Working It

A workplace without bosses sounds... idyllic. In this episode, Isabel explores the topic of flat hierarchies with Alexis Gonzales-Black, an expert in organisational design. A few years ago, Alexis helped Zappos, the Amazon-owned online shoe business, to bring in ‘Holacracy’. The experiment wasn’t a total success, as we hear, but Alexis talks about how leaders can step back and make the most of employees’ skills and expertise. But what about other ways that companies knock down workplace hierarchies? Isabel chats to Andrew Hill, the FT’s management editor, about a consultancy that abolished job titles (cue: confusion all round) and US company WL Gore (makers of Gore-Tex), where leaders are appointed through acquiring skills and followers - not just because someone higher up gives them a job. Plus, the dark side of boss-less workplaces. Do they give toxic colleagues a free pass to behave even more badly? We love to hear from you: email us at workingit@ft.com or Isabel directly at isabel.berwick@ft.com. Follow @isabelberwick on Twitter or Instagram.Mentioned in the podcast: Alexis Gonzales-Black on Zappos’ experiment with Holacracy: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/insights-holacracy-interview-alexis-gonzales-black-usha-gubbala/More on what happened to Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ late CEO https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-death-of-zappos-tony-hsieh-a-spiral-of-alcohol-drugs-and-extreme-behavior-11607264719FT article by Alicia Clegg -’ Boss-less business is No Workers’ Paradise’ https://www.ft.com/content/34a86220-d639-11e9-8d46-8def889b4137Andrew Hill on innovative management ideas https://www.ft.com/content/f14b3205-f140-4e74-8743-04b881b63134Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Renée Kaplan. 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.

We’ve probably all had one: a boss whose traits include a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need for excessive admiration, a lack of empathy and a sense of entitlement. They’re all traits of a narcissist. Psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula, an expert in the subject, tells host Isabel Berwick, the FT’s work and careers editor, why so many narcissists end up in positions of leadership, and how to handle them. Plus, psychotherapist Naomi Shragai, author of 'The Man Who Mistook His Job For His Life', explains why some narcissistic traits are essential to getting ahead at work.Want more?CEO narcissism https://www.ft.com/content/1cebaf40-7362-487c-bd33-d52e2265a5a8How to handle a narcissist in the workplace https://www.ft.com/content/eab55621-5a6e-4176-bcb9-c451417db328Lustful leaders: the good, the bad, and the narcissistic https://www.ft.com/content/387bdfbe-b5a2-46e6-8a63-f3a41c2e7f68FT 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.

The Harvard Business Review once published a damning report about middle managers, saying that the very title “evokes mediocrity”. Was that fair? And what does it take to be a good middle manager? Host Isabel Berwick, the FT’s work and careers editor, discusses with Andrew Hill, the FT’s senior business writer and former management editor. Want more?Andrew Hill on why being a manager matters more than ever https://www.ft.com/content/dd340c7b-48e3-459c-84af-bfb704d37665How demands on team leaders are intensifying https://www.ft.com/content/a1740fb3-bd69-4c8d-a322-8b59332de568Forget the ‘toxic boss’ - meet the toxic underlings https://www.ft.com/content/a9c0c114-fb8a-4829-bfc0-2f52a2bbef9fFT 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.

Fans of business and work podcasts won’t need any introduction to Steven Bartlett (Diary of a CEO), Bruce Daisley (Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat), Jenna Kutcher (The Goal Digger Podcast) and Emma Gannon (Ctrl Alt Delete). All of them host successful podcasts about our working lives. Working It host Isabel Berwick hears about what they see as the big workplace issues for the next year, touching on everything from hybrid work and hyperconnectivity to the metaverse.Want more?For articles about the future of work, check out the following feed: https://www.ft.com/future-of-workFT 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.

We’ve all come across them in the workplace: the tyrannical boss, the person who puts you down in order to build themselves up, the passive aggressive co-worker. Taylor Nicole Rogers, the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, stands in for Working It host Isabel Berwick, to source tips on managing difficult colleagues. She hears from author and podcaster Amy Gallo, an expert in conflict, communication, and workplace dynamics, and speaks to the FT’s US investment reporter Madison Darbyshire.Want more?You can’t hide from the jerks at work: https://www.ft.com/content/dd9d39f8-2861-4c99-809e-6a198dd7c4eeHow to deal with an abusive work situation: https://www.ft.com/content/5b5d3ff9-9a11-4f9c-a440-d41cc90ad452How do I navigate a toxic office environment? https://www.ft.com/content/e7309f02-c595-11e9-ae6e-a26d1d0455f4FT 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.

