I help HR leaders create healthier, happier, and more productive workforces by replacing outdated EAPs with evidence-based wellbeing strategies that deliver real results.

Since 2011, I’ve worked across industries from mining to pharmaceuticals to early learning - designing programs for tens of thousands of employees that improve wellbeing, boost engagement, and cut turnover.

If you want to work with me, here are the ways you can:

1. Replace your EAP with our Wellbeing Enrichment Program - guaranteed higher engagement, value, and results than any EAP on the market (yes, even that one). 

2. Hire me as a consultant: To help you figure out where to start, what to do and how to do it when it comes to workplace wellbeing.

3. Access our Sustainable High Performance program - a 12-week, value-packed program that teaches your entire organisation how to perform at a high level without burning out. 

4. Get your very own Workplace Wellbeing Specialist: To upskill your people in health and wellbeing (through regular individual consultations) and work with you to optimise your work environment to make it easier for your people to be healthy and well.

5. Book me as a speaker: This is my favourite way to engage people and give them a whole lot of value in a short space of time. Our talks and workshops focus on practical knowledge and skills your people can use to improve their wellbeing and performance. 

6. Get some wellbeing initiatives: Want to book a massage therapist? Skin checks? Health checks? Meditation sessions? Group yoga? Group training? Healthy cooking demonstrations? Mental Health First Aid training? Regular First Aid training? Easy. We do it all so just ask.

If any of these look like something you could use, send me a DM.

Phil Wolffe

Kinex Health turns 8 this week!!

From our (very) humble beginnings to where we are now, it’s been a boot-strappingly wild ride.

Our very first contract was worth $600 for 6 weeks of boot camp classes in the city, which I thought was the greatest thing ever. 

That feeling has never gone away, and I still think every time someone trusts us to deliver for their people, it’s the greatest thing ever.

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way.

To our staff, our contractors, our customers (some of whom have been with us from the very start), our network and everyone I’ve ever asked a dumb question, thank you for everything, and I think you’re the greatest thing ever.

No cake this year.

No faff.

We’ll raise a quick toast this weekend, check out the view from where we’ve made it to so far, then turn around, put our boots to the rock face and keep climbing.

Big things are coming in 2026 and we can’t wait to share them with you all!

Replacing EAP with a Better Way | Workplace Wellbeing Specialist | Building Sustainable High Performance in Teams

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11 underrated skills of the people everyone wants to work with:

1. They figure s**t out

2. They have a good sense of humour

3. They take accountability for the whole, not just their part

4. They're genuinely enthusiastic

5. They're easy to get along with

6. They're kind

7. They have a good energy (don't pretend you don't know what I mean)

8. They own their mistakes quickly

9. They share credit freely

10. They have good taste in music

11. They don't show baby pictures unless asked (or they at least limit it to one)


I know there's probably more but these are the big ones.

"Most people wait until their mental health is struggling before they start working on their mental fitness."

Last week I had the opportunity to present a session on Resilient and Resourceful Minds for Tzannes. 

It wasn't a session based on theory alone (because life doesn't happen in books). 

It was the practical side of mental health and mental fitness.

Both of those things aren't just something you have, but something you build, practise, and strengthen over time.

We explored things like:
 • How to recognise when your thinking is working against you (and change it)
 • Tools to reset your mental state during stressful moments
 • Habits that build mental fitness over time
 • How to get your discomfort reps in

Mental health is often framed around coping when things go wrong.

But mental fitness is about capability.

The ability to adapt, think clearly under pressure, and respond constructively to challenges (like when holding a 3 minute plank or wall-sit and having to think quickly AND identify emotions without losing your s**t 😂 ). 

It's always encouraging to see people taking the time out of a very busy schedule to learn something new. 

And even better when they're genuinely interested in strengthening their mental wellbeing and resilience.

Thank you all for having me, and I look forward to the next one!

In 10 days we're off to the Regional, Rural and Remote Early Childhood Forum in Coffs Harbour.

Our work this year is taking us all around the country, bringing welbeing and professional development to centres outside the major cities.

This is a fantastic opportunity to meet, speak to, and learn from the people we'll hopefully be working with, and we can't wait.

If you're attending, send me a DM, and make sure you come say hi to Ciara (pictured back right) and myself (pictured back left) because we'd love to talk to you!

Does anyone still use hashtags on LinkedIn?

I might be late to this party but it seems that since I've stopped using them, my content has gone further.

I still reach the same audience, just more of them.

Are hashtags dead?

Can they be revived so I can search relevant content?

