Work Life by Design

In today's episode, we explore something deeply human yet often overlooked in business: community. When we shift focus from the bottom line to the broader picture—our people, our values, and our environment—we open the door to more meaningful success.

I've welcomed Amber Hawken, a thought leader in this space, to explore how leadership, mindfulness, and nature can help reshape workplace culture.

What You'll Learn: ✔ The first steps businesses can take to foster a deeper connection with their communities. ✔ Why leadership must drive the change from the top down. ✔ How small rituals, like mindful breathing, can shift workplace energy. ✔ The powerful role nature plays in building sustainable and harmonious work environments. ✔ Practical ways to integrate these principles into daily operations.

Amber shares her expertise on how businesses can go beyond profits and create a meaningful impact—one that enriches both their teams and the communities they serve.

Learn more and join Amber? iSoma Meditation Practitioner Training

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

Connect with Mel;

Email | Insta | LinkedIn | Website | Whitepaper - The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

Burnout isn't just feeling tired—it's your body waving a red flag. I know because I've been there, pushing through exhaustion until my body forced me to stop.

That's when I found Filipa Bellette, and everything changed. As co-founder of Chris and Filipa Functional Medicine, she's helped thousands heal beyond just "managing" burnout.

In this episode, we uncover:

💡 What body burnout really is—and why it's often overlooked

💡 Why traditional medicine misses the root cause

💡 How deep-seated beliefs and stress patterns keep us stuck

💡 What real healing looks like

If you're constantly drained or struggling with stress-related health issues, this episode is for you. Your body isn't broken—it's speaking to you. It's time to listen.

Let's stop surviving and start thriving.

Want to learn more and/or work with Filly? Head to this link: Ending Body Burnout

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

Connect with Mel;

Email | Insta | LinkedIn | Website | Whitepaper - The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

The past year could be described as the ultimate paradox. A year that was both deeply challenging and incredibly transformative. It reminded me that there cannot be light without darkness.

In this episode, I'm sharing 7 key lessons I've learned in business and leadership—insights that have shaped not only my work but also how I show up in life. From redefining success and trusting my own intuition to embracing rhythm over hustle, these lessons have shifted everything.

🎯 Bigger Isn't Always Better – A lean, high-performing team can drive more impact than a large, complex one.

🎯 Define Success on Your Terms – Stop chasing someone else's vision and build a business that fits your life.

🎯 Work to Your Own Rhythm – Productivity isn't about clocking hours—it's about finding your flow.

🎯 If It's Not a Hell Yes, It's a No – Learn to say no to what drains you and yes to what truly matters.

🎯 Trust Yourself – You already have the answers—tap into your intuition and lead with confidence.

🎯 Work Is What You Do, Not Who You Are – Detach your identity from your business for a healthier mindset.

🎯 Blaze Your Own Trail – There's no single formula for success—create a path that works for you.

I also reflect on three highlights that truly lit up my year—the experiences that brought the most joy, and fulfillment—and how I'm intentionally creating more of that energy into 2025.

Reflection in your business and life is a powerful tool that ensures that no matter where you are at in your journey, looking back will always impart you with knowledge on how best to move forward.

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

Connect with Mel;

Email | Insta | LinkedIn | Website | Whitepaper - The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

Creating a workplace that celebrates neurodiversity isn't just the right thing to do – it's the smartest business move you can make.

In my latest episode, I sit down with Mariane Power, a clinical psychologist and neurodiversity specialist, to discuss how businesses can better support neurodivergent employees, and why fostering an inclusive environment benefits the entire organisation.

We explore:

• What is Neurodiversity? Understanding the natural diversity in human brains and why it's so important for businesses to embrace it.
• Universal Design Principles: How simple, inclusive design choices can cater to the diverse needs of employees and make workplaces more accessible without being resource-heavy.
• The Power of Flexibility: Moving beyond assigned desks to flexible workspaces that allow employees to choose environments that support their needs—whether it's a quiet space for deep focus or a collaborative area for brainstorming.
• Open Communication: The importance of listening to employees and fostering an open dialogue to ensure that their needs are met, and how that leads to smoother transitions and happier teams.
• Designing for the Future: Why making neurodivergent-friendly changes not only supports your current employees, but also boosts creativity, engagement, and innovation for the long-term success of your business.

