178. Is Labour going full Trump? PLUS! Conspiracy theories and why supporting fathers is the key to equality - This Week in Work, 11th March 2025
Truth, Lies, and Work is an award-winning psychology podcast from the HubSpot Podcast Network, hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott.
Every Tuesday, we bring you This Week in Work—your go-to for workplace news, a hot take from an industry expert, and our world-famous workplace surgery, where Leanne answers your toughest work dilemmas.
🎙 Intro: What’s Coming Up This Week?
🔹 Is International Women’s Day focusing on the wrong thing?
🔹 Do you work in the civil service? Are you afraid of losing your job?
🔹 When ‘Bring Your Whole Self to Work’ goes too far…
🗞 News Roundup:
1️⃣ UK Civil Service Faces a ‘Trumpian’ Overhaul
- Labour plans to introduce performance-based pay, faster dismissals, and structural reforms to make the civil service more like the private sector.
- Critics argue this is just a backdoor attempt at mass job cuts, while supporters claim it’s necessary for efficiency.
- 📖 Full story: The Guardian
2️⃣ AI in the Workplace: Micromanagement or Productivity Boost?
- A new 27,000-person study from the University of Valencia reveals that AI-driven performance monitoring is:
- ✅ Increasing stress levels by 50%
- ✅ Reducing collaboration by 1.5x
- ✅ Raising workplace accidents by 70%
📖 Read the full research study: LinkedIn PDF Report
3️⃣ ‘Micro-Retirements’ Are Replacing Traditional Career Paths
- Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly choosing planned career breaks rather than waiting for traditional retirement.
- 📖 Read more: RTÉ Brainstorm
🔥 Hot Take of the Week: Rachel Vecht on Why Workplace Equality Starts With Supporting Dads
This week’s hot take comes from Rachel Vecht, founder of Educating Matters, who has spent nearly 30 years advising companies on how to better support working parents. But her focus isn’t just on flexibility for mums—she argues that real workplace equality starts with supporting fathers.
📢 Find more from Rachel Vecht:
- Follow Rachel Vecht on LinkedIn to engage in daily conversation about parenting and work-life integration
For organisations:
For individual parents:
💡 World-Famous Workplace Surgery:
📌 Q1: “Authentic Self” or Authentically Unhinged?
- A company encouraged employees to bring their whole selves to work—but one employee took this to mean sharing conspiracy theories in meetings.
📌 Q2: “Anonymous” Feedback or CEO Spy Mission?
- A company introduced an anonymous feedback system—but their CEO is obsessed with finding out who wrote what.
📌 Q3: AI-Powered Cheating or Workplace Innovation?
- A remote team is exceeding KPIs—but it turns out they’re using AI to do most of their work.
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General Support with Mental Health and Well-being
If you have been affected by any of the themes in this episode, or are currently struggling with your mental health, the following resources may be useful.
Mind website: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/
If you are feeling in distress or despair, including feelings of suicide, please do consider calling the Samaritans for free on 116 123 (UK) or email jo@samaritans.org (Rest of World)
Connect with Al and Leanne
Join the Conversation on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork/
Connect with Al on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/
Connect with Leanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
Email: Hello@truthliesandwork.com
Book a Call with Al & Leanne: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat