
Working It
Whether you’re the boss, the deputy or on your way up, we’re shaking up the way the world works. This is the podcast about doing work differently. Join host Isabel Berwick every Wednesday for expert analysis and watercooler chat about ahead-of-the-curve workplace trends, the big ideas shaping work today - and the old habits we need to leave behind. Brought to you by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Mar 21, 2023 • 18min
The unintended consequences of mass lay-offs
When companies lay off thousands of workers at a time, how much do they think about those left behind? Sudden job cuts can sever the bond of trust between employers and their remaining workers. Host Isabel Berwick asks Sandra Sucher from Harvard Business School whether that trust can be repaired, and the FT’s management editor Anjli Raval talks about research into the effects of mass lay-offs. Plus, careers expert Jonathan Black gives tips on how to make sure you are ready to face the job market. Want more?The shock of mass lay-offs is only the beginning for companiesTech workforces: how low can they go?FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 14, 2023 • 14min
You’re fired: is there a better way to make lay-offs?
Lay-offs in some sectors of the US economy have reached levels not seen since the height of the pandemic. Tech and banking sectors have been hit hard and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is bringing more uncertainty. But if headcount has to be cut, how should managers decide who to lay off ? Host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s US Financial Editor Brooke Masters on how companies are managing job cuts, and from Andy Milton, founder of the London Tech Network, who tells her about the effect of widespread lay-offs on tech workers in London. Want more?Who to fire: how the biggest companies plan mass lay-offshttps://www.ft.com/content/cb8b5a61-e0fc-4254-9e77-e80e14296718How not to fire peoplehttps://www.ft.com/content/a19b4a08-3fcb-480f-aaa0-1f2ab607447eFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Manuela Saragosa and Audrey Tinline. The sound engineer is Breen Turner.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 7, 2023 • 15min
‘Overboarding’: the perils of sitting on too many boards
Listen to management editor Anjli Raval and corporate governance expert Patricia Lenkov discuss the risks of 'overboarding', where directors take on too many board seats. They delve into the impact on director effectiveness, conflicts of interest, time management challenges, and the evolving expectations faced by board members. Gain insight into the constraints imposed by institutional investors and the qualities essential for excelling as a board director.

Feb 14, 2023 • 19min
Should you know how much your colleagues earn?
Experts say more and more countries are inching towards greater pay transparency as a tool to address unfairness and inequity, such as the gender pay gap. Host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s Nordic correspondent Richard Milne about Norway’s experience of radical pay transparency and discusses the pros and cons of ending salary secrecy with the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, Taylor Nicole Rogers, and Professor Tomasz Obloj from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.We'd love to hear from you. Please help us by filling in our listener survey at ft.com/workingitsurvey. It takes around 10 minutes to complete and you’ll be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.Want more?How salary secrecy is being challenged https://www.ft.com/content/907e041b-975b-4c74-b734-2373d36e09bdGet ready for salaries to become more public https://www.ft.com/content/009c6492-796f-4bf5-971b-de49bc662f23FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. One-click sign-up at www.ft.com/newslettersPresented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Persis Love. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 7, 2023 • 16min
Best of: Friendship in the workplace: It’s lonely at the top
Many of us see our work colleagues just as much, if not more, than friends and family – or at least, that was the case before March 2020 and the Covid lockdowns that followed. So how crucial are these workplace friendships in luring employees back to the office after several years of working from home? And is there an inevitable trade-off between climbing the corporate ladder and keeping up your workplace friendships? Host Isabel Berwick discusses these questions and more with Lynda Gratton, professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School, and Sarah Gordon, chief executive of the Impact Investing institute in London and formerly business editor at the Financial Times, where she was one of Isabel’s good workplace friends! We'd love to hear from you. Please help us by filling in our listener survey at ft.com/workingitsurvey It will take you around 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.Want more?What do friends bring to the workplace? https://www.ft.com/content/f13bca30-45ea-11e2-b780-00144feabdc0When your best workplace friend leaves:https://www.ft.com/content/62b2db86-60e7-11e9-b285-3acd5d43599eFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. One-click sign-up at www.ft.com/newslettersEmail the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Renée Kaplan and Manuela Saragosa. Assistant producer is Persis Love. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 31, 2023 • 17min
