Frequency

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into four stories that, taken together, make a pretty uncomfortable case: that modern work is increasingly built on theatre and ambiguity. From a personal essay that went viral, to engagement data from two continents, to the real story behind return-to-office mandates, this episode asks what happens when the structures organisations rely on stop working - and nobody says anything. The first story is a personal essay from someone who confessed to spending an entire year at a software company doing no work - and never being found out. Her piece draws on David Graeber's concept of bullshit jobs - roles so pointless that even the person doing them cannot justify their existence - with Graeber estimating that 20 to 50% of all jobs fit that description. Firstup have published some reports into employee engagement, surveying over 3,000 employees across corporate, manager, and hourly worker roles in both North America and the UK. The headline finding is that employee engagement scores look healthy on paper, but they are masking a significant and growing retention crisis. Nearly half of employees say they are engaged, and nearly half are also planning to leave within 12 months. The real question Chuck and Jenni discuss is what are the drivers behind why people stay if they aren’t engaged? The third story, from Startups Magazine, is titled The Clarity Crisis: Why Your Culture Problem is Actually a Communication Problem. Its central argument is that what leaders diagnose as a culture problem is most often a communication problem, specifically a failure around clarity. It’s not new, but how does this knowledge start to have an impact with managers and leaders in the workplace? The final story examines some return-to-office stats and trends for the USA. Only 27% of companies have returned to a fully in-person model, while 67% continue to offer some form of hybrid flexibility. Perhaps the most revealing statistic in the report: 25% of executives and 18% of HR professionals admit they hoped some employees would voluntarily leave because of an RTO policy - something Chuck calls out as weak.     Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/   Articles mentioned in this episode:  (00:40) The US and UK special relationship (04:11) I did no work for a year and no one noticed (10:19) Firstup report on employee engagement (17:14) The clarity crisis: why your ‘culture’ problem is actually a communication problem (22:20) Essential Return-to-Office Statistics and Trends (2026) USA insights  Episode's official page:  Half Feel Engaged Yet Plan to Leave: Bullshit Jobs, the Clarity Crisis and RTO as Stealth Layoffs  

This week on Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose look at the data behind why employees lose motivation, the question of whether internal comms has become too comfortable to be useful, and two perspectives on where the real friction in AI transformation actually lives.   1️⃣ The first story comes from the Predictive Index, which surveyed more than 1,000 US employees in 2026 and found that 78% began their current role feeling motivated — but only 16% say their work always feels meaningful. For Jenni, the data points to something organisations keep getting wrong: the assumption that meaning, once communicated, sticks. Chuck zeroes in on the clarity finding and makes the case that it's also one of the more fixable problems: leaders just need to tell people what to focus on, and then actually hold that line from week to week.   2️⃣ The second conversation is sparked by a provocative LinkedIn post from Simon Cavendish, chair of the IABC EMENA and a senior IC consultant, who argues that internal comms has become addicted to alignment with too many IC teams producing beautifully crafted messages for fundamentally bad decisions. Access to leadership, he says, has become more important than actually using that access to push back. The quote Jenni and Chuck both land on: being in the room isn't the win — what we do in the room is the win.    3️⃣ The third story takes on one of the biggest assumptions shaping how organisations measure AI right now: that adoption is the goal. Charter's Brian Elliott brought together practitioners from Atlassian, Zapier, Udemy, and others for a closed-door forum on AI measurement, and the conclusion from those furthest along in their AI journeys is that adoption as a metric is quietly being abandoned. Microsoft's summary of the shift: we used to pay attention to adoption, now we just pay attention to performance. Jenni draws a direct line back to lessons from digital transformation programmes, where teams chased adoption numbers without ever anchoring to business outcomes. Chuck pushes back a little: 97% adoption of anything is a significant signal.   4️⃣ The final story comes from Rebecca Hinds, writing in Inc., who makes the case that the real blocker to AI transformation isn't the tools — it's the narrative leaders encode into their culture before the rollout even starts. Drawing on research from Bob Sutton's AI Transformation 100 report, she surfaces a hard finding: when leaders deploy AI in ways that strip craft and human touch from work, what's left is a hollow shell with little meaning. Chuck pushes back on Jenni's earlier framing that AI change is like any other change campaign — he thinks the scale of what's shifting makes it categorically different. Jenni also flags that ethical dimensions are increasingly in focus, pointing to new AI ethics guidance being developed through CIPR Inside, and the importance of maintaining the human check in any AI-assisted process.   Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/   Articles mentioned in this episode:  Running on Empty: How Modern Work Created a Motivation Crisis Lead, Follow or Choice: The Choice Facing Internal Comms Why Four Tech Companies Say Adoption Is the Wrong AI Metric The Biggest Threat to Your AI Strategy Isn't the Technology

This week on Frequency, Chuck and Jenni explore why the $50 billion global corporate wellness market has become its only stagnant sector, break down the BANI framework and what it demands from communicators and leaders, debate whether "toxic culture" is a useful label at all, and tackle the career-defining question of whether you should ever push back on your CEO. The first story comes from research across Southeast Asian workplaces, where companies are investing heavily in wellness perks and platforms while seeing little return. William Fleming, a research fellow at Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, argues that off-the-shelf interventions like generic apps and training modules fail because they treat well-being in isolation — changing the worker rather than the workplace. Chuck points to the work of wellness expert Mark Mohammadpour - link below to find out more.  The second story digs into the BANI framework — Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible — originally coined by futurist Jamais Cascio and recently resurfaced in a McKinsey article. Chuck and Jenni agree the question isn't whether the world is BANI — it clearly is — but what does that means for how organisations communicate and lead.  The third story takes on the increasingly overused phrase "toxic culture," prompted by a LinkedIn article that lists eight signs of a toxic workplace: poor communication, high employee turnover, lack of recognition, micro-management, cliques and favouritism, unethical behaviour, burnout and chronic stress, and resistance to change. Chuck and Jenni both push back — not because the list is wrong, but because it describes most workplaces, and labelling everything toxic risks making the diagnosis meaningless. The final story comes from a panel at Incomm's Strategic Internal Comms Conference, where communications experts debated whether you should ever disagree with your CEO. Chuck's answer is yes — but verbalising that disagreement is a different conversation entirely, shaped heavily by psychological safety, access, and relationship. Jenni reflects on her own practice of using questions rather than direct challenge — asking leaders to help her understand the reasoning behind a decision rather than stating disagreement outright — as a form of productive, adult-to-adult coaching.  Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/   Articles mentioned in this episode:  Southeast Asia’s business leaders want wellness at work—as long as the programs get real results A BANI world What Does a Toxic Organisational Culture Actually Look Like? Should you ever disagree with your CEO? Learn more about Mark Mohammadpour    

