Alexis Fink - The Science of Making Work Not Suck

Most conversations about the future of work focus on technology. This one focuses on people.In this episode, Ben sits down with Alexis Fink, organizational psychologist and president of SIOP — the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology — to explore what over a century of behavioral science actually tells us about how work gets done, why organizations succeed or fail, and what leaders get dangerously wrong about their own people.Alexis brings a perspective that's rarely heard in economics conversations: one grounded not in incentives and market forces, but in how humans actually behave under pressure, in teams, and inside complex organizational systems.Topics covered:What industrial-organizational psychology isWhy meetings are almost always done wrong and what a genuinely good one looks likeWhy AI adoption metrics are measuring the wrong metricsThe elevator analogy: why the real potential of AI isn't doing existing things faster, it's enabling things that were never possible before"Brain fry" and cognitive vigilance, and how pushing people harder with AI tools may produce diminishing, even negative, returnsWhy strategic workforce planning is one of the most underrated practices in business, and why so few companies actually do it wellAbout Alexis Fink: Alexis Fink is an organizational psychologist, people analytics leader, and president of SIOP, the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She has led people analytics and workforce strategy functions at some of the world's largest tech companies and is one of the leading voices on the intersection of behavioral science, organizational design, and the future of work.Follow Alexis on LinkedInFollow us on LinkedInFollow Ben on LinkedInSign up for our NewsletterVisit our website for more informationGet in touch with us at [email protected]