Best of: Managing introverts: quiet voices in a loud world
Host Isabel Berwick describes herself as an extrovert but she has introverts in her team. So what should she bear in mind to ensure they perform at their best? Isabel gets advice from self-described ambitious, anxious introvert Morra Aarons-Mele, who hosts The Anxious Achiever podcast and is the author of an eponymous upcoming book, and hears from colleague Kesewa Hennessy, the FT’s head of audience diversity, who describes herself as an introvert. Want more? How working from home plays to the strengths of introverts: https://www.ft.com/content/f8ceffe7-cc89-4d95-975e-6142924a33b8Why it’s OK to be quiet at meetings: https://www.ft.com/content/6d5942a2-a13a-49ea-a833-a6d5ce780ae3 FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. One-click sign-up at www.ft.com/newsletters We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Please help us by filling in our listener survey at www.ft.com/workingitsurvey It will take you around 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds! Your personal information will be processed in accordance with the FT's privacy policy. If you have any queries about the survey please let us know at customer.research@ft.com.Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Renée Kaplan and Manuela Saragosa. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 24, 2023 • 23min
The truth about ‘entitled millennials’
There are a lot of stereotypes about millennials - meaning anyone born between 1981 and 1996 - but perhaps the biggest one is that they have an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Host Isabel Berwick unpicks some of the tropes with Emily Bowen and Shelley Johnson, workplace experts and hosts of the popular Australian podcast My Millennial Career, while the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, Taylor Nicole Rogers, explains what distinguishes millennials from younger generations starting out on their careers.Want more?Millennials are shattering the oldest rule in politics https://www.ft.com/content/c361e372-769e-45cd-a063-f5c0a7767cf4What Musk misses about how this generation works https://www.ft.com/content/2ecc2819-d54c-4539-9c9d-e849cfe618baFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Please help us by filling in our listener survey at www.ft.com/workingitsurvey It will take you around 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds! Your personal information will be processed in accordance with the FT's privacy policy. If you have any queries about the survey please let us know at customer.research@ft.com.You can also email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 17, 2023 • 19min
Is maternity leave still a career killer?
Research shows more than half of women in the UK are thinking of leaving their job, or have left their job, because of a lack of workplace flexibility. Host Isabel Berwick speaks to Janine Chamberlin, UK country manager at the social platform LinkedIn, and to Sarah O’Connor, the FT’s employment columnist, about the enduring workplace stigma around pregnancy and return from maternity leave and asks if anything has changed given more people are working remotely amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Want more?Family-friendly leave policies are key to staff retention: https://www.ft.com/content/b14b4e7a-e87d-4aee-a267-8100661e4b57FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by NovelRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 10, 2023 • 19min
Professional failures? Rejections? We’ve all had a few …
How do you move on from professional failure, from missing out on the job you coveted or messing up in your role? Host Isabel Berwick hears from Farrah Storr, head of writer partnerships for Substack UK and previously the editor of the UK edition of Elle, Cosmopolitan and Women's Health, about what went on behind the scenes in her very successful career, while Brooke Masters, the FT's US financial editor and associate editor, argues that blaming your boss is not the answer.Want more?What the ‘CV of failures’ really reveals about career setbacks: https://www.ft.com/content/86ea48da-1dc5-11e6-b286-cddde55ca122Farrah’s Substack post about her professional failures: https://bit.ly/3W3dc7cFT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 3, 2023 • 17min
The future of work: predictions for 2023
2022 was the year of hybrid and flexible working, side hustles and talent wars, but will any of these trends stick in 2023? Host Isabel Berwick looks at what’s in store for the workplace in the year ahead with FT colleagues Taylor Nicole Rogers, the US labour and employment correspondent, and Sophia Smith, Working It newsletter editor.FT subscriber? Sign up for the weekly Working It newsletter with one click, here. We cover all things workplace and management — plus exclusive reporting on trends, tips and what’s coming next. We'd love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? What topics should we tackle? Email the team at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow Isabel on LinkedInSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.