Inner Work World - Rethinking Mental Wellbeing At Work

Susanna Sjöberg
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Mental Health

Inner Work World is a podcast for professionals who care about mental health and wellbeing at work. Hosted by Susanna Sjöberg, a registered mental health professional and workplace wellbeing expert, each episode brings science-backed insights and real stories from people around the world. From neuroscience to psychology to management practices to ancient wisdom adapted for modern work, this podcast offers new perspectives and supports professionals in making small shifts that create big changes in how they feel and approach work and life. Press pause on the noise and join us in doing the inner work.

  1. 3d ago

    From Force to Flow: Why Social Change Begins Inside with Rashmir Balasubramaniam

    In this episode of Inner Work World, Susanna speaks with Rashmir Balasubramaniam about why true leadership transformation begins on the inside. Together, they explore the hidden dynamics of the social impact sector, the distinction between force-based driving and flow-based leadership, and how integrating inner growth with outer strategy creates lasting societal change. About the GuestRashmir Balasubramaniam is a Transformational Leadership Coach, Strategic Advisor, and Thought Partner to current and emerging leaders working to build a better world. Holding a Yale MBA and drawing on over 30 years of cross-sector experience, her career spans investment banking, management consulting, international development, and philanthropy. Having worked with landmark institutions including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Health Service (NHS), and Yale, Rashmir helps leaders integrate inner development with outer strategy. She specializes in guiding individuals and organizations as they shift from force to flow, balance masculine and feminine leadership principles, and step into their true purpose. Key TakeawaysThe Missing Piece in Strategy: Discover why high-stakes organizations often fail to achieve lasting impact when they focus solely on outer strategy while ignoring the inner development and emotional maturity of their leaders.Shifting from Force to Flow: Learn how over-relying on traditional, force-based leadership leads to burnout, and what changes when leaders learn to cultivate emergent, flow-aligned leadership.The Synergy of Coaching and Therapy: Understand how coaching and therapy play distinct yet complementary roles in helping leaders move past old paradigms into sustainable personal growth.Regenerative Living Systems: Unpack how aligning personal mission with organizational strategy creates living systems where growth is naturally baked into the design.The True Purpose Framework: Get a teaser of how aligning core essence, blessing, mission, and message helps leaders stop playing small and embrace their authentic potential.Connect with RashmirOfficial Website: rashmir.net

  2. Oct 28

    Stability First: Why “Just Relax” Doesn’t Work for Most of Us with Stephanie D’Angelo

    In this episode of Inner Work World, host Susanna Sjöberg is joined by Stephanie D'Angelo. Director of Organizational Training and Facilitation at the Polyvagal Institute and developer of Polyvagal Informed Embodied Mindfulness (PIEM). Together, they tackle a vital and often unspoken issue: why standard meditation and mindfulness practices fail or even cause adverse reactions for people under high stress. Discover how blending polyvagal science with mindfulness creates a compassionate, body-first framework for personal well-being and organizational health. Key Discussion Points The Pitfalls of Traditional Mindfulness: Why asking individuals with high-stress or trauma histories to close their eyes and look inward can sometimes feel overwhelming or unsafe.Organizations as Collective Nervous Systems: How corporate change management, chronic pressure, and dysregulated environments shape the collective physiology of an entire workplace.Stability as a Deactivation Pathway: Why forcing "safety" can be too high a hurdle for stressed nervous systems, and how focusing on physical stability (like feeling grounded in a chair) provides a safer entry point for regulation.The PIEM Protocol: An inside look at Stephanie’s 31-step, evidence-backed protocol that utilizes dual awareness, movement, and sensory integration to foster autonomic flexibility and lasting real-world changes.The Role of HR: Why human resource professionals act as frontline workers in corporate environments and how understanding nervous system dynamics can transform leadership.Featured Guest Stephanie D'Angelo is the Director of Organizational Training and Facilitation at the Polyvagal Institute and the creator of Polyvagal Informed Embodied Mindfulness (PIEM). With a unique background spanning social services, massage therapy, occupational therapy observations, and a master's degree in mindfulness studies from Lesley University, Stephanie specializes in translating complex nervous system science into practical, accessible tools for high-stress environments. Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: Stephanie D'AngeloOrganization: Polyvagal Institute

  3. Oct 14

    ChatGPT as a Therapist - Benefits & Risks of AI in Mental Health with Steve Siddals