Did this happen ages ago and I'm just noticing now?

Is this a Boomer question or can I safely retain my Elder Millennial status?

I’m currently waiting on some news that could transform our business (and eventually, the industry) overnight. 

I’m an optimist for sure, which means I often get disappointed when things don’t pan out the way I imagine.

I don’t know if you’re the same, but that’s a tough life. 

So I’ve had to start using tools that allow me to keep my optimism intact but that help me turn bad news into something more useful.

The Stoics called it premeditatio malorum (premeditation of evils).
I like to think of it as gaming out disappointment.

I imagine the worst realistic outcome has already happened.

I imagine how I’ll feel and how I’ll react.

Then I imagine what I will do next, and how I can turn it into something useful.

I find that whenever I use it, I instantly feel less anxious, because I’ve already experienced the “pain” and I have a plan for what’s next. 

Having said that, I would much prefer this news goes our way, but there’s a strong chance it won’t.

If it doesn’t, I know I’ll be alright, because I already was when I gamed it out, so I will be if it happens.

How do you deal with disappointment?

P.S. that’s a real question because I’ll need all the tools I can get if this one goes to s**t.

I think we might be overcomplicating our ways of working.

Before we add another framework, policy, or process, we should try this simple test:

If everyone just followed the rules, would they be:

1. Safe (physically and psychologically)

2. Productive (for the organisation)

3. Prosperous (for themselves and their families)

If someone has to go above and beyond just to achieve all three, the system is flawed.

Because in a well designed system, doing your job properly should already mean:

1. You stay safe

2. You create value

3. You build a decent life

So when you review your systems and processes, ask:

Is this safe?
Is this good for us?
Is this good for them?

If the answer is yes to all three, you are on the right track.

If the answer is no to any one of them, it needs work.

We can’t nail this every time, but we can use it as a guiding principle 

Too simple?

Happy to overcomplicate it (pending good reasoning in the comments).

Workplace Wellbeing Specialist | Building Sustainable High Performance in Teams | Replacing EAP with a Better Way

We tend to get a lot of calls from October onwards from people and teams who are struggling.

But burnout isn’t really an end-of-year problem.

Just putting on a jacket doesn’t help much after you’ve already got hypothermia.

It’s quicker, easier, and a lot less risky to stay warm than it is to get warm again.

Burnout works the same way.

It’s far easier to prevent than it is to recover from once it hits.

The teams that finish the year strong usually didn’t start thinking about recovery in October.

They started months earlier.

So if things feel fine right now, that’s the best time to build the habits that keep them that way, while you still feel like you don't need them.

If you do that, you might never need them.

‘Lazy’ is a lazy adjective. 

I’ve not met many truly lazy people. 

I’ve met lots who are disconnected or unmotivated.

Plenty who feel excluded or misunderstood.

A tonne who lack confidence or competence or both.

Heaps who are low on energy.

A whole swath who are in the wrong job or industry. 

Multitudes who have become disillusioned. 

Quite a few who lack purpose or direction.

Even more who don’t know why what they do matters.

A whole stack who have never had the right leadership or training. 

And a whole lot who have pushed as hard as they can for years and feel like they can’t do it anymore.

I’ve met all these people, but not many that I would truly call 'lazy'.

How about you?

I wish just once the things I wanted were either on THIS side of the s**t I don't want to do, or on the other side of the s**t I DO want to do 🙄

But once again, this statement has annoyed me in how true it has proven to be.

The latest iteration of this has been in building with Claude Code.

I put it off and put it off, but last Friday I started working with it, and it's changed everything.

I'm now brimming with ideas of all the things I can use it for, and how we can integrate it into our business.

It'll make things faster, easier, cheaper, and much less frustrating than trying to explain my ideas to even more frustrated team members. 

Believe me when I say, if I can do it, you can do it.

So, once again, the things I wanted were on the other side of the s**t I didn't want to do.

What are some of those things for you?

What's X???

For all my people people out there, I have a question...

If you could design the perfect Employee Assistance Program, what would it include?

We all know EAP needs (ahem) some work.

So, what kind of work?

What have you seen that you would love to incorporate?

What does yours have that's great?

What doesn't it have that you wish it did?

How could EAPs better support wellbeing? 

This is not just for HR, EX, P&C, people leaders, and wellbeing leads.

It's for anyone who's ever looked at an EAP and thought, “I wish our EAP did X."

Well, what’s X?

Imagine you need to build a boat. 

You have a willing and capable team and you start issuing instructions.

Team 1, you cut down the trees.

