What If?

With Barclays Bank, Boots, JD Sports and Dell Technologies among some of the big names to have asked staff to spend a certain percentage of their time at their desks, 2024 has very much been the year of the return-to-office mandate. But what’s the evidence in favour or against? And, with tribunals in this area mounting, what happens if employees just don’t play ball? Academic Gemma Dale and HR leader Tim Mitchell discuss.  

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Most would agree that people shouldn’t be promoted into line management roles just because they've been at the company a while or are competent technical performers. Which means there is no reason why a talented young employee, with good EQ, shouldn’t be an older person’s boss. But how does this work in practice? Author Mark Beal and Gen Z manager Lea Karam advise.

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Should you ever send a bot to a meeting in your place? Will the advent of ChatGPT et al eventually mean people lose the skill to write from scratch? Should all employers be racing to hire prompt engineers? Economist Carl Benedikt Frey and HR leader Natalie Sheils give their expert steers on where generative AI is being most usefully applied in the workplace at present – and where it could go next.

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The UK’s National Health Service is in such a parlous state that the new government should declare it a national emergency, a commission of experts recently declared. So what would happen if it were no more? Where would this leave employers? And is it, in fact, time we considered a different healthcare model in the UK anyway? Professor Cary Cooper and policy adviser Charlotte Wickens give their prognoses.

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Once upon a time, if the likes of Google or Netflix were up to something, it wouldn’t be long before other employers followed suit (think stack ranking, radical honesty, ping-pong tables…) But, given the headlines over recent years around issues such as overwork and lack of diversity – to name just two – is it time we looked elsewhere for inspiration? Authors Bruce Daisley and Marissa Orr think it is.

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During the Covid-19 lockdowns we all gained a renewed appreciation for frontline workers – healthcare professionals in particular, but also delivery drivers and supermarket staff. So why do we pay some of those doing jobs with arguably the most real-world impact the least? Should we pay them more, or would this lead to unintended economic consequences? Academics Zeynep Ton and Julian Jessop discuss.

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‘Unconscious bias’ has not enjoyed the best of reputations over the last few years, with much training labelled ineffective, and concerns around the concept being used to justify what is actually fully conscious, overt prejudice. So is it just fact that everyone is biassed on a purely subconscious level? And if so, what should HR and EDI professionals do about it? Academics Keon West and Pragya Agarwal advise. 

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To become a farrier (fitting horseshoes) in the UK, there is a legal requirement to have certain qualifications or experience and to register with a regulatory body before practising. No such requirement exists for HR – but should it? The CIPD’s David D’Souza and ‘father of HR’ Dave Ulrich explore what the advantages – and disadvantages – of more direct, explicit professional oversight might be.

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Rules drawn up by ITV following the Phillip Schofield scandal mean staff must now declare all workplace relationships – including friendships – to the broadcaster or risk losing their jobs. But is such a system workable in practice? And might it have a chilling effect on positive working relations? Organisational psychologist Susan Hetrick and friendship app founder Claudia Gård explore how HR should approach this perennially knotty topic. 

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Many people’s lives now feel fully ‘back to normal’ several years after Covid-19 lockdowns, almost as if the pandemic never happened... But should the possibility of another deadly virus be more heavily factored into how workplaces organise themselves, and how businesses approach risk management? And what other ‘unexpected’ events should also be on our radars, ask academics Cassandra Berry and David Alexander.  

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Some of today’s most high-profile leaders make no secret of micro dosing – the practice of ingesting small amounts of psychedelic substances to enhance creativity and leadership. Could this one day become the norm in workplaces? And what are the dangers? Business leader and psychedelics-for-wellbeing advocate Sandra Statz and Imperial College London professor David Nutt discuss.

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Many might be unaware that the pandemic led to the greatest ever surge in billionaire wealth globally. So is it time to take steps towards wealth redistribution? Or would doing so put the brakes on the ambition and vision that creates jobs and opportunities for everyone? Financial journalist David Bain and angel investor and Patriotic Millionaire UK member Julia Davies discuss.  

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Is calling for an individual or institution to be boycotted ever justified, or productive? Or do we just need to grow thicker skins against offensive comments, if we want to protect free speech? And what about those from less privileged, diverse backgrounds trying to avoid triggering content? Work.puts all this to HR director Neil Morrison and founder of freespeechunion.org Toby Young 

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Have the people of this country – as Michael Gove had it back in 2016 – simply had enough of experts? HR leader Amanda Arrowsmith and AI expert Rob McCargow explore how the notion of expertise is being impacted by technology, societal norms and polarising viewpoints. And what that means for work, skills and the functioning of society at large.

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In the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, many are trying desperately to expect the unexpected – to anticipate the next ‘unthinkable’ global crisis. But are there bigger threats to worry about in relation to China – most notably security- and surveillance-related? Work. puts this all to academic Rana Mitter and former diplomat Charlie Parton.

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In a world of work that looks very different to even five or 10 years ago, is employment legislation in the UK fit for purpose? Do any regulations stifle growth for smaller businesses especially, or do they provide necessary protection for workers and bosses alike? Professor Len Shackleton and employment law consultant Kate Palmer explore.

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What if… you could brainwash staff? 

