the WorkLife podcast

In this episode our guest is Steve Hatfield, principal with Deloitte Consulting and serves as the Global Leader for Future of Work for the firm. Steve has more than 20 years of experience advising global organizations on issues of strategy, innovation, organization, people, culture, and change. We discuss what impact the pandemic had on the world of work, how the nature of the employer-employee relationship is changing and what leaders can, and have to do.

In this episode of the WorkLife HUB podcast, our guest is Kecia M. Thomas, Dean of the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, an internationally recognized expert in the psychology and workplace diversity realms. Tune in as we discuss diversity dynamics in the workplace, the career experiences of high potential women of colour, or the 'pet to threat' term, which Dr. Thomas famously coined.

The balance between work and private life is a challenge for so many and Dr. Scott Behson is making it his personal mission to help. On this show, we chat with Scott about his new book, The Whole-Person Workplace: Building Better Workplaces through Work-Life, Wellness, and Employee Support. If it's your goal to build a positive, fulfilling, high-performance work culture, then this conversation is for you!

How to have a focus on diversity and inclusion in engineering? Why embracing diversity is particularly important for the Schindler Group? Join our new podcast conversation as we discuss some of the fundamentals of the diversity and inclusion realm with Eric Howard Way, Global Head of Inclusion, Diversity and CSR at the Schindler Group.

​In this conversation, we tap into the expertise of Barbara De Micheli, Head of the Social Justice Department at the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. With her 20+ years of experience in policy-making, implementation and innovation, she is the go-to person for many when it comes to workplace gender equality, inclusion or social justice. We sat down with her to talk about our new joint initiative, to be launched in October 2021, an EU-level online course on Diversity and Inclusion: IncludEU.

It seems like there is an acceleration in the D&I space, with more issues being tackled more seriously. What are the most pressing D&I challenges professionals are having to work with, or the skills D&I managers and professionals need to be equipped with to be able to tackle the challenges? In this episode, Bendita Cynthia Malakia, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, and Fabienne Ruopp, Diversity & Inclusion and Wellbeing Senior Manager EMEA, of Hogan Lovells, provide us with their insight.

​For car-makers, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. How did, Skoda Auto, the largest Czech car manufacturer, one of the world's oldest automotive brands, react to the crises and mobilised all its available resources to turn things around? In this episode, we chat with Andre Wehner, Skoda's Chief Digital Officer, who played a crucial role in driving the digital changes needed for his organization to successfully respond to the crisis.

In this episode, our guest, for the second time, is Ellen Ernst Kossek, an internationally recognized thought leader on employer support of work and family/personal life integration, gender and diversity. She is an academic, social scientist and Distinguished Professor of Management at the Purdue University. Among many we speak about the impact of the pandemic on the work-life realm, through what practices organizations supported their staff with their work-life needs during the pandemic, and how can inclusive organizational climates be created.

In this episode, our guest is Kristen Anderson, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Barilla. We chat about how Barilla has introduced Smart Working, and how this prepared them for the lockdowns in Italy and elsewhere. Kristen also shares their work on diversity and inclusion and that Barilla has won a Catalyst Award in 2021 on Advancing Women in the Workplace.

Schools and kindergartens closing has been probably the biggest headaches for working parents throughout the pandemic. Many parents had to take paid or unpaid time off, use their parental leave and many women had to leave the labour market altogether. A handful of employers have really stepped up to help their employees. In this episode we hear from the remarkable Kristina Pressley, Human Resources manager at Orion Industries (US) about how they have set up their learning pod for the children of the employees.

Join us for this podcast conversation with work sociologist, researcher, author, Tracy Brower. We tackle the work for her latest book on Happiness at Work, as well as what people are going through now in the pandemic. Tracy gives a lot of actionable tips and frameworks of improving our "work-life ecosystem".

In this episode, our guest is Stecy Yghemonos, Executive Director of Eurocarers. We discuss informal carers, who they are and what they do, how particularly vulnerable they are during the pandemic, and what employers and policy makers need to consider.

In this episode, our 2 distinguished guests are joining us from the Boston College Center for Work & Family, which is the leading university-based center in the US, focused on helping employers enhance the employee experience, increase employee productivity, and improve the quality of employee lives. Dr. Brad Harrington and Jennifer Sabatini Fraone are sharing with us what their corporate members have put in place to support working parents and carers during the pandemic.

Did you know that Hamburg tops the German traffic jam ranking with people spending up to 130 hours per year bumper-to-bumper? Our guest today is Burkhard Rönnefarth, Director of Coworking at Deutsche Bahn, Station & Service AG. Tune in as we discuss the future of train travels and train stations, and the signature coworking space of Deutsche Bahn, everyworks.

In this episode, our guest is Workplace and Activity-Based Working expert Fred Kloet, the Director of Smart Workplace International. Listen in to learn about Digital Twins, what organisations have done to get through the pandemic and what the future of the office looks like.

In this episode, our guest is Mona Malone, Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of People & Culture for BMO Financial Group. We discuss how BMO has enabled employees, who could, to shift to remote working, how they have trained managers and how BMO is able to maintain the culture of the organisation for the remote workforce.

