If everything is on the table when it comes to the future of work, should we be talking about having workers own the company – or at least own a bit of it? To talk about that, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Elspeth...
The climate transition has huge implications for the future of work. We know that we need to develop 'green skills', although there is not complete agreement about how to define what those are. The crux of it, however, is that we are arguably moving into...
So happy to have been part of this event! Spoke about the future of work to a very enthusiastic crowd of Human Resources leaders at the Mclean & Company Signature24 event in Las Vegas this week. ...
The issue of climate and climate change is a huge one today. We know that something is going on with our planet, it is getting warmer and we are having more weather events and that is impacting the economy and definitely it is impacting work....
It is a complicated time in the work world right now as organizations grapple with policies around the return to the office or remote or hybrid work. As well, the unemployment rate is rising, managers are dealing with stress around the economy and workers are...
Awesome to be in Quebec City to present to the IIA Canada’s Audit Leader Event on the economic and demographic forces that will challenge leaders in the years ahead. hashtag#futureofwork hashtag#growthmindset hashtag#economy hashtag#keynotespeaker hashtag#technology hashtag#climate...
At one point we thought technology threatened jobs in fast food or retail but now we know that is likely to be only the tip of the iceberg. AI will mean changes for all workers and knowledge workers - the group that was once thought...
Behavioural science Guest: Adrian Camilleri Association Professor of Marketing University of Technology Sydney Business School Adrian Camilleri is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School. He uses experimental and survey research methods to understand, explain, and predict the cognitive processes underlying judgment and...
Is Work Life balance a myth? On this episode, Linda Nazareth is joined by Dan Pontefract, author of the book Work Life Bloom. Dan believes that we need to move to 'work life bloom' rather than 'work life balance' and he has some ideas about...
Is it time to include pet perks in more compensation packages? With talent acquisition a hot topic, everything is on the table now and perhaps that should include bringing your dog to the office, or at least having some of his health expenses covered by...
Can AI help people become better chess players - and if it can, what does that mean for the future of work? To talk about that, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Henning Piezunka the co-author of a study on that topic which reached...
Workers have lives outside of the workplace, and in many cases that means being caregivers to family members who are elderly or disabled or ill. The strain of that can impact their work, and it can impact the organizations they work for as well. To...
Artificial Intelligence is here to stay and as well as changing and eliminating jobs it is creating new roles. On this episode, Linda Nazareth is joined by Cliff Jurkiewicz, Vice President of Global Strategy at Phenom to talk about why it is time for companies...
Remote work keeps evolving: organizations have been changing the rules around it, workers have been shifting their demands on employers, and the pieces keep shifting. To talk about the new trends in remote work, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Jelena Djordjevic, Vice President...
Flexible work goes in and out of fashion, with always loving it and organizations being somewhat more skeptical. To talk about the state of flexible work, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Cali Williams Yost, CEO and Founder of Flex+Strategy Group. They talk about...
Such a pleasure to present virtually to the New Mindsets for Leading in Complexity webinar about what the future of work means for educators. Great questions and discussion!...
The pandemic has changed many things, among them the state of mental health in the workplace. Things were not perfect before the pandemic, there were definitely stresses and people under pressure, but lockdowns and having to manage a different way definitely took their toll. We...
Great to join Excellence Canada at the Performance Excellence Summit in Toronto to talk about the future of work....
So amazing to join International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) at their conference in Kona, Hawaii to talk about the global economic outlook Thanks to National Speakers Bureau for booking! (and decided to share a picture of view from my balcony rather than the...
What can an anthropologist tell us about the future of work? A lot as it happens, since they know a lot about societies and cultures, which means that their observations about the workplace can help us understand how things are evolving and what might come next....
The word 'networking' may seem a bit outdated, but perhaps it is time to update its meaning. To talk about that, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Andres Lares, Managing Partner at Shapiro Negotiations Institute. They cover what networking means today and why and...
