• how curiosity creates better outcomes than correction

Jess also introduces the principles behind NeuroWorks’ NICER framework for feedback conversations and explains why the best feedback conversations feel more like exploration than evaluation.

This episode is a perfect companion to Jess’s upcoming Fearless Feedback workshop on June 24.

️ Fearless Feedback is free for Patreon and Substack subscribers.

Join the Wired to Work community:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wiredtowork
Website & Podcast Hub: https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts!
https://lnkd.in/ezzK9CVZ

#Leadership #Feedback #Neuroscience #Management #Communication #WorkplaceCulture #WiredToWork

• (00:00:00) - How to Have a Feedback Conversation
• (00:00:38) - Wired to Work: Feedback Episode 3
• (00:01:34) - The Need for More Feedback
• (00:03:57) - Why We Find Feedback So Difficult
• (00:07:16) - The New Normalization of Feedback
• (00:09:49) - As we normalize feedback conversations,
• (00:14:29) - How to Have a Good Feedback Conversation with Someone
• (00:20:04) - E3CA: Working in the World of Work

Menopause is having a moment.

There’s more conversation, more awareness, and more information than ever before. But when it comes to the workplace, many leaders still don’t understand what menopause actually looks like—or how it can affect performance, wellbeing, and day-to-day work.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with counselor and researcher Tina Pomroy about the biological, psychological, and professional realities of menopause and perimenopause.

They discuss:

• what’s happening with estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and dopamine during menopause
• why symptoms are often misunderstood or treated in isolation
• how menopause can affect cognition, memory, focus, and emotional regulation
• the mental health risks that often go unrecognized
• why many leaders feel uncomfortable discussing menopause at work
• practical ways organizations can better support employees
• why menopause should be viewed as a transition—not a decline

Whether you’re experiencing menopause yourself, supporting someone who is, or leading a team that includes midlife professionals, this conversation offers practical insights and a more informed way to think about performance, flexibility, and workplace support.

Join the Wired to Work community on Patreon for bonus content, exclusive clips, and deeper conversations:
https://www.patreon.com/WiredtoWork

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com

• (00:00:00) - What to Talk About When You're Going Through Perimenopause
• (00:01:21) - Tina Pomeroy on Perimenopause and Mental Health
• (00:06:04) - What Women Need to Know About Menopause
• (00:11:04) - What Is Perimenopause and Menopause?
• (00:15:15) - How to Survive Perimenopause
• (00:19:51) - How to manage menopause symptoms in the US
• (00:22:46) - How to Talk About Menopause in the Workplace
• (00:28:38) - What Kind of Led Me To Think About Menopause?
• (00:33:47) - How Menopause Affects Your Brain
• (00:39:23) - Hormone regulation in menopause and ADHD
• (00:42:33) - How to Deal with Depression in the Year 2
• (00:47:11) - How to Ask People How Are You Really?
• (00:50:38) - E3CA: Working in the World of Work

Gen Z is entering the workforce with completely different expectations about stress, mental health, flexibility, and what a meaningful life should actually look like. And many workplaces aren’t ready for that shift.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, Provost and Vice-President Academic at Acadia University, for a fascinating conversation about how universities are preparing students for an uncertain future.. and how younger generations may fundamentally reshape the way we think about work itself.

Listen to the full episode of Wired to Work:
https://wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join the Wired to Work Patreon community for exclusive content, behind-the-scenes conversations, bonus clips, and leadership insights:
https://www.patreon.com/wiredtowork

#futureofwork #leadership #workplaceculture #burnout #mentalhealth #genz #emotionalintelligence #highereducation #workplacepsychology #wiredtowork

• (00:00:00) - The uncertain future of our students
• (00:00:35) - Wired to Work: Ashley Consolo
• (00:01:31) - The Provost and Vice President Academic
• (00:02:33) - Unexpected challenges facing higher education in Canada
• (00:09:21) - The role of universities in a changing world
• (00:10:27) - Preparation for the future
• (00:12:56) - Mental health issues on university campuses
• (00:18:49) - The future of work on a student's degree
• (00:21:50) - On Comfort in the Workplace
• (00:26:21) - Mental health issues in the workplace
• (00:28:58) - Indigenous mental health and climate
• (00:32:31) - The challenge of resilience in an era of uncertainty
• (00:36:36) - What is one thing leaders in organizations knew or considered about grief in
• (00:42:47) - Climate mental health interface
• (00:45:11) - On the Future of Work and Stress
• (00:50:58) - Wired for Work: The Future of Work

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with Dr. Jo Burrell, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Ultimate Resilience, about the mental health crisis facing HR professionals and why the people responsible for supporting everyone else at work often have too little support themselves.

They discuss why HR has become the emotional shock absorber of the workplace, how the profession has changed since COVID, and why burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and moral injury are becoming serious concerns for people professionals.

You’ll hear:

• why 74% of HR professionals reported symptoms of depression
• why three quarters of HR respondents are experiencing or at risk of burnout
• why HR professionals often feel isolated, even inside large teams
• how workplace culture places unrealistic expectations on HR
• why resilience can’t just be treated as an individual responsibility
• how clinical supervision could offer HR the kind of support already embedded in healthcare
• why organizations need to address the sources of stress, not just the symptoms

This conversation is for HR professionals, senior leaders, founders, and anyone who relies on HR to hold the emotional weight of the organization.

