The “traditional” understanding of hybrid working is being challenged as organisations try to implement more structured approaches, creating friction with employees who developed their own interpretations of what hybrid working means during the pandemic.

Matthew Davis is an associate professor at the University of Leeds. He specialises in organisational and business psychology, with extensive research experience in workplace environments. He researches and consults on hybrid work patterns, and studies how companies are adapting their workspaces and practices.

Three reasons to listen

• To understand different generational perspectives on hybrid work, from senior leaders pushing for office returns to younger workers concerned about isolation and development opportunities
• To navigate the evolving definition of hybrid work and how it varies across organisations
• To better grasp how employee choice and control over both where and when to work has become central to how workers define hybrid arrangements

Episode highlights

• [00:11:54] What is"hybrid working"?
• [00:17:14] Is hybrid always a positive?
• [00:23:39] What do workers want?
• [00:24:31] Hybrid's benefits for inclusion
• [00:27:28] What hybrid is missing
• [00:30:57] Caveats on returning to the office
• [00:37:23] Matthew's guiding principle
• [00:40:50] Matthew's media recommendation
• [00:42:10] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Matthew via LinkedIn
• The Prophet and the Idiot, by Jonas Jonasson
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note

Treating people unkindly at work isn't just a personal issue; it's a systemic problem that affects everyone's performance. The evidence shows that when people understand how behaviour impacts performance, they're more likely to change their own conduct, reducing disrespectful behaviour in the workplace.

Dr Chris Turner is an emergency medicine consultant in the UK, and the cofounder of an organisation called Civility Saves Lives. Chris rose to prominence during a local NHS crisis, where he was recognised in official inquiries for speaking truth to power. His work on workplace behaviour started with one small talk that went viral, eventually leading to TEDx talks and broader recognition.

Three reasons to listen

• To understand how poor treatment affects workplace performance
• To transform your perspective on workplace behaviour from an individual issue to a collective cultural challenge
• To see how even the experts struggle with self-regulation in challenging situations, and what to do when that happens

Episode highlights

• [00:10:40] How behaviour impacts performance
• [00:14:03] Even the experts get it wrong
• [00:18:31] What is univil behaviour?
• [00:21:42] Why civility matters in business
• [00:23:10] When is it time to change your behaviour?
• [00:33:14] The case against hot takes
• [00:35:45] What to do next
• [00:38:13] Chris' media recommendations
• [00:39:27] Takeaways from Dan and Pia

Links

• Connect with Chris via LinkedIn
• Civility Saves Lives
• The Culture Code, by Daniel Coylke
• You Can't Outrun the Radio, by Jonathan Byrd
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note

Kindness and productivity are not opposing forces in business. In fact, kindness can be a powerful driver of success when treated as a practical approach rather than just a nice-to-have value.

Shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, and focusing on collaboration rather than competition, can transform how teams work together.

Graham Allcott is an author and the founder of Think Productive, a global company that helps teams improve their work through productivity and leadership training. He’s written multiple books, including the international bestseller How to be a Productivity Ninja. His latest book, Kind, explores the relationship between kindness and business success.

Three reasons to listen

• Shift your thinking to create more opportunities for kindness
• Build stronger teams without defaulting to competitive behaviour
• Create ripple effects of positive change by understanding how self-kindness and kindfulness influence team dynamics

Episode highlights

• [00:11:24] When you're kind, you win
• [00:14:05] The scarcity mindset
• [00:17:06] How we can develop kindness
• [00:19:07] The myth of the business bastard
• [00:22:17] Psychological safety in teams
• [00:23:20] Case study: Timpson
• [00:27:37] How to build an abondance mindset
• [00:28:42] Kindness vs niceness
• [00:30:10] Case study: Jacinda Ardern
• [00:32:04] Kindness and difficult decisions
• [00:35:53] Kindness starts with you
• [00:37:57] Graham's media recommendations
• [00:40:18] Takeaways from Pia and Dan

Links

• Connect with Graham via LinkedIn
• Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work – Graham’s most recent book
• Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith
• Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, by Rutger Bregman
• Track and improve your team performance with Squadify
• Leave us a voice note