Wired to Work | Neuroscience, Psychology & Leadership

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with organizational design and culture change expert Erin Stadler to challenge some of the assumptions we’ve built around workplace culture, growth and change.

Because organizations are always changing. People join. People leave. Teams grow. Products evolve. Markets shift. And every one of those changes affects how an organization actually works.

So instead of asking how ...

What happens when a brilliant employee is working in a system that fights the way their brain works?

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with entrepreneur and C-suite leader Remy Meraz for a candid conversation about neurodivergence, ADHD, dyslexia, masking, accountability, and what workplaces can do differently.

Remy was diagnosed with ADHD in her 30s and later discovered she was dyslexic; experiences that helpe...

Burnout. Thriving. Boundaries. Grief. Menopause.

These aren’t side conversations anymore. They’re shaping how people experience work — and what leaders need to understand about the humans inside their organizations.

In this special season finale of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman revisits five conversations that challenged assumptions, introduced new ideas, and raised questions that stuck with her long after the recordi...

HR is supposed to support everyone else.

But who is supporting HR?

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with clinical psychologist and Ultimate Resilience co-founder Dr. Jo Burrell to unpack some deeply concerning data about the mental health of HR professionals — and the workplace systems helping drive it.

Dr. Burrell’s research found extraordinarily high levels of burnout, anxiety and depression among...

What if creating a trauma-informed workplace actually led to higher performance—not lower expectations?

Many leaders worry that supporting employees through difficult circumstances means compromising accountability. Angela Crockwell, Executive Director of Thrive, argues the opposite.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Angela to unpack what trauma-informed leadership really means, why every workplace&m...

A stressful week is not the same as burnout.

Stress usually has an end point. Burnout develops when overwhelm becomes chronic, recovery disappears, and your brain and body no longer have the capacity to keep up with what is being asked of them.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with burnout and resilience coach Cherri Forsyth to explore how burnout develops, what it looks like before someone reaches a breaking ...

Most organizations invest heavily in workplace wellness and still end up with teams that feel flat, disengaged, and exhausted.

The problem may not be the programme. It may be what we're aiming for.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak to explore what actually helps people and teams thrive—and how leaders can measure it in real time.

They dis...

Most people are not at their best under pressure. Put a group of highly pressured people together, and unhealthy workplace behaviour can quickly become the norm.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman is joined by leadership coach Kate Franklin to explore why workplace relationships become so difficult—and why a challenging boss is not necessarily a bad person.

They discuss how stress changes the way we communicate, why...

Your brain is changing all the time, whether you realize it or not.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman breaks down one of the most important concepts in neuroscience: neuroplasticity. From habits and learning to performance and leadership, understanding how your brain forms and strengthens neural pathways can completely change the way you think about personal growth.

You’ll learn:

• Why “use it or lose it&rdq...

In this special season finale, Jess Chapman looks back at the five conversations that challenged her thinking the most - and the ideas that every leader, HR professional, and workplace designer should be paying attention to.

From the hidden burnout crisis facing HR professionals to what healthcare can teach us about designing better systems, this episode explores the themes that kept resurfacing all season: cognitive load, p...

Healthcare workers are asked to make high-stakes decisions in fast-moving, overloaded systems.

But what happens when the systems around them make the work even harder?

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Jennifer Woodland, experimental psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick, for a fascinating conversation about healthcare, burnout, cognitive load, technology, and the real-wor...

Meditation still gets dismissed as “woo-woo” in a lot of workplaces.

But the science tells a different story.

In this Wired to Work summer repost, Jess is joined by Tina Pomroy and Roz Mugford for a practical conversation about meditation, mindfulness, and why slowing down may be one of the most useful tools we have for modern work.

They explore how meditation can support focus, memory, emotional regulation, stress managem...

Most people aren’t afraid of feedback.

They’re afraid of the awkwardness, defensiveness, tension, and fallout that often comes with it.

In Part 2 of Jess Chapman’s feedback series, she shares the N.I.C.E.R. framework — a practical, brain-friendly approach for having difficult conversations without triggering defensiveness or damaging relationships.

You’ll learn:
• Why most feedback conversations fai...

Feedback is one of the most important tools a leader has. It’s also one of the most avoided.

In this replay episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman explores why feedback conversations feel so difficult, what neuroscience tells us about our reactions to feedback, and how leaders can create conversations that help people grow instead of triggering defensiveness.

You’ll learn:

• why feedback activates the brain’s thre...

Menopause is having a moment.

There’s more conversation, more awareness, and more information than ever before. But when it comes to the workplace, many leaders still don’t understand what menopause actually looks like—or how it can affect performance, wellbeing, and day-to-day work.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with counselor and researcher Tina Pomroy about the biological, psychological,...

Gen Z is entering the workforce with completely different expectations about stress, mental health, flexibility, and what a meaningful life should actually look like. And many workplaces aren’t ready for that shift.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, Provost and Vice-President Academic at Acadia University, for a fascinating conversation about how universities are preparing stude...

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with Dr. Jo Burrell, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Ultimate Resilience, about the mental health crisis facing HR professionals and why the people responsible for supporting everyone else at work often have too little support themselves.

They discuss why HR has become the emotional shock absorber of the workplace, how the profession has changed since COVID, and why burn...

Most leaders know trauma-informed practice matters. What’s harder is knowing what it actually looks like on a Tuesday morning, in a real workplace, with real people.

Angela Crockwell has been blazing that trail for years. As Executive Director of Thrive in St. John’s, an organization supporting people navigating exploitation, addiction, homelessness, and complex trauma, she’s built one of the most thoughtful workp...

Most organisations pour money into wellbeing programmes and still end up with teams that are flat, disengaged, and just getting through the week. The problem isn't the programme. It's the target.

Behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak has spent 30 years studying what actually makes people - and teams - thrive. His research shows the brain has a measurable mechanism for the value it gets from experiences, trackable second b...