Giving negative feedback at work may feel uncomfortable, but it's a necessary part of communication. Here are some tips for making the process constructive.

The company’s director of finance explains how her job goes well beyond accounting. Tina Hetzer, director of finance at Pink Lily, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. She built Pink Lily’s finance team from scratch and has helped the company become one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country. In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Hetzer discusses the cash-flow challenges unique to fashion...

The housing crisis in the U.S. continues to get worse, with the highest mortgage rates in a generation currently and rents outpacing inflation by more than 40%. And the problem isn’t just in cities like New York and San Francisco. It’s affecting many other places where tourism is a major industry or high-cost areas that have unique jobs (like being a ski patroller), which don’t pay enough to actually afford the rent there. ‘Fast Company’ writer Pavithra Mohan has been interviewing people in a...

If your boss is constantly checking up on you, looking over your shoulder—literally, figuratively, even virtually—here are some strategies for creating a better working relationship.

Duolingo’s freemium subscription model, beloved brand and strategic investments have allowed it to execute its educational mission and become a cultural touchstone. Matthew Skaruppa, CFO of Duolingo, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. Since he joined the company in 2020, Duolingo has grown its base of monthly active users by more than 80%. Each month, 75 million users hone their language skills on the Duolingo app. In this...

A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. went over the “childcare cliff” as billions of dollars of pandemic-era federal funding for childcare expired. But childcare providers have been struggling since well before the pandemic, with rising costs and little recourse but to raise their own prices. The chain reaction now for providers, children, and parents could mean a large decrease in women in the workforce and lower wages for workers. Fast Company staff writer Pavithra Mohan explains why the...

It's nerve-racking to negotiate your salary, especially with a new employer! Here's how to reframe the conversation and ask for what you want.

Mitch Reback, CFO of Sweetgreen, is one of the rising corporate financial stars who is helping to take their companies to the next level. When he started, Sweetgreen had 25 stores; today, there are more than 220—and Reback says the company is still in its “infancy.” In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Reback takes a deep dive into his role as a growth agent. Capital is the engine that drives growth, and Reback says his job is to make sure the company has adequate...

When the Supreme Court ruled in June that race-based affirmative action practices in college admissions was unconstitutional, it not only sent universities scrambling, but it also caused a lot of confusion within companies. What would it mean for diversity, equity, and inclusion departments and initiatives? It didn’t help that as soon as the decision was issued, opponents of DEI efforts capitalized on the confusion with fear-mongering and misinformation. So, how does the affirmative-action...

We’re in an era where employee fulfillment and purpose are essential, but have management principles caught up? Today’s episode was recorded live at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last week in New York City, with Rachel Korberg, founder and executive director of the Family and Workers Fund, and Sarah Kalloch, executive director of the nonprofit Good Jobs Institute. We talked about the science behind what makes a good job, how that meaning has changed, and why getting employee...

Find it difficult to focus at work? Is the environment the problem, or is it our own brain? In this special conversation from LinkedIn Audio, Fast Company's Work Life team breaks down what’s really behind our inability to focus, how to deal with distractions and train your brain to concentrate, and how to find motivation in your work. 

We’ve all heard of FOMO, fear of missing out, but what about . . . JOMO? Podcast producer Blake Odom joins this episode to talk about the ‘Joy of Missing Office,’ with input from a few ‘Fast Company’ staffers who work remotely. Besides the comforts of home and skipping a terrible commute, what else do we love to miss about office life?

Many companies are still trying to figure out how to coax employees back to the office and how to design hybrid models that work for everyone. Not going so well yet: Bosses are clashing with employees who want to continue working remotely or at least maintain some of the flexibility they’ve had over the past few years. Gleb Tsipursky, frequent ‘Fast Company’ contributor and CEO of the future-of-work consultancy, Disaster Avoidance Experts, says that a top-down RTO approach is sure to...

The next season of The New Way We Work starts next week! This fall, we might not be heading back to school but policies around coming back to the office (or not!) are still on a lot of people's minds. We'll also be digging into how the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action in college admissions might affect the workplace, anxiety over AI, and the pushback against productivity culture. Plus, what would your dream office look and feel like?

