Navigating the Workplace with The Travelling Ergonomist

I had a thought provoking conversation with my friend Keiron Sparrowhawk on the podcast a few months ago and you can listen to it now. Make sure you set aside 45 minutes of focused time so that you can really listen to the information and learn. This is not a podcast to multitask with. Keiron is currently doing some of the most rewarding work in his life at MyCognition, developing cognitive assessment and interventions that track, treat and prevent poor mental health.Following a successful career in pharmaceuticals, culminating as the International Lead in pricing (GSK), Keiron co-founded the consultancy, PriceSpective in 2003, and exited in 2012. He then focussed on executive function and neuroscience, founding MyCognition. His inspiration is to help individuals with cognitive deficits due to neuropsychiatric conditions, as well as exploring the broader benefits of enhanced cognitive fitness.If you are interested in science, how the brain and mind works, cognition and mental health then this is the podcast for you! Keiron takes me on a journey of the 5 atoms of cognition; executive function, episodic memory, attention, psychomotor speed and working memory. It is fascinating stuff and I have experienced the MyCognition app myself, played the games and have personally improved my cognition using it. Approved by the NHS and suggested as one of the leading technologies from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this is a no brainer for your business. Connect with Keiron here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keiron-sparrowhawk-b48541/Learn more here: https://mycognition.com/

Given the torment that is going on at the moment in 2020 this conversation with Michelle is exactly what we all need right now. We recorded this episode at the end of 2019 and it seems the right moment so share her insights with the rest of the world. Michelle’s goal is to take individuals and workplace teams from surviving to thriving. We discuss all sorts of strategies to support your mental health from being curious, breathing strategies and curating a Ta-Da list. Not a To-do list but a Ta-Da list. A list of things that rejuvenate and replenish your empty tank. Michelle allows for learning through participation, self-reflection and interactive problem solving allowing an individual and / or team to gain the most from their learning experience. Michelle specialises in training revolving around building resilience and mental toughness and augmenting emotional strength by the review and enhancement of individual and team personal control, commitment and confidence. As a result individuals can push back their boundaries, embracing change and accepting risk.Connect with Michelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebakjac/Learn more here: http://www.bakjacconsulting.com/Read this: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wellbeing-spectator-sport-michelle-bakjac/

Zoe is one of the best people I know, and I'm so happy we were able to carve out some time to have a conversation on the podcast. We delve into the world of health and safety which she is highly experienced in, the differences in approaches when working in different countries, things to consider when working with drones and Zoe's top tips for businesses when implementing health and safety into the workforce. Zoe is passionate about the way people consume health and safety and the language used to do so. She also has a challenge for you... Can you explain 'risk assessment' and how to undertake one without using these words:risk, hazard, matric, control measures, hierarchy of control, severity, likelihood.Connect with Zoe here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-davies-b9050121/

Stephen is a former city lawyer so is very well placed to talk about the corporate world. During this time he had a sort of revelation and realised how important wellness was and so he has now been on a journey to educate himself about wellness as it relates to healthy buildings. He is also a WELL AP, and a practising yoga teacher. He fully understands the pressures of a desk bound job both mental and physical and the stress that demanding deadlines and long hours place on our bodies and minds. With his experience being in the Corporate world and understanding the wellness industry he is very well placed to support companies with their wellness strategies. We talk all about this on the podcast from his journey to better health, building design, the hospitality industry, investing in health and wellness and all the gossip from the Global Wellness Summit and the UN sustainability goals! This is one not to miss! Connect with Stephen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-marks-507338166/

I have a very frank conversation with Guy Osmond who has been in the ergonomics world for 3 decades now. We talk the DSE regulations, agile working and what excites him about the future of ergonomics. He has a wealth of knowledge in this field and some great insights. Connect with Guy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guyosmond/Connect with Osmond Ergonomics: https://www.ergonomics.co.uk/