Regular listeners might be forgiven for thinking employees are mostly overwhelmed and overworked. But is the world actually full of people looking artfully busy? Employees who may be slipping under the radar in big organisations? Host Isabel Berwick speaks to David Bolchover, author of ‘The Living Dead: Switched Off, Zoned Out – The Shocking Truth About Office Life’, who spent several years employed at a large organisation doing nothing. And she hears from Leo Lewis, the FT’s Asia business editor based in Tokyo, about a backlash in Japan against the phenomenon of the hatarakanai ojisan, the old geezer (or, less commonly, his female equivalent) who manages to get away with doing no work. Want more?The rise and rise of Japan’s unsackable slacker https://www.ft.com/content/4012c8f4-cb16-4bf5-ac25-a88c1aae8a51The threat of boredom at work https://www.ft.com/content/bccf5464-0996-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771bFT 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.

Host Isabel Berwick investigates claims that microdosing improves performance at work. It’s well known that in Silicon Valley some executives have taken to ingesting very small amounts of psychedelic drugs such as LSD, in the belief that it increases concentration and productivity. But there are also soft-touch versions, known as nootropics or ‘smart drugs’, which include legal mushroom varieties and are said to have similar effects. Isabel and her team try them out at Shroom Town Cafe, a pop-up in central London, and she speaks to Jakobien van der Weijden, co-founder of the Microdosing Institute in the Netherlands. Want more?How safe is your psychedelic trip? https://www.ft.com/content/c5cc0077-3966-4c65-9320-d0a0860740afThe secret to making your brain work better: https://www.ft.com/content/08078211-638b-4326-ac2e-92ae2cdf65c9How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD: https://www.ft.com/content/0a5a4404-7c8e-11e7-ab01-a13271d1ee9cFT 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. You can sign up for the newsletter with one click, hereWe 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.

‘Quiet quitting’ is the summer’s hottest workplace trend. It’s spurred thousands of social media posts on TikTok and elsewhere. But what is it exactly? And what if your staff are doing it? FT features writer Emma Jacobs and columnist Pilita Clark join Working It host Isabel Berwick to discuss. Is ‘quiet quitting’ simply a triumph of alliteration over information or does it tell us something useful about workplace attitudes that have come out of the pandemic?Want more?Why 'quiet quitting' is nonsense:https://www.ft.com/content/a09a2ade-4d14-47c2-9cca-599b3c25a33fA tongue-in-cheek FT guide to ‘quiet quitting’:https://www.ft.com/content/c5cddb3a-dcf8-4ef8-a1c2-ed866c214d2bHas work become a four-letter word?https://www.ft.com/content/93435e72-d05b-4061-b6ff-05b9cbd76f0aInterviewing amid economic uncertainty:https://www.ft.com/content/682b3062-8c78-4962-ac23-6fafe2af16f2FT 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/newslettersWe 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 TwitterSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Taylor Nicole Rogers. Editorial direction from 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.

Given the climate crisis, can we still justify those quick jaunts to sit in airless conference rooms and sip bad cocktails with strangers? Isabel Berwick, Working It host and the FT’s Work and Careers editor, talks to Evan Konwiser, executive vice-president of product and strategy at American Express Global Business Travel. He paints a picture of how he sees business travel making a comeback, but FT columnist Pilita Clark wonders if companies have become used to doing without it during the pandemic.Want to read more? Pilita Clark on the future of business travel: https://www.ft.com/content/75d096e5-a429-496b-a62d-f8f6b9b2fb35More on the Swedish ‘flygskam’ or flight shaming:  https://www.ft.com/content/5c635430-1dbc-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4Emma Jacobs on the rise of ‘bleisure’:  https://www.ft.com/content/8003a384-bc22-4ae9-b1c1-2c5452136cbeEY sends new recruits on a trip to Disney: https://www.ft.com/content/da797e20-85fe-4beb-a054-c611aebfdfd9 American Express business travel report outlining its view that business travel will become the centre ‘of the new company culture’:https://explorer.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/Why-Business-Travel-Is-the-Center-of-The-New-Company-Culture.html Salesforce’s ‘trailblazer ranch’ for staff meetings in California:https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/introducing-trailblazer-ranch/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 — please listen, rate and subscribe! 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.

Taylor Nicole Rogers, the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent, stands in for regular host Isabel Berwick in this episode to ask what the resurgence of trade union activity in both the US and UK is doing to the relationship between employer and employee. We hear from Mick Lynch, general secretary of the UK’s National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, and Taylor speaks to Dave Lee, the FT’s San Francisco correspondent, about attempts by US workers to form a union at Amazon and elsewhere, and the risks they face. Want more?FT editorial on the resurgence of unionism:https://www.ft.com/content/70df32e8-7eec-472c-b0da-6eee7659b5bbAnd https://www.ft.com/content/29005123-c397-4464-9970-81a5460e007dFor latest FT reporting on trade unions:https://www.ft.com/stream/61b3414d-9e45-4962-a2d1-134453f5af02For more on unionisation attempts at Amazon:https://www.ft.com/content/80f77552-5b73-4e08-bcdb-bc1ab60f6630FT 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/newslettersWe 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 and follow Taylor Nicole Rogers @TaylorNRogersSubscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — and do leave us a review!Presented by Taylor Nicole Rogers. 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.