Working It

Many of us got used to dressing in athleisure and comfort clothing while we were working from home during the pandemic, and it would seem we’re loath to shed that habit as we head back into the office. In this episode, host Isabel Berwick tries to disentangle the new workplace dress codes with the help of two experts: Adam Galinsky, a Columbia University business school professor, and Robert Armstrong, FT style columnist and author of the FT’s popular Unhedged newsletter. Galinsky has researched what sorts of clothes help us work – and feel – at our best, and the results may surprise you. Armstrong wants us to think differently about the idea of comfort, and wonders whether the tie is dead. Want more?  Robert Armstrong on the end of the tie https://www.ft.com/content/db8ac87f-0765-456b-994f-f66f8a140585 Why is Jeff Bezos such a terrible dresser?https://www.ft.com/content/a6ce9a0b-d09a-4881-a712-4151465b3b78 Is the underwired bra over ? https://www.ft.com/content/2b0b614a-ef83-4991-aabf-1dee87cb1da7 Professor Adam Galinsky’s workwear research https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amd.2021.0081 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/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 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.

This week, host Isabel Berwick is joined by Emma Jacobs, author of one of the Financial Times’s most read features on the workplace this year: “The end of sick days: has WFH made it harder to take time off?” Along with fellow Working It regular Brooke Masters, the FT’s US investment and industries editor, they discuss why we are taking fewer sick days than ever, with more of us choosing to work through sickness. Is it a practice managers should ever encourage? They also consider readers’ and listeners’ perspectives on sick leave – has WFH, and the prospect of missing a long commute, made us more likely to call in sick? And is the growing honesty in workplaces around mental health and wellbeing changing the way we think about our need to take time off work for rest and recovery?  Want more?  Emma Jacobs’ hit FT article on sick leave https://www.ft.com/content/bc9e39ce-8762-4e70-8aa2-2e33b23b80fe Results of a big FT reader survey on attitudes to work and return to the office, including sick leave https://www.ft.com/content/b5b9af97-3193-4dd6-bcb8-894ba7846e0e FT columnist Sarah O’Connor explores punitive sick leave rules https://www.ft.com/content/8a5bccb5-ba86-4a0c-9777-d1283945106d US retailers under pressure to disclose sick leave policieshttps://www.ft.com/content/b190494e-fa0c-4b52-9f18-cf838e15ab72FT 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 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.

Most of us cannot move for diversity, equity and inclusion strategies in our workplaces, but one thing is often missing: class. When you come from an economically disadvantaged background colleagues often can’t tell, yet the workplace can feel like a hostile environment. How can managers and companies help their colleagues and employees to thrive and advance, especially when many people may not want to be open about their backgrounds at work?This episode of Working It starts with Sophie, a young entrant to the TV industry, a sector once rife with nepotism and unpaid internships. She got her break via Creative Access, a UK non-profit that supports young people into internships and jobs in the creative industries. Host Isabel Berwick also hears from Annette King, who started out as a "working-class girl from Swindon" and is now UK chief executive of advertising group Publicis. What does her experience tell us?Finally, Isabel talks to Naomi Rovnick, FT markets reporter, about her route into journalism from a non-traditional background, why "masking" socio-economic background is so common as a way to fit in with what Naomi calls "skiing and wine" chat, and why collecting better data will help us break the class ceiling. Want more? Lex assesses class diversity among UK professions, including efforts by the BBC to change thingshttps://www.ft.com/content/8ceff340-f679-49e4-a781-d7a1e4357aea The FT's Emma Jacobs explores efforts to boost class diversity in acting https://www.ft.com/content/bd4736aa-6d6d-11e8-852d-d8b934ff5ffaFT columnist Simon Kuper on how Oxford university shaped the UK’s ruling elite https://www.ft.com/content/2fa1e436-a5c7-43b1-9e5a-b1e1b43b8c3aUseful employer toolkit on socio-economic diversity and inclusion, from the UK Social Mobility Commission https://socialmobilityworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/SMC-Employers-Toolkit_WEB_updated_July2021.pdfAdvisory firm KPMG is publishing socio-economic pay gap data for its staff, based on parental occupation https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2021/09/kpmg-publishes-firmwide-socio-economic-background-pay-gaps.htmlFT 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 Subscribe to Working It wherever you get your podcasts — please listen, rate and subscribe!Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big tech companies such as Meta, which owns Facebook, are throwing billions of dollars into developing their version of the metaverse – virtual spaces where we are all represented by 3D avatars or holographic versions of ourselves. It’s a vision that includes offices in the metaverse, and companies including consultancy Accenture are already using VR headsets and virtual worlds to onboard and train new staff. Working It host Isabel Berwick talks to Lynn Wu, a Wharton Business School professor and an expert on emerging technologies, and Dave Lee, the FT’s San Francisco-based tech correspondent, to find out more about the workplace metaverse. What kinds of ethical questions are raised when working in a world beyond national and corporate borders? What rights will employees have? Want more? What are our employment rights in the metaverse?https://www.ft.com/content/9463ed05-c847-425d-9051-482bd3a1e4b1What do tech companies hope will be the wider potential of the metaverse?https://www.ft.com/content/c47eb9fe-2606-4b7c-8527-53d993e84039 A look inside Accenture’s “virtual campus” called Nth Floor gives a good idea about how a workplace metaverse will function  https://www.accenture.com/us-en/about/going-beyond-extended-realityFT Alphaville takes a sideways glance at what the metaverse hype really meanshttps://www.ft.com/content/40f545c1-178e-43ef-8bac-6010c7781a77FT 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 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.

