With Dr Libby Sander and Matt Webber
The Floorplan is a thorough and sometimes funny exploration of our attempts to navigate the modern workplace and the future of work. Steven Spielberg says he wakes up so excited that he can’t eat breakfast. But for most of us, work is far less fulfilling. The way we design jobs and where we expect people to perform can be dull at best and dehumanizing at worst.
Season 3
Episode 1: Big ideas, little execution
Guest: Bond University Adjunct Lecturer in Entrepreneurship Ben Hayden Smith
Dr Libby and Matt ponder why modern organisations are almost always big on the idea of innovation but often really small on implementing the change required for it.
Episode 2: Finding talent, keeping talent
Guest: Holly Brailsford
Dr Libby and Matt discuss what talent-hunters and jobseekers may have learned from the pandemic.
Episode 3: The cost of hangovers, workplace incentives, and personality hires
Libby and Matt deliver a quick whip around the organisational behaviour stories and issues making headlines.
Episode 4: Thinking laterally about managing conflict
Guest: Dr Vicki Webster
A leadership expert returns to the podcast to encourage us to think differently about workplace conflict. Also, do stand-up desks help or hinder workplace health? A new UK study might shift the furniture...
“I believe the future of work and the workplace needs to evolve to meet our future not our past.”
Season 2
Episode 1: What's in store for work in 2024, and the right to disconnect
Dr Libby and Matt look at the merits of legalising a right to switch off from work and ponder the issues most likely to emerge in the next twelve months.
Episode 2: The value of thriving at work
Guest: Professor Gretchen Spreitzer
Dr Libby and Matt speak to Professor Gretchen Spreitzer about the value of thriving at work, and explore why we might not be thriving in our lives.
Episode 3: What will make the four-day week a reality?
Guest: Dr Dale Whelehan
Dr Libby and Matt ponder why we seem to be stuck on the idea of a five-day working week. Their special guest is Dr. Dale Whelehan, CEO of 4 Day Week Global.
Episode 4: What does the ideal workplace look like?
Guest: Ben Hamley
This episode unlocks organisational mysteries. We also chat with work futurist Ben Hamley from real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle.
Episode 5: Pseudo-productivity, and the problem with busyness
Freshly returned from a Bond University Business School Japan Study Tour, Dr Libby reports on dream Tokyo workspaces occupied by clothing giant Uniqlo and real estate group JLL. This episode also explores 'pseudo-productivity' and busyness.
Episode 6: Zombie leadership, and the problems with leadership development
Guest: Professor Alex Haslam
Immortalized in tropes of terrible leader behaviours in TV shows like The Office, unfortunately, zombie leadership is alive and well in organisations.
Episode 7: Can you plot your way to the perfect job?
Guest: Lola Berry
Dr Libby and Matt reflect on their unusual career trajectories as they consider the method in searching for an ideal working life. They are joined by author Lola Berry who talks resilience, happiness, and challenging yourself.
Episode 8: Neurodivergence in the workplace
Guest: Chloé de Ruffray
Dr Libby and Matt discuss neurodivergence in the workplace. They gain insight from psychologist and speaker Ella Cotterell who was diagnosed with autism at 26. Ella is also a Somatic Trauma Educator and Feminine Embodiment practitioner.
Season 1
Episode 1: Can we really work from anywhere?
Guest: Alice Drew
Dr Libby and Matt ponder the covid pandemic as 'the great workplace disruptor'. Libby also talks to Alice Drew about her role as Head of Place Futures at Lendlease.
Episode 2: Cult cultures
Guest: Priyal Sodha
Dr Libby and Matt take a look at the hit-and-miss of cult workplaces. Think workplace mediation spaces, Michelin-star cafes, puppy daycare, and slippery slides. Libby talks to management consultant Priyal Sodha who lifts the lid on the culture of overwork.
Episode 3: The dark side of organisations
Guest: Vicki Webster
Dr Libby and Matt look into the uglier side of organisational behaviour. Joining them is organisational psychologist Dr Vicki Webster
Episode 4: Teams in the new world of work
Guest: Professor Markus Baer
Dr Libby and Matt look at the research on "teamwork making the dream work". They are joined by organisational behaviourist Professor Markus Baer from Washington University.
Episode 5: How much clutter is too much?
Dr Libby and Matt talk us through the financial, mental, and physical cost of a messy office. They also explore what the research says about less mess.
Episode 6: Redefining networking
Guest: Julia Palmer
In this episode, Dr Libby and Matt talk about the research on networking. Dr Libby chats with relational expert Julia Palmer about simple skills to improve our relationships.
Episode 7: The problem with meetings, and how to make them better
Meetings are highly unpopular, often demotivating, usually inefficient, and definitely costly. Here's the science on how we can make them better.
Episode 8: How work is changing, and the drivers of happiness
Guest: Chloé de Ruffray
In the final episode of Season 1, Dr Libby and Matt discuss 2023's recurrent organisational behavioural themes. They also have a stab at predicting the issues that will dominate in 2024.
