Work And Wellbeing

Kindness at Work: Beyond the Buzzwords with Rob Briner

In this thought-provoking episode, we explore the complex concept of kindness at work with Rob Briner, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London and Associate Research Director at the Corporate Research Forum. Rob challenges assumptions about kindness in the workplace, questioning whether it’s truly the solution to wellbeing issues or simply another management buzzword. He argues that before we focus on concepts like kindness, we need to get the fundamentals right—clarity, resources, feedback, and fair treatment. This conversation will make you think differently about workplace wellbeing interventions and highlight the importance of evidence-based approaches in creating better work experiences. Key Insights * Kindness is highly contextual and means different things to different people. * Most workplace kindness happens in individual interactions, not through organisational policies. * Getting the fundamentals right (clarity, resources, feedback) often eliminates the need for additional “kindness initiatives.” * Kindness flows naturally from good management practices rather than being a separate activity. * Sometimes being “cruel to be kind” (giving difficult feedback) is more beneficial than surface-level niceness. About Our Guest Rob Briner is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London and Associate Research Director at the Corporate Research Forum. His work focuses on evidence-based approaches to workplace wellbeing and helping HR professionals become more effective in supporting their organisations. Connect with Rob: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-briner/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-briner/] Research Links Rob has kindly shared academic research on kindness at work: * Kindness and Happiness at Work: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44202-024-00276-6 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44202-024-00276-6] Curry, O. S., San Miguel, C., & Tunç, M. N. (2024). Kindness and happiness at work. Discover Psychology, 4(1), 167. * The Kindness Questionnaire (KQ): https://kindness.org/kq/ [https://kindness.org/kq/] * Kindness in Healthcare Context: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-025-12328-1 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-025-12328-1] Greco, A., González-Ortiz, L. G., Gabutti, L., & Lumera, D. (2025). What's the role of kindness in the healthcare context? A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 207. * Everyday Prosociality in the Workplace: https://escholarship.org/content/qt9t0213nd/qt9t0213nd.pdf [https://escholarship.org/content/qt9t0213nd/qt9t0213nd.pdf] Chancellor, J., Margolis, S., Jacobs Bao, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2018). Everyday prosociality in the workplace: The reinforcing benefits of giving, getting, and glimpsing. Emotion, 18(4), 507. * Understanding Kindness – A Moral Duty of HR Leaders: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1188&context=jvbl [https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1188&context=jvbl] Caldwell, C. (2017). Understanding kindness—A moral duty of human resource leaders. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 10(2), 8. Get in Touch We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode! If you have questions, suggestions, or ideas for future episodes, please: Email Eileen at eileen@rippleandco.co.uk [eileen@rippleandco.co.uk] LinkedIn: @eileendonnelly Website: www.rippleandco.com [http://www.rippleandco.com/] Listen to the Full Episode 🎧 Apple Podcast 🎵 Spotify 📺 YouTube

I Survived Suicide: Jeremy O'Dwyer's Story of Recovery and Purpose

In honour of National Suicide Prevention Week, Jeremy O'Dwyer, a Lived Experience Speaker and Trainer in Suicide and Mental Health Awareness, joins Eileen for a deeply personal and powerful conversation about suicide. Jeremy shares his own journey through loneliness, depression, and a suicide attempt, offering a rare and honest insight into the mind of someone experiencing profound emotional pain. He discusses the immense pressure of hiding his struggles for over 15 years due to stigma, the challenges of seeking help, and the critical moment he realised life was no longer worth living. Jeremy explains that suicide is often not about wanting to die, but about finding an escape from unbearable anguish. This episode explores the vital role workplaces can play in suicide prevention. Jeremy outlines how a supportive culture, line manager awareness, and the confidence to have difficult conversations could have made a significant difference in his own story. He provides clear, actionable advice for leaders on how to recognise the signs, listen without judgement, and signpost effectively. The conversation covers Jeremy's slow but steady recovery, the non-linear nature of mental health healing, and how he transformed his lived experience into life-saving work. This is an essential listen for anyone who wants to understand the reality of suicide and learn how to create a workplace where it's safe to speak up and seek help. Key Insights: • Suicide is often not about wanting to die, but about escaping unbearable pain  • Stigma is a major barrier that forces people to hide their struggles, often for years  • Workplaces have a critical role in prevention by fostering a culture of open conversation  • Leaders don't need to be experts, but they need the awareness and skills to ask, listen, and signpost  • Recovery is not linear; it involves progress and setbacks, and ongoing support is crucial Connect with Jeremy O'Dwyer Lived Experience Speaker and Trainer in Suicide and Mental Health Awareness LinkedIn @jeremyodwyer52b15225 Connect with Eileen  Email: eileen@rippleandco.com  LinkedIn: @eileen-donnelly Website: www.rippleandco.com ⚠️ IMPORTANT SUPPORT INFORMATION ⚠️ If any of the content in this conversation has affected you, please reach out for support: 🇬🇧 UK Support Services:  • Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7 from any phone)  • Crisis Text Line: Text SHOUT to 85258 (free, 24/7)  • Mind: 0300 123 3393 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm)  • Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): 0800 58 58 58 (5pm-midnight daily) 🇮🇪 Ireland Support Services:  • Samaritans Ireland: 116 123 (free, 24/7) • Pieta House: 1800 247 247 (free, 24/7)  • Aware: 1800 80 48 48 (Mon-Sun 10am-10pm)  💼 Workplace Support: • Ripple & Co: eileen@rippleandco.com  • Employee Assistance Programmes (check with your HR team) 🎧 Listen to the full podcast: 🍎 Apple Podcast 🎵 Spotify 📺 YouTube Subscribe to the Work and Wellbeing Podcast for more evidence-based workplace wellbeing insights. 🔔 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and ring the bell for more workplace wellbeing insights!

