Truth, Lies and Work

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, Chartered Occupational AND Coaching Psychologist Nicole Williams joins Al and Leanne to look at 1980s jobs replaced by technology, discuss nudging out low performers, analyse the psychology of workplace friendships, and solve tricky workplace surgery dilemmas!

🔥 Stories covered

AI, automation, and 11 jobs that vanished since the 1980s
Are you worried AI is coming for your job, or is it just the next step in technological innovation? Inspired by Matthew Moore's article in HELLO!, Leanne tests Al and Nicole on 11 jobs that were common in the 1980s but have almost completely disappeared—from elevator operators to paste-up artists and audio typists.
Source: https://www.hellomagazine.com/news/922725/everyday-jobs-1980s-entirely-vanished/

The 5-step "nudge": Is quiet firing performing employees smart strategy or lazy leadership?
Is the hardest person to fire an employee doing their absolute best? A viral post on X suggests a 5-step process to nudge out workers instead of having tough conversations. The team breaks down whether this is a clever management approach or a sneaky way to avoid accountability.

🧠 Truth or Lie: Are workplace friendships actually a good idea?
Do close-knit teams perform better, or do work friendships turn into toxic cliques? Nicole Williams dives into the psychological research to reveal whether having a work bestie helps or hurts team dynamics.

References:
• Grossman, R., Nolan, K., Rosch, Z., Mazer, D., & Salas, E. (2022). The team cohesion-performance relationship: A meta-analysis exploring measurement approaches and the changing team landscape. Organizational Psychology Review, 12(2), 181–238.
• Methot, J. R., LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & Christian, J. S. (2016). Are workplace friendships a mixed blessing? Exploring tradeoffs of multiplex relationships and their associations with job performance. Personnel Psychology, 69(2), 311–355.
• Ren, H., Gray, B., & Harrison, D. A. (2015). Triggering faultline effects in teams: The importance of bridging friendship ties and breaching animosity ties. Organization Science, 26(2), 390–404.
• Zhang, Y., & Chen, H. (2023). How surface-level and deep-level faultlines influence team performance through subgroup formation and team interaction quality: A meta-analytic review. Management and Organization Review, 19, 876–909.

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week the team answers two pressingly uncomfortable questions:
• What are the biggest red flags of a toxic workplace?
• Why does my colleague seem to hate me for no reason?

⭐ Guest Host
Nicole Williams (Chartered Occupational & Coaching Psychologist)
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolewilliamsorganisationalpsychology/
• Bio Link: https://bio.link/nwop

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

A bad hire costs a small business close to £14,000. Yet when recruitment goes wrong, business owners rarely blame technology. Instead, they blame rushed decisions, poor judgement, and a sudden flood of generic, AI-generated applications.

So, does A.I. actually improve recruitment, or does it just make the same hiring mistakes faster?

In this LIVE Thursday episode, hosts Al Elliott and Leanne Elliott sit down with assessment science experts Kate Young and Ben Hawkes, co-founders of The Hiring Science Studio. Together, they break down how small businesses can safely navigate AI in hiring, spot hidden algorithmic bias, and protect their bottom line.

What We Cover

The Real Cost of Bad Hires
Why small business owners rush interviews and end up paying the ultimate financial price.

The AI Application Flood
How candidates use ChatGPT to polish CVs, and what business owners should actually screen for instead.

Where AI Earns Its Place
Sensible, low-risk uses of AI that save time without sacrificing human quality.

5 To-Dos & 3 To-Never-Dos
The ultimate rules for using AI in small business recruitment.

Auditing Your Process
How to perform a quick, realistic check on your existing hiring tools without needing an expensive compliance team.

Guests

Kate Young
Co-founder of The Hiring Science Studio. Former Head of People Science at Sapia.ai, with over 20 years of experience designing hiring processes for FTSE 100 companies and UK government departments.
Website: https://www.thehiringsciencestudio.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-young-1359483/

Ben Hawkes
Co-founder of The Hiring Science Studio and founder of TAPnet. Expert in recruitment governance and transforming global talent assessment.
Website: https://www.thehiringsciencestudio.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhawkes/

Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com

– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk

US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org

Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au

Global helplines

https://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, guest host Danny Wareham (organisational psychologist and author of Constellation Leadership: Reimagined for a Connected Age) joins Al and Leanne Elliott to break down the science of work, debunk popular workplace myths, and solve real listener dilemmas.

🔥 Stories covered

Technostress and the Digital Mindfulness Scale
Leanne shares new research from the University of Nottingham revealing the concept of "technostress" and how the Digital Mindfulness Scale measures intention, attention, and attitude to protect employees from exhaustion and burnout.
Source: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/mindful-use-of-digital-technology-could-reduce-workplace-burnout-study-finds

Executive Instagram: How much should leaders share?
Al explores the line between being human and being the boss on social media. Using Kelvin Kao’s article on the dangers of oversharing and the concept of "discerned disclosure," we look at how to build real trust with your team without dumping unprocessed stress on them.
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/voices/oversharing-boss-workplace-boundary-leadership-trust-social-media-6318726

🧠 Truth or Lie: Does returning to office actually improve collaboration?
Danny Wareham dives into the research behind Return-To-Office pushes from companies like Amazon, Disney, and John Lewis. Does forcing people back to the desk genuinely drive teamwork, or is collaboration just an excuse for management control?

