Ep 170: Thriving with Psychological Flexibility

In this latest episode of our 'Thriving at Work' series, Richard takes a fresh look at the concept of self-care. While it may conjure up images of bubble baths and cups or tea, there's a lot more to it than that. Richard outlines some quality markers to bear in mind when selecting self-care activities and flags some common pitfalls to avoid.  Full show notes for this episode can be found at worklifepsych.com/podcast/172  Thanks for listening! 

In this episode, which is part of our Thriving at Work series, Richard is joined by two experts in ostracism at work, to discuss what it is, how it impacts employees and what we can do about it. Dr. Ian Tyndall and Dr. Daniel Waldeck discuss their research and why they got involved in this specific topic. Unlike the loneliness experience we discussed back in Ep 135 with Dr. Sarah Wright, where people aren't feeling enough connection with others, ostracism centres of feelings and beliefs about being shut out from a team, group or community and involves uncertainty about the reason. Like loneliness, it can have a signitive negative impact on our wellbeing and our experience of work.  Richard, Ian and Dan look at the ostracism phenomenon through the lens of ACT and psychological flexibility, exploring some of the ways building psychological fleixbility can help employees overcome the experience.  Do get in touch with your questions and comment. And big thanks to Ian and Dan for their time.  You can find full show notes for this episode at https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/171   Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Richard is joined once again by Ross McIntosh for a discussion about how increasing our psychological flexibility can improve our wellbeing.  This episode is part of our 'Thriving at Work' series, which focuses on wellbeing at work and what individuals and organisations can do to improve it. Richard and Ross look at what we mean by wellbeing, and explore how increasing psychological flexibility can make a positive contribution to our physical, psychological and social wellbeing.  As ever, you can get in touch with us about any aspect of this episode or the concepts we discussed via [email protected] Thanks for listening!    RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE Find out more about 'Thriving at Work' and the resources that accompany the series here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thrivingatwork  Find out about our new psychological flexibility course 'Thriving with Psychological Flexibility' here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thrivingwithpsychflex  Book your place at our upcoming wellbeing and evidence-based practice workshop in London on October 24th here: https://worklifepsych.cademy.co.uk/wherestheevidence  Check out our Psychological Flexibility hub here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility  Read Richard's recent blog post about the importance of self-care here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/self-care-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/  Check out our resources on loneliness at work here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/connectandthrive 

In this episode, part of our Thriving at Work initiative, Richard is joined by Dr. Rachael Skews for a discussion about employees with chronic health conditions. They look at what constitutes a chronic health condition, while employees may be reticent to speak up about their condition or ask for assistance, and the ways that organisations can unintentionally exclude people from the workplace due to inflexibility about how work is organised. They then explore how we can look at the experience of these employees through the lens of Psychological Flexibility. This includes the role of acceptance, clarity of values and taking action in the direction of what really matters. Do get in touch with your comments and questions about this key workplace topic. You can email us at 'podcast at worklifepsych dot com'. Thanks for listening! Resources for this episode Our Thriving at Work initiative: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thrivingatwork Rachael's online profile: https://www.worklifepsych.com/about-us/dr-rachael-skews/ Our Psychological Flexibility hub: https://www.worklifepsych.com/psychologicalflexibility Ep 130: ACT in practice with Dr. Rachael Skews: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/130/ Ep 162: Coaching psychology - theory, practice and bots! https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/162/ Ep 101: Psychological safety: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/ep-101-psychological-safety/ Ep 102: Building psychological safety: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/102/

In this episode of the podcast, the first in our new 'Thriving at Work series, Richard is joined by menopause researcher Kara Daly for a discussion about how menopause impacts women at work.  It's a big topic, affecting so many people in the workforce, yet very often neglected. From myths and misconceptions, to the impact menopause has on women's identity and careers, through to the simple things organisations and managers can do to make the experience easier for women. FIND OUT MORE Our 'Thriving at Work' campaign: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thrivingatwork Kara's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-lee-daly/ Kara’s research: https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-07-2023-2562 Menopause workplace training: https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk/ Menopause workplace training: https://www.womenofacertainstage.com/ Free course to understand the basics of menopause: https://womenofacertainstage.lpages.co/menopause-the-basics/  

In this episode, Richard is joined by Antonina Pereira, Professor of Neuropsychology and Neuroscience at the University of Chichester. They explore Antonina's research into prospective memory - our ability to remember to do things in future - and how it relates to our wellbeing, our productivity and effectiveness at work, and discuss some simple ways to improve our ability to 'remember to remember'.  Full show notes for this episode can be found at https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/167  Thanks for listening!

I'm recording this episode just before I turn on my 'out of office' and head to Spain for my annual review. In this solo episode, I outline my reasons for taking an annual retreat each year, why you don't need to leave the country to do this, but why regular reflection is a great idea.  Find the show notes for this episode at https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/166 Thanks for listening!

In this final episode of our series on Psychological Flexibility, Richard and Ross reflect on what it was like to create the episodes, share listener feedback and answer some more of your questions.  You can find all the resources for this series at https://www.worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility and some more detailed show notes at https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/165  Thanks for listening! 

In this, the latest episode in our series on Psychological Flexibility, Richard is one again joined by fellow psychologist Ross McIntosh. They explore the importance of noticing the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves - which we collectively call our self-concept - and holding these stories lightly.  Full shownotes for this episode can be found at https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/164 Thanks for listening!

Richard is joined by fellow psychologist Sarah McLellan for a discussion about the role of organisational culture and the importance of shaping it intentionally.  For full show notes for this episode, visit our website at worklifepsych.com/podcast/163 Thanks for listening!