Workers want more than money when they accept a job and typical looking for things like a manageable commute and a good team to work with as well. Increasingly, they are also interested in working for mission-oriented companies, wanting to work for organizations that are...
At a time when the world of work is more stressful than ever, how can leaders avoid burning out? To talk about that, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Lisa Earle McLeod and Elizabeth Lotardo, authors of the book Selling with Noble Purpose....
Artfiicial intelligence is changing the world, and it will inevitably change the world of work - but what will those changes look like? To tackle this huge topic, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by Jason Brommet, Head of Modern Work and Surface at...
Organizations talk about the need to have diverse organizations and they may be sincere about that, but actually making that happen can be difficult to do. Designing the right programs is not easy and getting people on board can be even harder. To talk about...
How does an organization get ready for the future and build a workforce that is ready for it when technology is changing so quickly? To talk about that, Linda Nazareth is joined on this episode by David Morgenstern, President of Accenture Canada. They talk about...
Workers want a certain amount of autonomy at work, but leaders have always been wary about providing it. Finding the right balance is now more important than ever, and also more difficult than ever given that many workers are now working remotely. To talk about...
Such a pleasure to speak with American Express clients at their recent virtual event. Here is a short clip from the opening of my presentation on economics and the future of work. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://relentlesseconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/amexclipshort.mp4"][/video]...
Part of succeeding at work is building a strong brand and the kind of 'social capital' that has people thinking about you when projects and opportunities come up. That is hard enough if you are at the office every day, but a lot more difficult...
So happy to have been part of the recent 'Transformation' Professional Development Day at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I spoke about the future of work and then enjoyed the Q & A from the very engaged audience....
On this 100th episode of the podcast, Linda Nazareth is joined by Carolyn Byer, Human Resources Lead at Microsoft Canada who was one of the guests early in the pandemic lockdowns. More than two years later, Linda and Carolyn reflect on how organizations had to...
So great to be part of a panel on the future of work and the challenges for Pensions and Investments at the Canadian Pension Risk Strategies Conference last week. Such a great discussion with the audience and my fellow panellists on the ways that work...
In the future will we all wear headsets and communicate through avatars with our work colleagues? The metaverse is changing much of how we communicate and that has huge implications for the world of work. To talk about the implications Linda Nazareth is joined on...
If you have a job and you have kids, you know that one impacts the other. Logistics is part of it, but there is more as well. Our work impacts our life outside work, and our families, perhaps more than we think. To discuss the...
Getting worker communication right is difficult, but it is at the crux of running an effective organization and the technology that is supposed to help sometimes seems to make things worse. To talk about effective ways to use technology to improve communication, Linda Nazareth is...
We all know what ' imposter syndrome' is as it relates to the workplace - the idea that you do not really belong, but are faking it as you are surrounded by people more competent than you. Then again, maybe that’s a generational thing and...
We all want to be productive, get more done, accomplish more – but it is kind of ironic that the more we think about those things the more anxious we get and the less productive we get. If we want to be productive, we probably...
Was great to be in Ottawa to present to appy to be in Ottawa today to present to the Canadian Crops Convention #CdnCrops23 at their first in-person event in three years! We talked about the global economic outlook and about the megatrends that are shifting...
What a great event! Loved presenting at the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA)Annual Leadership Conference in Fort Worth to a super-engaged and enthusiastic group....
A different episode this week as Work and the Future Host Linda Nazareth is interviewed about her just-released book Working it Out: Getting Ready for the Redesigned World of Work. Special guest Bridgett Anderson, President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, talks...
So great to be in Banff (gorgeous in winter) to speak at the Western Connect event organized by BUKSA / Conferences + Associations . Thanks to National Speakers Bureau for booking!...
So great to present to #Cannexus23 this week (virtually!) about the themes in my new book 'Working it Out: Getting Ready for the Redefined World of Work' - thank you to CERIC for the invitation! #futureofwork #keynotespeaker ...
If we are going to work effectively and have any kind of balance we need to set boundaries, but how we can we do that? In a world where work demands seem to constantly be rising, saying 'no' to anything sometimes seems impossible. To talk...