Team 2, you shape the trees into planks.

Team 3, you nail the planks together.

Team 4, you find some pitch to make it waterproof.

Team 5, you find some fabric and stitch together a sail.

The teams go about their work - maybe they have questions, maybe they don’t.

You spend your time running around telling them what to do and how to do it and solving problems as they arise.

After a time, the work is complete.

Then you launch the boat.

What happens?

(Open the article to read on).

View newsletter: Workplace Wellbeing Specialist

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and

Open article: On Purpose - The Task vs the Sea by Phil Wolffe • 4 min read

Building the world's first HR for HR app making HR easier, together. Human Experience + Artificial Intelligence. Ask. Learn. Validate. Come say hi 😄

We’re pioneering a new era of HR - where professionals have the time, tools, and support to lead. 

Mak by Humaneer is your AI-powered productivity partner, purpose-built to reduce admin and unlock strategic impact. Built by HR, for HR, we combine intelligent automation with the power of a global community so no one has to go it alone. This is how we deliver on our promise: less admin, more impact.

Kimberly Burns

I’ve been a bit quiet on here lately. 

It’s felt strange to open LinkedIn and talk about work, AI, HR strategy, or anything business related when so much is happening in the world. I found myself not knowing what to say, and then just saying nothing at all.

Yesterday I was talking about that in a group chat, about how weird it feels to post when everything feels uncertain or heavy, and someone said something that made me rethink how I am (or am not) showing up. 

She said, “People need community now more than ever.”

And she’s right.

It’s possible to hold two thoughts at once. To care deeply about what’s happening in the world, and also recognise that people still need support at work. That HR professionals are still showing up every day, supporting leaders, employees, families, organisations, often carrying uncertainty themselves.

When times feel unstable, connection matters more, not less.

We built humaneer to be a space where HR people don’t have to hold everything alone. A place to think out loud, to sense check, to feel understood by people who know the weight of the role.

If you’ve been feeling a bit disconnected, unsure, or just wanting to be around people who get it, this is your invitation to connect. 

Community isn’t a distraction from what’s happening in the world. It’s how we stay steady inside it.

If you’d like to join us, my DMs are open. If you are already part of the humaneer community reach out if you need anything. 

And lastly, a huge thank you to Ruth Kent who reminded me that community matters 💛

We’re pioneering a new era of HR - where professionals have the time, tools, and support to lead. HR matchmaker- reach out and say hi!

There are a lot of webinars right now about “AI tools for HR.”

This isn’t one of them.

We’re not talking about prompts.
We’re not running through a list of tools.
And we’re definitely not doing a “Top 5 AI apps” demo.

This conversation is about something much bigger:
What happens to the HR role when AI starts doing a lot of the work we’ve traditionally owned?

AI is already drafting policies.
Screening CVs.
Summarising investigations.
Writing job descriptions.

And it’s improving fast.

So the conversion we want to have isn’t what tools should HR be using.

It’s:
What skills should HR professionals be building now?
What parts of our work become more valuable?
And how do we position ourselves for the next version of the profession?

Next week I’m hosting a conversation with Helena Turpin (GoFIGR) about exactly that.

Helena Turpin has mapped AI’s impact task-by-task across thousands of roles, including HR. She can show where automation is happening and where human capability is becoming more valuable than ever.

Between that research and what we’re seeing through the humaneer community and building Mak, there are some very clear signals emerging about where HR is heading.

We’ll talk about:
• Which HR tasks are most exposed to automation
• Which capabilities are quietly becoming premium
• What skills HR professionals should be developing now
• How to future-proof your career and your team

📅 Wednesday 18 March
 ⏰ 12–1pm AEST

Register here:

Open article: The HR Skills That Survive AI · Zoom · Luma by luma.com

The HR Skills That Survive AI · Zoom · Luma

I keep seeing posts about AI wiping out entire jobs, so I’ve been trying to understand what’s actually changing underneath all the noise.

I went down a rabbit hole this week reading an economics paper about how AI changes work. Not jobs, the actual shape of the work we do. Yes, an economics paper 🤯

The argument was that work isn’t really a role, it’s a series of steps, and AI rarely replaces the whole thing at once. It starts by doing a few steps reliably, then everything around those steps reorganises. The change spreads through the workflow rather than replacing the person.

It made me think about what we see every day in HR.

The value of AI isn’t just the moment you ask something. It’s what happens next.

A complaint lands, a performance issue pops up, someone resigns, or a leader asks a slightly uncomfortable question. From that moment you don’t just need help with the question, you need support through the process.

