WorkMatters

About WorkMatters

Work Matters is a podcast for leaders who know that better results do not come from reorganizing boxes, adding technology, or asking people to work harder. They come from redesigning the work itself. Hosted by Thomas Bertels, work design and operating model expert and author of the award-winning business fable "Fixing Work", each episode explores how organizations can improve performance by rethinking how work gets done. Through conversations with leaders, researchers, and thinkers from around the world, Work Matters examines the real challenges facing organizations today: AI-enabled work, operating model redesign, workforce strategy, leadership, employee experience, productivity, governance, organizational change, and the future of management. The show goes beyond generic “future of work” commentary. It focuses on the practical questions leaders need to answer: How should work change when AI can perform tasks, make recommendations, or coordinate activity? Who owns the design of work across HR, IT, operations, and strategy? How do organizations create the capabilities needed to execute their strategy? Why do transformation efforts stall—and what makes change stick? How can leaders build organizations that are more effective, adaptable, and human? Whether you are a CEO, CHRO, operating leader, transformation executive, consultant, or manager trying to make work better, Work Matters offers practical ideas and informed perspectives for designing organizations that can perform in a changing world.

Publisher

Purpose Works Consulting

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 May 2021

Latest episode

29 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Why Happiness at Work Takes More Than a Positive Mindset | Tatiana Koval

   Can people be happy at work when things are difficult? Tatiana Koval believes they can—but happiness takes more than a positive attitude. In this episode of Work Matters, Thomas Bertels talks with Tatiana about sustainable happiness: the combination of everyday enjoyment and a deeper sense of meaning. Drawing on her background in marketing, communications, HR, and employer branding, she explores what individuals, managers, and organizations can do to create a better experience of work. We discuss practical leadership habits, from recognizing strengths to checking how people feel before a meeting. We also explore why happiness training cannot fix poorly designed work, how employees find meaning in everyday roles, and why global companies need to understand local cultures before importing practices and performance measures. In this episode, we discuss: What sustainable happiness means at work How optimism and resilience can be practiced The red pen versus green pen approach to leadership Why work design matters alongside mindset Meaning, job crafting, and the employer brand How culture changes what good work looks like Guest bio Tatiana Koval works in employee happiness, employer branding, and workplace culture. Her background spans marketing, PR, and HR, with more than 15 years in employer branding. She hosts the Happy@Work podcast and brings experience across different countries and cultures to her work with organizations. Connect with Tatiana LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kovaltatiana/ Homepage: https://kovaltatiana.com/en/ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@happinessinworkplace Episode chapters 00:00 Opening 01:40 Studying happiness at work 03:35 Happiness, engagement, and wellbeing 04:38 Enjoyment and meaning 08:16 Three levels of responsibility 09:04 Optimism and practical leadership habits 11:52 Why work design matters 14:49 Happiness and employer branding 15:50 Job crafting and meaningful work 18:52 Cultural differences in employee experience 22:24 Rethinking what counts as normal 24:48 Why performance measures need context

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Every AI Project Is a Zoning Variance | Dennis Glacken

   Host Thomas Bertels interviews Industry Professor Dennis Glacken about why most AI projects resemble zoning variances, hindering true disruption and offering only marginal gains.

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Do It Scared: Leading Through Uncertainty | Andrea Schwarz

   Host Thomas Bertels interviews executive coach Andrea Schwarz about leading through uncertainty and embracing fear to navigate the impact of AI on leadership.

Who has been a guest on WorkMatters

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dennis Glacken
• Andrea Schwarz
• Franz-Josef Tillmann
• Joe O’Connor
• Sergio Caredda

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

69

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60

Contact WorkMatters

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about WorkMatters