Whether deployed knowingly or not, ‘choice architecture’ is everywhere in the workplace, from encouraging people to move about more, to reminding them to practise better cyber security. But is application of nudge theory always ethical? And do rapid advances in neurotechnology – or mind reading – complicate the issue? Academics Nick Chater and Nita Farahany discuss. 

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Why, come 2023, is childcare still perceived as a predominantly ‘female’ domain by so many? Why is leave at the start of a child’s life still very rarely shared by parents? Do we need to scrap the current system of SPL in the UK? Academics Sarah Jackson and Michael Kimmel discuss.

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The way many people now work post pandemic is almost unrecognisable compared to how this looked before, raising the question of whether formal employment contracts have had their day. Academics Peter Cappelli and Ranjay Gulati explore what it might mean for the future of organisational culture and employee loyalty if we all essentially became contractors.

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Examples of company bosses taking a hardline stance on political and social issues have proliferated over recent years – particularly in the US, on highly emotive matters such as climate change, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and Black Lives Matter. Academic and author Margaret Heffernan and CEO of NHS Employers Danny Mortimer discuss where such activism is appropriate, and how to get it right.

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In times gone by, it was an unspoken fact of life that come a certain age, everyone would swap their careers for a life of gardening, golf and general relaxation. But those days are already long gone. Academic Lynda Gratton and former pensions minister Steve Webb debate whether this is a good thing, and whether our economy will be able to sustain such widespread later life working.

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Fuelled by a cost of living crisis and several years of frontline workers having put themselves at risk during the pandemic, the UK is facing the biggest wave of industrial action since the 1970s. Professor Melanie Simms and equality and diversity organiser at Equity Ian Manborde discuss just how far this might all go.

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In this first episode of series three, we ponder whether complete self-expression at work is the ED&I holy grail, or would lead to total anarchy in practice. Academic and author Rob Goffee and leadership development expert Yetunde Hofman discuss why authentic leadership, in particular, is so vital – and how to get adapting to different contexts just right.

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If the traditional unstructured interview is about as useful at predicting on-the-job success as astrology and graphology, and many employers still rely heavily on this, should we just dispense with the whole process altogether, and recruit at random? Academic Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and recruitment firm CEO Cynthia V Davis discuss the state of play currently, and how to make hiring better – and fairer. 

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What would we all do all day if there were no jobs? And how likely is this to come to pass? Academic Daniel Susskind argues it is only a matter of time before mass society-wide unemployment becomes a reality, while NHS Confederation chief executive and political thinker Matthew Taylor says there will always be work – we just need to ensure it is good.

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Since the financial crisis of 2008, the #MeToo movement and a series of high-profile corporate collapses, the business world has begun to question a certain brand of forthright – often macho – leadership. But do we still need ‘superstar’ leaders in some contexts?...ponder academics Randall Peterson, professor of organisational behaviour and academic director of the Leadership Institute at London Business School and Doyin Atewologun, dean of the Rhodes scholarships at Oxford University and director of the consultancy Delta Alpha Psi.

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You can already watch a concert, buy designer goods or bid for virtual artwork in the metaverse... And if you work at Accenture, or one of a handful of other employers experimenting here, you can onboard yourself, undergo training and hold meetings there too. Accenture's Allison Horn explains why the possibilities are endless, while academic Phil Reed warns of a darker side.

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It has been seven years since Ram Charan wrote his controversial article ‘It’s time to blow up HR and build something new’, and hopefully the profession has more than proved its value over the last few years. But what criticisms still get levelled at it? And are some organisations really managing well without a people function? Academic Wendy Hirsh and the CIPD's chief executive Peter Cheese discuss.

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Radical honesty is an increasingly popular concept, particularly among Silicon Valley firms – as is the idea of speaking truth to power. But are we all ready to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Academics Megan Reitz and Erin Meyer – who has worked with Netflix and written about their culture of radical candour – advise how to make this actually work.

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Episode 5Nobody doubts there’s a serious problem with lack of representation in the workplace. But are centrally organised initiatives really the best way to deal with it? Inclusion experts Bernadette Thompson and Rene Carayol give their experienced perspectives on one of the most fundamental debates in business

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Episode 4To some, it sounds like a dream to work in a business with no bosses. But as philosopher Julian Baggini points out, if you think hierarchy is so imperfect, ask for the most junior surgeon possible to perform your next operation. He goes head to head with Rob Pierre, founder of highly democratised digital marketing firm Jellyfish

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Episode 3Advances in artificial intelligence are accelerating so rapidly it’s no longer quite so far-fetched to think an algorithm could take the CEO’s job. But do we really understand the implications of AI for the way we run our companies? Join Deloitte’s Hilary Richters and technologist David Weinberger to discuss the ethics of the rise of the machines

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Episode 2The coronavirus pandemic saw a forced exodus of knowledge workers from the office. But employers are divided on whether they want them back full time, part time – or not at all. Financial Times columnist Pilita Clark and Aviva chief people officer Danny Harmer explore the rights and wrongs of life on Zoom

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Episode 1Employees like the idea of knowing what their colleagues earn – but that also means sharing their own salary details. Academics Emma Parry and Todd Zenger who take opposing views on whether pay transparency will help increase fairness inside organisations or lead to serious disgruntlement

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