PODCAST · business
The Future of Work
by UC Berkeley Extension
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the way we worked and the skills we needed to succeed in our respective fields was shifting. Increased reliance on data to inform business decisions. The automation of job duties that made some workers redundant. The value of incorporating sustainability into everyday processes on the bottom line. And then COVID-19 shut down the world. Racism and inequalities came to dominate every conversation. And as companies grapple with DE&I initiates and engage with a remote workforce, the way we work today looks drastically different than from just a few years ago. What trends, skills, initiatives and equity will we face in the years to come? Each month, we talk with industry leaders in their fields to discuss the changing evolution of the workforce and the skills needed to stay competitive.
Episodes
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Disrupted, Not Derailed
Every generation of workers has faced change. But today's professionals are navigating a lot of change, all at once: Near constant disruption, massively shifting priorities, high volume of information and, of course, a stream of new technologies. In this environment, waiting until things feel...
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Working With Intent Across Generations
Gen Z enters the workforce with adaptability, creativity, and native digital fluency, shaped by a lifetime of always-on social media and instant AI access. But as AI handles the technical tasks, human judgment is becoming the new corporate currency—and traditional, unwritten office rules are...
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Purpose-Driven Careers in the Age of AI
As AI and automation rewrite the rules of work, many professionals are waking up to a sharp disconnect: They are working harder than ever, but for companies whose missions feel empty. They are asking themselves, "How do I start using my expertise to solve the problems I actually care about?" In...
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AI As Your Writing Partner
AI can brainstorm at lightning speed, clean up clunky sentences and help you get unstuck when the blank page stares back. But are you losing your own brand voice and your critical-thinking skills by offloading tasks to AI? Or are you sharpening your writing and accelerating your productivity with...
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Creating Your Agile Mindset
In this episode, we're exploring how to approach your career and job search with an Agile mindset, borrowing from both modern product development thinking and from an unexpected source of inspiration: the Japanese concept of Ikigai, a philosophy around your "reason for being" and what brings you...
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The Power of Stop
We live in a moment where speed is celebrated, productivity is prized and new tools—especially AI—promise to help us do more, faster, with less friction. But somewhere along the way, many of us have started acting like machines ourselves: optimizing every minute, competing with algorithms and...
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AI and Personal Financial Planning
AI is changing how we think about money—from budgeting apps and digital investment assistants to tools that promise personalized financial guidance in seconds. But knowing when to use AI, when not to and when to bring in a personal financial professional isn't always obvious. In this episode, we...
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2026 Workforce Signals to Keep an Eye On
It's a new year, and if you're like us you're probably wondering what 2026 has in store for workers, job seekers and leaders. Glassdoor's latest trends show some big signals to watch: a growing disconnect between employees and leadership, mini-layoffs creating near constant anxiety and job…
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Super-Shifts—Designing Your Role in an AI-Driven Future
As we wrap up 2025 and look ahead to 2026, one thing is clear: Artificial Intelligence isn't slowing down—it's reshaping jobs, expectations, productivity and even how we see our contributions as humans. If you want insider advice on how to adapt to these shifts and hints on how to become more…
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AI and the Hiring Game, Part 2
This month, we continue our conversation about AI's impact on recruitment and rewriting the rules of hiring. With hundreds of resumes for every role and too few recruiters to review them, algorithms now decide who makes it through the virtual and actual door. It's efficient—but also impersonal....
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AI and the Hiring Game, Part 1
This month, we're looking through the eyes of recruiters to see how AI is rewriting the rules of hiring. With hundreds of resumes for every role and too few recruiters to review them, algorithms now decide who makes it through the virtual and actual door. It's efficient—but also impersonal....
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Skills Shift—Thriving With AI, Part 2
We're continuing our conversation about AI and skills and what organizations are looking for as they develop their workforce. What skills do you need to fortify your career, and how do you demonstrate you have those skills? From practical project-based work to the redesigning of roles, let's look...
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Skills Shift—Thriving With AI
In today's fast shifting workplace, the rules of success are being rewritten. HR leaders and executives are looking for skill sets that blend adaptability, agility,and the ability to work alongside AI, not against it. We explore the skills that are on the rise and the ones fading away. What…
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Please Meet "Future You"
If you're looking to reinvent your career, reboot your confidence or rethink what's possible, we're going to give you some time, space and strategies to imagine your next move. The past is not a fortune teller. It doesn't dictate your future. The past is, however, an excellent teacher that offers...
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Innovating in an AI World
As AI continues to transform our workplace, it's not just about keeping up with the tech. It's about staying grounded, sharp and curious. We need to cultivate skills that allow us to adapt, recover from setbacks and navigate complexity. In this episode, we dive into why emotional and cognitive...
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Adapting Skills to Project-Based Work
This month, we're exploring one of the biggest shifts in the modern workplace: the move toward project-based work. Companies are organizing their efforts around short-term, goal-driven initiatives rather than long-term roles. This evolution means that project management is no longer just a...
