We’ve talked a lot on this podcast about institutional capture — whistleblowers, mission drift, what happens when ideology takes the steering wheel. Today my guest takes a different angle on all of it.
Tanya de Grunwald hosts This Isn’t Working, a podcast about workplace dynamics, and runs This Is Working, a business community for employers. From 2018 to 2024 she ran a club for early-careers heads at companies like Google, KPMG, AstraZeneca, and the NHS — a front-row seat to peak DEI from the inside. By 2024 she’d seen enough unintended consequences, especially around the trans agenda, to walk away and start telling the story.
In this conversation we trace the personal psychology underneath workplace wokeness: the embarrassment about capitalism that pushed HR toward “higher purpose,” the older gay men reliving Section 28 through trans activism, the weaponized fragility that lets the loudest voice win every argument. Tanya explains the brain drain that happens when sensible people leave and “nodding dogs” stay behind — and why the private sector is now leading the cleanup.
We also dig into what bullied kids fail to learn about self-protection, why “bring your whole self to work” is a mental-health disaster, and what it looks like when leaders finally take the room back. If you’ve been wondering whether the vibe shift is real, this episode is your field report from someone who sees the spreadsheets.
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Tanya de Grunwald hosts This Isn’t Working, a podcast exploring what has gone wrong in modern workplaces. In 2010 - after 10 years as a features writer for Glamour, Cosmopolitan and the Guardian - Tanya founded the careers blog Graduate Fog, and became a youth recruitment strategist. From 2018-24, Tanya ran the Good + Fair Employers Club, helping big UK employers including Google, KPMG, AstraZeneca and the National Health Service to hire graduates and apprentices. Last year, Tanya founded the business network This Is Working, bringing sensible employers together to unpick their problems. She is regularly quoted in UK newspapers including the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail. Follow her on X @IsntWorkingPod or YouTube @This-Isnt-Working
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[00:00:00] Start
[00:02:34] Workplace Dysfunction and the DEI Agenda
[00:05:54] Inside the Peak DEI Years
[00:11:23] Embarrassment About Capitalism
[00:15:00] Older Gay Men and Workplace Activism
[00:19:00] Weaponized Fragility in Arguments
[00:29:04] Self-ID Confusion and Legal Risk
[00:30:45] The Corporate Brain Drain
[00:35:47] Affirming Parents in Senior Leadership
[00:41:54] The Piggy Lesson on Bullying
[00:52:55] The Workplace as Cultural Collision Point
[01:00:32] Comfort, Challenge, and Young Workers
[01:06:52] The Vibe Shift and the Private Sector
[01:16:12] Bring Your Professional Self to Work
[01:24:47] We Make Paperclips
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MUSIC: Thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude & permission.