On this episode, we talk to Madeleine Bunting about her latest book, Labours of Love: the Crisis of Care. We also touch upon what she had discovered in the process of the writing of this masterpiece - taking her over five years - and why we all need to revalue care and caring in the next years.

Is there a price for success? Are there win-win solutions for both employers and employees to achieve organisational success? These are some of the highly exciting issues we discuss today with our two guests, Giovanni Russo of Cedefop, and Gijs van Houten of Eurofound, who share with us the key findings of the fourth edition of the European Company Survey 2019: Workplace practices unlocking employee potential, jointly carried out by the EU agencies.

In this conversation, in which we are chatting with Giorgio Luigi Risso, we get a closer look at the activities of the Public Employment Service provider in the Piedmont Region in Italy, and why it can be important for such government organisations to focus more on work-life balance. This episode is recorded to promote the Equality for Work and Life EU project, financed by the European Commission.

Liz helps us understand why conflict happens in remote teams, and the best way managers can approach it. Tune in as we also touch upon the questions of self-management and emotional intelligence.

Teleworking is here to say - what it means for policy makers and enterprises? In this episode we chat with Jon C. Messenger, teleworking expert, Team Leader of the Working Conditions Group at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. In the conversation, we touch upon ILO's recent publication 'Practical Guide on Teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond' and why Jon believes that teleworking is tomorrow's form of work.

In this episode of the WorkLife HUB podcast, we host Scott Anthony, Managing Director at Innosight. We touch upon the key insights from his most recent book Eat, Sleep, Innovate, and also discuss how the current COVID-19 crises will change industries and the new reality of work.

Join us as we are hosting Erin L. Kelly, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-author of the recently published book, Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do about It. Drawing on five years of research, including hundreds of interviews with employees and managers, Kelly - and Phyllis Moen, co-author - tells a story of a major exepriment that they helped design and impelent at a Fortune 500 company.

In this fascinating conversation, we are hosting Gerrit Van de Mosselaer of the Federal Public Service - Social Security in Belgium. Gerrit introduces us to the NOVO concept, one of the most successful culture change initiatives ever implemented in the Belgian public sector. Listen in as Gerrit shares great insight about the nuances of rolling out an organization-wide culture change programme, and what lessons have they learned along the way, that started more than 10 years ago.

In this episode, we are joined by Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady. Suzanne and Agnes chat about the particular challenges HR professionals encountered during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, her take on flexible working and teleworking, and how she sees the evolvement of the post-pandemic work and workplaces. They also touch upon the Black Lives Matter movement and discrimination at work.

In this episode, we speak with Hilde Olsen, who is coordinating the work of the European Network of Public Employment Services in the European Commission. We discuss the challenges for long-term unemployed to find paid work, especially if they have caring responsibilities, and the point of view of employers broadening their recruitment pool. The episode is recorded to promote the EWQ&L project we are partners in.

In this podcast episode, we connect with Michelle King, Director of Inclusion at Netflix, and author of the book, The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work. We speak about practicing inclusive leadership at the workplace during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the notion of femininity stigma, and why diversity and inclusion programs don't work.

Our guest on this episode is David Smith Ph.D. co-author of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women. Listen in to this insightful conversation as we discuss the story behind Athena Rising, mentoring women at the workplace, and the upcoming book of David, Good Guys: How men can be better allies for women in the workplace.

In this conversation, we speak with Alison Maitland and Rebekah Steele, the co-authors of the book INdvisible: Radically rethinking inclusion for sustainable business results. Where does diversity end and inclusion begin? What is a naturally inclusive leader? Listen in to the conversation to find out more!

In our new episode, we chat with Emanuela Pozzan and Umberto Cattaneo of the ILO, about the Women at Work Centenary Initiative, that aims at better understanding why progress on delivering on decent work for women has been so slow and what needs to be done towards securing a better future for women at work. The conversation also touches upon the recently released ILO Report, co-authored by Emanuela and Umberto, A quantum leap for gender equality: For a better future of work for all' report.

On this episode, we speak about how Alex Goryachev, Cisco's Managing Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs, went from being a hands-on manager in the Silicon Valley world to writing a book. We also touch on why the "lonely innovator" is a total myth and what is the link between Diversity and Inclusion and innovation.

In this episode of the WorkLife HUB podcast we are chatting with Dan Reed, Founder of the Career Dad, with a very important mission: to positively impact as many dads' lives as possible. Through podcasting, fathers' groups, exchange of experience, and especially sharing his experience with working fatherhood he empowers men to embrace their parenting experience and balance it with their career ambitions.

According to the research of Kaihan Krippendorff, only 8 out of 30 biggest innovations in the past decades were by entrepreneurs and the rest by employees. What are the essentials of innovation within companies? How can businesses encourage and enable innovation? In this episode we tap into the experience of Kaihan, business strategist, author of Driving Innovation From Within.

