Tough topics. Real people.

Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO & Co-founder of Flexa Careers, talks about the challenges of living & working with a long-term health condition, what flexible working really means, and why companies shouldn’t just allow flexibility—but truly enable it.

Maite Otero, Chief of Staff at Superlist & host of this podcast, shares her experience of balancing work with becoming a carer for her mum, how companies can show candidates they really care about staff wellbeing at the interview stage, and why it’s important to do therapy—before something traumatic happens.

Lia Boyland, Co-founder of Talent Shake, shares how she builds more compassionate company cultures by being open about periods at work, how she approaches the challenges of motherhood as a working parent, and how a tragic experience with a friend helped her keep her life on track.

Stuart Thorburn, People Experience Lead at Learnerbly, shares how witnessing an accident as a police officer strained his mental health, how he came to terms with PTSD, and his advice for self-confessed blokes uncertain about seeking support.

Claire Samson, former People Director at Bumble, talks about going through divorce while working in HR, why asking people how best to support them builds trust, and how leaders can strengthen company culture by communicating with employees in the right way.

Nick Jonsson, Co-founder of Executives’ Global Network, discusses the normalised drinking culture in high-pressure industries, why his drive to succeed led to loneliness & alcoholism, and how he’s now using his experience to help leaders open up.

Emma Flaxman, Wellbeing & Engagement Partner at PHD, shares how her sister’s mental health crisis impacted her own perspective of mental health, and why she’s made it her mission to bring proper wellbeing support to the advertising industry.

Brad Jayakody, VP of Engineering at Pleo, shares how his experience as a mental health responder at Burning Man helps him lead with honesty & empathy, and why knowing your limits is key to protecting your own wellbeing.

Aga Bajer, Founder of CultureBrained, discusses how talking with a coach helped her understand her panic attacks, and why a sense of belonging is the key to unlocking creativity and innovation.

Indra’s relationship was faltering. As anxiety clouded his thoughts, he fell behind on workplace targets and felt the previous love for his role slipping away. He was about to experience his first panic attack—right in the middle of a sales call.

As a fresh arrival on the Barcelona startup scene, Tim Cakir felt energised by his new role as Head of Marketing. But the pressure of hustle culture would lead to his first panic attack—and his boss rushing him to hospital.

In the 1990s, most people didn’t understand mental health, let alone discuss it. So even though Nicole began having panic attacks as a teenager, no one outside her family knew what she was going through—until she decided to tell her manager.

Godard Abel, CEO & Co-founder of G2, reflects on how his early career was shrouded by a dark cloud of fear and anxiety—and how discovering the framework of conscious leadership transformed his approach to work, his mental health, and his life.

Peter Mann, Founder and CEO at Oransi, shares his experience of a late autism diagnosis, how it’s helped his work stand out, and how greater workplace equity helps everyone—not just neurodivergent people.

Laura Skinner, Chief People Officer at Tempo, shares why founders should embrace hiring employees with greater knowledge than them, and what it was like fighting for company culture at a business ‘waiting for a lawsuit to happen’.

Fred Destin, venture capitalist and Founder of Stride.VC, shares how startup culture has glamorised grind, why he’s aiming to be more present in every interaction, and why empathy and communication aren’t just soft skills for managers—they’re essential.

Mel Murphy, People Lead at birdie, shares her experience of PTSD & postnatal depression, why lockdown was one of the best things that happened to her, and how companies can properly support people taking parental leave.

Ryan Bonnici, CMO at Gympass, shares how innovative psychedelic treatments have transformed his mental health, and how his openness has encouraged a proactive approach to wellbeing among his team.

Tamara Quintela, People & Experience Specialist at Toqio, shares how therapy helped her unpick the traumatic memories of her childhood, and how she now encourages her team to be open about their experiences and seek support.

Claudia Ceke, Head of People & Culture at Tailify, shares her experience of escaping workaholism and why you don’t always need an answer for someone who’s struggling—you just need to make space for them.

James Ski, Founder and CEO of Sales Confidence, shares his experience of managing bipolar disorder alongside his career, challenges misconceptions of the condition, and explains how his HR Lead knew just how to offer the right support when he was struggling.

Laura Holcombe, Senior Talent Partner at Faculty, shares how recruiters can create a psychologically safe interview process, how she’s managed her own experiences of imposter syndrome, and why The Wolf of Wall Street should never be used as a template for workplace culture.

Garry Senff, Head of HR at FirstGroup, shares his experience of how a bold career change helped him realise that he was gay—and how coming out at 40 impacted his relationships with his family, his kids, and his job.

Jeff Riseley, Founder of Sales Health Alliance, shares his experiences of dopamine addiction, why working in Sales is an extremely vulnerable experience, and why ‘mental health’ doesn’t equal mental illness.

