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This Working Life

This Working Life

ABC Australia 248 Episodes Aug 31, 2026

This Working Life explores ways to improve your experience at work, challenging the status quo with expert advice, research, and practical hacks. Host Lisa Leong and guests delve into policy issues like hybrid workplaces, remote work, employee wellbeing, organizational culture, AI, surveillance, engagement, diversity, and inclusion. They also discuss work-life balance, organizational change, restructures, casualization, performance management, and career advice. The podcast focuses on the people side of work, including culture, individual experiences, and personal development.

Episodes

Fluorescent lights burning you out?
Fluorescent lights burning you out? Aug 31, 2026 0:25:15 How does your office make you feel? Are you an open plan convert or dying under the halogen lighting? We spend a lot of time in our workplaces and the way they’re designed can have a huge impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. Psychologists and architects are worried we've sleep walked into a world where the standard office design is actively burning workers out quick smart
What do you do in a crisis?
What do you do in a crisis? Aug 24, 2026 0:25:16 How do you react in a crisis? Are you fight, flight, fawn or flee? We all react differently to moments of panic and stress but one thing we all have in common is that they cause us to make rash and poor decisions. Are we stuck like this or can we re-train ourselves to respond to panic and act or lead with a clear head? Guest:Dr James Donald, Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisati
How to get hired in the AI age
How to get hired in the AI age Aug 17, 2026 0:25:15 Artificial intelligence use in the job hunt is happening so fast it's hard to keep track and applicants and employers are feeling harassed by the speed of the change.  Candidates find themselves trapped in a paradox where they need to write applications that make it through the screening while also standing out when an application eventually reaches a human decision maker. AI int
We're too tired to work!
We're too tired to work! Aug 10, 2026 0:25:16 Are you just too tired to work? Australians feel exhausted. Eighty two per cent of Australian knowledge workers reported being on the verge of burnout last year, and businesses are scrambling to catch up with the cost of mental fatigue. But sleepiness can be a killer too and a major shift is underway in how Australian industries treat tiredness in the workplace. It's not a new ph
Is Gina Rinehart right about cash bonuses?
Is Gina Rinehart right about cash bonuses? Aug 3, 2026 0:25:16 Australia’s richest person and long time supporter of Australian Swimming Gina Rinehart has been offering cash bonuses for Aussie swimmers at the Commonwealth games, $20,000 for a gold medal! It can be a nice to have after a huge challenge or a drawcard to make people work harder, but there can be a danger to motivating your team with extra dollars.So, Is Gina Rinehart right, do
The dangers of silence at work
The dangers of silence at work Jul 27, 2026 0:25:16 Speaking out at work is hard. It's even harder in a culture of silence. To take the decision to break the quiet is an act of bravery, ands it's one many of us are unwilling to risk. But the dangers of a culture of silence are many, and they impact employers and employees alike. While it can be a scary thing to do, research has found that people staying silent to protect their own
Is it getting harder to find a job?
Is it getting harder to find a job? Jul 20, 2026 0:25:14 After the 100th email auto reply, the AI application screening and writing the umpteenth cover letter of the week, the job hunt can feel like a real drain. If you're feeling like it's harder to find a job now than last time you were looking you are not alone. A combination of people staying put, international forces and a tight economic market have all impacted the white collar w
Is being good at your job holding you back?
Is being good at your job holding you back? Jul 13, 2026 0:25:16 Are you being asked time and again to be the one who gets everything done, is your reward for crushing it, just more “it” to crush?  You might be paying a competence Tax!  Research consistently shows that people who are seen as high achievers are stacked with more of the same rather than being given pathways to doing new things. it's a story a lot of people can relate to but it c
Take a break!
Take a break! Jul 6, 2026 0:25:16 When you’re under the pump, it can feel like taking a break at work is impossible. But that can be habit forming, and bad for your physical and mental health. Learn the benefits of building breaks into your workday, and how to do it in a way that feels manageable. 
How to avoid "Wellness Washing"
How to avoid "Wellness Washing" Jun 29, 2026 0:25:15 You may have heard of greenwashing, now experts are worried about wellness washing where workplaces paper over the cracks with wellbeing measures but leave the chasms underneath.  
Why are we so bad at onboarding?
Why are we so bad at onboarding? Jun 22, 2026 0:25:15 You're starting a new job but you don't have what you need, or you certainly feel like you don't!Why is this such a universal experience and why are employers so happy to leave people to sink or swim? We dive in to the good, the bad and the ugly of onboarding and try to figure out how we can be doing it better, for bosses and for workers. Lisa also checks in with the Australian H
What your boss is getting wrong about AI  
What your boss is getting wrong about AI   Jun 15, 2026 0:25:15 AI usage is on the rise, but its implementation within jobs and workflows is causing problems. Research shows there is a capability gap amongst Australian workers, and a lack of AI fluency and context-poor AI use is creating job strain. What can leaders do to turn this around?Guests: Dr Rebecca Hinds, head of the Work AI Institute at Glean Dr Sean Gallagher, founder of Humanova a

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