I spoke to Dr. Wendy Elford on this episode of the podcast and it was so so interesting. A conversation I was pondering for days after and one that has continued offline with Wendy and I speaking regularly. We talk about upstreaming, how narrative can be used in the field of ergonomics, finding patterns in words, how we learn from our failures, how we collect data at scale, workplace change, casualties in the workplace, language and linguistics. Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drwendyelford/

Do you know how many planets it takes to sustain your lifestyle? Or what your money is being used for in terms of your pension or investments? Georgia talks disruptive sustainability, climate change, tools that you can use as an individual or as a business to understand your carbon footprint, wellness certification. We also talk about how ergonomics strategies can align with sustainability strategies and I enlighten Georgia with the trend of Tiny Houses. Connect with Georgia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiaelliott-smith/Resource for Climate Solutions: https://www.drawdown.org/Carbon Footprint Calculator: https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/Search the web and plant trees: https://www.ecosia.org/?c=en

Having heard Perry speak earlier this year at a conference, I knew I wanted to find out more so I recorded our conversation on my podcast. It was so insightful and we talk all about HR, his role as a Chief Energy Officer, work and the workplace, the 4 day working week, the way we reward employees, the role of leaders in business and agile working from a methodology perspective, some design advice and how technology is impacting us. Wow, thinking about it we spoke about a lot of topics! You can connect with Perry on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrytimms/Get his book here: https://amzn.to/34znO3I

As we’re moving into silly season, this is a great podcast episode to listen too. I had a wonderful conversation with Ross on my podcast recently. We talked about him and his mission to climb the 7 highest summits in the world, we talk mindset, physical health, and finding something that you enjoy and resonates with you when it comes to physical activity and advice for people wanting to start their own business. Connect with Ross here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-tomkins-9a199747/Corporate Physiotherapy Services https://www.therapydirect-uk.com/Health retreats https://www.cf360.co.uk/Advanced Health Group https://www.the-ahg.com/

A refreshing take on health and safety Cate and I talk about the difference between health and safety and HR, Cate's approach to health and safety, how to communicate with employees of all levels in the business, Cate's thoughts on flexible working and encouraging open communication. There are some fantastic nuggets of information here so I hope you enjoy. You can connect with Cate on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cate-walter-78108514/And with Rhino Safety here https://www.rhinosafety.co.uk/

I had a great conversation with Annie on the podcast and we speak about all sorts from the word 'busy, fitting in time for health and wellbeing, mindfulness and Annie's own burnout stories. Along with compassion fatigue, self care, millennials being the burnout generation, how to do mindful scrolling on social media, Annie's laughter yoga and her STILL effect. You can watch her Tedx talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auysQyvYsS0and connect with Annie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annieharvey/You can also buy her book from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2qcON6x

I had a very insightful conversation with Matt Ballantine on the podcast. His view on the world is much more about the group vs the individual. Having studied sociology he is best placed to discuss this topic. We talk about change, collaboration, the word culture, behaviour, understanding each others language and how he uses play to innovate in organisation. It's a great conversation and not one to be missed.

With a background in Psychology and People Management Michelle Armitage is a great person to talk to when dealing with your workplace.She now has her own company called Light and Frank Interiors and assists business with interior design. She evaluates organisational goals, the functional needs of people, their personality types and jobs they do before she starts the design process. We have a great conversation about all of this and her thoughts on flexible working which may surprise you.

This episode is a little longer than usual but it’s because Matt Jones had so much value to offer. He is a highly respected Health and Safety professional based in New Zealand and the Founder of New Zealand Health and Safety Professionals (NZHSP) and his Advanced Safety Program. His personable approach makes it easier to understand the legal requirements and how to implement the best health and safety practices applicable for your business. Interestingly we talk about how many businesses are collecting so much data but not really acting up on the information effectively. Have you thought about what happens if something was to go wrong and you had all the data in the background but didn’t utilise it and create better processes? Many businesses aren’t getting fined because they are breaching legislation, in fact they are being fined for breaching their own internal processes. There is loads of great content throughout our conversation and if that wasn’t enough he has set up a FREE conference on November 5th for Health and Safety professionals to join ONLINE. You can book your spot now:https://www.nzhsp.co.nz/conference-2019?fbclid=IwAR11LSTR7ujqoJ1TO6YgS--RaX4szOkjgc4W1WR2Scn_1lLJiD0ssMUGlQQOr connect with Matt on LinkedIn here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-jones-advanced-safety/

