Heigh Ho — Work and Wellbeing

Bob Merberg
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Heigh Ho — Work and Wellbeing

Gritty, factual storytelling that makes sense of work and working life — in partnership with Bob Merberg’s Heigh Ho newsletter (https://heighho.substack.com) heighho.substack.com

  1. Joseph Zito — Hero of the Triangle Factory Fire

    OCT 17

    Joseph Zito — Hero of the Triangle Factory Fire

    A quick, AI-assisted conversation describing the heroic actions of Joseph Zito, hero of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. This episode is based on Bob Merberg’s web page, The Story of Joseph Zito. Learn more about the fire, and how it became an inflection point in the arc of employee wellbeing, in the previous podcast episode — or read about it in Bob Merberg’s free Heigh Ho newsletter article, A Nation that Catches Workers Before They Fall. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    4 min
  2. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

    OCT 10

    The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

    Today’s AI-assisted conversation is based on my post, "A Nation that Catches Workers Before They Fall," about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which was an inflection point in the arc of American worker wellbeing. In this episode, the AI took some liberties, expanding the scope of the original article. I agreed with 99% of what was being said, and it was generally accurate and added to the story and its application in modern life, so I left it in. See what you think. In an upcoming short episode, we’ll explain how my company, Jozito, was named after a hero of the Triangle Factory Fire. — Bob Merberg This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    13 min
  3. Health Circles: An Organizational Solution to Improve Work and Health

    OCT 3

    Health Circles: An Organizational Solution to Improve Work and Health

    "Organizational solutions" are gaining traction in conversations about employee wellbeing. Organizational solutions entail changing how work is done. Enjoy this AI-assisted conversation about one example of an organizational solution, health circles, which includes a lively discussion of a specific case study.The conversation is based on my article, Is It Time to Revisit Health Circles to Redesign Jobs for Better Work and Health? (and the resources I cite in that article). My thanks to subscriber Marnie Dobson Zimmerman, PhD, Director of the Healthy Work Campaign, who reminds me that the case for organizational solutions was recently laid out, in no uncertain terms, by a team of researchers and leaders associated with the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH). In An Urgent Call to Address Work-Related Psychosocial Hazards and Improve Worker Well-Being, they write: ...the extensive and cumulative impacts of these exposures represent an alarming public health problem that merits immediate and increased attention. Dr. Dobson and a sizeable group of co-authors published a response to the NIOSH article, with 3 specific recommendations (read them here), including a public education campaign: This is especially important in light of occupational health inequities. Low-wage jobs and those disproportionately occupied by racialized minority groups have greater psychosocial stressors on average. These factors — including job instability/insecurity, work-life imbalance and work-related discrimination and harassment — could contribute to disparities in physical as well as mental health outcomes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    11 min
  4. Mental Health Stigma

    SEP 29

    Mental Health Stigma

    This AI-assisted conversation takes a deep dive into Bob Merberg’s excerpted presentation, given to a group of employees around the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, about mental health stigma. Unfortunately, for all the preoccupation with mental health stigma the last few years, many people presenting as mental health advocates haven’t studied the topic at all. As a result, they may do more to perpetuate stigma than to raise awareness of it. Especially valuable in this discussion is the relationship between public stigma and self-stigma The video (an audio recording with slides) the podcast presenters refer to is available on YouTube: Mental Health Stigma — Explained by Bob Merberg. If you’re struggling, call or text 988 for immediate help from a caring, skilled counselor. Visit 988lifeline.org for information and online chat. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    11 min
  5. Designing Jobs People Want to Do

    SEP 28

    Designing Jobs People Want to Do

    Change the work, not the worker. This lively AI-assisted conversation takes a deep dive into the basics of job characteristics, motivating job potential, job design, and job crafting. It’s based on a recorded practice session for one of Bob Merberg’s presentations — the rough cut is available on YouTube. The AI makes a few minor flawed connections and inferences — no more than a live interviewee might make — but the content still offers an ideal primer for HR, wellness, and management professionals who understand that progress with worker wellbeing depends on, among other things, understanding what makes work… work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    14 min

  6. SEP 26

    Teen Worker Wellbeing

    This experimental AI-assisted two-person conversation is based on the Heigh Ho article, Teenage Workland: Taking stock of teenage worker wellbeing (in words, numbers, and music), which includes the chart the podcast speakers refer to. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    8 min

  7. SEP 25

    Civility Policy Lands Coffee Chain in Hot Water

    Something different: This episode is a conversation that dives deep into a mash-up of two Heigh Ho articles... When Civility Policies Run Amok-accino and Ambiguous Civility Policy Burns Workers The episode is AI-assisted, but don’t let that put you off. It’s a polished dialogue that sounds like a conversation between two curious speakers who share enthusiasm for labor and employee wellbeing. Give it a listen! Of course, for complete details, read the articles linked above. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    9 min
  8. A San Francisco Bus Driver Navigates the Ups and Downs of Transit Operation

    FEB 19

    A San Francisco Bus Driver Navigates the Ups and Downs of Transit Operation

    (Subscribe to the Heigh Ho newsletter at heighho.substack.com.) Get a look from "the seat" as Muni driver Mc Allen describes why he loves his job and San Francisco and public transportation in general. Mc also shares sides of the role we rarely see: a bus driver’s schedule, time off, pay, and the levels of autonomy, job demands, and social support known to define job stress. Though we don’t use these words, listeners familiar with employee wellbeing principles will note Mc’s sense of purpose and belonging, as well as how he uses his skills as a poet to exemplify job crafting. Learn more about Mc on his website, mc-allen.com, where you can read the poem he describes in the interview, The Bee of Moffitt Street. Mc is on X (formerly Twitter) at @that_mc and on Mastodon (where he and interviewer Bob Merberg first crossed paths) at @that_mc@sfba.social. Also mentioned in this episode: * Mc’s appearance at Muni Diaries (video). * Mc’s anecdote in A Bus Driver's Story of Connection, Kindness, and Trust, posted in Heigh Ho. * The second post in this series: Steering Thru Stress: What Bus Drivers' Working Lives Teach Us About Wellbeing. Learn the science that confirms, and is confirmed by, everything Mc shares regarding bus drivers’ working life. About Mc Allen Mc Allen believes that high quality public transportation is a powerful and essential part of the city. In 2021 he became a transit operator for the “Municipal Railway” (Muni) in San Francisco, where he lives with his wife and kids. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

    49 min
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Gritty, factual storytelling that makes sense of work and working life — in partnership with Bob Merberg’s Heigh Ho newsletter (https://heighho.substack.com) heighho.substack.com

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