In this special, leaders and employees share how crying at work has changed them, how stereotypes still impact our perspectives, what managers should do when it happens—and what they definitely should not do.

Hannah Gibson, People Operations Lead at Flatfair, shares how a career change revived her from burnout, how therapy has helped look after others as well as herself, and why anxiety could even be her greatest strength.

Matt Daley, Co-founder and CME at Circulate, shares how childhood trauma and difficult parental relationships shaped his thoughts on mental wellbeing, how he’s learned from his own mistakes when it comes to supporting employees, and why company culture is about more than an office pool table.

Angela Guedes, Head of Customer Success at Claap, shares the difficulties of balancing work with parenthood, how therapy gave her an outlet for throwaway thoughts, and why, at the end of the day, it’s people to people—not B2B.

Hannah Meredith, Health & Wellbeing Partner at MVF, explains how finally confronting her life-long anxiety opened doors for her both personally & professionally, and why more companies should hire someone dedicated to employee wellbeing full-time.

Pete Cooper, Co-founder & CEO of running app Coopah, tells us how undiagnosed OCD led him to a dark place after losing his mum, why re-discovering his love for running changed everything, and how the first lad down the pub could be the one struggling the most.

Oliva’s very own Head of Talent Acquisition, Bridie Slater, reveals how being honest about her personal struggles transformed her relationship with her team, and how she’s still wrestling with her inner imposter.

Ariel Camus, Founder & CEO of Microverse, tells us why automating tough decisions with tech can protect your team's mental health, and how to empathise with your teammates’ mental health struggles as a leader—even if you haven’t experienced them yourself.

Maite is joined by Jane Hatton, Founder & CEO of Evenbreak—the UK’s only job site run exclusively by and for disabled people. You'll hear how becoming disabled inspired Jane to found the company after a period of deep depression, and some concrete ways companies can be truly inclusive for people living with disabilities—both physical and mental.

Let’s be honest: working remotely gets a bit lonely sometimes. So for Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, we set up a series of 20-minute chats between remote workers who'd never met before. The result? A meaningful exploration of loneliness—through the shared experiences of strangers.

What’s it actually like to live and work in a country at war? And how can HR people and colleagues be there for teammates who’ve been impacted? We spoke to HR people with teammates in Ukraine—as well as people still living & working in the country—to find answer these questions.

Isabelle O’Keeffe, Workplace Manager at Free Now, reveals how company leadership battled to win back employee trust after mass lay-offs, and how the experience of pregnancy loss affected her life at work.

Christophe Pasquier, Co-founder & CEO of Slite, ponders whether happiness can truly be part of the job for CEOs, and discusses how managers can approach tough conversations & feedback.

April Hoffbauer, VP of People at Maze, reveals how grieving her grandmother has impacted her thoughts about mental health at work, why it’s OK to cry on Zoom sometimes, and how Maze deals with the unique challenge of supporting wellbeing across a fully remote team.

HR and leadership consultant, Jack Villiers, discusses how people can embrace their vulnerability to lead more effectively, and how panic attacks & health anxiety have changed him as a person—in work, and in life.

Maria Campbell, Griffin's COO, reveals how taking a month off work for mental health gave her a new perspective on her anxiety & depression, and the massive impact this has had on the way she builds companies.

Lauren Gomes, Head of People Experience at Learnerbly, tells us how a coach helped her deal with her inner imposter when her biggest fear became reality, and why Learnerbly is focusing more on mental health as the company switches to 100% remote working.

Hannah Francis, Head of People Experience at Revolut, talks about why it’s OK to slow down sometimes in a fast-moving company, and the small army of mental health volunteers supporting their colleagues at Revolut.

A conversation about the time a manager saved Will Beaton, Head of People at MyTutor, from burnout, and the concrete actions companies can take if they want to get serious about mental health.‍

Abbas Jeraj, Senior People Engagement Partner at Careem, opens up about a shocking event he witnessed first-hand, and how this experience birthed his passion for making a positive impact on people's mental health at work.

David Darmanin, Founder & Chairman of Hotjar, reveals how steering the company through Covid pushed him to breaking point, and discusses the big decision he faced as a result that would change Hotjar forever.

Marie Szuts, VP of People at Figma, tells Maite about the solo desert quest got her thinking about mental health, and how two colleagues and an espresso machine revitalised company culture at Figma.

Maite chats with Jonathan Widawski, Co-founder & CEO at Maze, about the identity crisis founders face, and what it really means to lead by example on mental health when your company is growing fast—for better, and for worse.

A zero-bullshit conversation with Jessica Zwaan, COO at Whereby, on 'non-parental' culture, and why it's better to be direct with teammates when they annoy you.

Javier Suarez, Co-founder & CEO at Oliva, opens up about the dark place he found himself in while leading his previous company, and how this experience led to the birth of Oliva.