Workplace Insights by Adrie van der Luijt
Careers aren’t really ladders, they’re more like messy scribbles with occasional moments of clarity. I’ve spent decades watching talented people waste years chasing what they thought they should want rather than what actually suited them.
The posts in this section reflect what I wish someone had told me thirty years ago: that the most successful careers are built on knowing your strengths, acknowledging your limitations and having the courage to navigate workplace politics without becoming what you despise.
Whether you’re just starting out or questioning decades of choices, you’ll find honest reflections on creating a career that works for you rather than burning yourself out for an organisation that sees you as replaceable.
A brutally honest account of navigating unplanned career break challenges to care for an elderly parent, revealing the stark reality gap between claimed digital accessibility and actual user experiences.
A government content designer explores how to build trust in AI-driven public services through trauma-informed approaches, transparency and ethical design principles.
The traditional professional development model relied on a progression that now risks disappearing. Without deliberate intervention, we face not just economic disruption for current mid-tier professionals, but potentially an expertise crisis in the coming decades.
The hollowing out we’re witnessing in software development, executive assistance and copywriting isn’t a coincidence. It’s part of a broader pattern reshaping virtually every knowledge work profession, though at different rates and with field-specific nuances.
Virtual assistants are not some separate breed of admin professionals. They are executive assistants, office managers and skilled administrators who happen to be running their own businesses.
AI is just the latest major transformation in the workplace. But AI doesn’t define user needs – people do.
Tech companies blame AI for layoffs, but the real culprit is reckless overspending on infrastructure. Why this pattern matters for everyone, not just tech workers.
Five years after the pandemic began, the psychological toll of lockdown is still affecting how people interact with digital public services. This article explains why trauma-informed content design needs to evolve to meet those ongoing needs.
The people training your AI chatbots are telling their children never to use them. They’ve seen the rushed timelines, inadequate training data, and ignored safety concerns. They’re experiencing PTSD, moral injury, and relationship breakdowns from the work. If the insiders won’t trust these systems with their 10-year-olds, how are you meeting Consumer Duty obligations by deploying them with financially vulnerable customers?
Five years after the pandemic began, the psychological toll of lockdown is still affecting how people interact with digital public services. This article explains why trauma-informed content design needs to evolve to meet those ongoing needs.
Trauma-informed content can be produced with the help of AI tools without risking secondary trauma to the content designer or content strategist.
Learn how to protect your career and mental health after a failed project. Discover practical strategies from a highly experienced professional who’s survived major project failures while maintaining professional reputation and wellbeing.
Discover how AI can transform your user research and testing process while avoiding common pitfalls. Learn a practical framework for using AI responsibly in content design, with real-world examples from GOV.UK and Environment Agency projects. Honest insights about AI hallucinations and where artificial intelligence genuinely enhances research outcomes.
The traditional professional development model relied on a progression that now risks disappearing. Without deliberate intervention, we face not just economic disruption for current mid-tier professionals, but potentially an expertise crisis in the coming decades.
Discover how career risk-taking – whether saying no to prestigious roles or pursuing risky opportunities – can lead to unexpected success. Real-world examples from financial journalism and corporate career decisions.
Analyse the contradictions in the WEF Future of Jobs report where employers simultaneously predict AI transformation whilst expecting humans to show more creativity and resilience – all for less pay and recognition.