WhyWork Podcast

Season 09 Episode 07: Trading Up – Work in the Sex TradeWARNING: This episode refers to adult entertainment work domains – we advise listener discretion.Alan explores workplace claims involving an adult entertainment specialist, debating work arrangements and business entitlements. In doing so, he reveals some of the traits of a business contracting ‘done right.’ Work is work and the sex trade represents a legitimate industry and workplace with regular entitlements, says Trajce. Sara commends Alan, “I’m so glad you thought to discuss successes,” as she reflects on studying success and the value of simplicity as much as, if not more than, studying potential workplace failures and complexity. The session is interrupted by the caw of a lost Magpie down the hall from the recording studio.For more on the sex trade, listen to S02 E06: Mi Casa es su Casa. For more on High Reliability Organisations, listen to S05 E14: You are my HRO.For more on human factors, safety events, and the multiple fatalities at the theme park, Dreamworld Gold Coast, listen to S03 E06: Cha-cha-cha Thrill Rides.

Season 09 Episode 06: Skylarking yet Held to a Higher StandardWARNING: This episode refers to workplace bullying and harassment - we advise listener discretion.This episode explores the job duties that prevail even after you’ve clocked off – at least, in view of public expectation. The crew debate: Does your job outlive its tenure and should you be judged by it in your personal life?“Never have I ever!” exclaims Trajce, while Alan shares tales of some ‘nudie nut’ coppers and party time frivolity. He adds to these stories with a story about a member of the public gambling on the running speed proficiency of some police officers by testing whether they can catch him after smacking them on the derriere in a “Catch me if you can!” escapade. Sara adds to the stories with some of her own, like the entitled chef who smacked her butt during her waitressing days, and the workplace ‘crib room’ tests of her fortitude when she was the sole woman on site.For more on spanking in the workplace, refer to S04 E08: The Archaic Adage of Deserving a Good Spanking

Season 09 Episode 05: It is All Too Human: Why Prosecute?WARNING: This episode includes discussion on a serious workplace injury - we advise listener discretion.Degloved and prosecuted - Why pursue an employee whose judgment lapsed, and they are already in a world of pain from a gruesome workplace injury? The team are flummoxed by the idea of governmental prosecutions of individuals versus organisations, given their beliefs that workplace incidents reflect systemic imbalances and erosion factors.The podcasters, Alan, Trajce, and Sara review a case of a workers who was degloved by a meat grinding auger, a recreational indoor climbing pursuit that ended in disaster, and a school prank that could have caused more pain that the chargrilled science room wall it created. Sara refers to four types of human factors, debunking a common misconception that humans are simply error-prone mishaps waiting to upset productive work.

Season 09 Episode 04: The Moral Compass of the Law“The idea of a moral compass of the law assumes that we care about caring,” Sara provokes. “We cannot escape the moral compass of the law,” Trajce warns. Alan agrees, “Good laws reflect good moral judgment.”The podcasters explore contemporary, newsworthy topics related to moral injury. Sara describes moral injury, an occupational psychosocial hazard, as a cross-cutting hazard – one that crosscuts acute and cumulative exposure pathways. Listen to more on this to understand ethical challenges to one’s sense of integrity. The WhyWork Podcast crew, Alan, Trajce, and Sara explore hot topics: The Epstein files, P. Diddy and his workforce, and Covid healthcare reflections.“This is about you, not with you,” Alan remarks while laughing about Trajce’s wild band party days, He continues to jibe Trajce until Trajce admits that there may be a few stories of yesteryear to unpack.For more on psychosocial risk management, refer to PRAiSETM (Psychosocial Risk Assessment and Integrated Solutions for Employers) – Certified Assessor and Manager programs – and PRA, the new task-based Psychosocial Risk Analyser feature within the ErgoAnalyst software platform. These tools are helping teams visualise, quantify, qualify, and respond to both contextualised physical and psychosocial risks, merging technical rigour with empathy-driven co-design.

Season 09 Episode 03: "Top o' the morning to ya!"The WhyWork Podcast team marvel at a case when a seemingly simple salutation triggers a workplace dismissal. “Was it fair?’ Trajce begs the question. Alan asks about material misconduct and whether a belief related to the cause of an offence is reasonable justification for dismissal.This is a provocative episode, prompting deep thought on when play becomes concerning, and justifiable misconduct. Alan and Sara revel in the debate on sentiment, intention, and the impacts at work when you but your foot in your mouth. “Yes, like what about when you describe less-than-cute babies and you realise that was your workmate’s infant?” asks Sara, determining that some babies must ‘grow into’ their cuteness.Trajce is concerned about offenses escalating to termination too quickly. Sara rebuffs these ideas by suggesting that if you ringfence the frivolity around interpersonal relations in an extreme manner, you lose humour and bonding opportunities, yet agrees that personal offences are in the eye of the beholder.For more on this topic, refer to S08 E10: Darth Vader and the Handshake of Death