In this episode, we're going to shed light on a sensitive subject that many professionals encounter, but very few understand: performance improvement plans, or PIPs. It's time to bring PIPs out of the shadows and talk about them.  You may be a manager trying to guide your team to success and have a challenging employee who is struggling, and you face having to put them on a PIP. Maybe you are that employee, struggling to understand what is expected of you and frustrated by your lack of...

In this episode, we’re asking the question of, are side hustles the new normal? In recent surveys, nearly 50-percent of the population has a side hustle in addition to their full-time work.  What starts as a side hustle often begins with a spark of passion or a desire to explore an idea outside the confines of a regular job. It's a space for creativity, a chance to build something meaningful on your own terms. But as this small venture grows, it presents a unique opportunity: the chance to...

In this episode, we’re helping to unlock access to coaching—both for your career and your personal life. Perhaps you have never thought about working with a career coach, or maybe you thought about it but hiring a coach was not financially viable. Some may feel an unfounded concern that coaching puts a spotlight on identifying your weaknesses. To unravel the mysteries of coaching and how this could be an avenue toward your own success, we’re delighted to welcome founder and CEO of the...

Social impact, change-making, entrepreneurship. Opportunities abound to affect positive impact and influence by leveraging your passions. Extraordinary things can happen when passion meets purpose. Sounds overwhelming? It doesn't need to be. You may already have a side hustle that spotlights your passion. You may already be thinking about that one project that you never seem to have enough time to put into motion.  Find out how you can get started on a path toward social entrepreneurship! ...

Millions of Americans entering the workforce don’t have a traditional four-year college degree. Earning a degree may not be realistic, attainable or appealing for everyone. Many folks are instead pursuing alternative educational paths—from on-the-job-training to certificates— to advance their careers. The traditional four-year degree is only one way to demonstrate needed work skills. But are prospective employers feeling the same way? We continue to see the bachelor's degree as a requirement...

In this episode, we’re taking a very real look at how AI is changing the hiring landscape. Applicants are using ChatGPT to write job opening-specific resumes, which in turn is making applicants meld together and what this episode’s guest calls a sea of sameness. On the other side of the application, managers are turning to ChatGPT to help write job descriptions. This is creating job description templates that are not specific to the actual open position. So how do you cut through the AI “red...

This episode, we’re turning our attention to the deskless worker—those who work in manufacturing, front-line support, health care and so many other areas. Their job does not require them to be at a desk or in a traditional office setting. They're on the go, in the field, working in environments that demand mobility and flexibility. How do we accelerate the learning and upskilling of the deskless worker? Is it through AI, advanced communications, introduction to new opportunities? How do we...

Demand for mental health benefits has grown. In a 2023 NPR article, psychologists say they can't meet the growing demand for mental health care—whether it’s not having enough open positions or three-month-long waitlists. There is a growing market for apps to fill the gaps, as well as platforms that connect people with licensed therapists or a number of AI-powered solutions that emulate a therapist. All this has an impact on workers and the workplace. And as we heard from Daniel Zhao at...

Job listings mentioning AI have doubled on LinkedIn, and demand for AI skills is appearing across a wide range of industries and sectors. Job seekers are jumping on the bandwagon and adding AI skills to their resumes. But what does this mean? What are employers looking for, where can you learn these skills, and how do you talk about (and use!) AI in meaningful ways.  We turn to Dr.Michael Wu, who is a leading authority on artificial intelligence and behavioral economics. He’s currently the...

Are you making any career or professional development resolutions? To help you envision the future, let’s explore trends and new directions for career growth. To shed light on the jobs that are in demand and growing sectors, we need to dive into data from employees and employers. Fortunately for us, we are going to get a peek behind the glass door. We're excited to have Daniel Zhao, lead economist and senior manager data science at Glassdoor, who has been doing research on trends in the job...

As we look toward 2024, we'd like to take this time to remind each of our listeners that it's important to invest in your future of work goals. So let's call this episode the Future of Work Gift Guide. What can you give yourself to upskill? How can you help someone achieve their career goals? To unpack and highlight insights from this past year, we've brought back Michelle Hector from our first episode on overcoming barriers and Barry O'Reilly from our third episode on unlearning.  Learn...