Should organizations force workers to take vacations? With workers increasing reporting that they are suffering from burnout, it might help if people took time off even if they are forced to do so. To talk about the issues around that, Linda Nazareth is joined on...
Hybrid work has become the norm in many organizations but it is an uneasy norm, with many details to be worked out. From how many days workers should be at the office to how managers can best connect with workers, many key details are still...
If no one is in the office, how can you create a culture? On this episode Linda Nazareth talks to Ken Babcock, CEO and co-founder of Tango, a browser and desktop application that automatically generates how-to guides. Ken leads a fully remote team of 30...
Amazing to be in Vancouver yesterday presenting to the Vancouver Board of Trade on the future of work and being part of the thoughtful Q & A session afterwards. Skills mismatches and shortages are everywhere and was awesome to be with a group so committed...
What an amazing event! Had the pleasure of both speaking and leading a workshop for advertising agency Dentsu on the future of work in finance. Great to be part of the discussion (and to enjoy their gorgeous workspace!). ...
We know that partnerships and teams matter to all organizations but movies are a little different. When you get a team together to make a movie, you are bringing together a lot of creative people and as well a lot of people with competing priorities....
Just about everyone - even if they work independently or remotely - has to collaborate with other people on occasion. Not everyone likes to do that and not everyone does it well, but when collaboration fails there are real business costs. To talk about how...
Awesome to be in Charlottetown this week talking to the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation about the about the future of work. Great group, important topic and gorgeous city!...
Awesome to be in Vancouver to speak to the MGI Global conference about the global economy and the megatrends that will shape it in the coming years. So great to be back in lovely rooms like this one at the Pan Pacific Vancouver!...
Had a great morning speaking to the Purposeful Intent conference in Toronto about the future of work. So much to discuss given that we really are at a pivotal moment in economic history. ...
Despite the inroads women have made in the workforce over the past decades, the progress may not be as good as it looks particularly when it comes to the C-Suite. On this episode Monika Hamori, Associate Professor at the IE Business School in Madrid joins...
Amazing to be part of a panel for ACCA this morning and to be discussing the future of work and the accounting profession with a global audience. ...
Was awesome to speak to the Ontario Municipal Financial Officers in lovely Blue Mountain, Ontario. Yes, the discussion was about the economy but it was also about resilience and why it is more important than ever to develop it both from an individual and an...
The workplace is in a state of flux, and that includes the physical workplace. It used to be the place we went to because that is where we could work – that was where the computers were and we had to sit in board rooms...
Is it time to deconstruct jobs and how do we do that? On this episode Linda Nazareth is joined by Ravin Jesuthasan, co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Work Without Jobs How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System. They talk about why it may be...
In my latest column for the Globe and Mail I look at the phenomenon of 'Quiet Quitting'. As much as it is easy to write off the Gen Z workers going this route as slackers, the reality is that they are sending a message that...
Resilience has become a kind of buzzword when it comes to business and when it comes to our lives. We are told to be resilient and to bounce back from setbacks, and we also hear about the need for resilient organizations, especially in the wake...
The finance sector has been one of the economic leaders over the past few years, with companies seemingly hiring as many workers as they can. And it isn’t just the finance sector…workers with skills in financial analysis have been in hot demand in all kinds...
Great to speak with CBC Metro Morning about how organizations should be thinking about attracting Generation Z. They are not the Boomers or even the Millennials! https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-39-metro-morning/clip/15928598-what-canadian-employers-need-attract-gen-z-workers ...
The heat waves in Europe this summer are a reminder that our planet is getting warmer and in turn that that will have an impact on the future of work. See more here in my latest column for the Globe and Mail...
This year has been a tough one for a lot of organizations. They have needed workers, sometimes needed them desperately, and it has not been easy to find them and they have been continuously losing them as we go through this thing called the Great...