Behind the Money is back with all-new episodes! From hostile takeovers to C-suite intrigue, Behind the Money takes you inside the business and financial stories of the moment with reporting from Financial Times journalists around the world. The podcast returns May 25. You can follow the show now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Working It, we’ve joined forces with Claer Barrett, host of Money Clinic. Back in November, Money Clinic aired one of its most popular episodes: “How to ask for a pay rise – and get one!” Working It host Isabel Berwick was an expert on that show, and she’s invited Claer to talk about salaries again – now with added urgency, because rising inflation is pushing up the cost of living. We hear again from Max, the Money Clinic listener who featured on the November episode. Max followed the expert advice he was given and asked for a pay rise, and he tells us what happened next. Plus, what can managers do to help their teams asking for higher pay, especially if there is no budget for it? This episode will help you gather the tools and tips you need – and also tell you what not to do.Want more? Listen again to the advice from Claer, Isabel and Jonathan Black, the FT’s “Dear Jonathan” careers agony uncle, on the Money Clinic podcast from November https://www.ft.com/content/04b1176f-b6c8-4488-971b-9ded3358a324Two FT features by a behavioural economist on how to craft a case for a pay rise and how to use storytelling to make your argumenthttps://www.ft.com/content/09ce507b-914a-4988-9a56-cf5181e1678dhttps://www.ft.com/content/967db31f-f49b-4039-a295-23db588d2a1cHow to ask for a raise: HBR tips and videohttps://hbr.org/2021/11/christine-vs-work-how-to-ask-for-a-raiseFT 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 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.

