Truth, Lies and Work

A bad hire costs a small business close to £14,000. Yet when recruitment goes wrong, business owners rarely blame technology. Instead, they blame rushed decisions, poor judgement, and a sudden flood of generic, AI-generated applications. So, does A.I. actually improve recruitment, or does it just make the same hiring mistakes faster? In this LIVE Thursday episode, hosts Al Elliott and Leanne Elliott sit down with assessment science experts Kate Young and Ben Hawkes, co-founders of The Hiring Science Studio. Together, they break down how small businesses can safely navigate AI in hiring, spot hidden algorithmic bias, and protect their bottom line. What We Cover The Real Cost of Bad Hires Why small business owners rush interviews and end up paying the ultimate financial price. The AI Application Flood How candidates use ChatGPT to polish CVs, and what business owners should actually screen for instead. Where AI Earns Its Place Sensible, low-risk uses of AI that save time without sacrificing human quality. 5 To-Dos & 3 To-Never-Dos The ultimate rules for using AI in small business recruitment. Auditing Your Process How to perform a quick, realistic check on your existing hiring tools without needing an expensive compliance team. Guests Kate Young Co-founder of The Hiring Science Studio. Former Head of People Science at Sapia.ai, with over 20 years of experience designing hiring processes for FTSE 100 companies and UK government departments. Website: https://www.thehiringsciencestudio.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-young-1359483/ Ben Hawkes Co-founder of The Hiring Science Studio and founder of TAPnet. Expert in recruitment governance and transforming global talent assessment. Website: https://www.thehiringsciencestudio.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhawkes/ Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, guest host Danny Wareham (organisational psychologist and author of Constellation Leadership: Reimagined for a Connected Age) joins Al and Leanne Elliott to break down the science of work, debunk popular workplace myths, and solve real listener dilemmas. 🔥 Stories covered Technostress and the Digital Mindfulness Scale Leanne shares new research from the University of Nottingham revealing the concept of "technostress" and how the Digital Mindfulness Scale measures intention, attention, and attitude to protect employees from exhaustion and burnout. Source: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/mindful-use-of-digital-technology-could-reduce-workplace-burnout-study-finds Executive Instagram: How much should leaders share? Al explores the line between being human and being the boss on social media. Using Kelvin Kao’s article on the dangers of oversharing and the concept of "discerned disclosure," we look at how to build real trust with your team without dumping unprocessed stress on them. Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/voices/oversharing-boss-workplace-boundary-leadership-trust-social-media-6318726 🧠 Truth or Lie: Does returning to office actually improve collaboration? Danny Wareham dives into the research behind Return-To-Office pushes from companies like Amazon, Disney, and John Lewis. Does forcing people back to the desk genuinely drive teamwork, or is collaboration just an excuse for management control? Research mentioned:Brucks, M. S., & Levav, J. (2022). Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation. Nature, 605, 108–112. Bloom, N., Han, R., & Liang, J. (2024). Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance. Nature, 630, 920–925. Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., et al. (2022). The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 43–54. Schwenk, C. R. (1990). Effects of devil's advocacy and dialectical inquiry on decision making: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47, 161–176. 💬 Workplace Surgery This week we answer three pressing workplace dilemmas: • My former nightmare boss now reports to me • I think I've become the bottleneck in my own team • Does culture really matter if people are doing a good job? More from Danny Wareham • Website: https://dannywareham.co.uk • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-wareham 📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com