Was awesome to join the Canadian College and University Food Services Association at their at their recent conference at Casino Windsor. Great to talk about the megatrends changing the economy and how they will impact food service ...
As we move to new models of work we have sometimes wondered whether remote workers are too isolated but are hybrid workers also isolated - and maybe even lonely? And if that is true, as some evidence suggests, what should organizations be doing to help...
So great to speak to the the Canadian Securities Lending Association at their conference in Toronto. Wonderful to be in front of a live audience talking about the future of work and the economy #futureofwork #keynotespeaker #economy...
What do concerns about ESG mean for the future of work? The pandemic aside though, we have a building awareness of what is going on in terms of environmental change in general, and a building awareness of ESG Investing. ESG-of course being the acronym for Environmental, Social,...
Have you ever been asked to do something at work that you thought compromised your morals? It could be something big and dramatic like in a movie, where a worker is asked hide a report on safety even though it might mean people die or...
How we work impacts many things including the environment and equity and income distribution as welI and there are indications that moving more work remote could help us achieve our societal goals. To discuss why remote work could have so many spin-off benefits, Linda Nazareth...
Is there a way to turn the Great Resignation into the Great Retention? For the past year we have heard a lot about the Great Resignation, the rush of people who are quitting jobs because they are not happy where they are, often for reasons...
The price of everything is spiralling which means all of the calculations that people made about retirement may need to be re-calculated. That might mean staying in the workforce longer or maybe returning after you have exited it. Whatever decisions people make will have wide...
Thanks to The Labour Market Group in North Bay, Ontario for having me kick off their Future of Work webinar series. I am so happy that we now have so many discussions taking place around the future of work - we are transitioning into a...
This is a special episode of work and the future sponsored by Microsoft, and it is on a special topic as well, the subject of disabilities in the workforce. More specifically it is about the disclosure of disabilities because there are far more people dealing...
Is leadership training going to the wrong people? Typically organizations give leadership training it either to very senior people or those who they have identified by conventional metrics as future senior people, but maybe that is not the best way to do things. On this...
As companies scramble to find hourly-paid workers, what can companies do to attract them? One thing would be to recognize that many of their workers are dealing with considerable financial stress, and that helping them to counter that would be of mutual benefit to workers...
Toxic workplaces are everywhere and are frequently cited as one of the main reasons why people quit their jobs. What kind of culture allows toxic workplaces to flourish? And if you are a manager, what can you do to turn things around? To talk about...
How do art and the world of work go together? If you are an artist, is that a conflict with working in a conventional environment? And if you are running an organization, is it good or bad to have artistic people working for you? The knee jerk...
Is hybrid work the best of both worlds or the worst of it? Even before the pandemic organizations struggled to find the right mix of having workers in the office or elsewhere and two years into it many are still trying to find the right...
How will work have to change to accommodate longer life spans? A child born today has a 50 per cent chance of living to one hundred, but even now we know the workforce is aging. In turn, that means we need to change both organizational...
How do we give graduates the skills they need to make a decent living and give organizations the tech skills they need to operate productively? Ryan Craig is the Managing Director of Achieve Partners and he joins us to talk about ways to give students...
What are the trends around the future of work we should be watching as we get into 2022? I take. a look at them in my latest column for the Globe and Mail...
What do space missions and remote work have in common? A lot as it turns out, which means that there is a lot that remote workers and those who manage them can learn from looking at what it takes for astronauts to operate effectively when...
How do you not just accommodate hybrid work but actually create an effective hybrid culture? To talk about the effective strategies for doing that, we are joined on this episode by Carolyn Byer, HR Lead for Microsoft Canada who shares her experience of leading a...
Virtual meetings bring people together but as they do they also shift power dynamics as compared to live meetings. Who will be the winners and losers in this virtual world? As we virtually bring people into our homes, how are we changing our work lives?...
We put so much into our careers, trying to do our jobs well and impress management with our performance – but is that enough? The fact is that there are career skills that go beyond the scope of our job and a lot of people...