Research mentioned:Brucks, M. S., & Levav, J. (2022). Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation. Nature, 605, 108–112.

Bloom, N., Han, R., & Liang, J. (2024). Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance. Nature, 630, 920–925.

Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., et al. (2022). The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 43–54.

Schwenk, C. R. (1990). Effects of devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry on decision making: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47, 161–176.

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week we answer three pressing workplace dilemmas:
• My former nightmare boss now reports to me
• I think I've become the bottleneck in my own team
• Does culture really matter if people are doing a good job?

More from Danny Wareham
• Website: https://dannywareham.co.uk
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-wareham

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com

How you deliver news to your team has a huge impact on how they react. Whether it's bad news and you want to allay fears, or good news and you want everyone to be excited - the very best way to do this is with a story.

In this episode, professional storyteller and Moth host Corey Rosen explains why the way you deliver information matters more than the information itself, and how a single story once saved a company from the inside out. Corey should know: his career started at Industrial Light & Magic, where he accidentally erased Harrison Ford's ear from a Star Wars film, before he went on to work on Jurassic Park, the Star Wars prequels, and Jim Henson Productions.

Corey shares the moment his old boss, legendary stop-motion animator Phil Tippett, called an all-hands meeting everyone assumed meant layoffs, and instead told a story that changed the entire mood of the room. Al and Leanne dig into why bullet points make people forget, why stories make people remember, and exactly when a leader should reach for a story instead of just giving the answer.

Key Takeaways:

How You Deliver News Matters: The same information can create fear or buy-in depending on whether it's delivered as data or as a story.

Lead Change With the Why: Before rolling out something new, start with the story behind the decision, not the announcement itself, so people come with you instead of resisting.

Know When to Skip the Story: If someone just wants a status update, give them the status update. Save story for moments that need real understanding or buy-in.

Facts Fade, Stories Stick: Information delivered as a story activates more of the brain and is far more likely to be remembered and repeated.

Connect with Corey Rosen:
– Website: https://www.yourstorywelltold.com
– Book: A Story for Everything

Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week on This Week in Work, we explore AI for mental health, annual leave trends, and progressive workplace policies, plus dive into sleep research and take on your workplace surgery questions.

🔥 Stories covered

AI for Overthinkers

Psychologists in Berlin have launched Mindflex, a psychological AI designed around Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support the 73% of young adults who overthink. Is an AI companion reaching out to check on you a breakthrough or a threat to real human connection?

Source: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/939689893/berlin-psychologists-launch-mindflex-a-psychological-ai-for-the-73-percent-of-young-adults-who-overthink

The "Holiday Hoarding" Crisis

With half of UK workers failing to use their full holiday entitlement due to job insecurity and workload pressure, holiday hoarding is driving massive year-end burnout. We explore why leaders need to evaluate performance based on output rather than hours logged.

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/91589261/holiday-hoarding-is-a-workplace-crisis

Gail’s Menopause Action Plan

Ahead of upcoming UK employment legislation, Gail’s Bakery is breaking workplace taboos by introducing menopause action plans and 24/7 digital GP access for employees across its 200 locations.

Source: https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/gails-menopause-plan-djlnj706k

🧠 Truth or Lie: Can You Bank Sleep?

Can you deposit extra hours of sleep before a hectic week or long trip and withdraw them when you need them? Leanne breaks down the science—from 2009 US Army studies to new research challenging the piggy bank model.

Sleep research sources:

https://sleepdebtcalc.com/blog/can-you-bank-sleep-before-a-busy-week

https://sleepdebtcalc.com/blog/weekend-sleep-catchup

Klerman, E. B., Banks, S., & Roenneberg, T. (2025). Con: sleep is a credit card, not a piggy bank. SLEEPJ, 48(12), zsaf251.

Thompson, M. A., Jones, C. B., & Thornburg, C. J. (2017). Sleep banking. Mil Rev, 97(1), 91-97.

💬 Workplace Surgery

This week we answer three listener questions:

"I manage a fully remote team and I’m struggling with something I never really had in an office. I can see whether work gets delivered, but I can’t easily tell who’s overloaded, who’s coasting, or who might quietly be struggling. How do you get proper visibility of a remote team without turning into a micromanager?"

"I run a growing business and I’ve started noticing signs that some people are stretched. How do you work out whether burnout is an individual issue or a business design problem?"

"A guy on my team has been blocking out a couple of hours every afternoon with fake meetings because whenever he puts 'focus time' in his calendar, people book over it. My manager has now asked me which client he keeps meeting with. Do I tell my manager what’s going on?"

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com

– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support

UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk

US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org

Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au

Global helplines

https://findahelpline.com