Are You Listening to Connect or Just to Respond? with Jenni Cole

Jenni Cole, Mental Health First Aid Instructor and wellbeing trainer, joins Eileen to explore the art of helpful communication in leadership. With a background in education and psychology, Jenni specialises in helping leaders move beyond transactional conversations to build genuine psychological safety. In this episode, Jenni reveals why so much workplace communication becomes purely goal-driven and how leaders can shift their focus to building trust and connection. She unpacks the crucial difference between listening to respond versus listening to connect, sharing how thoughtful communication can transform organisational change from a source of fear into an opportunity for growth. Jenni identifies common unhelpful phrases leaders use with good intentions - from the dismissive 'don't worry about that' to the disempowering 'I'll fix it' - and offers practical alternatives. She explains the 80/20 rule of communication, where body language and tone matter more than words, and provides actionable techniques for creating psychological safety proactively rather than reactively. The conversation covers empathy as a leadership tool, the importance of validating emotions, and how small pauses can transform workplace relationships. This episode is essential listening for any leader who wants to understand the profound impact of their communication style on team wellbeing and performance. Key Insights: * Listen to connect, not to respond * 80% of communication is what you do, not what you say * Psychological safety must be built proactively * Empathy is about connection, not having shared experiences * Small communication changes create lasting cultural transformation Connect with Jenni Cole Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Wellbeing and Parenting Trainer and Facilitator LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennicolemrt/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennicolemrt/] Connect with Eileen Email: eileen@rippleandco.com [eileen@rippleandco.com] LinkedIn: @eileendonnelly Website: www.rippleandco.com [http://www.rippleandco.com] 🎧Listen to the full podcast: 🍎 Apple Podcast 🎵 Spotify 📺YouTube Subscribe to the Work and Wellbeing Podcast for more evidence-based workplace wellbeing insights.

Leading by Example | Behavioural Safety with Mike Maxted

Mike Maxted is Risk and Compliance Manager at Interfloor, where he oversees health, safety, environment, and facilities for a company that manufactures carpet underlay sold across 70+ countries. With a background in chemistry and chemical engineering, Mike brings a unique perspective to workplace wellbeing by combining technical expertise with deep understanding of human factors. His journey demonstrates how focusing on psychological safety and "nudge factors" can transform workplace culture. Under Mike's leadership, Interfloor has achieved remarkable results: reducing their lost-time accident rate from 25-30 per million man hours to just 2.4 - approaching world-class status.  Mike's approach centres on making it easy for people to do the right thing, recognising positive behaviours, and creating environments where vulnerability and open communication are not just accepted but encouraged. His insights into supporting new managers, implementing mental health first aid programmes, and managing organisational change provide practical frameworks for any leader seeking to build psychologically safe workplaces. Key Insights and Takeaways  • New managers often struggle with the transition from technical expert to people leader, requiring specific support for human factors  • Mental health first aiders need ongoing support and the right to say "no" when they're not in the right headspace to help  • "Nudge factors" - making the right thing the easy thing - can dramatically improve safety and wellbeing outcomes  • Recognising positive behaviours is as important as addressing negative ones, yet most organisations lack processes for this  • Organisational change affects people at different rates; technical planning must include human impact considerations  • Absenteeism and accidents increase when people feel uncertain or unable to ask for help  • Small interventions, like a £5 breakfast recognition, can transform manager behaviour and create lasting cultural change • Measuring positive interactions and psychological safety remains a challenge but is essential for sustainable improvement Connect with Mike  LinkedIn: @mikemaxted [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-maxted-3b8ab317/] Connect with Eileen  Email: eileen@rippleandco.com [eileen@rippleandco.com]  LinkedIn: @eileendonnelly  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-donnelly/] Website: www.rippleandco.com [http://www.rippleandco.com] 🎧 Listen to the full podcast:  🍎⁠Apple Podcast⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/work-and-wellbeing/id1818571017] 🎵⁠Spotify⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/6mTCrxj73cWaRlnuIWvNZQ] ⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@rippleandcouk/videos]📺YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@rippleandcouk/videos] Subscribe to the Work and Wellbeing Podcast for more evidence-based workplace wellbeing insights.

The Research Says... On Compassion

For years, we've been told that empathy and compassion are "soft skills" - nice to have, but not essential for getting results. But what if the latest research is completely turning that assumption on its head? In this episode, Eileen explores the fascinating science behind compassionate leadership and why it's becoming a competitive advantage. Key Insights and Takeaways  • Leaders perceived as empathetic see teams that are nearly 5 times more likely to be innovative  • People with empathetic leaders are more than twice as likely to be engaged at work  • Global research across 52 countries shows people want hope, trust, compassion, and stability from leaders  • Empathy is hardwired into our brains - when we see others threatened, the same brain regions activate as when we're personally threatened  • People with empathetic leaders are 3 times more likely to say their workplace is inclusive  • Empathetic leadership directly impacts employee health and psychological wellbeing What You'll Discover The neuroscience behind why empathy is contagious, how vulnerability creates psychological safety, and why traditional command-and-control leadership is actively making workplace stress worse. Plus, practical strategies for developing cognitive and emotional empathy that drive measurable business results. Connect with Eileen Email: eileen@rippleandco.com [eileen@rippleandco.com] LinkedIn: @eileendonnelly Instagram: @rippleandcouk Listen to the Podcast: Spotify: Ripple and Co on Spotify YouTube: Ripple and Co on YouTube Apple Podcasts: Work & Wellbeing Podcast on Apple Subscribe to the Work and Wellbeing Podcast for more evidence-based workplace wellbeing insights.