If some of your workforce is 'visible' in an office and some are 'invisible' at home, how can you ensure that everyone is treated fairly? There are many considerations for managers, particularly since hybrid work may disproportionately affect some groups of people, whether they are...
How do you bring together workers from different organization with different corporate cultures? Combining organizations may make sense from a business point of view, but when you do it you are often bringing together many disparate parts. Doing it effectively means crafting a communications strategy...
If you watch any kind of high level sports, you have to marvel at how much training it takes to get to an elite level as well as the training it takes to perform on game day. Doing things under pressure is not the same...
At one time mental health may have been a subject that organizations wanted to avoid discussing, but those days are rapidly disappearing . With the pandemic still ongoing, this is a very difficult time for many and as it is taking a toll on mental...
It is the fourth quarter of 2021 and we are still in a state of flux in the work world.. Companies are struggling with whether to bring everyone back to the office, there are labour shortages all over, and just what normal looks like in...
With the pandemic not behind us yet, how can organizations be agile and willing to change up how we do things, maybe several times more before we get to the end of this? And how can workers come together to get things done effectively as...
Can you turn departing employees into loyal alumni? When a worker leaves, most companies bid them well, perhaps doing a hasty exit interview on the way out. That, however, may be a short-sighted way to do things. Today's guests are Dr. Alison Dachner of John...
Sooner or later we will be going back to offices and work space, but we will be doing it with a different mindset. Partly that is around how safety how do we set things up so we don’t spread the next virus, but there are...
Was great to have the chance to talk about the 4-day workweek with Anne Gaviola of Global News this week...
Frito-Lays workers have recently settled a strike (over appalling work conditions) but that is not the end of the discussion on the best way to get snacks into bowls. Right now the answer is apparently to grind out shifts from human beings, but the next...
How do you create a corporate culture where workers have a voice, and if you are a worker how do you decide to speak up? Employees are the ones on the front lines, the ones who know what is going on in a organization and...
Was lucky enough to moderate an awesome panel on education and the future of work for D2L yesterday (virtually of course, but amazing how well it works). So many challenges ahead, but also so many great ideas and plans around how to meet them. ...
Is there a way to fairly adjust salaries so that there are no disparities by race or sex or anything else? Our guest today says there is and she has put it into practice at her company. Marie Rose Roiux is CFO and VP Business...
Schools, colleges, universities - are they the right providers to educate workers for the future of work? Or are their models the wrong ones for the education we will need in future? I tackled some of these issues in my latest column for the Globe...
Can you use scenario planning to prepare for the future and the future of work? As the pandemic has shown, you can never be completed prepared for what might happen, but planning and imagining scenarios can definitely give you an advantage. Our guest today is Lance...
Have you ever been ghosted? Not on a dating app or by a friend, but in your work-life? It happens all the time. It may be the old we should have lunch thing- someone says it, you try to follow up and they never answer...
Is data-driven hiring the future, and if it is should we be happy or a little bit scared? With the economy heating upm we are seeing a surge in hiring, or at least a surge in companies trying to hire. As they look for the...
How do we present and communicate now that we are in hybrid work world? .We have gotten used to presenting virtually to a team that is perhaps far-flung, so what happens now when we have to get back to the office and communicate to a...
Is crisis mode our new normal in the work force? As the pandemic took hold in early 2020, it became clear that it was a case of “all hands on deck,” as everyone needed to step up to deal with a disruption the likes of...
As we move towards the future of work, it is becoming increasingly clear that that that might mean re-thinking education models. We tend to think of education as being a few years after high school then maybe the odd course to pick up new skills...
Australia is held up as an example to those of us in North America and elsewhere in the world. They did not completely escape the pandemic, but they came pretty close and for the most part, they are back at work in offices, if they...
We are getting good news on the economy and the labor market but are the statistics telling us the whole story? Even with a surge in hiring and a fall in the unemployment, there is a core of people who have been out of the...
YOLO - you only live once. Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of people, and in particular younger people are taking that attitude and it may have economic implications. An eagerness to switch jobs or industries and to travel more could shake things up...
