Working It

If you like your colleagues, the lunch hour is probably a highlight of your working day. But fewer and fewer of us are actually using it to, well, lunch. Since flexible working has become the norm, people have increasingly ‘banked’ their lunch hour, and spent their break time running errands, exercising, or seeing their kids. Stanford university professor Nick Bloom tells host Isabel Berwick. But is something lost if we don’t break bread with our colleagues? Is eating ‘al desko’ really so bad? And what’s the secret to a great homemade lunch? FT Magazine Food and Drink editor Harri...

Managers can’t get their heads around Gen Z employees. Why won’t they work late? Why do they talk like that? And do they even want to be here? But instead of emphasising points of difference with younger workers, we should get better at understanding their motivations. In this episode, Isabel speaks to researcher and futurist Chloe Combi, who has interviewed more than 20,000 young people about what they want. Chloe explains why Gen Z workers often clash with millennials (and how to give them better mentors). FT columnist Pilita Clark vents about her biggest Gen Z bugbear: the fact...

You’ve worked hard all year, and the summer holidays have finally arrived. But it’s not like all your colleagues have downed tools. Would it be so bad if you checked your emails – just quickly – to make sure your team don’t need you? Well, yes it would, actually. In this episode, author and journalist Brigid Schulte tells Isabel Berwick why holiday work is a failure of management – and can cost employees their good health. Isabel also speaks to freelance journalist Oliver Balch, who recently asked senior executives about whether they really disconnect on their holidays.

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In most workplaces, expressing ambition is non-negotiable. We’re all meant to strive, to want more, and to summit ever more impressive professional peaks; but only a handful ever reach the top. Besides, does ambition really make us happy? In this episode, Isabel Berwick speaks to Stefan Stern, author of ‘Fair or Foul: The Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition.’. They discuss why even the highest achievers can never accomplish enough.’ Later, Isabel speaks to teacher and former FT journalist Lucy Kellaway, who explains why tempering your ambition can be the difference between satisfaction and sadness.

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Working It is taking a break this week, so we’re bringing you a podcast we think you’ll enjoy: Coaching Real Leaders, from Harvard Business Review. The show takes you inside real-life coaching sessions with veteran leadership coach Muriel Wilkins. In this episode, Muriel speaks to ‘Sarah’, who has experienced burnout in more than one of her previous roles. Muriel investigates the causes of Sarah’s burnout – and points her to new habits that may stop her burning out again.

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There’s plenty of finger pointing taking place following the CrowdStrike software outage that took down millions of computers all over the world earlier this month. So what’s the best way to deal with big mistakes in the workplace – and can you win back trust after a huge error? Senior editor Hugh Carnegy, who administers the FT’s corrections and complaints process, tells host Isabel Berwick how he handles mistakes by editors and correspondents, and Sandra Sucher, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, joins the conversation to talk about how trust is lost and regained in a corpor...

We all experience peaks and troughs over the course of a working day. Knowing how to manage them can make us much more productive. Isabel Berwick speaks to Daniel Pink, bestselling author of books including When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, about why people work best at different times of day – and how we can harness those differences to do our best work. Later, producer Mischa Frankl-Duval speaks to Aaron Levie, CEO of Box. Aaron is a committed night owl. He explains his unusual schedule, and how it affects his leadership.

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CEOs ultimately take responsibility when something goes wrong on their team. But leaders have a lot on their plates. How can they stay on top of what the people under them are doing, without burning themselves out? To learn more, Isabel Berwick speaks to Cath Bishop, a former Olympic rower who now helps businesses create sustainable working cultures, and the FT’s senior business writer Andrew Hill.

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When you step into a senior job, your in-tray is stuffed (just ask the new UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer). People who work under you are trying to win you round; the colleagues you beat out for the top job may be looking to sabotage you. And, as guest Laura Empson – a professor in the management of professional services firms at Bayes Business School – tells guest host Andrew Hill, some staff are even complaining about the chicken sandwiches. Laura explains how to cut through the noise when you start a new job, and the importance of throwing “live chicke...

We’re conditioned to believe that persevering in a tough situation is more noble than quitting. But decision strategist (and former poker champion) Annie Duke tells host Isabel Berwick that that’s not always the case. Too often when we’re faced with a stick-or-twist decision at work, we underplay the positives that may come from a change – and overplay the negatives.

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Quitting is underrated

Quitting a job does not make you a failure

Why living experimentally beats taking big bets

Presented by Isabel B...