This episode marks one year of Frequency!  Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into four stories that together reveal a system under pressure: from the psychology of corporate jargon to an emerging reader backlash against AI-generated content, the CFOs quietly reshaping workforce decisions, and the persistent myth that more hours means more output. A Cornell psychologist has built a "corporate BS receptivity scale" tested on more than 1,000 workers, and the results are uncomfortable. People who rate jargon-heavy language as business savvy score significantly worse on analytical thinking, cognitive reflection, and workplace decision-making — while also reporting higher job satisfaction.  A new term is spreading online: AIDR, short for "AI didn't read," used by readers to dismiss content that smells like it came from a chatbot rather than a person. Developer David Minajirode coined it on. Jenni and Chuck argue that the real issue isn't AI assistance, it's authenticity — if you couldn't be bothered to write it, why should anyone be bothered to read it?  A survey of around 750 CFOs by Duke University economist John Graham, alongside economists from the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond, found that while AI had essentially no employment effect in 2025, CFOs now expect a 0.4% reduction in overall headcount this year — concentrated almost entirely in clerical, administrative, and customer service roles.  The final story uses new World Bank and UC Berkeley research — showing the world's employed adults work an average of 42 hours a week — to open up a much bigger question: what does the number of hours actually signal? Stanford research on British munitions workers from World War I found output declined beyond 48 hours and added nothing beyond 63. Yet Sergey Brin has reportedly called 60 hours the sweet spot, and Narayana Murthy of Infosys has advocated for 70-plus-hour weeks.  Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/   Articles mentioned in this episode:  📍 People who love corporate BS are bad at their jobs, new Cornell research confirms 🔗 https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/people-who-love-corporate-bs-are-bad-at-their-jobs-new-cornell-research-confirms/91314405 📍 'AI; didn't read': AI;DR is the new TL;DR 🔗 https://www.fastcompany.com/91498062/ai-didnt-read-aidr-is-the-new-tldr 📍 America's chief financial officers say AI is coming for admin jobs 🔗 https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-admin-job-market-6a1c3436 📍 How many hours should employees work? A question that reveals something about every boss 🔗 https://www.economist.com/business/2025/12/04/how-many-hours-should-employees-work    

From the science behind psychological safety to a product development model being applied to the trust crisis, via the ongoing debate about whether meetings count as real work, this is an episode full of practical frameworks and direct perspectives. Jenni opens the conversation by exploring the Eat Sleep Work Repeat podcast, hosted by Bruce Daisley, which features Professor Katrien Franzen and her research on leadership and social identity. The central insight is the concept of "we-ness" — the idea that without a genuine sense of team belonging, psychological safety simply cannot take hold. Professor Franzen's research identifies four distinct leadership roles: task leader, motivational leader, social leader, and external leader. Jenni and Chuck examine whether it is realistic to expect formal leaders to embody all four. The conversation turns to a Fortune article reporting that business leaders are raising the alarm over meeting culture, with Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan among the latest to speak out. Nearly 80% of workers say they are drowning in meetings, and an Atlassian study of 5,000 workers across four continents found that 72% of meetings are deemed ineffective.  Shel Holtz's recent LinkedIn article introduces a framework that applies the Kano model — developed by Professor Noriaki Kano in the 1980s for product management — to the challenge of rebuilding employee trust. The context makes the framework all the more urgent: Gallup data shows only 21% of US employees strongly agree they trust their organisation's leadership, and the Edelman Trust Barometer has recorded its first global decline in employee trust in the study's 26-year history.  Jenni closes the episode with a look at the UK's Best Workplaces 2026 list. The numbers behind the list make the case compellingly: UK best workplaces perform more than four times better than the market and generate 6.25 times greater revenue per employee. Chuck raises a fair challenge about the nature of paid-for lists and the many great workplaces that simply are not on them, while Jenni argues that for internal comms and HR professionals the more productive question is: what are these organisations doing to build the trust that sits behind these results, and what can we learn from them?   Articles mentioned in this episode:  Nike CEO vents to employees Eat Sleep Work Repeat: We-ness: The secret cause of Psychological Safety Meetings are not work The trust recession Best places to work in the UK 2026 Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/

In Episode 50, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose are back together — Jenni returning from a trip to Japan and Chuck recording live from Las Vegas during Transform — to dig into four stories shaping the future of work, careers, and our relationship with AI. The first story explores what's being called "career dysmorphia," with nearly six in ten millennial workers privately hoping for a layoff rather than choosing to leave on their own. A survey of 2,000 Gen Z and millennial workers found 37% dissatisfied with their roles and 55% unsettled in their careers. Jenni pushes back on the idea that this is purely a workplace problem, arguing it's really about personal agency. Chuck adds that with AI eliminating entry-level roles and 76% of HR professionals surveyed expecting significant hiring reductions, Gen Z may arrive to find there's no ladder at all. The second story looks at women in their 40s and 50s leaving corporate roles in growing numbers — not because of burnout, but because, as McKinsey researcher Lareina Yee frames it, it's the absence of reciprocity. Chuck notes that the true cost of these departures — estimated at up to 213% of salary — still fails to capture the ripple effect on the teams left behind. Jenni connects RTO mandates as the tipping point, the straw that breaks the camel's back after years of consistently poor leadership behaviours stacking up. The third story centres on Anthropic's study of nearly 81,000 Claude users across 159 countries and 70 languages — described as the largest and most multilingual qualitative study ever conducted on AI. Jenni and Chuck explore the striking geographic divide, with workers in lower- and middle-income countries far more optimistic about AI than those in Western Europe and North America, and question whether the dominant Western mindset of efficiency and productivity is a form of greed compared to the learning and opportunity lens seen elsewhere. The fourth story introduces "AI brain fry" — a term coined by a Harvard Business Review study from BCG researcher Gabriella Rosen Kellerman — describing a specific form of cognitive overload from maintaining constant oversight of AI output, already affecting 14% of US workers. Jenni draws a sharp parallel to the long-established research on multitasking, questioning whether this is truly a new phenomenon or simply the same cognitive limits colliding with a tool of unprecedented scale. Chuck's advice to comms teams: be open, share your workflows, and talk to your manager — because the teams doing that are measurably reducing fatigue and doing better.   Articles mentioned in this episode: Millennials Don't Want to Quit. They Want to Get Laid Off. You're Not Burnt Out. You're Done. What 81,000 People Want from AI AI Brain Fry   Want to find out more about Chuck's work and ICology — check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/ Jenni's a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication. Find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/