Working virtually is awesome for a lot of people, although it might be slightly less awesome for younger workers. If your home office is actually a laptop propped up on your bed, and if you haven't got anyone to socialize with beyond your cat -well,...
The pandemic may be ending, but that does mean that workers are headed back to where they were in the spring of 2020. In some cases, their positions have been eliminated and they are going to be forced to reinvent themselves. In others, their jobs...
Was great to speak to Canadian network CTV about the future of work post-pandemic...
How important will reskilling be to our economic future and what role should business play in making it happen? And what about continuous training? Business has always been reticent about training because there is always the risk that you could lose those trained at your...
How do you take someone with one set of skills and gret them ready for a job market that needs a completely different set of them? It is an issue that we had started to grapple with a lot before the pandemic, but the pandemic...
Should we be worried about pandemic graduates? If we are to go on the history, those who graduate during recessions tend to have a much harder go of it than 'luckier' cohorts, and the disruptions we have seen this time around could make things worse....
Over the past year we have leaned heavily on technology, but it has kind of been a love-hate relationship. We love technology it because it is cool that we can work from home, but we also get frustrated when it does not work, and we...
Our major economic problem right now is the pandemic and its offshoots, but that does not mean the economic issues we had before the pandemic have gone away. One of those issues is technology, or rather the speed of technological change and what that means...
Remote work used to be looked at with suspicion, but after nearly a year of trial by fire, everyone knows it is great - right? Actually, not right. Despite having tried it out for months, many managers still view remote work as very much second...
Was privileged to moderate a great roundtable on 'New Approaches to Reskilling and Upskilling Displacd Workers' for th Business Council of Canada and the Public Policy Forum last week. Moderating by teleconference is a bit different than doing it in person, but takes me back...
Guest: Bretton (Brett) Putter is an expert in company culture development who is consulted by companies and leaders worldwide to help design, develop and build high-performing cultures. Company culture can be a fairly murky concept. Roughly defined as 'how we do things' it should be reflection...
Coming September 2021, my new book Where We Left Off: Ten Trends Changing the Post-Pandemic Economy. Looking forward to speaking on the topic in person then and virtually anytime! Contact speaking@relentlesseconomics.com to book. ...
Last column of the year for the Globe and Mail- what should we expect from the post-pandemiic labour market? Read more here ...
Can an organization actively build a a resilient workforce? Are there ways to create resilient workers? It would seem to be to our advantage to do that: according to a study published by PwC, programs that foster a resilient and mentally healthy workplace returned $2.30...
I have been talking and writing about the K-Shaped economic recovery for a while now. Basically, some sectors and individuals are going to be in favor over the coming years and some are not, with the split between the two getter ever larger. In many...
This is Episode 3 of aspecial series on Coming back Stronger sponsored by Microsoft. In our first two episodes we talked about how companies can come back stronger, and how workers can build the resilience to cope with their new stresses. Today we look much...
This is episode 2 of a special 4-part special series of Work and the Future called Coming Back Stronger sponsored by Microsoft. In Episode 1 we talked about what organizations should do to come back ready for the post-pandemic world, but what about individuals? Their...
This is episode 1 of a special 4-part special series of Work and the Future called Coming Back Stronger sponsored by Microsoft. We are still fighting this pandemic but we are also seeing light at the end of the tunnel. But how are we going to...
The gig economy’ sometimes gets a bad rap – people hear it and they think of ride-share drivers who really want to be full time. In fact though the gig economy is a much more nuanced place, one that encompasses different kinds of gig workers,...
If you work remotely you are not going to buy your usual coffee and sandwich near your office, and that is going to have economic consequences so someone should pay for that through higher taxes. That is the premise behind a suggestion from Deutsche Bank...
So much attention gets paid to the pandemic and how it is changing the work world that we sometimes forget how much disruption was going on long before we ever heard of Covid-19. The fact is, automation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution were already changing...