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AI's Impact on Equity
We continue our conversation about the state of DEI and the heavy influence that AI will have on this important directive. This month, we explore the impact of AI on DEI initiatives—how it can either amplify biases or serve as a tool for equity. We look at how DEI programs play a key role in...
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DEI Is Not DOA, Part 1
We're diving into a topic that's more urgent than ever: the current state of diversity, equity and inclusion in organizations, and the profound impact artificial intelligence is having on these initiatives. As economic pressures mount, budgets tighten and politics change, a concerning trend is...
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The Great Flattening
In this episode, we're diving into a critical transformation happening across industries—the decline of middle management. As companies flatten their structures in pursuit of efficiency, what happens to organizational communication and workplace culture? Are we losing vital connectors who bridge...
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Embracing Neurodiversity
In this episode, we're diving into a topic that's reshaping modern workplaces and unlocking incredible potential—neurodiversity. From creating inclusive environments to tapping into the unique strengths that neurodivergent individuals bring to the table, we'll explore how organizations can evolve...
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Where AI and People Meet
As we look toward 2025, we're reflecting on how much AI has made deep inroads into our future of work. From creating new opportunities for automation and entrepreneurship to its impact on how we hire new talent, AI will no doubt continue to stay at the forefront of our conversations. But we need…
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PIP—Friend or Foe?
In this episode, we're going to shed light on a sensitive subject that many professionals encounter, but very few understand: performance improvement plans, or PIPs. It's time to bring PIPs out of the shadows and talk about them. You may be a manager trying to guide your team to success and have…
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From Side Hustle to Startup
In this episode, we're asking the question of, are side hustles the new normal? In recent surveys, nearly 50-percent of the population has a side hustle in addition to their full-time work. What starts as a side hustle often begins with a spark of passion or a desire to explore an idea outside…
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Please Meet Your AI Coach
In this episode, we're helping to unlock access to coaching—both for your career and your personal life. Perhaps you have never thought about working with a career coach, or maybe you thought about it but hiring a coach was not financially viable. Some may feel an unfounded concern that coaching...
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When Passion Meets Purpose
Social impact, change-making, entrepreneurship. Opportunities abound to affect positive impact and influence by leveraging your passions. Extraordinary things can happen when passion meets purpose. Sounds overwhelming? It doesn't need to be. You may already have a side hustle that spotlights your...
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Are Skills the New Degree?
Millions of Americans entering the workforce don't have a traditional four-year college degree. Earning a degree may not be realistic, attainable or appealing for everyone. Many folks are instead pursuing alternative educational paths—from on-the-job-training to certificates— to advance their...
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What Happens When AI Hires?
In this episode, we're taking a very real look at how AI is changing the hiring landscape. Applicants are using ChatGPT to write job opening-specific resumes, which in turn is making applicants meld together and what this episode's guest calls a sea of sameness. On the other side of the...
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Upskilling the Deskless Worker
This episode, we're turning our attention to the deskless worker—those who work in manufacturing, front-line support, health care and so many other areas. Their job does not require them to be at a desk or in a traditional office setting. They're on the go, in the field, working in environments...
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Mental Health Matters
Demand for mental health benefits has grown. In a 2023 NPR article, psychologists say they can't meet the growing demand for mental health care—whether it's not having enough open positions or three-month-long waitlists. There is a growing market for apps to fill the gaps, as well as platforms…
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Tomorrow's AI-Augmented Workforce
Job listings mentioning AI have doubled on LinkedIn, and demand for AI skills is appearing across a wide range of industries and sectors. Job seekers are jumping on the bandwagon and adding AI skills to their resumes. But what does this mean? What are employers looking for, where can you learn...
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2024 Job Trends and Directions
Are you making any career or professional development resolutions? To help you envision the future, let's explore trends and new directions for career growth. To shed light on the jobs that are in demand and growing sectors, we need to dive into data from employees and employers. Fortunately for...
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2024 Predictions
As we look toward 2024, we'd like to take this time to remind each of our listeners that it's important to invest in your future of work goals. So let's call this episode the Future of Work Gift Guide. What can you give yourself to upskill? How can you help someone achieve their career goals? To...
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Becoming an AI Native
With the advent of generative AI and large language models and chatbots, we need to take a look at the skills you will need, the jobs that are impacted and the opportunity to increase productivity—not only for yourself, but for an organization as a whole. With AI evolving at lightning speed, are…
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Creative Collaboration—Where is the Sweet Spot?
This month, we're taking a look at collaborative intelligence. Collaboration is essential but often times invisible. It can either contribute to the success or lead to the downfall of a project. We collaborate in a number ways, using a number of different tools and in different places, but do we...
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The Domino Effect of Striking Down Affirmative Action
This month, we're taking a look at the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that essentially struck down four-and-a-half decades of legal precedent that allowed higher-education institutions to consider race as one of the many factors in their admissions evaluations. While California has been…
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AI—Embrace With a Level of Skepticism, Part 2
This month, we continue our conversation on Artificial Intelligence and how it might change your job and create wholly new jobs. ChatGPT, a generative AI chat bot from OpenAI, and Bard from Google are changing how we see AI's role in how we do our jobs. From drafting speeches to writing and...
