This Isn’t Working
Episodes
Have Employers Missed The Vibe Shift? (Ft. Brendan O'Neill)
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Can you feel it? Change is happening — culturally, politically, and inside the workplace. Orthodoxies that shaped the last decade of daily life are ...
Is HR Holding Back British Business? (Ft. Akua Reindorf, Octavius Black, Neil Morrison, Steve Harrison)
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
HR is under fire – and we need to talk about why. This blistering episode explores what's gone wrong, who's to blame – and how mistakes can be fix...
How Should Employers Handle Activist Staff? (Ft. Jaco van Zyl)
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the workplace becomes a moral battleground, a group therapy session, or a political rally? And how should disruptive employees be de...
Pronouns v Profit: Are UK Firms Poised To Dump DEI? (Ft. Patrik Schumacher & Paul Sweeney)
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has the 'vibe shift' reached UK companies - and who's to blame for the 'inclusion' practices that turned out to be such bad business? We have brand ...
Who Will Win The War On 'Woke' Workplaces? (Ft. Eric Kaufmann)
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who is still pushing 'woke' at work - and why is it so hard to challenge? This entertaining episode (recorded at the Battle of Ideas on 19 October 202...
Inside The Reform Conference: What Do Employers Need To Know? (Ft. Heeral Gudka & Levi Pay)
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can Left-leaning HR teams face the truth – that many of their colleagues support Reform UK? Or will employees with a St George's Cross sticker on th...
How Did We End Up With A Case Like Sandie Peggie? (Ft. Heeral Gudka)
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have standards collapsed across HR? Why are so many HR professionals confused about what their job is – and who is to blame for the mess? Some shock...
Who's Ignoring The Supreme Court Ruling - And Why? (Ft. Helen Joyce & Inji Duducu)
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trans women are not women, said the UK Supreme Court on 16 April – so why have some employers failed to bring their policies and practices in line w...
Is It 'Woke' To Care About Poor Kids? (Ft. Prof Dr Ger Graus)
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Would scrapping DEI really mean a 'return to meritocracy' - or is there no such thing? What will happen if employers, educators and politicians stop a...
Inside The Stonewall Conference: What Didn't Work? (Ft. Levi Pay)
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Was this a business event - or a spiritual gathering? What did Stonewall say about the Supreme Court ruling? And what valuable content did employers g...
What Is A Woman (At Work)? HR Director Faces Maya Forstater (Ft. Neil Morrison)
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s official: self-ID was never lawful, and too many UK employers have dangerous policies in place. Why did we need the Supreme Court to tell us th...
Can Men Be Lesbians At Work? (Ft. Kellie-Jay Keen)
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As employers grapple with the Supreme Court ruling, we ask: how did ‘trans inclusion’ go so wrong at work? Have HR teams been silencing women with...
Are Activist CEOs Out Of Control? (Ft. Paul Sweeney)
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why are so many big brands insulting and confusing their customers and employees with divisive political statements – and will anyone grab the wheel...
Does DEI Have A Misogyny Problem? (Ft. Gareth Roberts)
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you noticed that many of the loudest voices in DEI are men’s – and some get really angry when they’re challenged by women? Same here! So le...
Did DEI Dump Disability For 'Pride And Parties'? (Ft. George Fielding)
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are neurodiversity, mental health and 'LGBT' winning the war for employers' attention - while disability has been sidelined? Has the 'lived experience...
'Trans Inclusion' At Work: Time For A New Approach? (Ft. Stella O'Malley)
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In trying to make our workplaces ‘inclusive’ to people who identify as trans and non-binary, have employers excluded and alienated too many others...
Advertising: What Isn't Working? (Ft. Steve Harrison)
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
DID HR CRASH JAGUAR? Has advertising lost touch with consumers – and what role have its 'people professionals' played? If a strongly left-leaning, m...
The Civil Service: What Isn't Working? (Ft. Pamela Dow)
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you ask whether Human Resources has lost the plot in places – including around DEI? Pamela Dow – Chief Operating Officer at thin...
DEI in distress! Will the industry survive Trump's attack? (Ft. Heeral Gudka)
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We knew Donald Trump hated ‘DEI nonsense’ – but did we expect him to torch it on Day 1 of his new term in the White House? And what does this me...
Is HR Under Attack - And Is The CIPD Having An Identity Crisis? (Ft. Levi Pay)
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ho ho ho – it’s time for a festive ding-dong! As HR teams were heading towards a well-earned Christmas break, two stinging critiques of our indust...
Are We All Racist - Or Is DEI Weird About Ethnicity? (Ft. James Esses)
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On both sides of the Atlantic, we’ve faced a reckoning on race in the last five years. But have employers’ efforts to address racial discriminatio...
Sure Your Staff Like DEI? A Truth Bomb For Employers (Ft. James Esses)
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is fuelling the backlash against DEI – and are some of your staff secretly loving it? Have employers overestimated their staff’s enthusiasm f...
Is DEI built on dodgy data? (Ft. Alex Edmans)
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is diversity, equity and inclusion really good for business – or did we conflate it with being ‘the right thing to do’? Has the HR industry been...
'LGBT': What Are Employers Getting Wrong? (Ft. Kate Barker)
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Employers - we need to talk about pronouns. And ‘LGBT’. And Pride. And Stonewall. And staff networks. And diversity training that only gives one s...
Fixing the DEI Damage: What Will Stay - And Who Will Go? (Ft. Neil Morrison)
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How can employers fix the damage caused by bad DEI? And are DEI professionals part of the solution - or the problem? In the third and final part of ou...
Who's To Blame For The DEI Lawsuits? An HR Director Reveals The Truth (Ft. Neil Morrison)
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who is to blame for the DEI lawsuits? Finally, we have some answers! Here is the second slice of our three-part interview with Neil Morrison, group HR...
Is DEI Doomed? An HR Director Speaks! (Ft. Neil Morrison)
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this ground-breaking episode, a sensible, experienced, centrist HR director busts multiple taboos - answering questions about how and why DEI has g...
Is Stonewall Crumbling - And How Should Employers React?
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
IS STONEWALL CRUMBLING – AND HOW SHOULD EMPLOYERS REACT? As any smart HR professional who's been paying attention will know, suddenly everyone is ta...
'Kemi's' DEI Report: Exciting Or Embarrasing For Employers?
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
UNFLATTERING BUT POSITIVE – AND ESSENTIAL READING FOR EVERY HR PROFESSIONAL IN THE UK That’s Julie and Tanya's verdict on the new Inclusion at Wor...
Why Are Unpaid Internships Still Happening?
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are still too many unpaid internships around, but there are fewer than there were - and that's partly thanks to Tanya de Grunwald. In this episo...
International Women's Day: What Isn't Working?
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Love it or loathe it, International Women's Day has become an essential date when every employer must... do what, exactly? And why? Does 8 March need ...
Is DEI About To DIE?
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why did Elon Musk say that 'DEI must DIE' - and how many people share his view? If there are signs that a backlash is brewing against diversity, equit...