In a world where civility is in short supply, is there a way to keep our workplaces civil? These days, politics often divides us, with feelings running deep, and the extra stress of the pandemic can bring tensions to the fore. Still, there are ways...
The gig economy gets a lot of negative press, but is it actually a bad thing? Although some think it is synonymous with income insecurity and bad management practices, in fact for many it is the way they choose to work. For professional workers who...
I am so excited to share that I will be speaking at Microsoft's Future Now event, to take place virtually October 27th and 28th, I will be one of more than 100 speakers talking about digital transformation, the future of work, and being primed to...
We are getting close to a vaccine for Covid-19 and a return to something approaching normal in the workforce. But will normal look like for companies? And how should companies plan for the post-pandemic future of work? Our guest today is Cathryn Barnard a Partner...
Are you afraid of unemployment or are you sure you are forever employable? As the economic outlook becomes increasingly uncertain, many people would put themselves in the first category but would certainly like to be in the second. Our guest today is Jeff Gothelf, author...
We are re-imagining everything else, so maybe we need to imagine the office as well. The physical office we are familiar with has its roots in designs first imagined a hundred years ago, with a bit of a Dilbert-style reboot thrown in during the 1950s....
Yes I miss in-person presentations, a lot actually, but cool that we can still keep the conversations going. Here I am on someone's laptop (you can see his coffee mug to the right) as I speak to the Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association fall conference...
Are there things that animals can tell us about how to cope wth work stress and ultimately how to work better? Our guest today is a psychotherapist with a passion for horses, and she has found a way to marry the two together. As she...
Six months into the pandemic and with more months to come, most workers are coping but not without difficulty. Whether it is stress about being home and isolated, or stress about going back to work and possibly getting sick, a lot of people are under...
It may have been a bit of a struggle to make it work, but the pandemic has forced many companies to keep their teams intact even when they are not under the same roof. As workers have de-camped to far-flung places, perhaps permanently, we are...
What does flexible work mean to you? It might mean leaving a few minutes early to catch your kid's soccer game, or it might mean totally restructuring your job so you can travelfor a few months. In both cases, however, employers have traditionally been hesitant...
The school year is starting and the pandemic is not ending and Generation Z will have to deal with that. In fact, they will probably have to deal with the impact of the pandemic for years as the effects of it shape the way that...
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing and according to the World Economic Forum, the transformation it imposes on us will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. For business to weather this revolution and come out on the right side of it will...
When we think about the words that go with 'leadership', 'heart' is rarely among them but perhaps it should be. The pandemic has shown us that business as usual is no longer going to get the job done, and as well we are all acutely...
Why choose one career when you can do more than one at the same time? In these days of gig jobs and the need to pivot as the economy change, maybe we should thinking hard about 'portfolio careers' or doing several things at the same...
What does a Navy fighter pilot have in common with leading during the pandemic? A lot, at least according to our guest today. Communicating wel, reinforcing core values, remembering to listen- these are all things that leaders in the navy are trained to do, and...
We are all used to interacting with one another in person, at the office, at meetings, just casually. Particularly when it is a business context, we tend to think about how we should present ourselves and we know all about the firm handshake (now a...
Freelance work something of a controversial workforce trend. To some, it is the dreaded gig economy, those who are forced to work on contracts or driving ride shares because they cannot find that holy grail, the full-time job. To others though, it represents freedom, the ability to...
The pandemic has forced a giant-scale experiment in online education, and by many accounts it is going very poorly. From first graders to college students, everyone seems to be frustrated at having to take the classroom experience to a crowded space in the kitchen, and...
Remote work is having a minute, or rather a series of them. Some companies have used it for years, some have been adamantly against it, but both kinds are being forced into it at the moment. As the pandemic forces millions to figure out some...
As the labor market goes through an evolution that started long before the pandemic, our communities are being transformed as well. In many cases that means good things, as when successful companies hire and prosperity increases. Other times there are less-positive spin-offs, with some people...
