Bullshit at work: Why nonsense rules — and how to resist

Why does work so often feel absurd? From meaningless meetings and hollow mission statements to faddish leadership models and engagement surveys that infantilise staff, most of us recognise the corporate nonsense—but rarely question its origins.

In this unflinching talk, strategist and author Paul Sweeney dismantles the architecture of workplace bullshit. Drawing on psychology, organisational theory, and decades inside large companies, he traces how our natural discomfort with uncertainty, combined with pseudoscience, hierarchy, and misplaced faith in consultants, has produced a culture of dysfunction.

Sweeney shows how much of what passes for management today—performance appraisals, wellbeing programmes, even diversity initiatives—often makes things worse. Why? Because they ignore the real culprits: power, structure, and the illusion of control.

But this isn’t just critique. It’s a call to rethink work from the ground up—with more humanity, better design, and less deference to fake gurus and spreadsheet logic.

If we want less burnout and more meaning, less theatre and more impact, it starts by calling out the nonsense—and refusing to play along.