THE FLOORPLAN

Guest: Lola Berry

Can you plot your way to your perfect job or is it all blind luck? What does science have to say? Libby and Matt reflect on their own unusual career trajectories as they consider the method in searching for an ideal working life and discuss the rise of the multi-hyphenate career. Also, you'll hear from nutritionist, author, and actor, Lola Berry. (www.lolaberry.com) about the resilience and happiness that comes from challenging yourself to pursue truth in your working life. Lola has been active in the media world in Australia for over a decade; speaking on TV shows such as; Studio 10, The Today Show, Mornings. Plus, she’s a best-selling author and has written 11 health and wellness books. Lola has a podcast called “Fearlessly Failing with Lola Berry” where she interviews notable profiles about their highs and lows, aimed at inspiring others to chase their dreams. Lola is also a qualified nutritionist (bachelor of health science majoring in nutritional medicine). She’s open, honest, and speaks with no filter about her own life experiences; from her recent IVF journey to her body and mental health issues, all in a bid to help others. Lola also has a strong social media presence; 178K Instagram followers, 145K Facebook fans, and regularly works as an ambassador for social and digital campaigns.

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Guest: Professor Alex Haslam

This week Libby and Matt dig into the scourge of 'zombie leadership' and ponder the broader ramifications of it. Immortalized in tropes of terrible leader behaviors in TV shows like The Office and Utopia, unfortunately, zombie leadership is alive and well in organizations. Libby's guest, Professor Alex Haslam from the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology led research into ideas about leadership which are still popular despite being harmful for individuals, groups, and organisations. “It’s known as ‘zombie leadership’ because despite being demonstrably false, these claims refuse to die,” Professor Haslam said. In this wide-ranging chat, Libby and Alex explore what zombie leadership is and what we can do about it, why dead models of leadership refuse to die, Elon Musk and Twitter, the problems with the leadership consulting industry, and more.

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Dr Libby Sander & Matt Webber

The view from Japan this week! Freshly returned from a Bond University Business School Japan Study Tour, Dr Libby Sander reports on the dream Tokyo workspaces occupied by clothing giant Uniqlo (Fast Retailing) and real estate group JLL, ponders some of the big questions being faced in the landscape of work in Japan, and with a little help from a new book by author Cal Newport, discusses the scourge that is 'pseudo-productivity'. Libby and Matt also discuss how libraries and cafes within workspaces can inspire creativity and ignite our imagination. They cover new research from the WHO that finds 60% of people are too busy to enjoy their life. Why is this happening more and more and how can we break the cycle? Tips on what individuals and companies can do to create change and end hustle culture at work.

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Guest: Ben Hamley

What does your office kitchenette say about your workplace? This and other organisational mysteries unlocked by Dr Libby Sander and Matt Webber this week in addition to an extended interview with Ben Hamley from real estate giant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Ben is a work futurist and collaboration designer with a specific interest in culture, technology and design. He heads up JLL's 'Work Science' program, one designed to get the best of of people by understanding the science of great working environments. You can find out more about Ben’s work here: https://www.jll.com.sg/en/campaign/workscience

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Guest: Dr. Dale Whelehan

Is a four-day working week feasible? This week Libby and Matt ponder why despite a quantum leap in workplace and technological efficiencies we seem to have become stuck on the idea of a 5-day working week. Their special guest is Dr. Dale Whelehan, CEO of 4 Day Week Global. He's a behavioural scientist with diverse experience comprising human capital, culture, change management, performance consulting, organisational behaviour, and representation and rights. Considered an expert in the field of wellbeing, Dale is passionate about the intrinsic role of work in fatigue and performance - and how shorter working hours can radically transform people's health and happiness. And he comes bearing research from the global trials on the four-day week being conducted worldwide. Would you like to work a 4 day week?You can find more on the research from the 4 Day Week research trials here: https://www.4dayweek.com

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Guest: Professor Gretchen Spreitzer

Are you thriving at work? What does it mean to thrive? And how can thriving at work help you thrive in life? In this episode, Libby speaks to Professor Gretchen Spreitzer about the value of thriving at work. And, Libby and Matt explore why we might not be thriving at work and in our lives and explore strategies to make it better. Professor Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Management and Organizations, Associate Dean for Executive and Corporate Relations at the University of Michigan, and one of the world's leading authorities on employee empowerment and leadership development, particularly within the context of organisational change and decline. She is the co-author of several books including How to be a Positive Leader (2014) with Jane Dutton, Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship with Kim Cameron, The Leader's Change Handbook: An Essential Guide to Setting Direction and Taking Action (1999) with Jay Conger and Edward Lawler, The Future of Leadership: Speaking to the Next Generation (2001) with Warren Bennis and Thomas Cummings, and A Company of Leaders: Five Disciplines for Unleashing the Power in Your Workforce (2001) with Robert Quinn. Find out more about Gretchen's work here: https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/gretchen-spreitzer

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Dr Libby Sander & Matt Webber

Welcome back! A brand new year, a fresh start, a brand new outlook. Sort of...Research suggests worker bees are dragging their heels, particularly early this year. Why? Libby and Matt also have a look at the merits of legalizing a right to switch off from work and gaze into the organizational behavior crystal ball to ponder the issues most likely to emerge in the next twelve months.