All of a sudden, front line workers are being treated as the heroes of this pandemic and that is only fair. Bus drivers, grocery workers, cleaners, meat plant employees – all of these people jobs that need doing and they put themselves at risk in...
Was so great to speak to Manitoba Tech's Disrupted Future conference last week..I spoke about the future of work, which is scary and challenging but something we need to come to terms with now. There is lots to be optimistic about, and I think people...
Let's face facts: tech is indeed replacing workers, especially at places like grocery stores where simple functions like scanning labels can be done without employees. A labor group in Oregon wants to legislate that away, but can you even do that? Read more here in...
Maybe we will have a recession, maybe we won't, and anyway by all means use a different word if you prefer.'Slowdown', 'Soft Patch', 'Downturn', any of them will do, and any might describe where the economy will be by next year. If we do hit...
One of the big worries regarding the future of work is that jobs are going to disappear altogether, replaced by breathtaking technology and clever robots. That is happening to an extent, but apparently some dregs are being left for humans, for better or work. 'Ghost...
An hour to answer questions about the future of work - what could be better? I really enjoyed the hour I spent on CBC Radio earlier this week, supposedly talking about a re-think of the five-day work week but in fact covering all kinds of...
When I speak to employer groups about the future of work, they are often keen to know what they should do to both attract and hold on to workers. In tight markets, that often means attract anyone, anyone at all, they are not fussy. Still,...
It is almost like an urban myth: we were supposed to get a wave of baby boomer retirements that were going to make it a seller's market for younger workers. And it is happening - except that it is apparently more like a splash than...
The future of work is a huge subject, not one that can really be tackled by in a forty minute period, but we gave it a shot at the Globe and Mail's recent Future Forward conference. I was part of a panel that touched on...
Industrial revolutions are always kind of scary, at least for those who have to make a living. The idea that some crazy new technology can do your job, and maybe do it better..well who can blame the Luddites of the 19th century who took hammers...
Last week I had the chance to be a guest on my old colleague Bruce Sellery's podcast, Moolala. We talked about Income Share Agreements, about which I have kind of mixed feelings. They are a way to spread the risk for students, in that they...
A big misunderstanding? Uber and Lyft drivers are protesting across ten U.S. cities this week, as well as in the U.K., South America and Australia, saying that the companies are treating them unfairly. The companies say that they are a great deal for the drivers,...
No one is saying central bankers ever had an easy job, but at least in days gone by it used to be a bit more straightforward. If labor was in short supply wages went up and people had more money to spend and prices went...
Jobs come and jobs go, but are the ones that are coming as good as the ones that we are losing? I was taken by some new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which looked at the job titles being added and found a...
I actually am a fan of the hashtag gigeconomy..in many ways it is a better way to get work done and for some workers it offers a ton of flexibility, or is at least an alternative to the traditional model of work. That said, not...
Okay, we have to talk about a recession. It might not happen, but enough indicators are suggesting that it is a possibility that we do have to go there. At the moment, we have these incredibly low unemployment rates in Canada and the U.S. but...
This is my latest article for the Globe and Mail..this time on 'Perennials' as older workers are sometimes called. Those over 55 now comprise about 23 per cent of the U.S. workforce and 21 per cent of the Canadian one, which should not surprise anyone....
I recently had the chance to do a great interview with Anne Gaviola of VICE on 'How Not to be Replaced by a Robot at Work'. For those of you who are not aware, VICE is a site that primarily attracts those under the age...
In my latest column for the Globe and Mail I write about the controversial subject of a robot tax. In one sense it is fair enough: if you hire workers you have to pay a payroll tax, so if you go with robots (or cobots,...
Money is cool but workers need more than that: after all, there are droves of well-paid workers who right-this-minute are sprucing up their resumes because they feel like they cannot stand a single more day at their jobs. If you asked them why they are...
Work Is Not a Place (the new book) is officially out on December 9th which is exciting..has been a long process (but a fun one too. Some days.). In the meantime, I have been out talking about the subject of it, which is basically the...