338. Are workplace friendships actually a good idea? PLUS! Quiet firing, 80s jobs and Xmas rotas, with Nicole Williams C.Psychol

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.