{"podcast":{"title":"HR Leader Podcast Network","slug":"hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686","podcast_index_feed_id":5582686,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/422012/rss","website_url":"https://www.hrleader.com.au/","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/1/f/9/e/1f9e54091e4fa1635f2e77a3093c12a1/Pod_Network.jpg","author":"HR Leader","episode_count":240,"summary":"The HR Leader Podcast Network connects you to the brightest and best in HR and people leadership, exploring new ideas so you can deliver more value for your business. These conversations will influence, shape and lead change, overcoming HR's top concerns and roadblocks. Tune in for the thinking that will shape tomorrow's workplaces, inspiring and enabling you to engage with your people in new and innovative ways. For more, visit hrleader.com.au","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686"},"episode":{"title":"Rethinking happiness in the hybrid workplace","slug":"rethinking-happiness-in-the-hybrid-workplace","published_at":"2025-12-03T01:59:24+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686/rethinking-happiness-in-the-hybrid-workplace","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686","url":"https://56e115ab-dec6-42c4-a3d9-980c72d09b77.libsyn.com/rethinking-happiness-in-the-hybrid-workplace","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/56e115ab-dec6-42c4-a3d9-980c72d09b77/HRL_Dr_Barbara_Plester_251124_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=3507062","summary":"Feelings of fun and happiness play a significant role in offsetting the stressors and rigours of working life. Here, an Auckland-based academic dives into the need for businesses to get creative in ensuring staff engagement and the critical role that HR must play in doing so. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with University of Auckland Business School Associate Professor Barbara Plester about her research into humour and fun in the workplace and why it's of such interest to her, the extent to which the pandemic shifted workers' levels of happiness, workers' level of connection post-COVID-19, and how critical creativity has become in keeping workers engaged. Plester also delves into how the pandemic has correlated with an uptick in worker happiness, whether it had led to greater productivity, movement away from standardised approaches to wellbeing, the place for worker autonomy, employer limitations on flexibility, practical steps that employers should be taking to ensure optimal levels of employee happiness and striking the right balance with business objectives, and the role of HR managers in doing so.","meta_description":"Feelings of fun and happiness play a significant role in offsetting the stressors and rigours of working life. Here, an Auckland-based academic dives into…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1470,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686/episodes/rethinking-happiness-in-the-hybrid-workplace/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hr-leader-podcast-network-5582686/rethinking-happiness-in-the-hybrid-workplace.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}