The New Way We Work – Details, episodes & analysis

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.