Most workplaces have at least some ridiculous processes that seem to serve no purpose. But when it comes to pointless bureaucracy, Government departments are best-in-class.

Charles and James tell two stories – one from Australia and one from the UK – where bureaucracy got completely out of hand.

You’ll hear about stationery budgets, re-used envelopes, wayward traffic cones, and a very different definition of ‘mogging’.

Please note, before listening to this podcast you must fill out a mandatory form, undertake a safety briefing and attend a subcommittee meeting.

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Full tour schedule: Wankernomics.com/live

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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.