How you deliver news to your team has a huge impact on how they react. Whether it's bad news and you want to allay fears, or good news and you want everyone to be excited - the very best way to do this is with a story. In this episode, professional storyteller and Moth host Corey Rosen explains why the way you deliver information matters more than the information itself, and how a single story once saved a company from the inside out. Corey should know: his career started at Industrial Light & Magic, where he accidentally erased Harrison Ford's ear from a Star Wars film, before he went on to work on Jurassic Park, the Star Wars prequels, and Jim Henson Productions. Corey shares the moment his old boss, legendary stop-motion animator Phil Tippett, called an all-hands meeting everyone assumed meant layoffs, and instead told a story that changed the entire mood of the room. Al and Leanne dig into why bullet points make people forget, why stories make people remember, and exactly when a leader should reach for a story instead of just giving the answer. Key Takeaways: How You Deliver News Matters: The same information can create fear or buy-in depending on whether it's delivered as data or as a story. Lead Change With the Why: Before rolling out something new, start with the story behind the decision, not the announcement itself, so people come with you instead of resisting. Know When to Skip the Story: If someone just wants a status update, give them the status update. Save story for moments that need real understanding or buy-in. Facts Fade, Stories Stick: Information delivered as a story activates more of the brain and is far more likely to be remembered and repeated. Connect with Corey Rosen: – Website: https://www.yourstorywelltold.com – Book: A Story for Everything Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week on This Week in Work, we explore AI for mental health, annual leave trends, and progressive workplace policies, plus dive into sleep research and take on your workplace surgery questions. 🔥 Stories covered AI for Overthinkers Psychologists in Berlin have launched Mindflex, a psychological AI designed around Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support the 73% of young adults who overthink. Is an AI companion reaching out to check on you a breakthrough or a threat to real human connection? Source: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/939689893/berlin-psychologists-launch-mindflex-a-psychological-ai-for-the-73-percent-of-young-adults-who-overthink The "Holiday Hoarding" Crisis With half of UK workers failing to use their full holiday entitlement due to job insecurity and workload pressure, holiday hoarding is driving massive year-end burnout. We explore why leaders need to evaluate performance based on output rather than hours logged. Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/91589261/holiday-hoarding-is-a-workplace-crisis Gail’s Menopause Action Plan Ahead of upcoming UK employment legislation, Gail’s Bakery is breaking workplace taboos by introducing menopause action plans and 24/7 digital GP access for employees across its 200 locations. Source: https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/gails-menopause-plan-djlnj706k 🧠 Truth or Lie: Can You Bank Sleep? Can you deposit extra hours of sleep before a hectic week or long trip and withdraw them when you need them? Leanne breaks down the science—from 2009 US Army studies to new research challenging the piggy bank model. Sleep research sources: https://sleepdebtcalc.com/blog/can-you-bank-sleep-before-a-busy-week https://sleepdebtcalc.com/blog/weekend-sleep-catchup Klerman, E. B., Banks, S., & Roenneberg, T. (2025). Con: sleep is a credit card, not a piggy bank. SLEEPJ, 48(12), zsaf251. Thompson, M. A., Jones, C. B., & Thornburg, C. J. (2017). Sleep banking. Mil Rev, 97(1), 91-97. 💬 Workplace Surgery This week we answer three listener questions: "I manage a fully remote team and I’m struggling with something I never really had in an office. I can see whether work gets delivered, but I can’t easily tell who’s overloaded, who’s coasting, or who might quietly be struggling. How do you get proper visibility of a remote team without turning into a micromanager?" "I run a growing business and I’ve started noticing signs that some people are stretched. How do you work out whether burnout is an individual issue or a business design problem?" "A guy on my team has been blocking out a couple of hours every afternoon with fake meetings because whenever he puts 'focus time' in his calendar, people book over it. My manager has now asked me which client he keeps meeting with. Do I tell my manager what’s going on?" 📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com

Can you really go through the rest of your life without ever getting into another fight or argument? n this episode, trial lawyer turned professional peacemaker Doug Noll explains how "affect labeling" and nervous system leadership can de-escalate even the most explosive conflict - from maximum-security prisons to corporate boardrooms. Doug shares the fascinating neuroscience behind why conventional active listening fails, how to calm a dysregulated brain in 90 seconds, and why empathy is a critical leadership capability rather than a "soft skill." Key Takeaways: Nervous System Leadership: Conflicts worsen when leaders fail to realize they are managing dysregulated threat responses rather than rational actors. The 90-Second Rule: Naming someone's underlying emotions directly ("You are angry," "You feel disrespected") activates the prefrontal cortex and calms negative emotional centers in under 90 seconds. Avoid "I" Statements & Questions: Asking questions or using "I" statements forces an escalated person to use their prefrontal cortex, which is temporarily offline, leading to further frustration. The Three Core Questions: Every nervous system constantly asks: Am I safe? Can I trust you? Do I matter to you? Connect with Doug Noll: – Website: https://dougnoll.com – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougnoll – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougnoll – X (Twitter): https://x.com/dougnoll – TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dougnoll – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DouglasENoll Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com