US business travel is back to about 50 per cent of its 2019 levels. But post-pandemic and amid the climate crisis, can we justify those quick jaunts to sit in airless conference rooms and sip bad cocktails with strangers?In this episode, 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. As an advocate for business travel, Evan  thinks the future is going to be about making meetings unusual or special. Meanwhile, FT columnist Pilita Clark questions whether we should really be encouraging our staff to get on planes given the climate crisis. Both Evan and Pilita look at near-future trends: the new practice of blending business travel with leisure time – or ‘bleisure’ as some call it – and why your employer may even be booking your vacation.  Want to read more? Pilita Clark on the post-pandemic 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 Disneyhttps://www.ft.com/content/da797e20-85fe-4beb-a054-c611aebfdfd9American 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.htmlSalesforce’s ‘trailblazer ranch’ for staff meetings in California https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/introducing-trailblazer-ranch/FT subscriber? Sign up for the new weekly Working It newsletter. We’ll 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of us enjoyed a lot more time outside in nature during the pandemic so could bringing nature into the office help lure workers back to their desks? In this episode, Isabel Berwick, Working It host and the FT’s Work and Careers editor, talks to architect Rick Cook about his ‘biophilic’ buildings. Rick creates buildings that don’t just look good, but stimulate us to smell, feel and touch the world around us, bringing beehives, greenery and even praying mantis into employees’ lives. Isabel also speaks to the FT’s New York correspondent and Working It regular, Josh Chaffin, about the cutting edge of US office design. There are hospitality groups contracted to make offices look and feel like cool private members’ clubs as well as ice-cream carts and new quiet spaces for introverts. Will it tempt back employees reluctant to give up working from home? What can managers do to make their offices even a little bit more alluring and healthy?  Want to read more? Josh Chaffin on Rick Cook’s ‘biophilic’ architecture https://www.ft.com/content/e032feee-6d3d-4773-b8b6-c0744bdadb49How New York’s offices are getting a post pandemic shake up https://www.ft.com/content/0fc60c68-7e8f-492d-ae4c-f66272793212Pilita Clark on why commuting to an office is still offputting https://www.ft.com/content/8d7e40da-0cf3-453e-9eb3-40036d4e2582Hot desking in offices is coming backhttps://www.ft.com/content/06f5e384-e278-4c30-8215-085512c6820dHow companies are luring staff back with restaurant-quality free foodhttps://www.ft.com/content/218e50fb-9bff-4589-bff2-7975ea354456HBR on the power of getting away from your desk for a walk https://hbr.org/2021/02/dont-underestimate-the-power-of-a-walk FT subscriber? Sign up for the new weekly Working It newsletter. We’ll 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The term ‘upskilling’ is suddenly everywhere. We might once have called it training and development, but the meaning is the same: organisations are spending vast sums to give their existing staff new tools to succeed at work - and, increasingly, to support their personal development. In this week’s episode, Isabel explores how training, or upskilling, has evolved as a way to retain staff in the post-pandemic workplace. She speaks to FT columnist and Working It regular Emma Jacobs about which aspects of upskilling are worth the time and investment, and also to Dan Bullock and Raul Sanchez, training and communications experts at New York University. Dan also works at the UN as a trainer, and both of them are convinced that teaching staff new language and communication skills is the key to a post-pandemic skills refocus - and better global understanding. Could upskilling staff actually help end the Great Resignation?  Want to read more? What is needed to bridge the skills gap? Andrew Hill on the World Economic Forum’s research https://www.ft.com/content/c82a4096-f4fc-424e-bc74-6df52055640dMore investment in older workers will pay off - Camilla Cavendish on the short-sighted approach of employers who favour younger staff https://www.ft.com/content/1a72ed42-6d96-4ed5-9528-fb4810b0dbd6Emma Jacobs on using ‘‘stay’ interviews as a way to find out the training staff want https://www.ft.com/content/57556b65-f8c8-41f1-9f07-c6c470777229How the Japanese company Rakuten made English its global language https://www.ft.com/content/2fdd6626-ba3b-11e7-8c12-5661783e5589Dan Bullock and Raul Sanchez’s work on training staff to communicate globally https://www.globallycommunicate.com/the-teamFT subscriber? Sign up for the new weekly Working It newsletter. We’ll 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of our ‘Most Read’ episodes on our changing relationship with work, we focus on The Great Resignation — one of the biggest workplace shifts of the pandemic. It’s a topic that deeply interests FT readers — and Isabel kicks off the episode by discussing readers’ thoughts with FT columnists and Working It regulars, Pilita Clark and Emma Jacobs.  Together, they then talk through some of the latest thinking on what leads people to leave workplaces. Triggers include burnout (particularly among middle managers), wanting to maintain autonomy gained during the pandemic and better pay on offer elsewhere. Emma and Pilita talk about what employers and managers can do to retain staff,  including innovative ‘stay’ interviews to find out what motivates team members and what their ambitions are.   Want to read more? Pilita Clark on the man who predicted The Great Resignation  https://www.ft.com/content/3e561d41-0267-4d40-9c30-01e62fa9c10fPilita Clark on ‘the grey resignation’ of older workers https://www.ft.com/content/f4b64153-b7da-46d6-b882-415907bb77f1How to run ‘stay’ interviews by Emma Jacobs  https://www.ft.com/content/57556b65-f8c8-41f1-9f07-c6c470777229Is this the end of work as we know it? Working It previous episodehttps://www.ft.com/content/0fc0cf76-d733-4f4c-85fd-51bdc023c63fFT subscriber? Sign up for the new weekly Working It newsletter. We’ll 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.