Wankernomics

In 2025 a worker was sent an email from their employer to recognise their three years of service. Inside the email was a button that read, ‘view recognition’, which when clicked on, revealed the reward. We don’t want to spoil how absurdly bad this reward was – you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out. In this episode James and Charles reveal some of the worst employee recognition schemes imaginable, and how some organisations are even outsourcing their employee recognition to third parties. Then they deep-dive into an infamous incentive scheme at one of America’s biggest banks that was so morally horrifying it led to a multi-million dollar fine and a minor change to the company’s logo. Along the way, James and Charles unpack how large organisations outsource responsibility and how jargon is used to paper over morally questionable, or even illegal corporate behaviour. Warning: this episode contains buzzwords and other corporate bullsh*ttery that could be offensive to some listeners. Sign up to our the free Wankernomics thought leadership program (our free email newsletter) at Wankernomics.com Full tour schedule: Wankernomics.com/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You probably know the story. In 2001 Enron – then one of the largest companies in the world – collapsed after it was found to be using illegal accounting tricks to hide massive debts and fake huge profits. But what was it actually like to work there? James and Charles apply a Wankernomics lens to one of the world’s biggest ever corporate scandals, unpacking the company values, analysing the office culture and reading the actual emails that were sent around the office at the time of the collapse. What they ultimately discover is a corporation that, on the surface, is much like any other, with all-staff emails about free donuts in the foyer, over-enthusiastic interns trying to impress the boss, and a set of ‘organisational values’ that are farcically detached from the actual conduct of the company. Warning: this episode contains buzzwords and other corporate bullsh*ttery that could be offensive to some listeners. Sign up to our the free Wankernomics thought leadership program (our free email newsletter) at Wankernomics.com Full tour schedule: Wankernomics.com/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2023 the entire network of Optus – one of Australia’s largest telecommunications providers – went down for 12 hours. The outage caused major disruptions across Australia as 11 million people went without internet and phone access. So how did the outage align with the company’s purpose statement of “Powering Optimism With Options”. And what the hell does “Powering Optimism With Options” even mean? Charles and James unpack Optus’s response to the crisis, and in the process uncover some of the most ridiculous corporate jargon ever seen. You’ll hear about “Possibilities yet to be imagined”, the obsession modern brands have with being loved and a very weird story about an internet-enabled cat feeder. It’s a best-practice tale of corporate bullsh*ttery with lessons for anyone wanting to understand how modern organisations work. Sign up to our the free Wankernomics thought leadership program (our free email newsletter) at Wankernomics.com Full tour schedule: Wankernomics.com/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After taking on board extensive stakeholder feedback and running a strategic analysis to identify gaps in our end-to-end customer offering, we’re thrilled to advise that we’re starting a podcast. Coming this September, The Wankernomics Podcast will drill down and deep dive into real-life stories about workplace bullshittery. Employee recognition schemes that went wrong. Job ads that make no sense. Emails that drip with corporate wankery, and ridiculous workplace processes that are set up for no reason at all. You’ll hear how a multi-national organisation purposely added an extra 20 minutes to its on-hold message so people would hang up. And the bizarre story of how one large company went to the effort of temporarily suspending one of its core organisational values while it conducted criminal activity. There are stories about big companies like Facebook and Boeing. And stories from workplaces you’ve probably never heard of but will definitely relate to. Along the way James & Charles will unpack it all in their trademark Wankernomics style, and share their own stories of working in the corporate world. Get on board! Coming mid September, wherever you get your podcasts Sign up to our the free Wankernomics thought leadership program (our free email newsletter) at Wankernomics.com Full tour schedule: Wankernomics.com/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.