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Peace at the Water Cooler
Saranne Segal is a conflict resolution advocate on a mission to create more harmonious workplaces. Peace at the Water Cooler is your go-to podcast for dealing with difficult people, managing toxic behaviours and how to have those tricky conversations with colleagues. With a background as a lawyer and mediator, Saranne brings decades of experience dealing with workplace conflict to each episode as she talks to experts, authors and employees.
Peace at the Water Cooler
The Good Wife Made Me Do It: How a Fictional Lawyer Helped Me Find My Real Purpose
It started with chocolate on the couch and The Good Wife on the TV. One fictional mediation scene later, I was Googling courses and rethinking my entire legal career.
When a fictional lawyer sparked a very real career pivot, I had no idea it would lead me from the courtroom to the mediation room. In this season opener, I share the story behind that shift: from practising family law to becoming a full-time mediator, and the surprising moments that reshaped how I understand conflict, especially at work.
There’s the team leader who wore sunglasses indoors and channelled full Jack Nicholson energy, a colleague clutching a plastic brain stress ball, and some tough conversations that never made it into any training manual.
More importantly, I unpack two things I’ve learned about workplace conflict - insights that can help anyone trying to repair a fractured working relationship, rebuild trust, or move a difficult dynamic forward.
This episode is for anyone navigating conflict and looking for a way through.
Thanks for listening to Peace at the Water Cooler.
Conflict doesn’t fix itself, but it can shift, with the right conversation. If you’ve got a story, a question, or a workplace dilemma you'd like me to explore, connect with me on LinkedIn or send me an email at (saranne@segalconflictsolutions.com.au)