Working It

Why do so many workplaces spend so much money to put on a Christmas party? And how do you face your colleagues if you think you may have embarrassed yourself at one? Host Isabel Berwick sources advice from Jo Hemmings, a behavioural psychologist, while Jo Ellison, editor of the FT’s luxury lifestyle magazine HTSI, argues the case for making the most of the office Christmas party. Plus, Timothy Dowling, a screenwriter on the Hollywood film 'Office Christmas Party', tells Isabel why the subject is ripe for comedy. Want more?The office grinch may have a point - it’s not fun if it’s forced: https://www.ft.com/content/59de98b0-17ae-44ec-b91c-4ffdf8761214The work Christmas party is dead. Hooray! https://www.ft.com/content/468d0e2b-0607-4703-8f55-2d09d59fb578FT 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Financial Times Business Book of the Year prize was set up in 2005 with the simple mission of finding and rewarding each year’s most “compelling and enjoyable” read. Earlier this month, the £30,000 award went to Chris Miller’s Chip Wars, a book that reads like a thriller about the battle for dominance in the semiconductor industry. Host Isabel Berwick is joined by Andrew Hill, the FT’s senior business writer, and Frederick Studemann, the FT’s literary editor, to talk about how entries are judged and why business books continue to top bestseller lists.Want more?For background, longlists and shortlists of the award, see: https://www.ft.com/bookawardFT 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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by NovelRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been billed as the biggest overhaul of the working week since the carmaker Henry Ford introduced the five day week in his factories almost a century ago. A number of UK companies have signed up to trial a four-day week, with no loss in pay for employees. In the last of this four-part series about the trial, host Isabel Berwick speaks to the FT’s Emma Jacobs who tracked four companies taking part. Will they stick to the new shorter working hours or go back to a five-day week?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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A host of UK companies have been taking part in a six-month trial aimed at overhauling the traditional five-day working week. They’ve structured their businesses to work on a four-day week instead, with no loss in pay for employees. In the third episode of this four-part series about the trial, host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s Emma Jacobs who has been speaking to consultants and academics advising the companies involved, as well as the people behind the global four-day week campaign. What’s required to make it work?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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s billed as the biggest overhaul of the working week since the carmaker Henry Ford introduced the five-day week in his factories, almost a century ago. A number of UK companies have signed up to trial a four-day week, with no loss in pay for employees. In the second episode of this four-part series about the trial, host Isabel Berwick hears from the FT’s Emma Jacobs who’s been speaking to employees involved, reporting on their concerns about maintaining productivity and time management.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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A host of UK companies have been taking part in a 6-month trial aimed at overhauling the traditional five-day working week. They’ve structured their businesses to work on a four day week instead, with no loss in pay for employees. The trail is being coordinated by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the UK think tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College and Oxford University. In this first episode of a four-part series about the trial, host Isabel Berwick speaks to the FT’s Emma Jacobs about the four businesses - Yo Telecoms, Stellar Asset Management, fish and chip shop Platten's and games developer Hutch - who signed up to take part. Why did they sign up, how are they adapting their work flow and what are their aims and concerns as they kick off their experiment?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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent survey in the US found that four in 10 employees had left a job because they felt their values were stigmatised, but how does that sit with a growing number of companies and chief executives making public commitments to diversity and inclusion? Host Isabel Berwick hears from Octavius Black, CEO and co-founder of Mind Gym, which uses behavioural science techniques to improve culture and performance for companies and their staff. And she asks Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, FT's US business editor, whether workplaces are really becoming more divided and polarised.Want more?Politics in the workplace: how should we deal with opposing views?: https://www.ft.com/content/0864d0cb-bab0-4571-9e25-9b6f0ca041efWhen should business take a stand? https://www.ft.com/content/5ceffa36-899a-4457-919f-b70902162f64Why Silicon Valley is split on keeping social activism out of the workplace: https://www.ft.com/content/ba0ac9a7-e33e-4e77-a583-3c900e698ab0FT 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 love to hear from you. What do you like (or not)? Which topics should we tackle? Email 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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this insightful discussion, Andrew Hill, Senior Business Writer for the Financial Times, unpacks the growing image problem surrounding HR departments. He explores the complex relationship between employees and HR, questioning whether they serve management or advocate for worker rights. The conversation extends to innovative strategies for HR in post-pandemic workplaces, including a unique model from Lush that emphasizes employee autonomy. Hill emphasizes the need for a transformative approach to HR that aligns with modern organizational needs.

Businesses are competing to attract the people they consider the most skilled workers, but if hiring challenges can be described as a war, then the past two years have been one long battle. Host Isabel Berwick hears from Tyler Cowen, an economist and co-author of a new book called ‘Talent’, about how to spot and retain the skilled recruits, and from FT management editor, Anjli Raval, about how skills shortages are affecting recruitment practices.Want more?Talent wars: why businesses have to battle to hire the best https://www.ft.com/content/e79e1497-1eb3-4ca1-bd1f-b12679e24576The global war for talent https://www.ft.com/content/61cc947c-c44c-4340-897a-8bd947227c05FT 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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tens of millions of people worldwide are believed to be suffering from long Covid, experiencing symptoms lasting for more than four weeks after they had Covid-19. Host Isabel Berwick speaks to Jana Javornik, associate professor of employment relations at the University of Leeds, about how she’s juggling her workload with long Covid symptoms, and Sarah Neville, the FT’s global health editor, explains why workplaces have been reluctant to address the issue.Want more?The growing evidence that Covid-19 is leaving people sicker https://www.ft.com/content/26e0731f-15c4-4f5a-b2dc-fd8591a02aecNumber of Britons with long Covid reaches new high https://www.ft.com/content/e62008ff-bebf-4f9f-bc3a-9bb54991fc30Long Covid defies understanding as sufferers despair https://www.ft.com/content/ff63cd68-7281-4340-b1b6-5db3d891eaffFT 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 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 @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 Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.