Truth, Lies and Work

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we dive into viral interview etiquette, ultra-fast AI tools for work triage, workplace beekeeping, the science of first impressions, and answer your burning workplace surgery questions. 🚀 Special Announcement: Cornerstone Launch Before we jump into the news, Al and Leanne share an exciting update about the launch of Cornerstone! Be sure to register your interest and join the waitlist via our Tally form: • Register for Cornerstone: https://tally.so/r/BzDXKY 🔥 Stories covered 1. The "Iced Coffee War of 2026": Gen Z interview etiquette or arbitrary rules? A viral TikTok from recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen sparks an international debate: is bringing an iced coffee to a job interview unprofessional, or does rejecting a candidate over a beverage highlight everything wrong with modern hiring? We break down the generational dynamics, power imbalances in hiring, and the psychological concept of "deflection of anxiety". • Source: CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/25/iced-coffee-job-interview.html) • TikTok original: @caitlinrecruiter (https://www.tiktok.com/@caitlinrecruiter/video/7686166507759455501) 2. Meet Jev: The ultra-fast "System 1" AI classifier Unlike ChatGPT or Claude, Jev isn't a conversational chatbot or code generator. Co-created by a co-inventor of ChatGPT, Jev is an API-based tool designed specifically for fast, structured decision-making, triage, and noise reduction—handling inbox management, survey filtering, and real-time meeting prompts. • Learn more & nerd out: Book a call with Al! 3. Is beekeeping the new employee wellbeing trend? Forget webinars and gym memberships—employers are installing hives and sending staff to apiaries for "experiential depth" and connection to nature. We discuss whether hands-on wellbeing actually helps, or if it risks becoming another form of "forced fun" masking deeper workload issues. • Source: HR Magazine (https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/is-beekeeping-the-latest-employee-wellbeing-trend) 🧠 Truth or Lie: Does it really take seven seconds to make a first impression? From Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink to leadership experts, the idea of the seven-second rule is widely accepted. We examine the psychological research on speed versus accuracy—revealing how facial judgements occur in as little as 34 milliseconds, but why true accuracy actually takes about 60 seconds. 💬 Workplace Surgery This week, we answer three listener questions: • Replacing a legendary manager: How to step into a GM role and establish authority when taking over from a leader who has been there for decades. • Mission vs. Manipulation: Where is the line between inspiring employees with purpose and using company mission to guilt them into overworking? • Targeting low engagement: When one team in a survey scores drastically lower than the rest, is the manager automatically to blame? 📬 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 🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. In this episode, we are joined by employment solicitor advocate Roy Magara, founder of Magara Law, to uncover what every founder, manager, and HR leader needs to know about avoiding costly employment tribunals, building proper HR architecture, and handling workplace grievances before they blow up. 🔥 Topics covered in this episode Prevention over cure: Why an employee handbook sitting on SharePoint is useless if nobody actually follows it when something goes wrong. Contracts, policies and handbooks: Where founders should start when setting up their legal architecture as the team grows. The first hour of a problem: Roy’s three-step framework (Preserve, Assess, Plan) to protect the business and safeguard documentation when a grievance is raised. The drama of fabricated evidence: A wild real-life tribunal case where fake disciplinary minutes were exposed by a secret recording. In-house resolution vs. calling in the lawyers: When you can resolve issues internally and the exact moment you need to pick up the phone to an employment lawyer. Emerging employment risks: The rise of neurodiversity-related discrimination claims, upcoming legislative threshold changes, and AI interview tools gone wrong. Tribunal vs. mediation vs. conciliation: The differences between these processes and why early workplace mediation can save you tens of thousands of pounds. Guest Links Roy Magara (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/roymagara/ Magara Law: https://www.magaralaw.co.uk/ 📬 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 Bill Yost joins Al and Leanne to dive into Meta’s management U-turn, whether purpose truly makes employees work harder, and how to navigate the modern job market and workplace surveys. 🔥 Stories covered Meta asks employees to become managers again Meta spent the past year stripping out middle management and pushing flatter, leaner teams. Now, it's asking some Applied AI employees to step back into management roles. • Meta reassigned ~7,000 employees into its Applied AI division and is now asking former managers to opt back into management. • The move reflects a tension between pushing ultra-lean, AI-driven org structures and the reality that coordination, coaching, and leadership are still needed. • Is AI making managers obsolete, or does it make human judgment and leadership even more crucial? Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-asks-some-ai-employees-to-become-managers-again-2026-9 The Great Compliance: Workers back down in 2026 Recent survey data shows a shifting power dynamic between employers and workers. • Only 7% of employees say they would quit over a mandatory RTO policy, down from 51% in 2025. • 73% expect employers to expand surveillance tools to enforce accountability. • As control tightens and job market fears linger, what happens to long-term trust and engagement? Trolling AI interviewers Candidate Graham Zip went viral on TikTok after introducing himself as "Chick Bongo" during an automated AI job screen, proving human humor and creativity are alive and well. 