Chief Executive Officer, AIM WA | Emeritus Professor | Social Affairs and Workplace Expert |Workplace Trend Spotter|Columnist |Director|LinkedIn Top Voice 2018 | Speaker |Content Creator

I am a former academic turned social trends and workplace specialist, Board director, keynote speaker, newspaper columnist, and most importantly, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia (AIM WA).

My passion is inspiring better workplaces.  I like to ignite discussions around workplace themes and topics, and I use my column in Perth’s The Sunday Times – called “Workplace Matters” – to get conversations started right here on LinkedIn.

I also have an interest in what’s trending in our non-work lives too, so you’ll see that I post pieces on here about various social affairs topics.

And, if you happen to follow what happens in the higher education sector, you might be interested in some of my Business News’ Education pieces which I regularly publish here too.

For me LinkedIn is all about having conversations.  So feel free to follow me, and join the chat.

“I’ve called this meeting to discuss the problem of stress in the workplace…”

And judging by the body language around the table, the meeting itself might be the problem.

Stress is rarely caused by one big dramatic event.

More often, it is built through small daily habits:

*endless meetings with no clear outcomes
*constant urgency without real priority
*unclear expectations
*a culture of pretending everything is fine

If leaders want to reduce stress, the answer is not another discussion about wellbeing.

It is changing the way work actually gets done:  

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

#leadership #workplaceculture #wellbeing #stress #management #aimwa #hr

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

Professor Gary Martin FAIM

I am a former academic turned social affairs and workplace expert, Board director, keynote speaker, newspaper columnist, and most importantly, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia (AIM WA).

My passion is inspiring better workplaces.  I like to ignite discussions around workplace themes and topics, and I use my column in Perth’s The Sunday Times – called “Workplace Matters” – to get conversations started right here on LinkedIn.

I also have an interest in what’s trending in our non-work lives too, so you’ll see that I post pieces on here about various social affairs topics.

And, if you happen to follow what happens in the higher education sector, you might be interested in some of my Business News’ Education pieces which I regularly publish here too.

For me LinkedIn is all about having conversations.  So feel free to follow me, and join the chat.

Chief Executive Officer, AIM WA | Emeritus Professor | Social Trends | Workplace Strategist | Workplace Trend Spotter | Columnist | Director| LinkedIn Top Voice 2018 | Speaker | Content Creator

THE sickie gone wrong.

If workplaces want fewer fake sick days, they need to create cultures where people can ask for time off without fear or judgement.

#leadership #wellbeing #management #humanresources #workplace #aimwa

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

TRAVELSCRIMPING is real ...

When a boss expects people to travel for work but starts cutting corners on the basics, the message is clear. 

The boss is “travelscrimping”, which is becoming far more common than many organisations will admit.

Work travel used to come with the unspoken trade-off that a decent hotel and a proper meal made it manageable.

Those basics demonstrated that the organisation understood the inconvenience of work travel.

But the “give and take approach” appears to have been let go.

Increasingly, travel is treated like an expense to squeeze – and not a work requirement that needs to be handled properly.

The mindset has shifted from supporting the working traveller to controlling the traveller.

In some organisations, the travel policy now reads more like a deterrent than a guide.

Travelscrimping is often explained as good budgeting. 

Rising costs are making budgets tight and, as a result, businesses are looking to cut waste.  

The problem is cutting costs has turned into cutting corners – and the corners being cut are often the ones that help people travel and work effectively.

Hotel allowances do not match real prices and meal allowances barely cover the cost of a decent dinner. 

And flights are booked at inconvenient times just because they are cheaper. 
Travelscrimping pushes people towards the cheapest option.

And instead of focusing on the work, they are forced to focus on the rules.

Time that should be spent preparing for meetings or recovering from travel is spent working out what is allowed. 

Energy that should go into performance is drained by the constant effort of trying to stay within tight limits. 

Sure, the work still gets done but it gets done by people who are worn out.

Regrettably, travelscrimping  sends a message – and not a good one. 

When an organisation cuts back on travel support, it is not just saving money but sending a signal.

People do not hear “budgets are tight” but “the inconvenience is your problem”.

And over time, people stop putting in extra effort. 

It can also be unfair.

Travelscrimping is often presented as consistent and equal. 

The reality is it usually hits some people harder than others. 

