For the past five years, Fast Company has published the annual Queer 50, a list of the most influential LGBTQ leaders in business, tech, and beyond. The list is a celebration of queer representation and influence in the highest ranks of business. Honorees include those working on addressing the most relevant topics of our time, including responsible AI, trans rights, healthcare, and the future of work. In this episode, we wanted to hear from some of our Queer 50 honorees about the strengths that enable their best work and what inspires them to work through challenges. To read more detailed profiles of 2024’s Queer 50 honorees, go to fastcompany.com/queer-50.

Our show is based on the premise that work is changing everyday. But there’s a big problem with that: Change is hard, scary . . . and necessary. Now more than ever, as AI is integrated into our jobs, we are asked to adapt to seismic shifts at a much faster rate than in the past. But it’s human nature to resist uncomfortable changes, even if we know it might be for the best. So how can we make these shifts a little easier? Can we train our brains to become more adaptable? Sanam Hafeez is a neuropsychologist who has studied how our brains adapt to change, and she explains how underlying emotions affect our ability to adapt in the workplace.

Fifty percent of people say they’ve quit a job because of a bad boss. Why are so many managers unable to effectively manage? And is there a way to learn how to be a better manager? Leadership coach Lia Bosch joins host Kathleen Davis to talk about what companies get wrong about management and how bosses can be better at their jobs.

On this episode we take a look at some of the most infamous bosses from TV and film and see if there are any leadership lessons we can learn from their mistakes.

On the latest episode of The New Way We Work, we hear from Emma Hernandez about her experience accessing abortion care at two different points in her life: with and without employer support. Access to safe and legal abortion over the last five decades has had a tremendous impact on women. Women’s labor force participation went from about 43% in 1970 to 58% in 2019. It’s an issue that impacts labor force participation and career opportunity, as well as the health of the economy. As we reported in our recent package, The Business Case for Abortion Access, state-level abortion restrictions also reportedly already cost the U.S. economy about $105 billion each year, due to women leaving the workforce, reducing overall earnings, and increasing turnover. That will increase exponentially as more bans and restrictions go into place.

Kate Davis talks with Diana Kander about the pitfalls even the most well meaning manager might fall into and how to avoid them. Diana is an author, keynote speaker, and host of The Growth League podcast, which catalogs rules for growth from remarkable women. She also co-authored a Fast Company article titled “We interviewed 50 ‘bad bosses’ to learn it only takes a few toxic behaviors for everything to go” 

Kate Davis talks to Nena Martin about what the office of the future should look like. Nena is Global Technology Leader and Director of Workplace for the design and architecture firm Gensler. She has extensive experience in commercial architectural interiors of all types, she’s worked with clients including Apple, Google, Facebook,and many more in the process of creating new headquarters and corporate campuses.

Kate Davis and Josh Christensen talk about how to make friends at work. The two Fast Company articles we pulled tips from for this episode are How to make office friends if you’re planning to keep working from home By Corey Weiner and You can make friends at work. Here is how to foster life-long connections By Tracy Brower https://www.fastcompany.com/90644805/how-to-make-office-friends-if-youre-planning-to-keep-working-from-home https://www.fastcompany.com/90739266/you-can-make-real-friends-at-work-here-is-how-to-revitalize-your-connection-building

Kate Davis talks with Mark C. Crowley about The Great Reentry and what leaders need to know to make this transition work.

Kate Davis talks with Sara Horowitz about the future of portable benefits. Sara is the founder and former executive director of the Freelancers Union and founder of the mutualists society. She is also an author whose most recent book is “Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up”.

Welcome back to Season 12 of ‘The New Way We Work’!Even in the best of times, there’s always been an undercurrent of conflict between the priorities of corporate leadership and the needs of employees. But in the last several years, that tension has increased noticeably. Whether it’s the ongoing battles over employees returning to the office (or not), the renewed uproar over executive pay, or missteps in handling layoffs, the conflicts between employees and management only seem to grow. This season on ‘The New Way We Work,’ we’re looking at the problems with work, how we got here, and how to solve them. For this first episode, Work-Life editors Julia Herbst and AJ Hess discuss the most fundamental problem with work: that employees and management don’t see eye to eye.

Kate Davis talks with Hayden Brown about why so many workers are freelancing and how this trend will only continue to grow. Hayden is president and CEO of Upwork, a work marketplace that connects businesses with highly-skilled talent.