Jenni Field is away this week, so Chuck Gose goes solo covering four stories that all, in different ways, come back to the same question: what does leadership actually communicate about how much it values its people? Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi went on The Diary of a CEO podcast and said the quiet part loud: he expects immediate responses to weekend emails, doesn't talk about work-life balance at Uber, and will push employees out if they can't keep pace. Chuck isn't entirely unsympathetic — there's something genuinely useful about a leader who names the culture explicitly rather than letting unspoken norms do the damage quietly. The problem is the contradiction. Claiming flexibility while expecting Saturday email responses at 9:30pm is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Chuck draws the contrast with Linear CEO Karri Saarinen, who has deliberately built a 40-hour-week culture around quality over speed. The question isn't which CEO is right. It's whether employees at either company actually know what they're signing up for. Cracker Barrel made headlines when a leaked internal memo instructed employees to eat at Cracker Barrel restaurants for most meals during business travel, with alcohol no longer reimbursable without senior pre-approval. Chuck's take: the policy is largely unremarkable. SAP Concur named this exact trend "travelscrimping" in their 2025 Global Business Travel Survey. What made it a story was the absence of proactive framing — a two-year-old policy became a crisis because it leaked without context. The real communication failure wasn't the policy. It was letting a leaked memo define the narrative first. And in a company still recovering from a $100 million rebrand reversal, that trust deficit made the pile-on predictable. The frontline workforce gets the most substantive treatment of the episode. Chuck walks through a Fortune op-ed by Stacey Zolt Hara of Burson, anchored by former United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz and his framework for operational excellence: focus on the person holding the wrench. Munoz is credited with turning around a deeply disgruntled 85,000-person workforce by making frontline workers the centrepiece of the culture rebuild. The data backing the argument is striking — 87% of frontline workers aren't sure whether company culture applies to them at all, and a 2025 Aspen Institute study found U.S. GDP would be 10% higher if the essential economy had kept pace with white-collar productivity growth. Chuck flags that the article is a Burson op-ed — a comms firm making the case for comms investment — but doesn't let that undermine the substance. And he notes the harder truth behind the How Institute's finding that 94% of employees say moral leadership matters, but only 6% of CEOs deliver it: the problem isn't awareness. It's that incentive structures don't reward it. The episode closes with a story that lands closer to home — a survey from the HR Certification Institute finding that 67% of HR practitioners have no clear or well-defined career path, and 41% are considering leaving the profession entirely. Chuck calls it less an irony than an indictment: the function responsible for career frameworks, succession planning, and leadership pipelines for everyone else hasn't applied any of that to itself. The structural problems are architectural — flat hierarchies, lean teams, subjective promotions — and people analytics as a career differentiator is realistic only for the top 15-20% of practitioners who sit inside data-mature organisations. Chuck closes with a thread that connects back to the Munoz story: HR practitioners are their own version of the guy with the wrench. Essential to the operation. Excluded from conversations about their own futures.   Want to find out more about Chuck's work and ICology — check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/ Jenni's a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication. Find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/   Articles mentioned in this episode: Uber CEO Says Hard Work Is "the Most Important Skill in Life" — and He'll Push You Out If You Can't Keep Up  Cracker Barrel Tells Employees to Eat at Cracker Barrel on Work Trips  To Unlock Employee Effort, Don't Overlook the Person Holding the Wrench  HR Is Supposed to Design Career Paths. So Why Are Its Own So Unclear?     

This week Jenni Field and Chuck Gose cover four stories dominating the workplace conversation right now — from whether AI is truly transforming organisations or just repeating history's mistakes, to why the more you talk about culture, the less anyone believes you. McKinsey is calling AI agents the biggest organisational shift since the Industrial Revolution, with teams of two to five people potentially supervising 50 to 100 AI agents. Jenni draws a direct parallel to the Industrial Revolution itself — arguing we're making the same mistake: doing a straight lift-and-shift of people to agents, rather than fundamentally reimagining what work looks like. The real question isn't how many agents replace how many people. It's what work even means. Bruce Daisley, former VP at Twitter EMEA and author of The Joy of Work, presents a provocative thesis backed by a striking number — 72% of formal culture change initiatives produce no meaningful improvement in trust, engagement, or retention. Jenni connects this to the ongoing culture vs. behaviour debate: culture has become a big word without much meaning, and the proof is always in the pudding. If leaders aren't showing up differently, no amount of values posters will cut through. The Economist is asking whether the PDF will survive the AI revolution — and the answer is genuinely uncertain. Over 2.5 trillion PDFs exist, LLMs regularly struggle to read them accurately, and one in five email-based cyber attacks are routed through PDF attachments. For comms and HR professionals, this hits close to home — employee handbooks, policies, and benefits guides are often locked inside a format that AI-powered tools can't reliably process. Jenni points out she was having this exact same conversation 15 years ago when digital workplaces first arrived. Nobody owned the problem then. Nobody owns it now. Block, the parent of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay, is cutting its workforce from over 10,000 to just under 6,000. CEO Jack Dorsey pointed to AI as the driver and predicted most companies would do the same within a year — a statement that sent the stock up 24%. Chuck and Jenni aren't buying it. They call it AI washing: using AI as cover for a workforce that grew 150% during COVID and never came back down. The profit-per-employee figure tells the real story — quadrupling to north of $2 million means this was already a profitable business. And the entire announcement? Written in lowercase, Chuck is not a fan. Want to find out more about Chuck Gose's work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/ Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/  Articles mentioned in this episode: The Agentic Organization: Contours of the Next Paradigm for the AI Era The More You Talk About Culture, the Less People Believe You The War Against PDFs Is Heating Up (paywall) Jack Dorsey Cuts 40% of Block's Workforce and Says Most Companies Will Follow Within a Year  

