Alabama’s ecosystem of innovation is built on the strength of its entrepreneurs, workforce, policymakers, and community leaders. Leading economic development at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Carter Wells has long worked at the intersection of these stakeholders, fueling innovation, collaboration, and impact across 45 biotech companies in the state. In this custom episode, learn how Carter connects Alabama’s best institutions, organizations, and people behind HudsonAlpha’s mission...

For the past five years, Fast Company has published the annual Queer 50, a list of the most influential LGBTQ leaders in business, tech, and beyond. The list is a celebration of queer representation and influence in the highest ranks of business. Honorees include those working on addressing the most relevant topics of our time, including responsible AI, trans rights, healthcare, and the future of work. In this episode, we wanted to hear from some of our Queer 50 honorees about the strengths...

Our show is based on the premise that work is changing everyday. But there’s a big problem with that: Change is hard, scary . . . and necessary. Now more than ever, as AI is integrated into our jobs, we are asked to adapt to seismic shifts at a much faster rate than in the past. But it’s human nature to resist uncomfortable changes, even if we know it might be for the best. So how can we make these shifts a little easier? Can we train our brains to become more adaptable? Sanam Hafeez is a...

One in five American workers have signed a noncompete clause in their employment contract, and many likely had no idea what they were agreeing to. Noncompete clauses typically prevent workers from joining competitors for a certain period of time after their employment; and although many people only expect to see those restrictions only in high-level positions, they actually apply to a surprising number of jobs. Low-wage workers in fast-food service, nurses and other healthcare professionals,...

Should you send an email, or is Slack the better way to communicate with your colleagues? Is it ever okay to text a client? Can you use emojis with your boss—and if you can, should you? Communication at work can be really fraught and depends on the subject matter, your industry, your company culture, plus your individual style and preference. And given all that, there’s lots of room for mistakes and misunderstandings.In this LinkedIn Audio conversation with senior editors Lydia Dishman and...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 61 million adults in the United States have at least one disability, and for nearly half that population, the disability is invisible or at least not apparent. These conditions often don’t manifest in ways that are immediately evident to others—such as chronic pain, diabetes, autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, arthritis, and more. And although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 to protect against...

We take for granted the standard 40-hour, 5-day workweek, but this structured schedule was implemented to suit a very different reality than most of us work and live in today. In recent years, the 4-day workweek has gained attention. But that kind of restructuring seems to leave many with more logistical questions than answers: What about parents trying to match a school schedule, or sleep-deprived medical workers, or service workers who usually don’t know their scheduling needs in advance?...

Leaders have tried to sell work as ‘one big family’ for years. With the proliferation of terms like ‘office besties’ and ‘work spouses,’ many employees have viewed work as a type of family too. But anyone who has been passed over for a promotion they deserved or laid off after years of hard work knows the hard truth: Work isn’t your family. In fact, work can make people feel lonely by preventing them from connecting with their community, and some mental health experts have called loneliness a...

Even as the nature of work changes and innovations transform our jobs, the hiring process feels stuck in the same biased, ineffective rut. Too often, when companies finds themselves with an open position, they fall back on the same broken methods: mining leadership’s narrow, professional networks, or posting the same ineffective job ads in the same places. So how can we fix a system that’s so ingrained in the traditional corporate psyche? How can we really reach unexpected and...

No matter what job you have, you’ve probably felt at various points in your career that you don’t make enough. And because money can be a taboo topic, we rarely reveal what our salaries are—even with the people we’re closest to. In a recent survey, only about half the participants said they share their salary with family members, while just 32% said they share how much they make with close friends. This secrecy helps keep gender, racial, and executive-to-worker pay gaps thriving. Fortunately,...

One of the secret problems with work is that hard work alone isn’t enough to get ahead. It’s a tough wake-up call for those of us who spent our school years working to get all As and doing all the things we were told were the key to a successful life. The truth is, work—and the rest of the “real world”—isn’t a meritocracy. The most hard-working, and even the smartest or most-talented, people aren’t always the ones who end up in power. So if hard work alone isn’t what matters, what does? And...

Fifty percent of people say they’ve quit a job because of a bad boss. Why are so many managers unable to effectively manage? And is there a way to learn how to be a better manager? Leadership coach Lia Bosch joins host Kathleen Davis to talk about what companies get wrong about management and how bosses can be better at their jobs.

Welcome back to Season 12 of ‘The New Way We Work’!Even in the best of times, there’s always been an undercurrent of conflict between the priorities of corporate leadership and the needs of employees. But in the last several years, that tension has increased noticeably. Whether it’s the ongoing battles over employees returning to the office (or not), the renewed uproar over executive pay, or missteps in handling layoffs, the conflicts between employees and management only seem to grow. This...

The New Way We Work is back for a new season next week and we are unpacking the biggest problems with work! Problems like lack of pay transparency, how hard work too often goes unrewarded, how the wrong people end up as managers, and so much more.

The impact of AI on finance departments will be huge.

How artificial intelligence is shaping the product journeys from procurement to end customers.

In this podcast, leaders in HR and AI reveal what it will take for businesses to get their staff on board.

According to surveys, the average employee spends more than 4 hours a week in meetings, but around 90% of people consider their meetings to be unproductive. While it’s tempting to eliminate meetings altogether, they are often a necessary part of getting work done. In this recent LinkedIn Audio conversation with ‘Fast Company’ senior editor Julia Herbst, we talked about how to drastically cut down on the number of meetings and make the ones that remain more productive and inclusive. 

Work has changed a lot in the last few years: from the shift to remote work to the struggle over returning to the office, from the great resignation to mass layoffs at tech and media companies, from the rise in union organizing to the rise in AI in workplaces. So what does 2024 hold for companies, leaders, and employees?  Today’s episode is a recording of a recent LinkedIn Audio conversation with Fast Company Staff Editor AJ Hess breaking down advice and predictions for what to expect next.

The end of the year brings a lot of office traditions: holiday parties, year-end bonuses if you’re lucky, and often performance reviews. In this LinkedIn Audio conversation with senior editor Julia Herbst, we talk about common biases to avoid, what to say about areas of improvement, and how to get the most out of the process.

Kate Davis is joined by Fast Company podcast hosts KC Ifeanyi, Yasmin Gange and Josh Christensen to discuss the biggest stories from 2023

Workplaces move through design trends and conceptual themes just like other parts of modern interior commercial design. Remember the evolution of the cubicle farm, or the early 2000s’ startup office with a long communal desk (and ping pong table nearby)? But now, with our in-office and work-from-home routines in flux, what design elements will the future office feature? Fast Company writer Nate Berg talks through several design proposals centered around Gen Z employees, remote workers, and...

Sometimes, taking a scary, big career risk is the move that changes everything. We asked attendees at the Fast Company Innovation Festival a few months ago to share the biggest career risks they’ve ever taken. We heard everything, from switching to a new industry to dedicating their work to a cause they care about.

Emotional intelligence remains a workplace buzzword that confuses many people. On this episode from our LinkedIn Audio series, Farah Harris, author of ‘The Color of Emotional Intelligence,’ discusses how emotional awareness and management play into our office lives. It’s a skill often treated as optional, but mastering emotional intelligence—the ability to manage your emotions and understanding the emotions of those around you—is essential for weathering transitions, maintaining healthy...