Senior staff often have more flexibility or discretion while others have to follow the rules strictly – even when it makes the trip unreasonable.

None of this is about workers wanting luxury travel. 

Most workers are not asking for business class flights or dinners at expensive restaurants. 

They just want fair and reasonable travel arrangements – a sense that the organisation understands the cost of being away from home.

When organisations keep asking for first-class commitment while offering economy-class conditions, people notice. 

And sooner or later, they start travelling less, caring less or leaving altogether.

#management #leadership #humanresources #work #wellbeing #aimwa 

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

DIVERSITY ...

It is remarkable how often organisations congratulate themselves for diversity when what they have really achieved is variation in neckwear.

Diversity was never meant to be a cosmetic exercise. 

It is not fulfilled by one appointment that looks different while everything else stays comfortably the same. 

True diversity shifts thinking, broadens debate, and occasionally makes meetings less predictable.

The real test is not whether someone appears different, but whether different perspectives are genuinely invited, heard and acted upon.

Anything less is just a new tie in an old culture.

#diversity #management #leadership #hr #humanresources #AIMWA

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

RESPECT is now part of almost every values statement.

Making it instinctive, consistent and visible is the challenge still before us.

#respect #management #leadership #humanresources #hr #work #workplace #AIMWA

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

IT's only stationery.

Until it isn’t.

Small compromises rarely stay small. 

They reset the line of what feels acceptable. And once the line moves, it rarely moves back on its own.

#management #leadership #humanresources #theft #workplace #AIMWA

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

A PAY rise once carried the promise of something better. Not anymore.

Australia is living in the era of the illusionary pay rise, where a wage increase exists in theory but disappears in practice. 

The latest figures show annual nominal wages rising by 3.4 per cent.

The problem is that inflation sits higher at 3.8 per cent. 

The result is that real wages went backwards by 0.4 per cent across 2025.

It might only sound like a small backwards step but it is a move in the wrong direction for a number of reasons.

Most workers do not sit down and consider wage growth against inflation.

But they do know when their money does not stretch as far as it used to.

They experience it when a full shopping trolley costs more than a year ago.
Illusionary pay rises can also impact turnover.  

When wages fail to keep up with the cost of living, workers start looking elsewhere. 

And this creates real challenges for employers. 

Replacing staff is expensive and finding skilled staff is not always straightforward. 

There is another issue that is often overlooked – the financial pressure.

People who are worried about money do not work at their best. 

They might still be capable but stress takes up a big chunk of their mental space. 

And there is little doubt that creativity is harder when people feel exhausted and distracted.

Over time, this becomes a productivity problem.

Many employers are caught between rising expenses and rising expectations.

They might want to do more but are under pressure as well.

Employers cannot control inflation but can control how they respond to it. 

They can be upfront about what their organisation can afford and explain wage decisions clearly. 

Even small gestures, such as one-off cost-of-living payments or more regular pay reviews, can help staff feel seen – and heard.

Employers can also support workers in practical ways. 

Flexible work can cut commuting and other costs while financial wellbeing support, such as access to budgeting advice or salary packaging, can help reduce stress. 

These steps will not replace a proper pay rise but can help to ease personal pressures placed on workers as a result of their financial resources contracting. 

But in the longer term, there is only one real solution: growth in productivity. 

The reality is Australia cannot lift wages in a sustainable way without increasing productivity. 

And this requires better systems, better skills, better training and better technology.

But for now, the pay rise illusion remains.

A wage increase that does not improve living standards feels pointless – like a trick or the promise of progress which never materialises.

So while wages continue to outpace inflation again, many Australians will keep hearing the words “pay rise” and ask: what pay rise?

#management #leadership #benefits #humanresources #wages #aimwa #workplace 

Cartoon used under licence: CartoonStock

TEAMWORK isn’t measured by how much someone can carry.

It’s measured by how well a group distributes the load, communicates priorities and protects people from overload.

When “team player” becomes code for “never say no,” the culture is already in trouble.

#teamwork #culture #management #leadership #humanresources #workplace #aimwa 

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

HAS courtesy lost the right of way on our roads?

There is something about being enclosed in a metal bubble – call it a car, if you like – that seems to give some adults permission to behave like toddlers.

Perfectly capable and usually civil people slide behind the wheel and suddenly sulk, snort and stomp with all the self-control of a two-year-old who has been denied a lollipop at the supermarket checkout.

