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.
Work-life integration for purpose-driven professionals: A trauma-informed content specialist explains why balance is the wrong goal when your work spans borders and helps vulnerable people.
Explore the powerful impact of meaningful content through personal reflections on trauma-informed design and local heritage research. Learn how one piece of feedback can shape the purpose and value of your work.
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.
Artificial intelligence is transforming knowledge work professions by eliminating mid-level roles while preserving entry-level and senior positions. Discover how this “hollowing out” is reshaping careers in software development, law, accounting, and other fields.
Diplomatic curiosity is the latest management trend, but for Executive Assistants there’s nothing new under the sun.
Executive Assistant wellbeing starts with a trauma-informed approach to looking after ourselves. Pushing ourselves to be perfect combined with daily contact with emotionally charged information and events can result in burnout.
The Public Design Evidence Review sets out to define the future of design in public services, but leaves out the emotional and psychological realities of its users. In a post-lockdown world where cognitive overload is rising and trust is falling, trauma-informed design isn’t a luxury. It’s a baseline.
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.
Discover 11 powerful AI prompts content designers aren’t using that go beyond basic instructions, from vulnerability audits to stakeholder simulation, developed through real-world government AI implementations.
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.
Trauma-informed content can be produced with the help of AI tools without risking secondary trauma to the content designer or content strategist.
Executive Assistant wellbeing starts with a trauma-informed approach to looking after ourselves. Pushing ourselves to be perfect combined with daily contact with emotionally charged information and events can result in burnout.
If AI is taking over administrative tasks, where should EAs focus their energy? The answer lies in developing strategic, commercially valuable skills that make them indispensable.
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.
An examination of how poorly written job specifications exclude qualified candidates. Discover the comedy and tragedy of modern recruitment, from misunderstood GDS standards to LinkedIn’s algorithm burying experienced professionals.
Learn how cultural fluidity becomes a professional superpower in navigating workplace transitions. Discover strategies for transforming imposter syndrome into unique insight across diverse professional environments.