Elisa is the European Lead for Smart Office concept at Siemens. She is responsible for go-to-market of user-centric digital solutions and representation of digital portfolio in Building Technologies Region Europe.She creates and communicates the value of technology for customers and users through a strong design thinking mindset.As well as change management in creating a customer-centric, outcome-driven and value-based organization. In this episode we speak about how technology can aid productivity increase and happiness. What change management do we need to put in place to change behaviours in using the new technology in the workplace. How technology does not hold any value, the value is in the user adoption. We also speak about empathy in the workplace and understanding the other person’s point of view and how that can drive any kind of success. Here is a link to the app that Elisa spoke about: https://www.comfyapp.com/overview-for-siemens/You can get in touch with Elisa via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-ronka/

I am so happy to have had Josie King on the podcast today. She is a fellow ergonomist based in South Africa with an undergraduate and Masters degree in Human Kinetics and Ergonomics. I’ve known Josie for a couple of years now and she’s brilliant. She assists companies and organisations with the development, education and implementation of cost effective ergonomic programmes. In this episode we talk about the uptake of ergonomics in South Africa, with new legislation coming out to include ergonomic strategies and she gives us her top advice.

Rex Miller is an award winning author of 6 books in workplace wellness , team dynamics, executive coaching, strategic planning and high performance lifestyles. As many of you will know I’m an avid tennis enthusiast and it seems Rex is too so our conversation naturally starts that way as you’ve just heard. Our conversation then continues and we open up discussions around workplace wellness, chronic diseases, stress and sleep, this concept of Whoop, using movement as part of recovery, workplace culture and last but not least his book the healthy workplace Nudge. It is one of my absolute favourite episodes on the podcast and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ed is an Independent Chartered Ergonomics and Human Factors (EHF) consultant. His background is providing Ergonomics and Human Factors support to the UK H&S regulators (Health & Safety Inspectors and Local Authority Environmental Health Officers). He worked in HSE for over 15 years as an Ergonomics and Human Factors Specialist Inspector and now runs Guildford Ergonomics as a freelance consultant. In this episode we speak about mobile working, the impact of social media particularly on young people and why ergonomics should feature strongly in any wellbeing programme.

A big thank you to Anne Marie from the International Well building institute for coming onto the podcast today. We open up our conversation around the Well Building standard, what it is, and how it can benefit businesses. She outlines the 10 protocols we can use to drive the discussion around sustainability and health. https://v2.wellcertified.com/v/en/overviewWe also talk about what to think about even you’re a small business. Who should be the people around the table making decisions about the workplace. And the two things that embody the future of the workplace for Anne Marie. WorldGBC Better Places for People campaign, which Ann Marie mentioned in regards to information that is already available to guide companies. They released a report last year called Doing right by people and planet: The business case for health and wellbeing in green building.

Neil is an internationally experienced senior property, workplace, facilities and change management leader, skilled in all areas of the property lifecycle. He has an established personal blog (www.workessence.com), and has built broad-based property and people networks. He is a regular conference and academic speaker, and author of the book 'The Elemental Workplace'. In this episode we delve into topics on ergonomics, workplace, AI and being excellent to each other in the workplace. This is one not to miss!

Joanna is the President & CEO of the Center for Active Design, where she advances design and development practices to foster healthy and engaged communities.This is actually part 2 of our conversation and if you haven’t already I’d urge you to listen to part 1 first before listening to this episode. In this episode we talk about the difference between Fitwel And Well building.Joanna describes Fitwel as a not for profit organisation and whereby their underlying mission is to impact everybody to change the trajectory of public health trends around the world. We also talk about the timeline for public health improving and the future of the workplace coupled with new research that’s currently being undertaken by Fitwel.