    More and more people are quietly turning to ChatGPT and other large language models when they feel stressed, stuck, or overwhelmed by the demands of modern life and work. But what actually happens when we use artificial intelligence for emotional support and mental health? In this episode, Susanna Sjöberg speaks with digital mental health researcher and tech executive Steve Siddals. Steve led one of the very first qualitative studies examining the emerging phenomenon of generative AI therapy. Susanna and Steve unpack the nuanced reality behind the headlines of hype and panic, exploring the concept of the "emotional sanctuary," the surprising depth of trauma healing some users experience, the critical importance of personal agency, and the real risks and safeguards we must keep in mind. Key Takeaways From the Episode The Rise of Generative AI for Emotional Support: Millions of people are independently using LLMs for mental health conversations, finding 24/7 accessibility, complete non-judgment, and a low-barrier alternative when traditional human therapy is financially or logistically out of reach.The "Emotional Sanctuary": For many users, AI provides a unique space of psychological safety where they don't have to worry about reciprocity, burdening another person, or facing immediate human judgment, allowing them to process heavy emotions at their own pace.Profound Personal Breakthroughs: While counterintuitive, real-world accounts show that users can achieve significant self-understanding, cognitive reframing, and breakthrough healing by engaging deeply with generative tools.Navigating the Risks: Generative AI is not zero-risk. In rare, catastrophic cases, models can amplify delusions or respond inappropriately. True safety requires the user to stay firmly in the "driving seat," maintaining critical thinking and recognizing that AI is a tool, not a human relationship.A Gateway, Not a Replacement: Rather than destroying human connection, AI can act as a bridge or stepping stone. For individuals immobilized by social anxiety or fear of judgment, working through initial hurdles with an AI can build the confidence needed to transition to human therapy.About the Guest Steve Siddals is a technology executive, leading AI strategy and transformation for multinationals, and psychology researcher focusing on AI's potential to transform mental health. He holds a BA in Computer Science and Mathematics from Oxford University and an MSc in the Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King’s College London. In 2024, Steve published one of the field's first studies on generative AI therapy in the Nature Partner Journal for Mental Health Research, exploring the real-life experiences of individuals using AI for emotional support. He also collaborates with Harvard Medical School on digital mental health research and is based in Switzerland. Read the Research: Real-life experiences of AI for mental health (Nature Partner Journal)Charting the evolution of AI mental health chatbots (PMC)

  4. Sep 30

    The Dark Triad at Work: Unmasking Corporate Psychopaths and Narcissists with Cynthia Mathieu

    In recent years, it has become incredibly common to casually label any difficult boss or demanding colleague a "narcissist" or a "psychopath." But what happens when we use these clinical terms as corporate buzzwords? And more importantly, how do we recognize and handle the individuals who actually do possess these destructive traits before they cause irreparable harm to their teams? In this episode, Susanna Sjöberg speaks with Dr. Cynthia Mathieu, a professor of organizational behavior with a background in forensic and industrial-organizational psychology. For over a decade, Dr. Mathieu has studied the "Dark Triad"—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and how these profound personality disorders manifest in hiring, leadership, and workplace culture. Susanna and Cynthia unpack why the traits of corporate psychopaths and narcissists are so frequently mistaken for strong leadership, how they expertly manipulate systems and weaponize HR, and why highly unstructured or mission-driven organizations (like NGOs) provide the perfect hiding places for them to operate. Finally, Dr. Mathieu offers clear, uncompromising advice on how to protect yourself, establish boundaries, and safely plan your exit when fighting back is a losing battle. Key Takeaways The Danger of the "Successful Psychopath" Myth: Using clinical terms like narcissism and psychopathy as casual buzzwords is dangerous. Framing these traits as markers of "successful" or "tough" leadership completely ignores the devastating, soul-crushing human toll these individuals inflict on their colleagues and employees to acquire power.Why Organizations Keep Hiring Them: Dark personalities are experts in impression management. They are incredibly charming, easily fabricate grand promises on their resumes, and exhibit traits—like fast, emotionless decision-making and superficial courage—that organizations desperately mistake for competent leadership.Thriving in Chaos: These individuals target unstructured, highly political, or mission-driven environments (like NGOs) where they can easily hide behind virtuous causes. If an environment isn't chaotic, they will intentionally create chaos to isolate, divide, and conquer their teams.Advice for Managers: If you manage someone with these traits, never meet with them alone. Document every behavior, involve HR and legal, stick rigidly to organizational protocols, and focus strictly on addressing the harmful behaviors, not diagnosing the personality.About the Guest Dr. Cynthia Mathieu is a professor of organizational behavior at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) in Canada. With an extensive background in forensic and industrial-organizational psychology, she has spent her career studying the "Dark Triad"—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—in the workplace. Dr. Mathieu is the author of Dark Personalities in the Workplace and has advised major institutions, including the Conference Board of Canada, the European Central Bank, and the Canadian Federal Government, on how to recognize and mitigate toxic leadership behaviors before they cause organizational damage. Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode Book: Dark Personalities in the Workplace by Cynthia MathieuBook Recommendation: Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert D. HareConnect with the Guest: Dr. Cynthia Mathieu on LinkedIn

  5. Sep 23

    What Happens When the Urgency Stops - Navigating A Major Career Transition with Mia Seppo