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Guest: Chloé de Ruffray

In the final episode of Season 1 of The Floorplan Libby and Matt discuss 2023's recurrent organisational behavioural themes - shifting work/life balance priorities, drivers of meaning and happiness in a post-pandemic world of work, and divergent managerial perspectives on the return to office environments post-pandemic. They take a look at what all this means for the city of the future and what a distributed world of work looks like in cities from New York to Tokyo. They also have a stab at predicting the issues that will dominate in 2024 with a little help from special guest, trend researcher Chloe de Ruffray (www.chloederuffray.com). Libby and Matt will be back in February with Season 2 of The Floorplan!

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Dr Libby Sander & Matt Webber

Hands up if you love work meetings! Not a lot of hands, we're tipping...They're highly unpopular, often demotivating, usually inefficient, and definitely costly. So why do we persist with work meetings? And if we must persist, what works best? The science behind it all in Episode 7!

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Guest: Julia Palmer

Some people enjoy networking events. Emphasis on the 'some'. But for many - maybe even most - the idea of pressing the flesh and chewing the fat at corporate relationship-building and professional networking functions is work at its absolute worst. It needn't be this way. In the episode of The Floorplan you'll learn how to redefine the value of networking and how to flip the prevailing narrative on its head by learning a few simple skills. Libby and Matt talk about the research on networking. And Libby talks with relational expert Julia Palmer on why networking is a dirty word for many people, how we need to think differently about our networks, and simple skills to improve our relationships.

Find out more about Julia here: www.relatus.com.au and www.juliapalmer.com

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Dr Libby Sander & Matt Webber

In Episode 5 of The Floorplan Dr Libby Sander and Matt Webber talk us through the financial, mental, and physical cost of a messy office and tell us what the research says about why we should get rid of clutter. But fear not, desktop hoarders! There is a loophole. We take a look at Matt's desk, applying the science and seeing how his work habits stack up.

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Guest: Professor Markus Baer

Why do we work in teams? Do they work? Is team bonding really necessary? How does the way we design work and our workspaces influence the creativity and performance of teams? In this episode, Libby and Matt look at what the research says about 'teamwork making the dream work'. World-leading organisational behaviourist Professor Markus Baer from Washington University in St. Louis joins the podcast to share his insights from many years of research into creativity, innovation, motivation, and teams. Libby and Markus discuss how different spaces affect creativity, what supports high-performing teams, why daydreaming at work is good, how micro-management harms innovation, and how getting off the beaten path leads to more creative outcomes. Professor Baer has received accolades for his teaching from Washington University in St. Louis’s Olin Business School, where he won consecutive teaching awards, and is renowned internationally as one of the world’s top 40 business professors under 40.

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Guest: Vicki Webster

Work is meant to be fun, right? But often it's not. Libby and Matt look into the uglier side of organizational behavior in this week's episode when they delve into narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sociopathic management - the so-called 'dark triad'. We look into the research on how organizations can avoid hiring or promoting destructive leaders, how to spot if your boss is one of these, and what you should do about it. Joining them is organizational psychologist, Dr Vicki Webster who shares insights from her extensive 20-year career.

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Guest: Priyal Sodha

In Episode 2 of The Floorplan, Dr Libby Sander and Matt Webber take a look at the hit-and-miss - or hit and myth? - of cult workplaces. Workplace mediation spaces, Michelin-star cafeterias, group jargon, puppy daycare, and slippery slides between office floors and you'll be in the ballpark. Nightmare or utopia? How and why have these ideas evolved? Is there a method in the madness or are these kinds of environments no more than expensive and possibly unhealthy social experiments? What does the research say about how we can create positive company cultures that don’t feel like frat week? Also, Libby talks to management consultant Priyal Sodha who lifts the lid on the 'culture of overwork' and what made her throw in the big-firm consulting towel for life as a digital nomad long before the pandemic made it trendy.

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Guest: Alice Drew

In this first episode of THE FLOORPLAN, Dr Libby Sander and broadcaster Matt Webber ponder the covid pandemic as 'the great workplace disruptor'. Will there ever be any turning back for traditional office work now we've had workplace flexibility thrust upon us? How does our office environment affect our minds and bodies and where did the idea of the office begin? Also, Libby talks to Alice Drew about her role as Head of Place Futures at Lendlease. What does a global corporate giant see in its workplace crystal ball?

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