Joanna is the President & CEO of the Center for Active Design, where she advances design and development practices to foster healthy and engaged communities.I’ve split our conversation up into two parts and in this episode we discuss the collaboration between centre for active design and Fitwel and the 7 health outcome categories to consider. How you as a business can do a quick assessment on Fitwel which will give you a gap analysis and gives you a somewhat to do list to improve the building as much as possible. In the second part of our conversation we dig a little deeper into the research and the future of public health and building design.

This is part 2 of my conversation with Tim Allen, a corporate real estate professional. I would definitely go and check out the first part of our conversation before listening to this episode so that everything makes sense. In this episode we talk about the big no nos when it comes to workplace change. And how just by opening up a space doesn’t mean that people are naturally going to start communicating.Think about people sitting on the tube in London next to each other. You’d definitely get funny looks if you started talking to the person next to you. We also talk about real estate budgets and how we might be able to utilise a pion of the project budget for a later date. Tune in to hear why.

I’m so happy that I got to have a conversation with Tim Allen on the podcast. Tim is a senior corporate real estate professional with over twenty-five years' experience.I’ve split this conversation up into two parts so make sure you go and listen to the second part when it's uploaded. In this episode he defines workplace as being made up of the physical environment, virtual which is the technology in a workplace and the most important aspect which is the human. We talk about some of the trends occurring with regards to the workplace and how people react to change.

Michelle is an experienced Project Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. Skilled in proactive and reactive ergonomic program design, instruction, and digital human modeling. Strong program and project management professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Kinesiology from Wayne State University. If you haven't already, definitely go and take a listen to Part 1 of this of podcast first before moving on to this one. In part 2 we speak about design trends, people understanding their capabilities and thresholds when it comes to work, self driving cars, anthropometrics and exoskeletons. We talk about how everyone is looking for a quick fix but in reality we need to look a little bit deeper and find the root case of the issue.

Michelle is an experienced Project Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. Skilled in proactive and reactive ergonomic program design, instruction, and digital human modeling. Strong program and project management professional with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in Kinesiology from Wayne State University. This is Part 1 of 2 episodes. We speak about what Michelle does day to day, how she communicates with engineers at ergonomics, some of the challenges facing manufacturers and digital human modelling and a flashback to Simms the computer game and advice on reducing incidents of MSD’s.To quote Michelle, she says 'Our job is to make other people’s job easier!'

Andrew Thatcher is a Professor and Chair of Industrial/Organisational Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently President of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa, and Chair of the International Ergonomics Association’s Human Factors for Sustainable Development Technical Committee. His research interests are on wellbeing and productivity in green buildings, the psychological factors in the adoption of sustainable technologies, and the theoretical development of human factors and sustainability.Andrew was the first person in South Africa to evaluate wellbeing and effectiveness in green buildings in South Africa. He currently has several green building projects at various stages of maturity including studies looking at the impact of plants in the workplace, appropriate workplace layout, and assessing productivity in green buildings. He currently sits on the World Green Building Council technical working group looking at office metrics for wellbeing and effectiveness in green buildings.

I have a great conversation with my friend Trevor Montgomery who is a New Zealand trained physiotherapist with a master in health science. Along with clinical work he regularly travels across the world to educate other practitioners. He’s passionate about making people healthier and happier in their daily lives. He quotes Peter O’sullivan and says that people do things that make them sore all of the time. Through his experience of working with various people he’s realised that most people don’t realise that they are doing the very thing that is making them sore. Poor posture, poor breathing patterns and poor movement are common examples of this and he spends a great deal of time correcting these in his patients. Tune in for lots of great insights into how you can live a more balanced life.