As more companies recognise the potential of neurodiverse teams, the steps they take to be inclusive can help propel their success. Whether through creating flexible workspaces, enhancing leadership training, or tapping into government resources, it's time to make these changes happen.

Every step toward inclusion makes a real difference in creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, empowered, and able to contribute their best. If you're ready to make your organization more neurodiverse-friendly, let's explore how we can help!

Connect with Mariane;

Email | Blog | Website | LinkedIn

Connect with Mel;

Email | Insta | LinkedIn | Website | Whitepaper - The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

The content within this podcast interview with Mariane is provided for general information and educational purposes only, and is not suitable for clinical care needs. The material is not intended to replace professional help and should not be relied upon as a substitute for formal advice from a medical practitioner or mental health professional. Resources are provided for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement of information on related websites or references.

If you or anyone you know requires specific mental health support, please contact your local GP or registered mental health provider for advice and assistance.

The following services also provide resources and support: Mental Health Access Line - 1800 011 511, Beyond Blue - beyondblue.org.au, LifeLine - lifeline.org.au 11 13 14, Headspace - headspace.com.au, Reach Out - reachout.org.au

I'm pulling back the curtain on something deeply personal in this week's podcast episode - my journey through burnout, adrenal fatigue, and the hard-won lessons that led me back to myself.

For too long, I ignored the exhaustion, the brain fog, the emotional overwhelm, until my body finally said, ENOUGH!

What followed was a wake-up call that changed everything: a deep dive into my health, my beliefs, and the way I was living my life.

In this episode, I share: 🔥 The warning signs of burnout (that I continued to ignore!) 🧠 How my body was screaming for change (even when doctors said I was "fine") 🌿 The radical shifts that helped me heal—physically, emotionally, and mentally 💡 The surprising connection between people-pleasing, boundaries, and burnout

And most importantly, how this journey led me to create Exhale Retreat—a space for women like you (and me) to pause, reset, and reconnect.

If you've ever felt like you're running on empty, this episode is for you.

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

Connect with Mel;

Email | Insta | LinkedIn | Website | Whitepaper - The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

This season of Work Life by Design is deeply personal.

Inspired by Brené Brown's reflections on "what's on my heart and mind," I'm bringing you honest, unfiltered conversations about the challenges, insights, and lessons that have shaped both me and the work we're doing at COMUNiTI over the past year.

Over the last 12 months, I've faced my own health challenges—burnout, adrenal fatigue, and gut issues that left me completely exhausted. This experience has reshaped how I approach 2025, and this season is all about sharing that journey with you. It's real, it's raw, and it's exactly what's on my heart and mind.

In this seventh season of the podcast you can expect thought-provoking discussions on: ✨ Body burnout—what causes it and how to truly heal ✨ Neurodiversity in the workplace—creating inclusive spaces that embrace our brain-based differences ✨ The power of community—what we can learn by looking back, embracing rituals, and reclaiming rites of passage ✨ Lesson in business—what I've learned about building a successful business ✨ …and so much more!

I can't wait to dive into these conversations with you. I hope they inspire, challenge, and support you as much as they have for me.

But in today's episode we're going to dive into how I came to my word for the year – MASTERY.

For the past 10 years, I've started each year with an intentional planning session—a ritual that's helped me realign, refine, and design a life I love. What once felt like a complete reset is now about softening into more of what I love and making small, meaningful tweaks.

This January, I also guided a group of ambitious businesswomen through this process at my Business Planning Day, helping them get clear on what they want from life so they can build a business that truly supports it. I focus on intentions over goals—because intentions shape who you want to become, not just another task on your to-do list.

From this, my word for 2025 emerged: MASTERY—not about perfection, but about continuous growth, refinement, and deepening my craft in both life and business.

So I invite you to reflect on your intention for the year?

📩 Want to go deeper? Join me at the Exhale Retreat Learn More HERE —a space to pause, reset, and realign with what matters most.

Want to join us at the next Planning Day? Jump on the Waitlist HERE

#WorkLifeByDesign #Podcast #BurnoutRecovery #IntentionalLiving #Neurodiversity #Rituals #Mastery #SustainableSuccess

When I kicked off this season it was with the intent to reconnect to the roots of our namesake COMUNiTI, and it has not disappointed!