With the advent of generative AI and large language models and chatbots, we need to take a look at the skills you will need, the jobs that are impacted and the opportunity to increase productivity—not only for yourself, but for an organization as a whole. With AI evolving at lightning speed, are we quickly entering the age of adopt or perish? To take a deeper dive, we have invited Chalenge Masekera to join us. Chalenge is a data scientist currently working at Faros AI, a company dedicated to...

This month, we’re taking a look at collaborative intelligence. Collaboration is essential but often times invisible. It can either contribute to the success or lead to the downfall of a project. We collaborate in a number ways, using a number of different tools and in different places, but do we really understand how to collaborate effectively? What is the difference between collaboration and coordination? How does can collaboration inspire innovation? When does collaboration become overkill...

This month, we’re taking a look at the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that essentially struck down four-and-a-half decades of legal precedent that allowed higher-education institutions to consider race as one of the many factors in their admissions evaluations. While California has been grappling with this challenge since Prop 209 passed in 1996, now across the nation universities are seeking new ways to define college admissions that will help level an uneven playing field. Beyond...

This month, we continue our conversation on Artificial Intelligence and how it might change your job and create wholly new jobs. ChatGPT, a generative AI chat bot from OpenAI, and Bard from Google are changing how we see AI's role in how we do our jobs. From drafting speeches to writing and debugging code, AI can remove some of the grunt work. But as Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, said to Congress, "AI is a tool. It's not a creature." AI can help with tasks, but not jobs. So if AI could replace many...

This month, we’re taking a look at Artificial Intelligence and how it is changing the way we educate and the way we work. When we first started hearing about AI, there was a lot of conversation about automation, job displacement and up-skilling. Then this year, ChatGPT set the record for the fastest-growing user base with more than 100 million users as of February 2023. AI is changing how we think about teaching, what we are teaching and how we assess learning. Governments are asking how we...

A few episodes back, we talked about hybrid work and the growing strength that employees have in shaping the how and when of their work. This month, we’re putting a spotlight on a trend that is picking up steam—the idea of a four-day work week. This experimentation is revealing pros and cons when implemented in countries such as Japan, Spain, the UK and South Africa. While a four-day work week may help boost employee productivity and mental health, not every worker can participate. So who...

We’re taking an inside look at employee resource groups, better known as ERGs. ERGs provide a safe space for employees to meet with others like themselves, and develop community around those shared traits and needs. Normally employee-led, ERGs also provide inherent value to organizations small and large—from increasing employee retention, providing opportunity for professional development or boosting recruitment efforts. They are a win-win for both the employee and the employer. So to find...

We ended 2022 with a bit of an upheaval in the job market. Mass layoffs at big-tech companies were splashed across the headlines. And more organizations are speculating that layoffs may be part of their fiscal plan in the coming months, reacting to the possibility of a looming recession. So in this episode of the Future of Work, we’re bringing the workplace a little closer to home—making sure that you have a financial contingency plan if you don’t already have one in place. To get some...

Who is steering the ship? Today’s workforce is more empowered than ever with many finding that maintaining a work-life balance is an important part of how we work. The pandemic opened the door to enabling greater flexibility around when and where we work. Job-seekers are prioritizing company mission, values and participation in DEI when they evaluate a potential role. Employees have shown that work can be done and done well remotely. So why the call back to the office? Why are products like...

This month, we chat with former guests Barry O'Reilly and Vaneese Johnson to future-cast what's in store for 2023!  They look back on 2022: Did we learn anything new? Did any of our systems or practices change? They look forward to 2023: Will there be new ripples or upsets in the work place? What should leaders and employees do to prepare and succeed in 2023?

What was once considered side hustles, the gig economy has become so much more. In fact, it’s quickly becoming a trillion-dollar industry that offers more choices and opportunities. Whether it’s partaking in the rideshare business as a driver or working as a consultant in the project economy, are we seeing the demise of the full-time employee? What does this mean for organizations who need employers—or contractors—with hyper-specialized skills in order to remain relevant? What are the pros...

Across the globe, people have created effective remote working environments for themselves. Statistics vary, but the majority of employees say that working remotely will be important to them in the future. Not all workers have the option, but more than half do, and when offered, almost everyone takes the opportunity to work flexibly. So with more staff solely interacting through digital means, does the loss of face-to-face interactions mean less networking, creative collaborations and...

There’s no ignoring it: Data is driving business forward. Data informs good decision making. And as a result, companies are empowering their employees to explore, understand and communicate with data. As we look at the future of work, every role at every level of an organization will need data-literacy skills.