After having served on nuclear submarines in the US Navy, and spending some time working on nuclear plants, William Becker decided he needed a change. What made him decide on academia, and in particular neuroscience, emotions and HRM? In this captivating episode, we are hosting Professor Becker, of Virginia Tech, co-author of one of the most touted research papers of 2018: Killing me softly: Electronic communications monitoring and employee and spouse well-being.

In this podcast, we are chatting with Anna Chiara Gioro (ANPAL), coordinator of the “EQW&L – Equality for Work and Life” European project. What are the core objectives of this innovative social project? How can the labour market entry of unemployed people be facilitated by work-life balance policies? Listen in as we discuss the project in detail, its expected outcomes and plans for 2020!

In this episode, we are joined by Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Professor of at Université du Québec at Montréal. Her research focuses on individuals' work and life identities in light of technological changes, and of diverse organizational and national contexts. In this conversation, we talk about the different aspects and impact of work-life balance policies, and the key elements necessary for employees to actually benefit from work-life balance arrangements.

In this episode, the WorkLife HUB podcast sits down with Caitlyn Collins, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, author of Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving. Listen in as Agnes and Caitlyn speak about the notion of work-life justice, gender inequality at the workplace and in family life, and the findings of a cross-national research study interviewing 135 working women.

Klaus Hochreiter is the CEO and co-founder of eMagnetix an online marketing agency. In October 2018, eMagnetix made headlines in Austria, and Europe, with its innovative work initiative, based on a 30-hour-workweek at full salary. How to make such arrangements work in real life? Why Klaus is not in favour of teleworking? Listen in as we discuss the nuts and bolts of the 30-hour-workweek revolution.

In this new episode, which we specifically recorded ahead of Europe's biggest HR event of 2019, the Zukunft Personal Europe, we are hosting Laura Dekker, the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the Globe. Tune in as Laura shares her fascinating story with us, what she learned along the way, and what are her future plans!

How to move burnout to employee engagement? What causes employee burnout? How to deal with it? In this fascinating episode, we are joined by Professor Michael Leiter organisational psychology expert. Listen in as Agnes and Professor Leiter discuss the most important signs of burnout, employee engagement and many more.

In this episode, Agnes interviews Dr Heejung Chung a professor in social policy and sociology. They talk about: work-life balance, flexible working, the pros and cons of teleworking, gender norms, and the findings of the Work Autonomy, Flexibility and Work-Life Balance research project.

In this episode, our guest is Bruce Daisley, a Man On a Mission! Bruce runs the Apple #1 Business Chart topping podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat on work culture. His debut book, The Joy of Work, was released in January 2019.

In this episode, our guest is Phyllis Stewart Pires, Director of Worklife Strategy at Stanford University, and Board President of the College and University Work-Life-Family Association (CUWFA).

In 2005, Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defence lawyer to start Askinosie Chocolate, a small batch bean to bar manufacturer, and never looked back. In this conversation we explore the journey through which Shawn was able to include social responsibility into everything he does.

In this episode of the WorkLife HUB podcast our guest is Ruben Timmerman, holacracy pioneer, CEO of Springest. We talk about GTD and productivity at Springest, the importance of learning, and entrepreneurship. This discussion is for you if interested in holacracy and its practical implementation.

In this episode, we are talking to Mike Rognlien, a founding member of Facebook's L&D team, and author of This Is Now Your Company: A Culture Carrier's Manifesto. We discuss: why did Mike decide to write his book and what is he hoping to change in the world, the echo chamber in the Silicon Valley, working at Facebook, living your authentic self at work and at home.

Recorded live in Brussels, in this special episode we are joined by René Mat and Sven Vandyck of Accenture Benelux. Listen in as we discuss the role of diversity and inclusion company policies, the business imperative of Inclusion & Diversity, Accenture's LGBT Allies initiative and the Open@Work network. Want to know more about diversity and inclusion? If so, then this podcast is for you!

Why did Henry Ford not want creativity and innovation? What are the new emotions of competitive advantage? In this podcast episode Dan Cable, an award-winning professor or organisational behaviour at London Business School, discusses his new book, Alive at Work, and shares his research insights on how neuroscience could help people love what they work.

In this fascinating podcast conversation, we talk to Kevin Green, Founder and CEO of What's Next Consultancy. Kevin Green has spent a career reviewing the employment market and advising both governments and companies. Among many occupations, he worked for the Royal Mail as HR Director, from 2003 to 2008 where he was part of the leadership team which transformed the business from losing £1.5 million a day in 2003 to making over £600 million profit in 2007. Kevin has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel and is a Fellow of the CIPD and IRP and has written many articles on HR Strategy and Organisational Change.

This week's episode features Lucy Standing, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with nearly 20 years of experience working as a consultant, and now as a freelancer and social entrepreneur. Tune in as we talk about ViewVo, job shadowing, career choice, employee engagement and plenty more.

In our new episode, which we specifically recorded ahead of Europe's biggest HR event of 2018, the Zukunft Personal Europe, we are hosting Enrico Palumbo, Human Resources Director and Member of the Executive Board of SAP Switzerland. Tune in as we discuss, among many fascinating topics, what is the secret behind SAP's success in being recognized as one of the best workplaces to work for in Switzerland in 2017.