Eat Sleep Work Repeat

To receive the newsletter and the forthcoming Presence project sign-up hereToday’s top episode goes to the heart of an issue that a lot of people raise with me.They say ‘where do you start when changing a culture’.To some extent it’s what the episode about the hospital trust in Barking was about, going in and changing the culture of a huge organisation.I saw one of today’s guests Darren Ashby speak at an event - talking through the specifics of how his company Business Four Zero tried to change the culture of Tesco. Business Four Zero are one of a group of organisations who work with leaders to change company culture. I know there’s a few of these firms. I attended a dazzling event by one firm called Scarlett Abbot in this field about a month ago. Darren is joined by Atif Sheikh as they talk through the specifics of what they did with firms like Electronic Arts, Aviva and Tesco. They’ve turned some of their work into a book which you can buy here.Some of the things that stood out for me:What’s the number

Isabel Berwick is a writer and podcaster who focusses on the evolving state of modern work. I’ve celebrated her podcast Working It many times here (here’s her specials on the 4-day week for example, or her special on meeting-free days was essential listening). I love its ability to react rapidly to the biggest news stories of the moment and to drop a snackable episode midweek.I talked to her about her opinions on modern work, going deep on the rapidly changing world of employment and where we’re going next.Isabel has a brand new book out, The Future Proof Career, which she says is for everyone who doesn’t read books about work but wants to be better at navigating it.Recent episodes you might have missedThe importance of trust at work - and why it's on the declineCharles Duhig on how to be a supercommunicator in your job (and your home life)Can improvements to culture fix a broken NHS trust?The Big Ange effect at Tottenham HotspurFrances Frei on the importance of training managers Hosted on Acast. See acast.co

How should most of us think about the differences between Employee Experience and Employee Engagement.I first spoke to Emma Bridger, who is the author of a well respected book on this topic and the founder of the EX Space, a learning community focussed on raising the bar in the Employee Experience field.Then I picked the brains of Melanie Wheeler who leads People Communications at Sutherland, a firm widely recommended to me as outstanding in Employee Experience.Get in touchSign up for the newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Duhigg’s bestseller The Power of Habit was the definitive guide to building and sustaining successful habits.His new book, Supercommunicators, grapples with the knotty topic of creating successful interactions with others.It’s a thorough and dazzling read that has many applications for the way we work (and how we live our lives).We talked about:the single biggest thing that builds psychological safetywhy moving conversation out of small talk into deep discussion proves more satisfying than we expecthow teams should use 'who are we' conversationshow we should think about three different types of conversation (are they looking to be helped, hugged or heard?Read an extract of Charles' book here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us have worked in environments that provided bonuses or rewards for success. Maybe they took the form of team rewards or individual incentives, or end of year profit-share schemes. But do these rewards achieve what they are designed to?Professor Uri Gneezy is the world's foremost expert on the science of incentives - and he comes with a huge warning about what such schemes actually achieve.Eat Sleep Work Repeat is today hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook.Sign up to the newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook.Roll up roll up as this week we talk the major trends in work and workplace culture and the big stories of the last month.Including:Wellness programs don’t work - in TikTok form, or in Matt’s post on LinkedIn Research from Oxford University looking at the (in)effectiveness of workplace wellbeing interventions at an individual levelChronoworking GymclassgateEllen on Gen Z workersFewer and fewer of us want to go out in the evenings or weekendsThe dystopian prospect of AI interviews Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was flattered to be invited to visit the NHS trust of Barking, Havering and Redbridge last year. I spent an afternoon meeting the team and seeing the place in action.It was an inspiring question that CEO Matthew Trainer was asking: 'can we improve the results by making it a better culture?'What does that look like? And how is going for them?Matthew Trainer's CEO note at the end of 2023Video: Inside the TrustFill in the form: Consider my firm for a future podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often overlook the fact that trust is the basis for all good culture. I called out some of the remarkable data on this in the Work In 2024 deck.In Slack’s August 2023 survey of over 10,000 global office workers, trust was the top determinant of employees’ productivity scores. Employees who felt trusted were 2X as productive as those who didn’t. They were 30% more likely to put in extra effort at their jobs. If we don’t feel trusted we’re twice as likely to say we’re looking for a new job.But what role does trust play in the modern company? And how can we build it?Mark McGinn is a senior leader at the communications agency Edelman, he talks to me about their research into trust and how we should seek to build it.Has our organisation replaced government? Increasingly our company is the biggest thing that we believe we can have an impact on.Mark explains that Trust in our organisation is based on four things:Organisational abilityDependabilityIntegrityPurposeYou'll strongly enjoy downloading Edelman