Staples Baddie vs McDonald's CEO: 4 IC Reports & the Authenticity Gap This week Jenni Field and Chuck Gose tackle four reports on the state of internal communications — but not before stopping to examine two wildly different examples of what it actually looks like when employees advocate for their organisation. Chuck opens with what he calls employees acting as advocates. The contrast is stark: the Staples Baddie, a frontline employee who went viral for genuinely showcasing what you can do at Staples, organic, unscripted and probably not who the comms team would have chosen; versus the McDonald’s CEO, deployed to launch a new sandwich in a produced video that somehow made eating a sandwich the most uncomfortable thing on the internet. Jenni puts her finger on exactly why: our brains know immediately when something doesn’t feel real, and when it doesn’t, it gives us the ick. Chuck’s conclusion is simple — go where the authenticity is. The frontline employee wins every time. The Institute of Internal Communication (IOIC)  has published a whitepaper making the case for IC as a strategic powerhouse — proposing new specialist roles including a Chief Trust Officer and Head of Listening, and a significant skills uplift in behavioural science, scenario planning and data literacy. Jenni has two problems with it. First, some of the challenges it assigns to the IC function feel like they belong in the boardroom, Second, and almost ironically, a report about building trust and connection through clear communication is written in dense, jargon-heavy language. Chuck is blunter: communicators don’t need another document telling them to be strategic. What they need is for the organisation to actually resource the function. Mike Klein and Ambuj Dixit spent six weeks speaking to around 60 practitioners, leaders and academics across five Indian cities for the IC Shift India Report, deliberately focusing on what’s working rather than what’s failing. Jenni’s main question on reading it is the same one she finds herself asking across all four reports this week: what is this trying to help us do? The ten observations — leadership communication, readiness, business literacy, channel effectiveness — read much the same as other global reports. The most interesting idea is “leapfrogging”: the argument that Indian IC could skip Western IC’s evolutionary path and jump straight to strategic positioning. But Jenni notes the same report flags fear cultures and a reluctance to challenge direction, which makes that leap very difficult in practice. Gallagher has rebranded the State of the Sector as the Employee Communications Report — and this year’s theme is the readiness gap, the widening space between the risks organisations face and the capability of internal comms teams to respond. The data is striking: 73% of teams want to operate as strategic partners, yet only 18% believe they are. The report’s core argument is that function maturity is the real multiplier: not more channels, not more content, not AI — but a strategy people actually use, clear accountability, governance, and measurement focused on outcomes rather than clicks. When those things are in place, engagement improves and trust erodes more slowly. When they’re not, volume fills the vacuum. The Contact Monkey Global State of Internal Communications 2026 centres on what it calls the culture gap — the distance between what organisations say they want from IC and what they’ve resourced the function to deliver. On trust, only 9% of employees trust leadership messaging completely. The feedback data is perhaps the most revealing: 95% of organisations collect employee feedback, but only 15% clearly communicate what they’ve done with it. Jenni and Chuck both note this explains a great deal about that trust gap — employees are being asked to speak up, and largely hearing nothing back. Want to find out more about Chuck Gose and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/  Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/  Articles mentioned in this episode:  IOIC Future of Communication whitepaper nextICshift India Report 2026 by Mike Klein and Ambuj Dixit Gallagher’s State of the Sector Report ContactMonkey Global State of Internal Communications 2026 Staples Baddie And the McDonalds CEO

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into the growing gap between AI ambition and workplace reality — from a company quietly doing the opposite of everyone else, to predictions that stretch credibility, to Friday office attendance figures that tell their own story. IBM Is Tripling Entry-Level Hiring Because of AI — We’ve heard the warnings that AI will gut entry-level jobs but IBM is going in the opposite direction. They shared that rather than cutting junior roles, they rewrote them. Skip entry-level hiring now and in three to five years, you're poaching mid-level talent from competitors at a 30% premium. Dropbox is making a similar bet, expanding its new graduate programme by 25%. Jenni and Chuck explore what this says about the kind of leadership that thinks beyond the short term, and why nurturing talent will always beat lift-and-shift thinking. Nearly half of US workers say they have never used AI at work . Daily users sit at just 12% and frequent users at 26%. Overall adoption has flatlined; the growth is coming entirely from people who already use it, using it more. The top barrier to adoption is that people simply can't see how AI applies to what they actually do. Jenni and Chuck explore what that means for training, leadership, and the distinction between using AI and benefiting from it. Gartner's top communications predictions for 2026 include a headline claim that by 2028, three quarters of employees will rely on chatbots for internal communications — effectively spelling the end of the all-staff email, the town hall, and the intranet banner. Jenni is sceptical, to put it mildly. When she's still talking to organisations wrestling with 15 different SharePoint sites that can't communicate with each other, a two-year timeline to chatbot-dependent internal comms doesn't feel grounded in reality. The prediction that comms teams will use employee digital footprints to personalise messaging also raised eyebrows — not because it's wrong, but because the best organisations have been trying to do exactly that for a decade. Jenni and Chuck also pull out a data point that perhaps deserved more attention: for the second year running, misinformation and disinformation ranked as the top global risk by the World Economic Forum. A skills gap worth taking seriously. KornFerry data from Placer.ai shows that Friday in-office attendance sits at just 12.4%, compared to 24.3% on Tuesdays and 23.7% on Wednesdays — and this is happening even at companies that have issued five-day return to office mandates. KornFerry calls it an engagement problem. Chuck pushes back: this isn't an employee engagement problem, it's a leadership engagement problem. Jenni adds that without data from before the pandemic, nobody can actually say whether 12.4% on a Friday is good, bad, or completely normal. Freaking Out This Week Jenni has a big announcement — Comms Reboot is coming to Toronto in June, following a successful first outing with the team at ContactMonkey last year. Tickets for the London event in October are already a third sold. Chuck's freak out is Flyover Festival — the employee comms and culture event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on August 27th. Registration is now open and tickets are already selling.    Articles and links mentioned in this episode: IBM Plans to Triple Entry-Level Hiring Because of AI Frequent Use of AI in the Workplace Continued to Rise in Q4 Gartner’s Top Communications Predictions for 2026 It’s Friday: Hello, Anyone There? ICology's Employee Comms & Culture Flyover Festival Comms Reboot in Toronto: Email us at [email protected] for info! Music by Poet Ali. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe, rate, and review — and share with someone who needs to hear this.

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into four thought-provoking topics shaping the world of work right now — from how old your company is to whether organisational culture actually exists. Chuck kicks things off with the latest addition to the workplace lexicon — "job hugging." Move over quiet quitting, there's a new phenomenon describing employees who cling to their current roles for stability and comfort, at the potential cost of their own growth and development. Does Company Age Determine Your WFH Strategy? Drawing on research from Nick Bloom, Jenni unpacks data showing that work from home is 50% higher in firms founded in the last 10 years, and 25% higher in companies led by CEOs under 30. There's a parallel trend in AI adoption too. But is this really a generational divide, or is it something deeper?  Is Organisational Culture Change Really a Thing? Rob Briner's work and a CIPD review ask a provocative question: can organisational culture actually be changed — and does it even drive performance in the way we assume? Jenni and Chuck unpack why culture might be a description of behaviour rather than a cause of it, and why focusing on behaviour change programmes could be a far more effective (if more uncomfortable) approach than the culture workshops many organisations invest in. A Substack article by Stephen Waddington references the Ocean Tomo intangible asset market value study, which reveals a striking structural inversion: in 1975, tangible assets made up 83% of S&P 500 market value. By 2025, that figure had fallen to just 8%. So what does this mean for internal comms, HR, and employee experience teams still fighting to prove their value? An eight-month Harvard Business Review study of a US technology company found that rather than reducing workload, AI tools led employees to work faster, take on more tasks, and extend their working hours — without being asked. The result? Potential workload creep, cognitive fatigue, and burnout. Jenni and Chuck share their own experiences with AI, debate whether governance is the answer, and explore what it means to genuinely use AI versus simply benefit from it. Freaking Out This Week: Chuck is buzzing about Transform and the ICology event he's running at it on March 23rd in Las Vegas. If you want to join, you'll need to sign up via Chuck's link Jenni's freak out? An organisation being advised to model 60 — yes, 60 — behaviours, complete with physical red cards for anyone not exhibiting them. Mildly terrifying is an understatement. Articles and links mentioned in this episode: Does the age of your company determine your WFH strategy? 𝗢rganizational culture change: Is that really a thing? CIPR 2022 Review mentioned by Rob Briner If 92% of corporate value is intangible, why is public relations still treated as overhead? AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It   Join ICology at Transform's EX Factor Summit! 

