This Working Life

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Better work, with evidence and heart.

The gist

This Working Life examines the human systems behind modern work: power, feedback, burnout, AI, leave, leadership, and conflict. Lisa Leong steers expert conversations toward practical shifts that can change a meeting, a career choice, or a whole workplace culture.

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About This Working Life

This Working Life approaches the workplace as a daily human experiment. It is interested in output, but not at the expense of dignity, energy, or trust. Lisa Leong opens episodes with familiar pressure points: the annual leave balance that feels too thin, the phrase "can I give you some feedback," the young person wondering what AI means for study and work. Then the program brings in people with research, practice, and lived experience to slow the problem down. One conversation argues for love as a serious business force, not a soft slogan. Another frames workplace conflict as a relationship shaped by power, blame, avoidance, and over-functioning. Another discusses digital twins, verification, and the promise and unease of AI agents at work. Other episodes look at five weeks of annual leave, better breaks, early career guidance, and the difference between inspiring and infuriating leadership. The show has an Australian workplace frame, but the questions travel easily. Schools, managers, employees, consultants, and parents all appear in its field of view. It is strongest when it connects big systems to small behaviours. A policy proposal becomes a question about wellbeing and output. A feedback script becomes a nervous-system response. A conversation about AI becomes a search for adaptable experience rather than a single future-proof skill. The editorial feel is generous without being vague. It gives listeners language for problems they may already sense but struggle to name. It also resists the idea that work has to stay transactional, loveless, or exhausting simply because that is common. This is practical workplace culture coverage with curiosity, warmth, and a steady bias toward healthier ways of working.

Made for: This Working Life suits employees, managers, career advisers, parents, and workplace leaders who want thoughtful guidance on modern work. It is especially useful for people navigating conflict, burnout, AI change, feedback, leadership, or early career decisions.

What sets it apart: The show links workplace research to ordinary office moments without flattening either one. Its ABC Radio National style gives complex topics room to breathe while still ending near practical action.

In their own words

You spend so much time on work, why accept the status quo, when there are ways to do it better? Get expert advice, research and hacks that will crush your inertia.Join Lisa Leong and other This Working Lifers as we experiment and explore the latest in the world of work. We cover policy issues, like hybrid workplaces and remote work, employee wellbeing and organisational culture, the use of AI, employee surveillance, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion. We talk about progress on wider issues that relate to work, like work life balance, organisational change, restructures, and casualisation. On This Working Life our focus is on everything related to the people in a workplace too, incl…

As heard by us

Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026

Lisa Leong turns workplace research and specialist advice into practical ways to handle power, feedback, well-being and career change.

This Working Life turns familiar workplace friction into questions that can actually be acted on. Lisa Leong leads expert conversations about conflict, feedback, breaks, leadership and career reinvention, moving easily between research, listener situations and practical choices.

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

A would-be florist leaves at lunch; your career daydream might need a test shift.

Press play if you want

a way to hear "Can I give you some feedback?" without mentally preparing a farewell speech
permission to take a break before your empty water bottle becomes a badge of dedication

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

workplace cultureleadership and powerAI and future careersfeedback conversationsburnout and breaksannual leave and wellbeingconflict at workemployee engagement

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Find your next episode

About This Working Life

In their own words

As heard by us

Why you'd press play

Talks about

Podcasts like This Working Life

Episodes

Managing up during the Trump Presidency

Meet Digital Don, the identic AI agent

Is more annual leave the answer to preventing burnout?

Esther Perel on conflict and power struggles at work

It's okay, you can take a break

Can I give you some feedback?

Unlock the power of a four day week

The ultimate guide to fixing meetings

How to start strong in a new job

Reinvent your career in 2026 with Dorie Clark

Lost hope at work? Here’s how to get it back.

The power of a good night’s sleep

Stuck at a career crossroad? Here's how to move forward

Can "leisure-crafting" help you thrive?

Tired and overwhelmed? Boundaries can help

Are we giving kids the wrong career advice?

Learn to 'North Star' 2026 with Wankernomics

How to optimise your holiday and start 2026 refreshed

A non-compete clause ban is coming. What does it mean for you?

Is your lack of people skills holding you back?

Transfer, recall, repetition: what helps you learn at work

Are you on the path to burnout? These are the red flags...

Westpac work from home decision: what does it mean for you?

How to fix loneliness at work

Top books for work and life

Restructure and redundancy, with psychosocial safety

Should you bring your 'whole self' to work?

Try This: declutter your work from home space

Validation is a skill for work and life

The power of gossip at work

How to nail collaboration between generations

Are you learning how to switch off from work?

Could longevity workers save our economic future?

Try This: psychosocial safety tips edition

What are we getting wrong about psychosocial safety?

Making decisions like a pro

The power of inspiring vs. infuriating leadership

Is your dream job still dreamy?

Try This: grief at work edition

How to handle grief at work

Is an AI bot getting in the way of your job search?

Feeling meh (still)? How to get your work mojo back

Can I give you some feedback?

It's okay, you can take a break

Try This: sleep tips edition

The power of a good night’s sleep

Is your manager spying on you?

Leaders, what are your blind spots?

Stuck at a career crossroad? Here's how to move forward

Networking and the strength of weak ties

Cal Newport on embracing slow productivity to prevent burnout

How do you personalise your work space?

Can "leisure-crafting" help you thrive?

How to get on top of AI at work

Are you being micromanaged?

Work origin stories and how they influence us

Try This: performance review edition

Purpose as the antidote for disengagement at work

Tired and overwhelmed? Boundaries can help

Job Sharing 101

Are we giving kids the wrong career advice?

Learn to adapt

Succession planning: build it into your DNA

How to nail a job interview

Does DEI need a reset?

Tuning into signals at work

Want to do things differently this year?

Feeling meh? How to get your work mojo back

How to be a friction fixer

How your childhood dreams can help your career

Making decisions like a pro

How to develop 'executive presence'