This behaviour has a name or two. 

Think of it as a tantrum-on-wheels or even a drive-by dummy spit.

We are not talking about serious road rage.

Drive-by dummy spits are about everyday rudeness on the road that puts a dent in the day-to-day driving experience. 

Horns are used to express irritation rather than to alert other drivers to danger.
 
A driver who briefly hesitates at the traffic lights is met with flashing headlights or an angry wave.

People refuse to let others merge, tailgate to show their annoyance and accelerate aggressively to make a point.

Some drivers even wind down their windows to shout abuse or deliver parting comments to attack another who has been the source of their annoyance.

And simple courtesies such as giving way or offering a wave of thanks are increasingly rare. 

The reasons for the trend towards increased road rudeness are parked in plain sight. 

Sitting inside a car seems to place an emotional as well as physical barrier between them and other drivers.

This barrier means some drivers forget there is a person on the other side.

And it makes it easier for impatience to replace courtesy.

It is also true that inside a car, drivers feel hidden away.

It is not unlike online behaviour, where distance and detachment weaken restraint.

Drivers feel less likely to be recognised or challenged, which makes it easier to behave poorly. 

And there is little doubt that stress does the rest. 

Many drivers are already tense before they step into their vehicles. 

Work pressures, family demands and financial worries all contribute to their daily stress.

Blasting the horn, hitting the accelerator or shouting a comment becomes an outlet for frustrations that were built up elsewhere.

None of this is about being perfect behind the wheel. 

When driving, everyone makes mistakes and everyone gets irritated from time to time. 

The difference lies in what happens next. 

If confronted with an irritation or annoyance on the road, do people shrug and move on or do they stew, snarl and escalate?

The road offers countless opportunities to practise patience but also countless excuses not to.

In the end, each individual driver will choose whether to take the open road or the highway to self-inflicted stress.

#etiquette #wellbeing #management #hr #mentalhealth #leadership #aimwa 

Cartoon used under licence:  CartoonStock

SAUNA user ... perhaps read this?

For a country that spends a lot of time trying to stay cool, Australia has developed an unexpected enthusiasm for saunas. 

The sauna, once a humble hideaway tucked inside gyms, is increasingly a hot addition to everyday Australian life.

Saunas are turning up well beyond gyms and pools and appearing in wellness centres, bathhouses and spa venues – often alongside cold plunges and other recovery spaces.

They are also finding their way into backyards, apartment buildings and holiday homes. 

For all the hot air surrounding the trend, the reason people are increasingly showing up to saunas is simple: saunas make us slow down and stop for a while. 

On top of that, saunas promise benefits without boasting about them. 
As for those benefits, they are usually described in modest terms rather than bold claims. 

Research to date generally suggests that regular sauna use is especially beneficial for cardiovascular health, circulation, mood and longevity.

Associated, of course, does not mean guaranteed though it is often enough to sustain belief.

Perhaps the most commonly talked-about benefit is detoxification.
It is also a claim that is dubious.  

Sweating helps the body cool itself and might remove very small amounts of waste.

Yet most detox work is done by the liver and kidneys. 

So even though after time in a sauna people often feel lighter or clearer, in that sense detox is more about perception than process.

Saunas are not a miracle cure. 

The benefits appear to come from regular, sensible use rather than pushing things to extremes.

Plus those benefits vary depending on the person.

And those using saunas will invariably encounter tensions of the people kind.

Thermal tensions between users – particularly those using community hot boxes – arise because there is no single way to use a sauna properly.

Preferences around heat, silence, clothing and even where to sit can differ sharply. 

Some want the temperature pushed higher. Others want it kept to something they can comfortably tolerate.

Some arrive wrapped in towels or swimwear. Others expect bare skin and minimal barriers.

Some want the seat where the heat is most intense. Others want to sit closer to the door for air.

Some sit in silence. Others make conversation.

Despite all of this, the appeal remains for many.

Yes, it seems odd that we live in a country that has spent decades engineering shade, insulation and air-conditioning into everyday life – only to voluntarily queue for controlled heat. 

Whatever the explanation, there is something faintly amusing about a nation so practiced at avoiding the heat that we line up to sit in it, towels wrapped tight.

Thank you to The West Australian for publishing my piece on this topic last week.  

#management #wellbeing #leadership #hr #mentalhealth #AIMWA

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