You interpret what’s happening, decide what matters, plan the conversation, run it, write it up, and make sure future-you can defend it later. Right now that sequence is mostly manual and scattered across tools. Sometimes systems, sometimes email, sometimes notes, and very often the most trusted system of all, pen and paper.

Each step affects the next one. The confidence you bring into the conversation depends on the advice. The documentation depends on how the meeting went. The risk sits across the whole situation, not in any single moment.

What I’m noticing is general AI is genuinely helpful inside individual moments. But HR work isn’t a moment, it’s continuity. It’s holding context from the first question all the way through to the record.

That’s where we’ve been seeing the biggest value with Mak. Not just helping HR move faster, but providing consistency across the process so the outcome holds together.

The impact of AI isn’t job removal, it’s job evolution and closing the gaps inside the work itself.

I'm always open to chat about this stuff, if it interests you DM me 🙂

humaneer

I was scrolling LinkedIn this morning (as you do) and my friend Myriam Michel shared this visual. 

Each dot represents roughly 3.2 million people. The vast majority of the grid is grey, which represents the 6.8 billion people who have never used AI. The green section shows around 1.3 billion people using free AI chatbots. Then at the very bottom, the thin yellow and red strips, barely visible in comparison, represent the small fraction who are paying for AI or actively building with it.  

We talk about AI like it’s everywhere. In HR, we talk about it at conferences, in webinars, in strategy sessions. But when you look at the data, the majority of the world, and a large portion of workplaces, are still at the very beginning.

From the HR conversations I’m having every week, I see three groups emerging 👇

There are the cautious observers who are waiting for clearer governance, policy, or direction. There are the quiet experimenters who are using AI for drafting, sense checking, and workflow support but not talking about it loudly. And then there are the early builders who are embedding it into how HR actually operates, not just as a tool, but as infrastructure. 

The conversation has moved past are we going to use AI or not. 

It’s now about whether your HR function is building it's AI muscle now, while you still have room to experiment, or whether you’ll be trying to catch up later.

HR is already stretched, expectations keep climbing and from what we see most teams aren’t growing in headcount.

When it’s used properly, AI isn’t there to make decisions for you. It’s there to take some of the cognitive weight off, so you can focus on the judgement calls that actually need a human.

This image tells me we are still early. Which means HR has a window. A window to build confidence, systems, and capability before it becomes reactive and forced.

The question isn’t whether AI is happening. It’s whether HR builds the muscle now, calmly and intentionally, or tries to build it under pressure later.
 
humaneer

Apparently Claude just built a 24/7 HR department.

As someone building AI for HR, I thought I should probably weigh in.

Claude is an incredibly powerful AI engine. I use it daily. And with the new plugins and toolkits, you absolutely can configure it to help with HR tasks like drafting job descriptions, performance reviews or onboarding plans.

But we know that drafting documents isn’t the same as doing HR.

HR is interpreting legislation, navigating messy situations, weighing risk, preparing for difficult conversations and making sure the outcome works for the employee, the organisation and the law.

This is where the conversation gets a bit unrealistic.

Because yes, you can build your own HR assistant using tools like Claude. But then the real questions start. Who designs the prompts and workflows? Who keeps the legislation up to date? Where does the security sit? How do you manage sensitive employee data? Who checks the outputs are actually compliant? And who owns it when something goes wrong?

Most HR teams don’t have the time, the technical support, or the appetite to build and maintain their own AI system. We’re trying to run HR. Most days we barely have time for lunch.

That’s exactly why we built Mak.

Claude is a powerful AI engine. Mak is the HR system built on top of it. ANZ-aligned legislation, HR workflows, meeting capture, risk thinking, compliant documents and privacy controls all wired together so HR teams don’t have to build their own assistant from scratch.

What we’re actually seeing happen right now is the same shift we saw with software years ago. Generic infrastructure gets built first. Then vertical systems appear on top of it that are designed for the real work people do every day.

Claude is the infrastructure. Mak is what that infrastructure looks like when it’s designed specifically for HR.

Because HR teams don’t need another tool to configure. They need outcomes they can trust.

If you're in HR and don't have the time to experiment with generic AI tools, I'd love to chat with you. DM or comment and I'll reach out. 

Seriously, you don't have to do this on your own. 

Tagging a few people I know building AI tools so HR doesn't have too Helena Turpin Sam G. Emma Earley Careen Matthews Simon F. Matthew Knee Mark Lewis Lisa Lie Harrison Kennedy Kate Hemat-Siraky

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