    What happens when the structure that has organized your life for decades suddenly falls away? For over 25 years, Mia Seppo built a distinguished career within the United Nations, coordinating humanitarian responses, running elections in fragile states, and most recently serving as Assistant Director-General at the International Labour Organization (ILO). Her work provided her with profound purpose, a global community, and a clear sense of identity. Then, a year ago, she voluntarily walked away without a fixed plan for what would come next. In this episode, Susanna sits down with Mia to explore the deeply destabilizing, and ultimately liberating experience of leaving an all-consuming, high-pressure career. They discuss the hidden toll of chronic "time poverty," the jarring emotional detox that occurs when constant urgency stops, and the vital difference between true resilience and being habituated to adrenaline. Mia shares her reflections on global homelessness, the grief of missed milestones, and why we must learn to sit comfortably with not having all the answers. Key Takeaways From the EpisodeThe Cost of Time Poverty: In highly demanding careers, time poverty gradually accumulates into a heavy personal price. Missing family milestones and lacking the space to pause and reflect are costs that cannot be made up later, prompting the realization that the cost of staying can eventually outweigh the cost of leaving.The Urgency Detox: In crisis-driven environments, urgency provides structure, energy, and a convenient distraction from difficult emotions. When the noise and external demands suddenly stop, suppressed feelings like grief, guilt, and exhaustion finally have a place to land.Resilience vs. Habituated Adrenaline: There is a profound difference between being genuinely resilient and simply being habituated to constant adrenaline. Many high-achievers train themselves to need pressure to function, often masking the unnecessary stress manufactured by organizational culture.Global Homelessness: For those who spend decades working internationally within insular organizational "tribes," returning to a functioning, peaceful home country can feel simultaneously familiar and deeply unfamiliar, resulting in a complex sense of global homelessness and a search for new belonging.Non-Linear Transitions: Life transitions are rarely simple stories of reinvention. Loss and possibility can coexist perfectly; you can deeply miss a career or community while still knowing it was absolutely the right decision to leave. Sometimes, the most important step is having the courage to "hurry slowly" and feel a little lost.About the GuestMia Seppo is a senior international leader and strategy consultant with over 25 years of experience across the United Nations system, spanning both headquarters and complex field environments. She previously served as the Assistant Director-General at the International Labour Organization (ILO), directing global portfolios on employment policy, social protection, and sustainable enterprises. Throughout her UN career, Mia held senior roles in post-conflict and peacekeeping contexts, including field assignments in Tajikistan, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, as well as tenures as UN Resident Coordinator in both Malawi and Bangladesh. Connect with the GuestConnect with Mia Seppo on LinkedIn

  6. Sep 10

    The Power of Choice: Expanding Options & Reclaiming Agency with Irina Cozma

    In this episode of Inner Work World, host Susanna Sjoberg is joined by Dr. Irina Cozma, an executive and career coach with a PhD in organizational psychology. They dive into the concept of "possibility thinking" and explore why so many highly accomplished professionals experience career dread and feel completely trapped in their roles. Dr. Cozma explains that feeling stuck usually doesn’t stem from a true lack of options, but rather from an inability to see the options we already hold. Susanna and Irina discuss the real psychological toll of feeling optionless, the nuance of having too many versus too few choices, and how regaining a sense of agency can transform our relationship with our professional lives. Key Takeaways & Topics Covered: The Core of "Possibility Thinking": Why people aren't usually stuck because they are out of options, but because they lack a map to see them.The Illusion of Being Trapped: How highly accomplished leaders often fall into the trap of believing "this is it" and experience deep career dread.The Cost of Feeling Optionless: The physical, mental, and behavioral toll that a lack of choice takes on our sleep, focus, and daily interactions.The Option Paradox: Navigating the debate between having too many options versus too few, and using situational judgment to find the right balance.Reclaiming Your Agency: How bringing our internal options to the surface allows us to engage with our work with more ease, ownership, and joy.About the Guest: Dr. Irina Cozma is an executive and career coach with over two decades of experience helping C-suite leaders and professionals at companies like Salesforce and Wells Fargo. With a PhD in organizational psychology, she has also held corporate leadership roles, writes for the Harvard Business Review, teaches at the University of Tennessee, and has lived, studied, and worked across four countries. https://irinacozma.com/assessment  https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinacozma/