🧠 Truth or Lie: Does purpose make us work harder? We put the popular claim that "purpose drives performance" to the test. • The For case: Meta-analyses show meaningful work drives positive attitudes, organizational citizenship behaviors (going the extra mile), and overall performance. • The Against case: Deep purpose can lead to the "dark side of meaningful work," where employers exploit worker commitment, leading to high burnout, compassion fatigue, and existential labor. • The Verdict: True — with a warning! Purpose boosts effort, but it cannot replace fair pay, security, and well-being safeguards. 💬 Workplace Surgery with Bill Yost • Are engagement surveys actually anonymous, and can honest feedback bite you? • Has getting a tech interview completely changed, and what works now? • Does posting consistently on LinkedIn still matter? Connect with Bill Yost LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/ Website: https://billyost.com/ Cookies Worth Sharon: https://cookiesworthsharon.com/ 📬 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 🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. Are personality tests like MBTI actually helping your organisation, or are they just workplace horoscopes with better branding? In this Thursday episode, chartered occupational psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott sit down with personality psychologist Nikita Mikhailov, co-author of Personality: A User's Guide, to uncover the truth about psychometrics at work. From the dark history of early personality testing to why popular tools like MBTI refuse to die, Nikita shares why most off-the-shelf assessments only measure your own self-narrative, and how to actually use behavioural insights to build better teams. Topics covered: The "Self-Awareness Cake" Why personality consists of multiple layers: what you like, what you do, how you react under stress, and who you aspire to be. The Dark History & Origins of Psychometrics How early testing was tied to eugenics, and how Myers-Briggs (MBTI) percolated through corporate America despite being 80+ years old. Utilitarian Validity Why "feral constructs" like MBTI and DISC remain popular even when academic evidence is thin—and the real value they bring to team dynamic conversations. Psychopathy & Context at Work Why a "psychopath" in your office might just be a nice person in a cutthroat, highly incentivized environment. Rethinking Personality in Hiring Why using off-the-shelf personality tests to hire salespeople can backfire, and why you should hire for the specific business problem instead. Three Rules for Personality at Work Embracing complementary strengths, leading with curiosity over assumptions, and understanding that real change takes time. Guest Links Nikita Mikhailov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitamikhailov Goodness of Psychology Ltd: https://goodnessofpsychology.com/ Psychometrics Market (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@PsychometricsMarket Juliette Alban-Metcalfe Episode: https://truthliesandwork.com/guests/juliette-alban-metcalfe/ 📬 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, Chartered Occupational AND Coaching Psychologist Nicole Williams joins Al and Leanne to look at 1980s jobs replaced by technology, discuss nudging out low performers, analyse the psychology of workplace friendships, and solve tricky workplace surgery dilemmas! 🔥 Stories covered AI, automation, and 11 jobs that vanished since the 1980s Are you worried AI is coming for your job, or is it just the next step in technological innovation? Inspired by Matthew Moore's article in HELLO!, Leanne tests Al and Nicole on 11 jobs that were common in the 1980s but have almost completely disappeared—from elevator operators to paste-up artists and audio typists. Source: https://www.hellomagazine.com/news/922725/everyday-jobs-1980s-entirely-vanished/ The 5-step "nudge": Is quiet firing performing employees smart strategy or lazy leadership? Is the hardest person to fire an employee doing their absolute best? A viral post on X suggests a 5-step process to nudge out workers instead of having tough conversations. The team breaks down whether this is a clever management approach or a sneaky way to avoid accountability. 🧠 Truth or Lie: Are workplace friendships actually a good idea? Do close-knit teams perform better, or do work friendships turn into toxic cliques? Nicole Williams dives into the psychological research to reveal whether having a work bestie helps or hurts team dynamics. References: • Grossman, R., Nolan, K., Rosch, Z., Mazer, D., & Salas, E. (2022). The team cohesion-performance relationship: A meta-analysis exploring measurement approaches and the changing team landscape. Organizational Psychology Review, 12(2), 181–238. • Methot, J. R., LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & Christian, J. S. (2016). Are workplace friendships a mixed blessing? Exploring tradeoffs of multiplex relationships and their associations with job performance. Personnel Psychology, 69(2), 311–355. • Ren, H., Gray, B., & Harrison, D. A. (2015). Triggering faultline effects in teams: The importance of bridging friendship ties and breaching animosity ties. Organization Science, 26(2), 390–404. • Zhang, Y., & Chen, H. (2023). How surface-level and deep-level faultlines influence team performance through subgroup formation and team interaction quality: A meta-analytic review. Management and Organization Review, 19, 876–909. 💬 Workplace Surgery This week the team answers two pressingly uncomfortable questions: • What are the biggest red flags of a toxic workplace? • Why does my colleague seem to hate me for no reason? ⭐ Guest Host Nicole Williams (Chartered Occupational & Coaching Psychologist) • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolewilliamsorganisationalpsychology/ • Bio Link: https://bio.link/nwop 📬 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 🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.