Kate Davis is joined by The New Way We Work producer Josh Christensen and Fast Company's senior VP of Entertainment Scott Mebus to talk about their work meeting audit. If you'd like to audit your own meetings, you can find instructions in this Fast Company Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/90727966/you-can-cancel-most-of-your-meetings-if-you-do-these-5-things

Kate Davis talks with Melissa Boteach about what it would look like if we paid for unpaid labor. Melissa is Vice President for Income Security, Child Care and Early Learning at the National Women’s Law Center. Melissa also oversees their advocacy, policy, and public education strategies on these issues. 

On today's episode, The New Way We Work producer talks with Irenka Krone and Nina Prochazka about job sharing. They cohead communication, network and knowledge management at CINFO, and work together at Association PTO, advocating for flexible work models and coaching job share partners. 

Kate Davis joined by Kenzo Fong and Josh Foreman to discuss the future of workplace flexibility. Kenzo is CEO & Founder of Rock who recently wrote for Fast Company about asynchronous work. And Josh is the CEO and Founder of Indebted who recently wrote about how his company moved to a 4 day work week.

Kate Davis and her producer, Josh Christensen, take the Myers-Briggs and Big Five personality tests. If you'd like to take the Big Five, follow this link: https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/IPIP-BFFM/

Kate Davis talks to Dr. Art Markman about why everyone's favorite personality test--The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator--is unreliable, especially when used in the hiring process. Art is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations.

The New Way We Work is back on February 7th with brand new episodes.

We are taking a short break from new episodes of The New Way We Work. We will be back with new episodes this February where we will talk about personality assessments, unions, retirement and so much more. To hold you over, here is a panel from Fast Company's Innovation Festival this past fall called "Working 9-to-5: Workplaces and Workspaces in the Zoom Era" hosted by Staff Editor--and regular contributor to The New Way We Work--Julia Herbst.

Today we have a special holiday episode where Kate Davis is joined by KC Ifeayni--host of Creative Conversation--and Talib Visram--host of World Changing Ideas--to reflect on the past year here at Fast Company and to share some new year's resolutions 

The New Way We Work is back for a new season next week and we are unpacking the biggest problems with work! Problems like lack of pay transparency, how hard work too often goes unrewarded, how the wrong people end up as managers, and so much more.

Kate Davis is joined by Dr. Jessica Jackson to discuss what mental health support should look like at work. Dr. Jackson is a psychologist and the Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Care Lead at Modern Health. Plus, we have a custom segment from Fast Co. Works and McKinsey & Company about how we take the speed and innovation we achieved during COVID and lock it in by design for sustained performance with Brooke Weddle, partner at McKinsey & Company.

Kate Davis and her producer, Josh Christensen, take the Narcissistic Personality Inventory assessment to see just how narcissistic they might be. If you'd like to take the assessment yourself, follow this link: https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/NPI/

Kate Davis is joined by Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic to discuss how the people who end up in leadership positions often possess the traits least suited to manage and lead people. Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic is the Chief Innovation Officer at Manpower Group, Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University, a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company and the author of several books including “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and how to fix it)”

On today's episode, we here from a childcare provider who left the industry after 20 years in the business.

The fragility of the country’s childcare infrastructure is one of America’s most enduring economic and societal challenges. This special recording of The New Way We Work podcast will explore public policy proposals, private sector initiatives, and other solutions that will help strengthen the economy and put people back on the job. Plus, a bonus segment from Fast Co. Works in partnership with McKinsey & Company. Fast Co. works correspondent Ted Brown talks with Liz Hilton Segel, McKinsey & Company’s Global Leader for Industry Practices, about the importance of well-being and the role leaders play in prioritizing this.

Staff editor Lydia Dishman dives deep into the all too familiar history of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Kate Davis talks with Ellen Pao about the rise in workplace harassment during the pandemic, what's possibly causing the problem, and what companies should be doing to fix it. Pao is a tech investor and advocate, the former CEO of reddit, and CEO and cofounder of the diversity and inclusion nonprofit Project Include.

Kate Davis talks to staff editor Lydia Dishman about her appreciation of going back to the office

Kate Davis talks with Natalie Nixon about creativity, collaboration and company culture. Natalie is the president of Figure 8 Thinking, author of The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work and a contributor to Fast Company

On today's episode we hear from someone who loves remote work despite initial reservations. Plus, we have another custom segment from Fast Co. Works and McKinsey & Company about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Lareina Yee, Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company

The impact of AI on finance departments will be huge.

Kate Davis talks with Dorie Clark about how to advance in your career when you are working from home. Clark is an author, professor of business at Duke and Columbia, and a contributor for the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company

On this week's episode, we hear from a retail worker about what led them to quit their job and join the great resignation. Plus, we have a custom segment from Fast Co. Works and McKinsey & Company about getting hybrid work right with Bryan Hancock, partner at McKinsey & Company and global leader of its talent work.