  7. Aug 28

    Humanizing Work - Belonging, Truth and Trust with Janvier Rugira

    When we talk about organizational well-being, the focus often falls on individual resilience, such as stress management, personal boundaries, or productivity hacks. But in reality, true flourishing rarely happens in isolation; it thrives in community. In this episode of Inner Work, host Susanna Sjöberg welcomes Dr. Janvier Rugira, a psychologist with 18 years of experience supporting personnel in some of the most demanding humanitarian and academic settings in the world. Drawing from his extensive research in Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Rugira explains why the Western, individualistic model of mental health often falls short, and how a profound sense of collective belonging serves as the ultimate protective factor against stress and burnout. Susanna and Dr. Rugira explore what it truly means to humanize the workplace, moving beyond job titles to value the people holding them. From applying the lessons of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process to corporate layoffs, to the simple ways managers can support their teams without needing to be clinicians, this conversation is a powerful call to rebuild trust, connection, and dignity in our everyday work lives. Key Takeaways The Power of the Collective: In studying university students in Tanzania, Dr. Rugira found that flourishing under pressure is deeply rooted in a shared identity rather than individual achievement. Viewing education and work as a collective responsibility creates a powerful buffer against anxiety and depression.Humanizing Over Function: A healthy culture starts when we stop treating employees merely as their job titles or functional outputs. Re-centering the human behind the role and building policies that reflect that humanity is what creates a resilient, high-performing organization.Truth Before Reconciliation: Borrowing from South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation efforts, organizations must provide a space for truth-telling during layoffs or crises. Skipping straight to "moving forward" without acknowledging the human impact fractures trust, leaving those who remain in the organization to struggle with longer-term mental health challenges.Managers as Humans, Not Clinicians: Leaders do not need clinical expertise to support their teams' mental health. The most critical capability is simply noticing changes early and responding with genuine human empathy, rather than focusing solely on KPI dashboards.Systemic Over Individual Well-Being: While individual resilience matters, the top leadership of an organization ultimately dictates how well its employees can truly be. True well-being requires systemic support and intentional connection, not just open-plan offices where employees hide behind noise-canceling headphones. Connect with the Guest Connect with Dr. Janvier Rugira on LinkedIn

  8. Jul 26

    The Power of Nutrition in Resilience & Performance with Jessica Hofmans

    When we talk about managing workplace stress and burnout, we usually reach for mental solutions—mindset shifts, breathing exercises, or calendar audits. But stress is a physical experience, and the body relies entirely on how we fuel it to navigate high-pressure demands. In this return episode of Inner Work, host Susanna Sjöberg welcomes back Jessica Hofmans, a certified Health Coach, Nutrition Specialist, and expert in public health and hormone health. Jessica breaks down why nutrition is so often overlooked in the stress conversation and unpacks the powerful gut-brain connection—the continuous data highway running through our nervous system that determines how our bodies process pressure. Moving away from restrictive diet culture, Jessica shares practical, sustainable strategies to protect your energy, stabilize your blood sugar, and build genuine resilience through everyday food choices. Susanna and Jessica explore the real impact of common habits like drinking coffee on an empty stomach, how chronic stress alters our protein and nutrient requirements, and simple ways to support your microbiome without sacrificing life’s pleasures. Whether you are navigating back-to-back corporate meetings, travel, or busy routines, this conversation offers an empowering, science-backed approach to fueling your mind and body from the inside out. Key TakeawaysThe Mind-Body Disconnect: Stress is commonly treated purely as an emotional or mental challenge, but the nervous system runs on physical fuel. Because nutrition is often associated with weight-loss diets and sacrifice, its power as a tool for mental performance and stress resilience is frequently ignored.The Gut-Brain Highway: The enteric nervous system contains over 500 million neurons that communicate directly with the brain via the vagus nerve. Highly processed, long-shelf-life foods disrupt the gut microbiome and trigger inflammatory responses, signaling threat state messages directly to the brain.Rethinking Morning Habits: Drinking coffee on an empty stomach amplifies early-morning cortisol spikes and triggers blood sugar crashes. Delaying caffeine slightly, hydrating first, and anchoring breakfast with a source of protein and healthy fats helps maintain steady energy throughout the day.Crowding In, Not Restricting Out: Sustainable wellness is not about cutting out carbs, chocolate, or social drinks. Shifting the focus to adding nutrient-dense, colorful whole foods naturally satisfies hunger and reduces the impulse to reach for ultra-processed energy fixes.Supporting the Microbiome Simply: Introducing small daily servings of fermented foods (like kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, or miso) and "eating the rainbow" supplies the gut with diverse fibers and beneficial bacteria that directly boost mood-regulating neurotransmitters.Connect with the GuestVisit Jessica's WebsiteConnect with Jessica on LinkedInFollow Jessica on InstagramEmail Jessica DirectlyBook a free 30-minute discovery call with Jessica

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Inner Work World is a podcast for professionals who care about mental health and wellbeing at work. Hosted by Susanna Sjöberg, a registered mental health professional and workplace wellbeing expert, each episode brings science-backed insights and real stories from people around the world. From neuroscience to psychology to management practices to ancient wisdom adapted for modern work, this podcast offers new perspectives and supports professionals in making small shifts that create big changes in how they feel and approach work and life. Press pause on the noise and join us in doing the inner work.

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