In this episode I chat to my good friend Heidi Dening who is a thought leader, educator and someone who really brings the best out in people. We talk about resilience, burnout, what businesses can do to introduce wellness strategies, how to become a self leader and lots more including Heidi's new book 'Her middle name is Courage'. You can connect with Heidi:Facebook - @heidideningselfleader Instagram - @heididening LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heididening/Website - https://heididening.com/

Dr Libby Sander, (PhD, Master HRM, Bachelor of Arts (Japanese), Bachelor of Business, Fellow AIM), is Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Bond University, the founder and director of the Future of Work Project, founder of Rethink, and past Chair of Goldspaces an urban renewal and cultural development platform. She works globally speaking and advising business.Libby is regularly featured on radio and in national & international media including for the BBC, The Guardian, ABC, SBS, Channel 7 and 3AW Melbourne commenting on issues on work, society & future trends in organisations.

I had a great chat with Chris on my podcast recently and we discuss everything from him working in the armed forces to now running his own consulting business, to workplace strategy, sit stand desks, coworking spaces and much much more. Chris describes himself as a Change and Transformation Consultant | Speaker | Workplace Strategist | Facilitator | Coach | Trainer | Disruptor | Problem Solver | Change Agent | Team-builder | Leadership & Management developer and champion | Strategy & Vision creator | Designer | lover of nature, family and connecting people and I would have to agree he is all these things!

In this episode I talk about one of the biggest risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders which is desk height. More often than not the people I see have their desks at the wrong height compared to their sitting height which causes all sorts of problems. I also talk about sit stand desks, footrests, keyboard trays and N.E.A.T, and by improving our N.E.A.T how we can burn more calories and shed a few pounds.

"We are starving for information on the positive aspects of open plan...it’s irresponsible to just map the negatives…we need to understand how we can improve different workplace typology’s"Dr Candido is an architect by training and she holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and in Environmental Science from Macquarie University (Australia). She leads the SHE (Sustainable and Healthy Environments) platform and co-leads the BOSSA (Building Occupants Survey System Australia) tool. Her research expertise and interest relate to Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Activity-Based Working (ABW), workspace design and climate responsive design in tropical and subtropical climates. Her publication track record features research findings from field studies conducted in school, residential and office buildings in Australia and Brazil.

Alan Hedge is a Professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University. His research and teaching activities focus on issues of design and workplace ergonomics as these affect the health, comfort and productivity of workers.His research themes include workstation design, computer ergonomics and carpal tunnel syndrome risk factors for workers, alternative keyboard and input system designs, the performance and health effects of postural strain, and the health and comfort impacts of various environmental stressors.His professional activities are so extensive that if I named them all, it would probably take up this whole episode. He is perhaps the most often cited ergonomist in the media and I’m grateful to call him my friend and mentor.

Fleur Clarke is an experienced Facilities & Operational professional, who having worked for Gensler & Associates across their EMEA region for eighteen years branched out into the Freelance Virtual Assistant world. Most recently she has committed to developing a health and wellness business which is her real passion. You can follow Fleur at her facebook page called Making it Count or at her Fleur Clarke instagram page.

Hi Everyone. My name is Kirsty Angerer and I’m The Travelling Ergonomist. I’m a tennis enthusiast, a frequent flyer and I spend my life as an Ergonomics Consultant educating people on how to get their bodies into neutral postures. And in today’s professional world, with the prominence of agile and remote working, ergonomics is more important than ever. I want a future with healthy, comfortable & productive workplaces and no more aches and pains. With this podcast I’ll be drawing insights from experts in the field, talking to those that are responsible for the people in their business and chatting to people like you and me, the ones who are trying to navigate the workplace in this digital era. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what makes you and your team work better, what makes you perform better in the workplace? I believe its as simple as is the chair you sit on,the desk you work on,the laptop you work with.It is the car you drive,the flight you take,the bed you sleep on,It is everything around you and how it relates to youErgonomics is fundamentally about enhancing your performance through good design whilst also optimizing our health.And that’s what I do. So grab yourself a cuppa or something a little stronger and lets get to it.