YouTube paid $14 billion for the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket. For the next seven years, NFL viewers will be able to watch live football games from their living rooms—on YouTube. Fast Company senior writer Ainsley Harris explains the reason behind this purchase: YouTube consumption is heavily fragmented. Everyone is watching YouTube, but very few people are watching together. Sunday Ticket is a cornerstone type of content and NFL games pull in millions of people. This move speaks to the...

Late last year, everyone thought we were headed for a recession. But now we’re doing great. What’s going on? James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds and a Fast Company contributing writer, explains how “Bidenomics” is actually helping boost the economy. Courtney Tracy calls herself the truth doctor on TikTok. This came about after she’d dealt with a serious life event in 2019 and thought she needed to hide her struggle. She realized that if an up-and-coming licensed therapist was...

Thinking of quitting your job? Whether you are miserable and dream of quitting your job in a dramatic TikTok-worthy fashion, or if you’re just feeling stagnant and uninspired, leaving your job is a huge decision. In this special LinkedIn Audio conversation, Fast Company Editors Kathleen Davis, Julia Herbst, and AJ Hess offer advice on red flags to look out for, steps to take once you know it’s time, and how quitting can be a good career move.

The Women’s World Cup is coming to an end this weekend! The international soccer championship is down to its final week in which Spain and England will be facing off in the final match. Fast Company senior editor Amy Farley and staff editor AJ Hess catch us up on the drama and break down what this tournament means for pro women’s sports. Also, SKIMS cofounder and CEO Jens Grede explains how Kim Kardashian is like the Michael Jordan of the influencer generation and why the pumpkin spice latte...

It’s looking like the future won’t be spent in the office. Based on a recent Deloitte study, 66% of mid- to executive-level financial services professionals do not want to come back to the office full-time. Writer and journalist Shalene Gupta breaks down the numbers and explains the impact that this will have on future pathways toward leadership. And historically, financial advice has been “male, pale, and stale,” according to Vivian Tu. The popular FinTok influencer explains why she’s...

The new visual platform, Spill, is not trying to become the next Twitter—it’s aiming to create an entirely new social media platform. Spill’s cofounder and CEO Alphonzo “Fonz” Terrell said he wants to create a fun, safer, and more rewarding space for its users, especially black, female, and queer folks. In order to create a safer and more inclusive community, Spill is building its algorithms based on specific data sets that will not just flag certain terms, but also look at who’s saying those...

AI is poised to upend the music industry, and Fast Company Associate Editor David Salazar joins us to discuss what AI generative music is and how the music industry is combating it. Antidiabetic medication Ozempic is all over the news these days, but it's not as new as it seems. Beyond the TikTok trends and celebrity shout-outs, it's been used to treat diabetes for years. But now talk of this medication has reached a fever pitch. Found CEO Sarah Jones Simmer talks about how her company...

In this special interview from LinkedIn Audio, Judith Humphrey, Fast Company contributor and author of the new book "The Job Seeker’s Script" gives her best advice for job searching. What pieces of your resume can you trim, and what parts should you highlight? How important are cover letters...really? And once you land the interview, how do you answer the classic prompt, "Tell me a bit about yourself"?

The thing about the Barbie movie is that saying those three words together just seems inherently ridiculous. And one of the best things Mattel has done is really kind of lean into that. Starting with the Technicolor shots of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling on set to the colorful trailers that really churned up the enthusiasm for the movie, Mattel created the momentum that has led to a laundry list of product tie-ins, including the Xbox console that actually looks like a house or a makeup...

We have to talk about the new Twitter on the block: Threads. How does it work? And more importantly, how does it compare to Twitter? Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Max Ufberg is back to explain what Mark Zuckerberg’s newest platform is, the drama between the two companies, and how Threads' algorithms won't promote hard news or political discourse. And e.l.f CMO Kory Marchisotto talks about the company’s successful media strategy on TikTok . . . and why it decided to make a...