The Why We Work Podcast
By Anthony Massa
Join host Anthony Massa as he talks with ordinary people making a big impact in their careers; having discussions about worklife, motivation, engagement, development, and leadership in an effort to understand why we work and how we can create a happier, more productive workforce.
The Why We Work PodcastJul 22, 2020
Burnout and Employee Wellbeing with Elizabeth Nelson
Anthony talks with Elizabeth Nelson, author of "The Healthy Office Revolution: a True Story of Burnout, a Wake Up Call, and Better Working Through Science," to discuss burnout and wellbeing in the workplace. Elizabeth candidly shares about her experience with burnout at one of the world's largest advertising agencies and how that experience drove her to devote the past decade of her like helping companies create office spaces conducive to employee health. Elizabeth shares her research into employee wellbeing and offers tips to create healthier work habits.
Buy Elizabeth's book here with a limited-time discounted price!
The Future is Gig: A Conversation on the Gig Economy
Anthony talks with Diane Mulcahy, author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want! Diane offers insight into the changing workforce and how its time to change the way we think about full-time employment. They delve into issues around achieving greater job satisfaction through gig work, rethinking recruiting and benefits, and how policymakers and traditional companies must begin to prepare for a workforce that is primarily "gig." Learn more about Diane and her work or purchase her book at dianemulcahy.com.
Education, Election 2020, and The Future Workforce
Anthony talks with Dr. Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center for Education and Workforce Policy at Georgetown University. They discuss the important cross-section of workforce and education, as well as the policy implications of the Presidential Election on the future workforce.
The State of Diversity and Inclusion at Work
Join Anthony for timely and important conversation about diversity and inclusion in the workplace with Fernan Cepero, Senior HR Business Partner at the YMCA of Greater Rochester. Anthony and Fernan discuss the important difference between having diversity and achieving true inclusion and how organizations can strive to achieve both. They also discuss how creating more equitable hiring processes is more than just removing a name from a resume.
Mindset with Sarah Katherine Tucker
Anthony talks with Sarah Katherine Tucker, principal at Adastra Talent Partners about leadership mindset and how getting in the right frame of mind can be the difference between success and failure in times of crisis. To learn more about Sarah and her work visit Adastratalent.com.
The Secret to Job Satisfaction is Simpler Than You Think
Anthony talks with Brooks Sime, co-founder of Gather, a HR Tech startup out of Cleveland, Ohio working to assist organizations to improve People Operations by nudging managers to remember the small things like onboarding steps and employee birthdays. Anthony and Brooks talk about the company's product, the simple secrets to employee satisfaction, and how to maintain culture in remote organizations. Learn more by visiting teamgather.co or emailing Brooks and the team at hello@teamgather.co.
Enter Gen Z: A Conversation with XYZ University CEO Sarah Sladek
Anthony is joined by Sarah Sladek; author, speaker, generational expert, and CEO of XYZ University. They talk Gen Z's entrance to the workforce, what has shaped different generations, and how generations can collaborate into today's workplace. They also talk about Sarah's work at XYZ University and Save the Associations. To learn more about Sarah and her work, visit xyzuniversity.com or sarahsladek.com.
Org Spotlight: Traitstack
Anthony sits down with Pietari Keurulainen.and Salih Mujcic, founders of Traitstack, a new technology and design startup looking to reimagine the personality test. We have a discussion about Traitstack's product, what sets it apart from other personality tests, the future of career exploration, and how to use personality assessments as a tool for unlocking human potential. Create an account and unlock insights about your personality and potential career pathways at Traitstack.com.
Org Spotlight: Org-ology
Anthony talks with Dr. Brent Oberholtzer and Ms. Heidi Fieckert of Org-ology, an organizational design and development consultancy based in New York, New York. They talk about the work Org-ology does, how organizations can view the pandemic and societal unrest as an opportunity for change, and the challenges facing Gen Z's entrance to the workforce. Follow Org-ology on Twitter or LinkedIn or visit their website.
A Why We Work Podcast Update
Anthony thanks Season 1's incredible guests and the listeners of the show and previews Season 2, set for release this August!
The COVID19 Files: Now Hiring Contact Tracers - Empathy Required
Anthony talks with Maria Courogen, Branch Director of Disease Control for the Washington State Department of Health and Specialist Sal Fierro of the Washington National Guard about the role of contact tracers. Maria discusses the human aspect of contact tracing and Specialist Fierro talks about job training, motivation, and the need for empathy. Support the Why We Work Podcast here https://anchor.fm/anthony-massa/support.
The COVID19 Files: Essential From Home - Teaching During COVID-19
Anthony sits down with his mom, Angela Massa, an Ohio elementary school teacher of 27 years. Angela discusses the unique challenge of being an essential worker from home as teachers around the country have had to make the rapid adjustment to remote learning. While motivation and engagement has been affected for both teachers and students, new opportunities for collaboration and innovation in education have arisen. To support the show visit https://anchor.fm/anthony-massa/support.
Org Spotlight: Can AI Make Us Happier at Work?
Anthony talks with Matthew Schmidt, founder of Peoplelogic.ai, an HR technology company based in Durham, NC that provides small and mid-sized businesses with people analytics tools to help managers uncover personality insights and better manage teams. In their wide-ranging conversation, Matt and Anthony discuss Peoplelogic's product, its implications for the field of HR, how the company's values drive its operations, and the future of HR tech. If you think Peoplelogic might be right for your small or mid-sized business visit https://peoplelogic.ai/. To support The Why We Work Podcast go to https://anchor.fm/anthony-massa/support.
The COIV19 Files: How the Pros Work From Home
With so many Americans working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Anthony looks into how we can keep up motivation and productivity away from the office. Kirstie Taylor, a health & relationships expert, comes on to talk about her tips on staying healthy and productive remotely and how to manage both our work and personal relationships while working at home. (Anthony also mentions an article he wrote on how companies can get working from home right going forward -- the link to that article is here).
The COVID19 Files: How a Nonprofit is Using Its Mission to Fight the Pandemic
Anthony talks with Will Richter, a research scientist at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio who has been instrumental in the work the science & tech nonprofit is doing to improve testing and increase PPE availability for those in the nation's hospitals. Battelle's mission of developing "science and technology for the greater good" has always guided its work, but has taken on a new meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Will talks about how the organization being mission driven, as well as the culture of experimentation and creativity, has allowed the company to develop technologies that are making a big difference in the fight against COVID-19.
The COVID19 Files: How One Grocer has Met The Challenge of COVD-19
If You're Happy at Work Clap Your Hands