In this week's episode, Jenni and Chuck unpack the uncomfortable truth behind repeated workplace policies, the widening AI proficiency gap, and why simple acts of appreciation remain the most overlooked retention strategy. What we're discussing Home Depot's Groundhog Day RTO Announcement Home Depot just announced corporate employees need to return to office five days a week starting April 6th - except they already announced this exact policy in January 2025. Stanford's Nick Bloom reports 17% of companies are on their third RTO policy. When you have to announce the same thing twice, is it a communication problem or a compliance problem? We explore why employees called leadership's bluff and what this says about credibility and culture. The AI Proficiency Crisis After three years and hundreds of millions in AI investment, Section's survey of 5,000 knowledge workers reveals: 90% of the workforce doesn't know how to use AI effectively, yet 50% think they're proficient. The gap between perception and reality is the real problem. Meanwhile, 25% don't know what to use AI for, and manager support for AI dropped 11% since May 2025. We discuss the shadow use of AI and whether companies are really this naive. Chief Communication Officers Hit $1M+ Salaries CCO compensation now reaches $900K-$1M, with nearly half earning seven figures. More than half command $5M+ budgets, and 70% increase in direct CEO reporting lines since 2023. But here's the catch: one-third still haven't defined their AI-driven communications approach. Internal comms is the second most desired trait when hiring, yet it still takes second fiddle to corp comms and media relations in actual focus. The Retention Crisis Is Here Only 1 in 4 employees feel appreciated at work. 34% are actively job hunting. The talent retention crisis everyone predicted after the pandemic is here—and worse than forecast. The fixes aren't complicated: recognition, appreciation, connection. These cost almost nothing, yet companies aren't doing them. We explore why organizations penny-pinch on what matters while CEOs collect seven-figure packages. Key takeaways Repeating announcements signals policy failure, not employee non-compliance The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well in AI adoption High salaries don't automatically translate to strategic leadership Simple recognition programs outperform complex retention strategies Links & Resources Why Home Depot Keeps Announcing RTO  The AI Proficiency Report Korn Ferry Survey Reveals Chief Communications Officers' Rising Influence and Compensation in 2025  2026 Engagement and Retention Report  Substack CEO bombs Decoder interview

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose start with a deceptively simple question: where are all the good industry events? That conversation quickly opens up a wider reflection on whether the internal comms and employee experience space has hit a point of stagnation — and what it would take to bring the right people together for deeper, more meaningful conversations. The episode moves into weightier territory with a discussion sparked by Shel Holtz’s open letter to PRSA, calling on the organisation to take a stand on ICE operations in Minneapolis. Jenni and Chuck explore the ethics of neutrality, the idea that silence is itself a decision, and the responsibility professional bodies have to model the values they expect communicators to uphold. From there, Jenni brings in a Harvard Business Review article urging leaders to get off the “transformation treadmill.” Together, they unpack why constant transformation often signals deeper systemic problems, and why addressing root causes, rather than reacting to symptoms, is the real work leaders tend to avoid. Trust takes centre stage with a frank critique of the Edelman Trust Barometer. While the data highlights growing insularity, grievance and distrust, Jenni and Chuck question whether the proposed solutions offer anything genuinely new, and whether organisations are willing to do the uncomfortable, personal work that trust actually requires. The episode closes with a look at Gartner’s predicted workplace trends for 2026, including AI, systems thinking and the growing role of HR in risk and readiness. They debate whether these are true trends or hopeful predictions, and why process expertise,  not tech obsession, is likely to matter most. As always, they end with their Freak Outs of the week, covering everything from wills and “death wishes” to wellness retreats, rebranding Vegas as self-care, and the importance of stepping back to reflect. Thoughtful, challenging and quietly provocative — this episode asks leaders to slow down, look harder, and stop pretending the answers are new.   Articles mentioned in this episode:  An Open Letter to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) from Shel Holtz on LinkedIn Get off the transformation treadmill The danger of insular trust mindset  9 Trends Shaping Work in 2026 and Beyond Resist & Unsubscribe

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose kick things off with a surprisingly revealing conversation about bread — and quickly land on a much bigger question: when recognition misses the point, what does it say about how organisations really value people? That idea becomes a thread running through the episode, as they move into a frank discussion about performative communication. Using recent ICE-related events in the US as a backdrop, they explore the growing pressure employees are putting on leaders to take meaningful, visible stands, and why cautious, logo-signed “de-escalation” statements often feel more like corporate self-protection than leadership. Jenni and Chuck question what employees are actually asking for, and whether silence, symbolism or collective action carries the most weight. From there, the conversation turns to meetings — why they continue to frustrate people, and what role AI realistically has in fixing them. While tools like AI note-takers and summaries can help with accountability, they argue the real issue is capability, not technology. Poorly run meetings, unclear purpose and a lack of facilitation skills won’t be solved by automation alone. Better meetings still matter — especially for trust, debate and decision-making — and cutting them entirely is not the answer. This leads into a wider challenge around AI adoption and productivity. As leaders increasingly point to AI’s potential impact on GDP as justification for rapid rollout, Jenni questions whether economic upside is the right — or sufficient — argument. They unpack research showing many organisations are using AI without investing in training or redesigning how work actually gets done. The risk, they argue, is treating AI as a cost-saving shortcut rather than a capability shift. Without strong foundations, clear processes and proper enablement, AI won’t fix broken systems — it will simply amplify them. The episode then tackles Amazon’s latest round of layoffs and the way employees discovered the news through internal errors. Jenni and Chuck reflect on what moments like this signal about leadership control, humanity and trust — and why how information is shared matters just as much as what is shared. Finally, they react to reports that AI company Anthropic destroyed large quantities of books to train its models, raising uncomfortable questions about ethics, ownership and optics — especially when legality, public perception and values collide. They close with their Freq Out of the week, sharing candid reflections on conference speaker rejections, feedback that stings, and why rejection isn’t always a signal that your work isn’t needed — sometimes it’s just redirection.   Articles mentioned in this episode: Tech workers push CEOs to condemn ICE as Minnesota CEOs issue a “de-escalation” letter https://www.axios.com/2026/01/26/tech-workers-ceos-ice https://www.axios.com/2026/01/25/minneapolis-shooting-ice-target-3m-ceos-letter  The LinkedIn post that inspired the bread conversation Dropbox bets on AI to fix meetings and protect time HR Dive: AI could boost GDP, but only if employees are trained BBC: Amazon layoffs confirmed after an internal email error Ars Technica: Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to train AI Remote Work by Chris Dyer and Kim Shepherd (not Scott)

