Workplaces across the board can, at times, trigger fear responses from workers. Here, we reflect on how incorporating play into not only the processes but also the mindset of the workforce can both bolster and maintain optimal levels of psychological safety for staff.

In today's episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Culture Hero founder Dara Simkin about how and why play in the workplace means something entirely different from having a ping-pong table on the floor, why the incorporation of play is so essential in the current climate, how high-stakes workplaces can trigger fear responses, and the consequences of this.

Simkin also delves into the compounding effects of stress both inside and outside work, the impact of constantly feeling exhausted, how play can help, the problems to be overcome, how HR can better push for the incorporation of play, how HR can support team leaders in driving change, and the need to remain human in a shifting landscape.

This week on The HR Leader Podcast, in a special episode produced in partnership with LinkedIn, we explore how professionals and leaders can make sense of how working life is evolving and better support their staff in building skills, confidence, and agency in the age of AI.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LinkedIn Chief Economic Opportunity Officer Aneesh Raman about his varied and storied career, what LinkedIn is observing in the market right now that the HR function must be on top of, the need for HR to feel empowered about ongoing change rather than overwhelmed, and what it looks like for HR to strike the right balance between maintaining the human aspect of work while rolling with the punches in an AI-driven landscape.

Raman also delves into HR's agency in driving change, the volume of skills that are shifting or becoming redundant and what that means for workers, taking a more skills-based approach to work, what businesses are getting right in AI adoption and utilisation, undervalued human skills, and how HR can better manage any sense of overwhelm.

To learn more about LinkedIn, click here. To learn about LinkedIn's new book, Open to Work, click here.

In this week's The Legal Brief, a special episode produced in partnership with national workplace law firm Kingston Reid, we explore how psychosocial safety is now central to how Australian regulators assess organisational competence and leadership, and what this means specifically for those within the HR function.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner Liam Fraser about how psychosocial safety has evolved into a core governance risk, with organisational restructures, change programs and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence now all considered high-risk psychosocial events. This evolution now brings to light the need for organisations, particularly HR, to be proactive about ongoing risk management in 2026 and beyond.

Fraser also delves into what work health and safety (WHS) regulators are most heavily scrutinising, the key questions that HR professionals need to be asking in 2026 to keep up with best practice, and why businesses that properly embed psychosocial safety into governance frameworks will ultimately prove to be more resilient, trusted, and high performing in the long term.

To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.