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AI—Embrace With a Level of Skepticism
This month, we're taking a look at Artificial Intelligence and how it is changing the way we educate and the way we work. When we first started hearing about AI, there was a lot of conversation about automation, job displacement and up-skilling. Then this year, ChatGPT set the record for the...
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4-Day Work Week—Yay or Nay?
A few episodes back, we talked about hybrid work and the growing strength that employees have in shaping the how and when of their work. This month, we're putting a spotlight on a trend that is picking up steam—the idea of a four-day work week. This experimentation is revealing pros and cons when...
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The Value of Employee Resource Groups
We're taking an inside look at employee resource groups, better known as ERGs. ERGs provide a safe space for employees to meet with others like themselves, and develop community around those shared traits and needs. Normally employee-led, ERGs also provide inherent value to organizations small…
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Owning Your Financial Decisions
We ended 2022 with a bit of an upheaval in the job market. Mass layoffs at big-tech companies were splashed across the headlines. And more organizations are speculating that layoffs may be part of their fiscal plan in the coming months, reacting to the possibility of a looming recession. So in…
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Where Did the Trust Go?
Who is steering the ship? Today's workforce is more empowered than ever with many finding that maintaining a work-life balance is an important part of how we work. The pandemic opened the door to enabling greater flexibility around when and where we work. Job-seekers are prioritizing company...
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2023 Predictions
This month, we chat with former guests Barry O'Reilly and Vaneese Johnson to future-cast what's in store for 2023! They look back on 2022: Did we learn anything new? Did any of our systems or practices change? They look forward to 2023: Will there be new ripples or upsets in the work place? What...
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Are We Moving Toward a Gig Economy?
What was once considered side hustles, the gig economy has become so much more. In fact, it's quickly becoming a trillion-dollar industry that offers more choices and opportunities. Whether it's partaking in the rideshare business as a driver or working as a consultant in the project economy, are...
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The Humanizing of Flexible Work
Across the globe, people have created effective remote working environments for themselves. Statistics vary, but the majority of employees say that working remotely will be important to them in the future. Not all workers have the option, but more than half do, and when offered, almost everyone...
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The Democracy of Data
There's no ignoring it: Data is driving business forward. Data informs good decision making. And as a result, companies are empowering their employees to explore, understand and communicate with data. As we look at the future of work, every role at every level of an organization will need...
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The Hybrid Role—Fusing Technical and Soft Skills, Part 2
Specialized digital skills are becoming increasingly important and yet jobs are not becoming hypertechnical. Instead, they are becoming increasingly hybrid, mixing human and technical skills—and employers and workers alike are still struggling to keep up. For example, job postings are cropping up...
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The Hybrid Role—Fusing Technical and Soft Skills, Part 1
Specialized digital skills are becoming increasingly important and yet jobs are not becoming hypertechnical. Instead, they are becoming increasingly hybrid, mixing human and technical skills—and employers and workers alike are still struggling to keep up. For example, job postings are cropping up...
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Closing the Great Skills Gap With Post-Degree Learning
AI and automation are making some jobs obsolete or creating new jobs. We're also witnessing the great resignation, brought on by myriad reasons. In a McKinsey Global Institute report, "In the United States, we project there are about 17 million people in jobs that may see less demand. Over the...
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Learning—and Unlearning—With Intent
The World Economic Forum recently declared a reskilling emergency as the world faces more than one billion jobs transformed by technology. No longer an ideal but an expectation, executives and employees must continually refresh their skills to keep up. To do so, continuous professional education…
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The Future of Work in Biology Post-Pandemic
If anything positive can come out of this COVID-19 pandemic, it's that the importance of health care professionals is seen as paramount—especially those who were furiously working to develop a vaccine. From understanding how the virus worked, how to mitigate its transmission and how to protect…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the way we worked and the skills we needed to succeed in our respective fields was shifting. Increased reliance on data to inform business decisions. The automation of job duties that made some workers redundant. The value of incorporating sustainability into everyday processes on the bottom line. And then COVID-19 shut down the world. Racism and inequalities came to dominate every conversation. And as companies grapple with DE&I initiates and engage with a remote workforce, the way we work today looks drastically different than from just a few years ago. What trends, skills, initiatives and equity will we face in the years to come? Each month, we talk with industry leaders in their fields to discuss the changing evolution of the workforce and the skills needed to stay competitive.
HOSTED BY
UC Berkeley Extension
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Future of Work have?
The Future of Work currently has 51 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Future of Work about?
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the way we worked and the skills we needed to succeed in our respective fields was shifting. Increased reliance on data to inform business decisions. The automation of job duties that made some workers redundant. The value of incorporating sustainability into...
How often does The Future of Work release new episodes?
The Future of Work has 51 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Future of Work?
You can listen to The Future of Work on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Future of Work?
The Future of Work is created and hosted by UC Berkeley Extension.
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