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose kick off 2026 with a frank check-in on how the year is going — personally and professionally — before diving into a stack of research that reveals just how disconnected leadership and employees have become. The conversation opens with an article on millennial disengagement, where employees say the quiet part out loud: "my leader doesn't know me and doesn't care to know me." Jenni and Chuck explore whether curiosity can really be an antidote to stagnation, and what it takes for leaders to actually demonstrate they care. They then tackle Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser's widely reported memo telling staff "we are not graded on effort" — and surprisingly land on the side of her directness. Sometimes, they argue, honesty about expectations beats the flowery alternative. A DHR Global study sparks discussion on the culture gap between C-suite and entry-level employees, with 77% of execs calling culture "very important" while only 37% of junior staff agree. The disconnect gets sharper when nearly half of employees describe their culture as reactive and inconsistent. Gallup's new span-of-control data brings the manager conversation back into focus, with average team sizes now at 12.1 — nearly 50% larger than a decade ago. Chuck breaks down the math: if you manage 10 people and give each just an hour a week, that's a quarter of your time before you even start your own work. Finally, they examine a growing satisfaction gap between leaders and employees on change communication — a 30% divide in 2026 that shows no signs of slowing. The culprit? Communication built for leadership, not the people receiving it.   Articles mentioned in this episode: 3 tips to replace employee stagnation with curiosity in 2026 Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser warns of job cuts and says it's time to raise the bar in a fiery memo to staff: 'We are not graded on effort' Global Survey Reveals Workplace Culture Gulf Between Execs and Employees Span of Control: What's the Optimal Team Size for Managers? The satisfaction gap - what employees and leaders think good communication looks like (Lars Hancke)  

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose explore the quiet pressures tightening around modern work - from burnout and broken flexibility promises to the unintended consequences of AI “efficiency”. The episode opens with a deceptively simple question: what happened to happy hour? Not as a drinking debate, but as a signal that the informal “third space” of work - where trust, mentoring and belonging once formed, is disappearing.  They then unpack Amazon’s evolving performance and office-tracking approach, questioning where healthy accountability ends and surveillance begins, and what communicators should really be saying when trust is already fragile. A global frontline study from UKG brings the conversation back to reality, revealing burnout rates of 76% and a widening “two-culture” divide between frontline and office workers. Flexibility and financial security aren’t perks anymore,  they’re retention levers. The episode also tackles McKinsey & Company’s idea of “super agency”, asking whether AI’s biggest blocker is actually leadership hesitation, not employee readiness. Finally, Jenni and Chuck examine a counter-intuitive risk of AI: when busywork disappears, so does recovery time — unless work itself is redesigned. As ever, this is straight-talking, reflective and a little uncomfortable — in the best way.    Articles mentioned in this episode:   What Happened to Happy Hour?    Amazon is making big changes to the way it treats workers    Global study reveals flexibility and financial wellness are top 2026 priorities for frontline workers   Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential    The Downside to Using AI for All Those Boring Tasks at Work    

In this special bonus episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose are joined by Carolyn Clark, VP of Communications and Employee Experience at Simpplr, to dig into the findings from the 2025 State of Internal Communications and Intranet Report. This isn’t an employee survey, it’s a look at how the builders of the system (comms, HR and IT leaders) think internal communication is working… and where it’s quietly falling apart. Together, they unpack ten findings that reveal a familiar tension: internal comms is getting more attention and investment, but employees are still navigating tool sprawl, unclear ownership and platforms that don’t always help them get real work done. The conversation covers: Why exec attention doesn’t always equal understanding The growing gap between “we have an intranet” and actual employee experience Tool sprawl, digital stress and the hidden cost of friction Why IT satisfaction doesn’t equal employee usability What “ethical AI” really means inside organisations And why relevance, targeting and governance are still lagging behind ambition   Straight-talking, practical and occasionally uncomfortable — this episode challenges leaders to stop counting tools and start fixing system.  Thanks to Simpplr for sponsoring the episode!  Read the report here: https://www.simpplr.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-ic-and-intranet-technology-uk/ 

In the first episode of 2026, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose are back with a candid, wide-ranging conversation about what the world of work really needs to leave behind. They start by sharing the leadership, culture and communication habits that should have stayed in 2025 – from performative “authenticity” and meaningless values to treating AI as either a miracle cure or an existential threat. The conversation then turns to employee happiness. Drawing on recent research, Jenni challenges the idea that leaders are responsible for happiness at work, arguing instead that feeling respected, supported and energised is the baseline of credible leadership – not a perk. Jenni and Chuck also unpack: Why trends are often marketing fluff (and why predictions are more useful) Whether internal communication is facing an identity crisis When buzzwords help – and when they create unnecessary chaos Why open-plan offices don’t work, and what the office should be for now Articles mentioned in this episode: New Data Shows The Surprising Payoff Of Employee Happiness What are the trends shaping internal comms and the workplace in 2026? Are buzzwords bad? The open office is a lie  

In this final episode of 2025, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose reflect on a year of conversations by pulling together the 10 themes that defined work, leadership and internal communication over the past 25 hours and 41 minutes of the podcast. They revisit the middle management crisis, the ongoing disconnect between hybrid work reality and mandates, and the shift from performative authenticity to honest leadership transparency. The episode also explores AI adoption anxiety, the persistent challenge of proving the value of internal communication, and why change fatigue means productivity takes far longer to recover than leaders expect. The conversation looks at purpose-driven work, communication overload, cultural intelligence in global teams, and the unresolved productivity paradox behind return-to-office decisions. They close by sharing five AI-generated predictions for 2026, challenging leaders to build trust, rethink management, and stop trying to control their way through change. Slow Productivity - Cal Newport Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff - Ness Labs The Productivity Diet - Mike Vardy