Kate Davis talks with Fast Company contributor Stephanie Vozza about why so many people are quitting their jobs, who they are most likely to be, and what industries are most affected.

In this week's episode, Fast Company reporter Lydia Dishman dives deep into the history (and future) of the office.

On this week's episode, Kate Davis talks to Fast Company contributor Gwen Moran about who should--and shouldn't--return to the office. Subscribe to The New Way We Work wherever you listen. If you liked this episode, leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.  We want to hear from you. How do you feel about returning to the office? Did you make the decision to stay remote? Are you transitioning into a new job or career? Email us at podcasts@fastcompany.com or tweet at us with the hashtag #NewWayWeWork The New Way We Work is produced by Joshua Christensen. For more on the return to the office: https://www.fastcompany.com/90655710/the-unspoken-reasons-employees-dont-want-remote-work-to-end https://www.fastcompany.com/90652534/employees-say-these-4-things-can-ease-the-transition-back-to-the-office https://www.fastcompany.com/90648555/6-pandemic-work-habits-we-shouldnt-lose-in-our-new-normal https://www.fastcompany.com/90641007/6-ways-to-reduce-anxiety-about-going-back-to-the-office https://www.fastcompany.com/90643759/we-still-need-conference-rooms-heres-what-they-should-look-like-post-pandemic

The New Way We Work returns with new episodes on September 13. We will be diving deep into the return to the office, "The Great Resignation", and the child care crisis.

In this episode, we’re talking about social media. While Facebook and Twitter still dominate the space, apps like TikTok and Clubhouse are offering people new ways to express themselves and form communities.  Amy chatted with Maria Raga, the CEO of Depop, the fashion resale app that’s become popular with Gen Z. The platform has 30 million registered users: 90% of them are under 26 years old. They discuss Depop’s unique approach to social commerce and how it has fostered a deep connection with younger users.

In today's modern environment, it's impractical to live a completely digital-free life. But as Newport points out, you can keep your smartphone and stay sane at the same time. The key is to practice digital minimalism, and spend your online time "on a small number of carefully selected activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else."

In this weeks 'Best Of' episode, Fast Company reporter Pavithra Mohan spoke to Nir Eyal, author of Indistractable: How To Control Your Attention And Choose your life. Nir gets to the heart of what’s really behind procrastination, and why discipline and willpower are a myth when it comes to combating distraction. And if you like what you hear in this episode, Nir is leading a workshop on this topic at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival on Tuesday September 28th, go to events.fastcompany.com to sign up.

On this episode, we’re going to talk about the gaming industry, which is worth more than 160 billion dollars globally. Over the past year and a half, as people have gone from sheltering at home to tentative re-engagement with the world to….whatever is in store for us this fall, games have taken on an outsized role in our lives.  Amy sat down with Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot, to discuss why he wants to do far more than just digitize the age-old pastime of buying and selling trading cards.

How artificial intelligence is shaping the product journeys from procurement to end customers.

Fast Company has been writing about how to beat distractions and find more focus at work for years, but right now all of the normal advice feels less practical. Between the stress and worry that has accompanied the pandemic and economic crisis--coupled with the tumultuous presidential election--staying focused can feel impossible. On today's 'Best Of' episode, we go back to November of 2020 when Kate Davis talked to Dr. Art Markman about how to manage stress and focus when it's all just too much.

In this episode, we’re talking about biotech and health. If this past year and a half is any indication, investment in these sectors is critical. We’ve seen how we can confront a global pandemic with fast-tracked RNA-based vaccines. We’ve harnessed genomics to track and diagnose illness as it spreads. And the rise of telemedicine has made healthcare more accessible to all.  Amy talked with Twist Bioscience CEO and Co-founder Emily LeProust about the MIC winner's cutting-edge technology that has pioneered what’s known as synthetic DNA. It’s used in therapeutics and precision medicine, but has applications across agriculture, biomaterials, and even data storage.

Once upon a time, putting your head down, doing good work, and staying loyal to a company may have been enough to get a promotion. But these days, that's no longer the case. In today's constantly changing workforce, companies reward employees who can bring results and aren't afraid to be vocal about it. It's often on the individual to devise their own strategies and sometimes even design their own path. Sometimes, that preparation may take longer than you think. In this 'Best Of' episode of The New Way We Work, Kate and Anisa examine how to ask for--and land--that promotion.