Workplaces across the board are increasingly challenged by complex problems that demand an overhaul of the way work itself is undertaken. AI, geopolitical tensions, shifting attitudes to work, intergenerational differences, the climate crisis and more can easily create internal rifts and tensions that are hard to overcome. Unless, of course, the organisation makes a full-blooded commitment to connection and community.

In this episode, Jen, Dom and Cat chat with Adele McIntosh, VP of Internal Communication and Community at Arm. She shares why Arm chose to prioritise community, the benefits this has yielded and some of her top tips for creating community at work.

As work becomes increasingly fast-paced and fragmented, creating and sustaining a sense of togetherness and belonging is vital. Internal communicators are ideally positioned to deliver this strategic value to their employers.

Find Adele on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelekmcintosh/

Cancer is a word that instils dread into all of us. Long regarded as a disease with no cure, today, one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lifetime. This means we will all know someone who has to deal with the implications of this illness, whether for themselves or for a close family member or friend.

Yet despite the escalating prevalence of the disease and improved survival rates, we are still incredibly ill-equipped to speak about it. And when we don’t speak about it, we can’t support those navigating its ramifications. We can’t help colleagues who must adapt their work patterns to either fit around treatment plans or care for loved ones.

In this episode Cat, Jen and Dom chat with Alyssa Burkus – a three-time cancer survivor and volunteer cancer recovery coach. They talk about the incumbent systems that make cancer so hard to navigate and explore what organisations can do to demonstrate care, compassion and support at this most vulnerable of times.

About Alyssa Burkus

Alyssa Burkus is the founder of Shift Wisdom, a thought leadership agency that helps founders and business leaders increase their influence and authority through writing. Her work includes thought leadership strategy, ghostwriting and writing coaching, focused on leadership, change and future of work themes.

Before starting Shift Wisdom, she was an enterprise change consultant for 20 years, working with companies ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500s, and spent much of her time ghostwriting for senior executives. Alyssa is also a three-time cancer survivor and volunteer cancer recovery coach, based near Toronto, Canada.

Find Alyssa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssaburkus/

Alyssa’s website: https://www.shiftwisdom.com/

Alyssa’s newsletter: https://newsletter.shiftwisdom.com/

Cancer Support Resources UK: https://cancersupportuk.org/

Cancer Support Resources Canada: https://wellspring.ca/

Cancer Support Resources US: https://www.cancercare.org/

Since the public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, scarcely a day goes by without a news headline forewarning of mass redundancies caused by technological efficiency.

But aren’t there some jobs or vocations where, no matter how sophisticated technology becomes, it simply won’t be able to replicate human empathy, reason and oversight?

In this episode Cat, Jen and Dom chat with sociology Professor Allison Pugh of John Hopkins University, drawing on her book The Last Human Job. They examine the role of connective labour and empathic communication in building goodwill, trust, mutuality and human connection, never more urgently needed in workplaces across the board.

About Allison Pugh

Allison Pugh is Research Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of four books, most recently The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (Princeton 2024). The 2024-5 Vice President of the American Sociological Association, Pugh has given more than 100 invited talks and has had visiting appointments in Australia, France and Germany. She is a former journalist, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and other outlets. Pugh has served as a US diplomat in Honduras, cofounded an elementary school in California, waited on tables at the US Tennis Open and was an intern at Ms. Magazine. She and her husband have three children and live in Washington DC.

Find Allison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-pugh-b6169467/

Allison’s website: https://www.allisonpugh.com/