In this week’s episode of Frequency, Jenni and Chuck explore the forces shaping how we feel at work - from safety and strategy to hybrid rhythms and AI anxiety. They unpack new research showing psychological safety isn’t a “nice to have” but a strategic resource that protects against burnout and increases retention, especially when resources are tight. They also dive into why internal comms teams get stuck in delivery mode instead of strategy, and why pausing to reset purpose doesn’t need to take months, it just needs focus. Hybrid working gets a fresh lens too, with new data revealing clear workplace rhythms, the risk of overloading Thursdays, and why short commutes are becoming an engagement driver. Finally, they tackle AI anxiety head-on, debating whether it’s really about technology — or simply our human response to big change. Plus, festive traditions, doors, and milestone birthdays are in this week’s Freq out! Articles and posts mentioned in this episode:  In tough times, psychological safety is a requirement, not a luxury Plans without strategy: why internal comms keeps getting stuck in task mode The New Rhythms of Work: How Hybrid Reality Is Reshaping Employee Experience Why AI at work makes us so anxious Episode 4 of Frequency where they discuss the misconceptions of psychological safety  

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni and Chuck get stuck into a report-heavy week packed with big questions for communicators, leaders and HR. They explore the UK Government’s RESIST framework for tackling misinformation and why “strategic silence” can sometimes be the smartest move. The conversation then turns to workplace wellbeing, with new data from Reward Gateway showing a growing shift from pay to work–life balance - but the conversation discusses the serious confusion about what wellbeing at work actually means. From unlimited leave to sleep, stress and personal responsibility, they challenge where the line really sits. They also unpack striking Gallup engagement data showing that 90% of UK employees are disengaged or not actively engaged, and question what leaders are truly trying to measure. The episode wraps with a powerful model for “human work” from the team at Fauna and CultureCon based on their recent research.   The reports and articles mentioned in this episode: A new Government framework for communicators to tackle misinformation Workplace wellbeing - a business imperative  The future of work has a heartbeat ICology Mentorship Program - deadline to apply is December 15  

This special live episode of Frequency comes straight from Unily’s Unite25 Conference in Nashville - the first time Jenni Field and Chuck Gose have taken the podcast to the stage. Recorded unedited and unfiltered, they share their top takeaways from the event, from digital noise and content sprawl to employee trust, empowered talent markets and the launch of Unily’s new AI tool, Indy. They also reflect on standout keynote moments, including Dr. Mae Jemison’s call to “give people room to tell their story” and insights on charisma, warmth and competence in communication. The live audience joins them as they explore AI trust gaps, courageous leadership, shifting job fears, workplace drinking culture and the realities of post-work social pressure. With audience questions, real-time reactions and plenty of humour, this episode captures the energy of Unite25 and the big topics shaping modern internal communications and employee experience. Here are the articles discussed: The Trust Gap is the AI story Rethinking with Adam Grant podcast - Brene Brown on courageous leadership  Evaluating AI's impact on the labor market One in three UK workers have called in sick after work drinks, survey finds    

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into new Gallup data showing the huge gap between how much purpose at work matters and how little leaders actually prioritise it — and why “just a job” might not be the negative people assume. They also unpack Kate O’Neill’s argument that feedback isn’t the issue; context is. Without shared goals, clarity and psychological safety, feedback becomes noise, not development. The conversation moves into boundaries and burnout, as they challenge the workplace obsession with “firefighting” leadership and explore what sustainable leadership really looks like. And in a more unsettling twist, they react to research suggesting AI tools could infer personality — and influence hiring — simply from a profile photo. The episode wraps with reflective freakouts: celebrating wins, questioning industry negativity, and calling for more joy in comms. Purpose at work: engagement rocket fuel that most people never get “Nobody needs feedback” – Kate O’Neil’s shared-context grenade Mita Mallick: not every fire is yours to fight Hiring by face: AI, personality and the new bias minefield  