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Context 02:54 The Evolution of HR and Mental Health Awareness 05:53 The Impact of COVID-19 on HR Professionals 08:58 Data Gaps and the Need for Research 11:50 The Role of HR in Employee Wellbeing 14:52 Challenges Faced by HR Professionals 17:56 Setting Boundaries in HR 21:06 Survey Findings on Mental Health in HR 24:04 Conclusion and Future Directions 25:06 The Mental Health Crisis in HR 30:46 The Burden of Emotional Labor 35:01 The Need for Tailored Support 42:43 Resilience as a Shared Responsibility 48:07 The Role of HR in Organizational Wellbeing

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com

Join the Wired to Work community on Patreon for bonus content and deeper conversations: https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork

Guest: Dr. Jo Burrell, Ultimate Resilience Website: https://ultimate-resilience.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joburrell

Resources: Clinical Supervision in Healthcare: https://www.healthcareprofessional.org/supervision
Mental Health First Aid: https://mentalhealth.org.uk/firstaid
Gallup Stress and Burnout Statistics: https://gallup.com/reports/stress-burnout
LinkedIn HR Networks: https://linkedin.com/groups/hr-networks

• (00:00:00) - The need for a more resilient work environment
• (00:00:39) - Wired to Work: The Need for Resilience in HR
• (00:01:35) - Ultimate Resilience
• (00:03:25) - What caused the switch to HR mental wellbeing?
• (00:12:49) - The need for emotional support in HR
• (00:15:43) - The Need for Boundaries
• (00:17:27) - The UK Mental Well-being Survey
• (00:21:29) - The state of wellbeing in the HR profession
• (00:28:20) - Mental Wellbeing at work
• (00:33:55) - On HR and the 2020 election
• (00:37:41) - The need for greater resilience in the workplace
• (00:45:09) - The Load That HR People Carry
• (00:47:58) - Wired for Work: Unlocking Your People

Most leaders know trauma-informed practice matters. What’s harder is knowing what it actually looks like on a Tuesday morning, in a real workplace, with real people.

Angela Crockwell has been blazing that trail for years. As Executive Director of Thrive in St. John’s, an organization supporting people navigating exploitation, addiction, homelessness, and complex trauma, she’s built one of the most thoughtful workplaces around. And what makes her approach so compelling is how practical it is.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Angela to unpack what trauma-informed leadership actually looks like in practice, and why these skills matter far beyond social services.

In this episode: • The difference between being trauma-aware and truly trauma-informed • Why “leave your personal life at home” doesn’t work • How to balance accountability with psychological safety • Why boundaries at work protect everyone, including leaders • The 15-minute rule for difficult conversations • How curiosity changes the way we respond to people under stress

If you lead people, this conversation will change the way you think about communication, conflict, and support at work.

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join our Patreon Community! https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=copyLink

• (00:00:00) - Be authentic at the Workplace
• (00:00:35) - Wired to Work: The Trauma Informed World
• (00:01:23) - Talking About Trauma at Thrive
• (00:03:59) - What Does Trauma informed mean for my workplace?
• (00:13:52) - What Do We Do About Trauma in the Workplace?
• (00:16:52) - Letting a conflict go
• (00:19:33) - Setting Boundaries for Survivors
• (00:24:10) - Thrive: How to support a colleague who's struggling
• (00:30:18) - How to Support Your Employees in a Distress
• (00:35:18) - On the Problem of Love
• (00:39:12) - The Need for More Trauma Awareness in Workplaces

Most organisations pour money into wellbeing programmes and still end up with teams that are flat, disengaged, and just getting through the week. The problem isn't the programme. It's the target.

Behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak has spent 30 years studying what actually makes people - and teams - thrive. His research shows the brain has a measurable mechanism for the value it gets from experiences, trackable second by second. And when you know what that data looks like across your organisation, the engagement survey starts to look like a very blunt instrument.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess sits down with Dr. Zak to dig into the neuroscience of thriving teams, and what leaders can actually do about it.

What's covered:

Why wellness is too low a bar, and what the thriving brain actually looks like The neuroscience of psychological safety, measured, not surveyed
What the data says about remote work, in-person, and where your team actually thrives
Why autonomy and communicating the "why" separate high-immersion workplaces from everyone else
"Train extensively, delegate generously" — and why most leaders only do one

If you're responsible for building a team that doesn't just perform, but actually thrives, this one is for you.

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join our Patreon Community! https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=copyLink

• (00:00:00) - How to Build a Well-Being Brain
• (00:00:40) - Wired to Work: Trust in the Workplace
• (00:01:41) - Immersion and the Way it Matters for Work
• (00:08:07) - Back to Work: The Case for Personal Time
• (00:09:46) - The Key Moments of Life
• (00:12:31) - Employee Wellbeing and Work
• (00:16:18) - The importance of meeting people in person
• (00:21:50) - The Future of Working From Home
• (00:23:20) - Key Moments on the Six app
• (00:27:51) - The Key Moments of the Workforce
• (00:28:54) - Have You Asked Your Boss About High Stress?
• (00:30:37) - High-Immersion Businesses: The Need for autonomy
• (00:36:39) - How to talk to an employee about their job
• (00:39:52) - What Do Organizations Need to Know About Employee Well-Being
• (00:45:06) - E3CA: Working In The World of Work