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.
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.
Explore how mental models in content design must account for vulnerability, trauma and cognitive impairment to create truly accessible services that work for all users, including those in crisis.
Skills disruption in the coming years won’t be gentle or fair. Your ability to evolve your capabilities might be the only job security you’ve got.
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.
True content strategy works at a higher level from that of most self-proclaimed strategists who merely make existing content perform incrementally better.
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?
A pragmatic look at absolutist views on AI ethics and why transparency and accountability, not moral panic, should shape content design today.
Explore how mental models in content design must account for vulnerability, trauma and cognitive impairment to create truly accessible services that work for all users, including those in crisis.
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.
We’re witnessing the end of the traditional mid-tier knowledge worker career. It’s an opportunity to redefine professional value in more uniquely human terms.