The role of managers are pivotal in our working lives but most managers aren't trained or prepared for the responsibilities that they are given.When we look at the research from Gallup about burnout and why people hate their jobs managers are regarded as having the biggest responsibility. Half of people who say they don't rate their manager say they are looking for jobs. So what can we do to make our relationship with our managers better? I chatted to Anthony Painter from CMI.Download the Work in 2024 deckChartered Management Institute research on the Accidental Manager82% of workers entering management positions have not had any formal management and leadership trainingonly a quarter of workers (27%) describe their manager as ‘highly effective’of those workers who do not rate their manager, half (50%) plan to leave their company in the next yearFollow Anthony on LinkedInFollow Anthony on Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterWe talk through the hottest topics in work:New research says that bosses think going part-time signals the end of career ambitionRadio 5 Live's Nihal Arthanayake says he feels alienated as the only brown face in a sea of white at his workplaceBill Gates advocates for the three-day week but doesn't detail who he thinks is going to pay for it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Frances Frei is the biggest brain in the field of workplace culture and I was delighted to get another opportunity to talk to her.She explains the one thing that firms should do to fix their cultures (spoiler: train their managers), why she thinks inclusion is a more important element of culture than just diversity.The previous episode with Frances FreiFrances and Anne’s podcast FixableFrances’ and Anne Morriss’ new book Move Fast and Fix ThingsSign up for the newsletter Quotes from the book that I cited: “One way to build cynicism quickly in an organisation, something we see all the time, by the way - is to ask people for their input and then do very little with the information they give you (and take a long time to even do that)’Robert McDonald, former CEO of P&G “Organisations are perfectly designed to get the results they get… if you don’t like the results you need to change the design”. We're often asked for a summary of how to build a workplace where everyone feels welcome.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterIs toxic culture driving your team away?If you’re someone whose job it is think about culture, or maybe you’re a boss who has tried to communicate values to your team then today’s episode is an essential listen.Donald Sull and Charlie Sull are a father and son research team who have discovered extraordinary insights into values and what they look like in the real world.Here are some articles to get you going to understand the world of the Sulls:Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great ResignationThe Toxic Culture Gap Shows Companies Are Failing WomenWhy leaders need to worry about toxic culture?Charlie and Donald have a business that focusses on this called Culture X. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterThis week we go deep on the latest news about work.ITV tell staff to declare ‘friendships’Moderation staff at Facebook are suing over PTSDBBC staff given help for stress levels'We Had To Remove This Post' - brilliant novella by Hanna BervoetsOobah Butler’s Amazon show on Channel 4Reddit anti workReddit r/LateStageCapitalismMatt’s final comment about having orgasms to boost productivityBig Train sketch: 'no wanking in the office please' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterThis week we go deep on the latest news about work. We discuss:Two thirds of bosses expect a return to the office by 2036KPMG CEO surveyDavid Foster Wallace - This is Water commencement speechShonda Rhimes “Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life”80% of remote workers claim to have two jobsEmail sign-offs are changingCoffee badging as a protest against being in the officeSnail girl jobs (and the toxicity of ‘trends’ about women working less)The gendered nature of WFH assessment (participants in research were less likely to choose to hire working mothers than childless women) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up for the newsletterWhat Ange Postecoglou changed at Spurs in his first 100 days: ‘The mood has been transformed’Charlie writes about the oratory of Ange PostecoglouLast week I read something wonderful about the culture of Tottenham Hotspur, I contacted the writer and it felt like it was worth putting out quickly. We’ve got a couple of podcast recorded with Matt and Ellen so we’ll be back for a fuller episode next week.Ange Postecoglou has been the manager of Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur, for around a hundred days. In that time he’s started something of a transformation. And I can tell that because the Spurs fans I know how have started smiling. Spurs have started the season well, currently sitting 2nd in the Premier League. But more than that the players seem to be happy and are playing exciting football.There was a brilliant article by Charlie Ecceshare from The Athletic looking into the culture of the club under Ange, the article talked about how the mood of the club has been transformed.For anyone inter