This season was to encourage us to take a broader look at what we should be focusing on to encourage people back to our workplaces. After first answering the pre-vailing question "Why?" we need to then consider that creating a workplace worth going to, requires more than a fantastic fitout!

Across this season I have shared a framework for building Community within your workplace, the role of place, and in turn its own detailed framework.

I have deepened my own understanding of what it means to design for community. And what I have learned from my guests is that when we lean into creating places that support people in this way, we are far more likely to build communities than we are to just building businesses.

This episode is a recap of the thoughts I've been left to ponder from each guest and how I can play with these ideas in my own work and life.

Whilst we are living in a highly complex and challenging time, it is also one of the most exciting! Togeher, we are reshaping the world of work.

Reimagining what work looks like.

What our workplaces will look like.

And the role that both need to play in enhancing our experience of work and building communities.

I'm going to be taking a few months break from the podcast now, but I'll be back later this year with a fresh new season!

The role that our workplaces play in encouraging and enabling our relationships at work, was largely taken for granted, until they were taken away from us.

A silver lining of the pandemic, we realised the impact of our workplaces and the role they play in our establishing and supporting the social & support networks in our lives.

And social connection is a foundation for building any community.

Today's guest ARC Laureate Fellow Sharon K. Parker. I was first introduced to Sharon and her work through my friend and Colleague Dr Meg Hooper of Carousel Consulting, and her S.M.A.R.T Work Design Model, to develop meaningful and motivating work. This piece of work has been instrumental in underpinning our approach to work design and workplace design, a difference that Sharon will elaborate on in today's podcast.

Meg has been following Sharon's work for a very long time, and such I've invited her along to co-host today's episode!

ARC Laureate Fellow Sharon K. Parker is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtain University, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology.

Sharon has published more than 250 internationally refereed articles on topics such as work design, proactive behaviour, mental health, and job performance, has over 46,500 citations, and is ranked in the top .15% of global scholars in her field.

She is the founder of the S.M.A.R.T model, cofounder of the Thrive at Work Initiative, and has contributed to policy on work design in Australia and internationally.

With the breadth of research that Sharon has done, this podcast could go in any direction, but as we are focused on the role of community in the workplace this season, we've narrowed in on this topic and explored how the work she does overlaps with this ability to build community.

So today, we are exploring;

• Her view on the relationship that exists between our workplaces and the role they play in building community
• Her S.M.A.R.T work design model and what the important factors are to consider in building community and where organisations could be letting themselves down
• The role of autonomy in buffering the effects of poor workplace design
• The definition of work design and the overlap to workplace design
• Some of the key consideration that designer, Culture Leaders and property managers/specialists should be looking at when it comes to workplace design

Sharon's perspective on this is fascinating and Meg & I were loving this conversation - we honestly could have chatted for hours. So, I hope you love listening to this episode as much as we loved recording it!

Using Place to connect to the Hearts, Bodies and Minds of your People

Often when we look at our workplaces, we think of them as property. As real estate. And sadly, often as a balance sheet liability. But they have the potential to be so much more than that!⁠

Your work place is an underutilised asset in attracting and connecting to your people.

Often spoken about in the terms of "People, Place & Technology" our workplaces should not be devoid of our humanity.

They are created for our people. That means that they need to Personal. Human.

And when you take a human centred approach to creating a workplace, what you are really doing is connecting to the hearts, bodies & minds of your people.

⁠ ❤️ When I say heart, I'm talking about the collective emotion of a space. Otherwise known as the culture of an organisation. The brand and story of a company and the emotional connection it creates and ripples outwards. ⁠ ⁠ 🧘🏽 When I say body, I'm talking about the physical environment and like a body, is it put together for agility and performance or is it slow rigid and fixed?⁠ ⁠ 🧠 And when I say mind, I'm talking about the technology that makes it all possible. The ability to plug our culture into our place and connectivity to one another. ⁠ ⁠

LINKS

Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

Connect with Mel;

Email [email protected]

Website melissamarsden.com.au

Website comuniti.com.au

Instagram @melmar

Whitepaper – The Road Map to Employee Experience

Book a 30min Complimentary Discovery Call with Mel https://calendly.com/melissa-marsden/30min