Episodes

Climate change it was an issue before the pandemic, and it will be an issue when the pandemic is over.More than that, the issue of climate change will be a long term issue that impacts the future of work. Between the ways that we operate our factories and organizations to the kind of careers that the next generation follows, so many of our economic decisions that we make will be linked to issues around climate change, and in turn they will impact our work-lives for decades to come. To delve int...

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 aware that we are indeed fighting a global pandemic together, This may well be the time to think more about compassion and heart, not just because of any moral principles but because leading from the heart may well be the most effective way to get the job done. Our g...

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 time. That could happen in the context of one organization where one worker can wear many different hats, or it could be that more of us will do one multiple things at once. It is what used to be called moonlighting kicked up a notch, with an assist from technology a...

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 they are things that can serve leaders well as they navigate un-chartered territory now. Join us as Jeff McLean, former fighter pilot turned consultant at ghSMART talks about why the lessons from his first career are serving him well in h...

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 thing of the past) and looking attentive at meetings. Now though we are increasingly interacting by video conference and the rules for that are very different. Being on video – whether we are talking about Zoom, or Microsoft Teams or anything else – ...

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 have some control over their professional lives and maybe even to earn more money while they are doing it. To be sure there is some of the first out there, but we should not lose sight of the fact that it is the sec...

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 many are clamouring to get back to the in-school experience. But will it ever happen? After all, the experiment was a poorly planned one, and perhaps should not be seen as the benchmark of what online education, something that was...

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 kind of home office set up (the kitchen table works in a pinch), we are in the midst of a great work-at-home experiment. Maybe it will be a giant success, or maybe it will make everyone want to get back to their cubicle as soon as possible. More likely, the ...

Many sectors have been impacted by the pandemic, but none more completely than the travel sector. One week is was functioning at full capacity, and then the next the lights had completely gone out, or so it seems. When they go back on, they will shine on a completely different sector, one is which work roles have changed quite dramatically. To get some perspective on where travel and its workers are headed, in this episode we talk to two guests with slightly different vantage points. Will Secc...

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 being left out of the economic party. In the best cases, business works together with educational institutions and community partners to shape the communities they operate in, and in the process hopefully d...

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 the process. In acknowledgement of that, many employers are boosting their pay and bonuses in a bid to reward them for what they are doing and indeed to make sure they stay on the job. Longer term, however, the result of the pandemic may be that these s...

As a society, we tend to both love and hate our arts sector. Love them, because we do value the contributions that music and visual arts and theater and film make to our lives particularly now. In the midst of this pandemic, how many lives have been brightened, even if for a minute, by watching Andrea Bocelli perform at the Duomo in Milan on Easter Sunday, or by seeing an impromptu concert by a fiddler on Twitter? But there is clearly some there as well, because so much of the sector operates on...

Ready or not, the world of work is changing. And, whoever you are, you need to figure out your place in the future of work. We need to re-imagine everything. Who are the workers that will be in demand in the future? Will robots take our jobs or become our trusted co-workers? Should companies let workers work from home or will that guarantee an all-day frenzy of watching Netflix? Oh, and will jobs even exist in future? My name is Linda Nazareth and by profession I am an economist…through my ca...