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook. Ellen is away this week - we were working hard to squeeze an elite guest in.Amy Edmondson is the most renowned organisational psychologist in the world. In other words she's looked to more than anyone else for the answers of how to fix work.In this in depth discussion she talks us through what she understands by psychological safety, how any of us can create it and what she believes the best team structure is to achieve it.We're also joined by Octavius Black, founder of Mind Gym, who provide behavioural science based interventions for lots of the biggest companies in the world.Amy's new book is The Right Kind of Wrong Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up for the Make Work Better newsletterThis episode explores the concept of fun and its importance in adult life, challenging the misperception that fun is frivolous.What is fun? Catherine Price suggests that it is the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow.The discussion also addresses the impact of social media on fake fun and the role of playfulness in work and productivity. The conversation explores the importance of fun in the workplace and the impact it has on productivity, connection, and overall well-being. It delves into the challenges of creating a fun work environment, the role of playfulness in building connections, and the significance of in-person interactions. The discussion also highlights the value of fun in education and its potential to bridge social and cultural divides.TakeawaysFun is a feeling, not an activity, and it involves the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow.The misperception of fun as frivolous leads to the prioritization of fake fun over true fun, impac

Sign up for the Make Work Better newsletterEat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook.Ellen wrote about her learnings about being a managerDespite government threats of legal action Cambridgeshire council are continuing their evidence-led trial of the 4-day week. “Nine in ten councils are struggling with job recruitment and retention and a four-day working week could be the answer”Ellen mentions this article on Stylist about boundaries (registration required)Half of the employees of Grindr were fired after the firm issued a RTO order. This included 100% of the firm’s trans employees. As Matt points out in the show trans employees are subject to the legislative whims of different states in the US and understandably try to locate in safe places.We talk about the World Values Survey report "What the world thinks about work"People in the UK are least likely to say work is important in their life. It's still seems pretty high, 73% of the UK public say work is very or rather im

I’m joined again by new cohosts Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook.Buy BelongingOwen Eastwood is the most in-demand team performance coach in the worldHe's earned that reputation by delivering break-through results with a diverse range of teams from Gareth Southgate’s England team and the England women’s team, to the senior leadership team of NATO. His former clients represent an elite range of teams who have gone on to achieve incredible victories. We wanted to understand how he did it.What does he say? What does he ask?Eastwood’s approach is consistent. By zooming out and pointing our fleeting contribution to legacy he urges teams to think about their ‘Us’ story. For me this suggests that what he’s actually doing is emphasising a powerful shared identity. In my mind I would see this as activating a visceral bond of community, he chooses to label it as ‘belonging’. That distinction ends up feeling semantic when presented with what his approach achieves.This week on the podcast I’m joined by new co-hosts Ellen Sc

A few months ago I put out a call asking for other voices to get involved in the podcast and I’m delighted today to add Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook to Eat Sleep Work Repeat.You may have read Ellen’s brilliant writing in The Stylist where she is the Deputy Digital Editor and previously in Metro. She writes and edits pieces on work, mental health, relationships, and more. Here’s her own Substack on work. She is also working on fiction and is represented by The Soho Agency.Matt/Matthew is the founder of theSHIFT, an award-winning learning consultancy that specialises in cultural change inside organisations. He’s basically a people enthusiast who has turned it into his job.I’ll be honest I love talking about work but I was worried that my own perspective might be a bit limiting. First and foremost I ended up as a boss and whether you intend it to or not that skews your perspective. Ellen and Matthew are here to help give a broader view. We loved recording the first episode and hopefully great things are to com