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni and Chuck dig into another week of stories shaping workplace culture, leadership and internal comms. They kick off with the latest research on “culture rot,” where only 14% of employees feel aligned to their company values - and they discuss what that says about credibility, trust and how organisations communicate who they really are. They also get into some new data showing gossip continues to outpace HR during layoffs, raising tough questions about transparency, timing and the human impact of change. Jenni shares insights from the Gallagher Digital Experience Summit, including the rising issue of digital stress, the reality of AI maturity, and why productivity isn’t as measurable as leaders think. The conversation wraps with a look at America’s shifting relationship with work — and what it means when more people see their role as “just a job.”   Articles mentioned in this episode: “Culture rot” hits UK workplaces — most people feel misaligned Gossip beats HR in layoff announcements Americans’ Long Love/Hate Relationship With Work   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the importance of in-person gatherings, the concept of long-haul leadership, and the challenges of hybrid work environments.  The conversation covers two favorite topics - hybrid work and leadership, discussing the fact that rules about days in office will never outperform rituals that help teams do the right work in the right way. The surprising truth about the engagement of managers is uncovered and the link that has to recognition in the workplace. The pair debate the dangers of narrowing and specialising in your comms career and they tackle the important topic of productivity and exhaustion - and why listening is the answer.  Articles and links related to this episode From Exhaustion to Empowerment: The Meaningful Productivity Report (Forty1) Hybrid Work Is Not the Problem — Poor Leadership Is (MIT Sloan Management Review) Employees Say Only 59% of Leaders Are Actively Engaged (Nectar) Public relations • communications strategy • career growth (Michelle Frith on LinkedIn)   Books mentioned in this episode:  Long Haul Leader by Chris Ducker: https://longhaulleader.com/book/ Slow Productivity by Cal Newport: https://calnewport.com/my-new-book-slow-productivity/  Cues by Vanesss Van Edwards: https://www.scienceofpeople.com/cues/ Busy by Tony Crabbe: https://tonycrabbe.com/books/  Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Talieb - https://a.co/d/8wSDUKO   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field dig into the latest report into the value of internal communication. It’s a report authored by Jenni with Dr Kevin Ruck and published by the Internal Comms Research Hub. They go on to debate the role of HR inside organizations and tackle the big question of the purpose of workplaces in general. Middle managers are back on the agenda and this time discussing what we can learn from the history of the 1990’s reengineering approach. The episode wraps up with a discussion about a new report into female entrepreneurship and the systemic issues impacting women in the workplace.  Articles and reports in this episode: The value of internal comms  How HR took over British business and got in the way of actual work Bonfire of the middle managers Female Entrepreneurship Missing Women Report   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field delve into the complexities of workplace dynamics, focusing on the challenges of meetings, the benefits of in-person connections, and the emerging concept of ‘microshifting’ in work patterns.  They explore the integration of AI in the workplace, sharing the differences in how they both use AI every day in their work. They also discuss the impact of AI on comms specifically, after reports show 80% of a communicator's role can be replaced with the technology.  The episode wraps up with a discussion about the importance of setting boundaries with the phrase 'I don't', rather than ‘I can’t’, to foster a healthier work-life balance.    Articles mentioned in this episode: Microshifting ends the 9-5 How people actually use ChatGPT at work BCG’s take on GenAI productivity and cost in communications The two words you need to help you push back at work Find our more about Jenni’s Leaders Reboot     🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Jenni Field and Chuck Gose reflect on their recent experiences in Nashville for the #Unite25 conference and discuss various topics related to internal communications, including the challenges of proving ROI, the shift from engagement to effectiveness, and the importance of communication for frontline workers. They delve into some recent research reports from Dewpoint Communications and Workvivo by Zoom and they explore the implications of being recognized as a 'best place to work' and the employee expectations that come with it. The conversation emphasizes the need for effective internal communication strategies that align with organizational goals and the importance of understanding employee experiences.   Links to articles mentioned in this episode: Internal Comms ROI Report | Workvivo Survey of 5,000+ Leaders The Big Shift - A Pivot from "Engaged" to "Effective" - Strategic Connecting the Frontline: Current Trends, Challenges, and Strategic Opportunities in Workforce Communication - a report from Dewpoint communications Do we really want to work in one of the top places to work?      🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode, Jenni and Chuck explore the controversial trend of 'quiet promotions,' the challenges of maintaining morale after layoffs, and the evolving expectations around hybrid work.    It turns out people are being asked to do more without the salary increase, but the pair question whether this is new.    The conversation also highlights insights from a senior internal communications roundtable Jenni hosted in London, emphasizing the need for deeper discussions at industry events and the vital role of senior leaders in turning up to industry events to help the more junior folks learn and grow.  Links to articles mentioned in this episode: Employers are dishing out quiet promotions: fancy new job roles without the title or pay—and experts say it ‘practically guarantees burnout’ How to Keep Teams on Track After Layoffs UK job ads are quietly tightening hybrid expectations What do senior comms leaders want from industry events? Email to find out more: [email protected]   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the evolving role of the chief communications officer and the extra demands being placed on them. They explore the declining interest in management roles among employees, the challenges faced by Gen Z in securing entry-level positions, and the importance of emotional regulation in response to workplace pressures.    They both reflect on their own careers, how they moved up the corporate ladder and the reality of jobs changing as technology evolves.   Links to articles mentioned in this episode:   Chief communications officers are absorbing more corporate functions, report says Fewer workers want to be managers Gen Z’s employability problem The over-reaction pandemic and what to do about it   Join Chuck and Jenni at their speaking events in October:   Unite25 in Nashville on October 7 and 8: Unite 25 | The #1 Employee Experience Conference Who owns employee experience? Chuck debates with Hebba Yousef online, hosted by Workvivo on October 9 : Who owns Employee Experience: Internal Comms or HR? Jenni’s online Quarterly Workplace Huddle, on October 14 https://redefiningcomms.com/huddle/  Jenni’s in person Leaders Reboot in London on October 21 https://redefiningcomms.com/leaders-reboot   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

Does humour (or humor) play a role in your internal comms?  Are we at a crossroads in internal communication?  Is employee engagement really the top of the list for leaders? In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the importance of humour in communications and whether it’s about being fun or funny. Five months on from the initial discussion about the merging of CHRO and CIO roles they discuss some recent opinions about what would make that blend a success. The discussion touches on the future of internal comms after a recent advance reading of a new book out in December and they get stuck in to some insights from a leadership report from the Institute of Leadership.   Articles mentioned in this episode Should Your Company Merge Its CHRO and CTO Roles? Should we be funny in internal comms?  Book: People-First Internal Communication pre-read takeaways  Webinar: Recalibrate & Rise: Future-Ready Skills for IC Pros Tickets, Tue, Oct 14 Leading into the Future -  the inaugural research report from The Institute of Leadership 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field explore various themes related to workplace culture, employee engagement, and the evolving dynamics of work post-pandemic.  They discuss the impact of mascots on business, introduce the concept of Otroverts - the new personality type according to psychiatrists - and analyze the implications of return-to-office policies.  The conversation also delves into Gallup's five key levers of employee engagement, the effects of personality shifts in the workforce since the pandemic, and the growing trend of the four-day work week. Additionally, they address the phenomenon of fawning behavior in the workplace and its consequences on employee well-being. Links to articles mentioned in this episode: Adam Grant Tweet on RTO Gallup’s 5 key drivers of employee engagement Will changes to our personality ruin workplace culture? The Dutch four-day work week What is fawning and how can it hurt your career? 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field kick things off with a discussion about whether you can call a podcast a ‘pod’ and the songs of summer according to Spotify!  Join this discussion where Chuck challenges the approach suggested by Harvard Business Review (HBR) on how to achieve DEI goals without DEI programs. The conversation stays with HBR as they look at how busy people find joy and the role of the organization in creating it for employees.  After a sneak preview from Ipsos Karian and Box into the latest UK IC Index, they discuss the findings as well as some other research into our need for digital silence in a world full of distraction and digital noise.    Links and articles mentioned in this episode Achieve DEI goals without DEI programmes How the busiest people find joy  ‘Always on’ culture is harming productivity, so workers are demanding ‘digital silence’ to get on with tasks IC Index 2025: A closer look 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the pervasive negativity on platforms like LinkedIn, challenging the narrative and advocating for a more positive approach - the challenge is on!  They explore recent leadership accountability trends, particularly in light of whistleblower reports at Nestle, and examine the shifting dynamics in workplace structures, including the thinning of middle management and the impact on employee direction and engagement.  The conversation also delves into the complexities of workplace culture and the impact of working from home - what do leaders need to focus on to get it right? Is it more about supportiveness and transparency? And when it comes to supporting employees, what is the role of the manager when it comes to mental health and wellbeing? The pair offer advice to help managers trying to get this right.     Links and articles mentioned in this episode Nestlé CEO fired Korn Ferry Workforce 2025 report Does WFH kill company culture? Spring Health × Forrester — Mental Health “Benefits Gap” 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

In this episode, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field share their personal recommended reading for communicators - all 10 are listed below.    They discuss the dynamics of employee relations and unions, how that differs in the UK and USA and what you can do to improve relationships if they are tough. They discuss the importance of leadership visibility and what a lack of it leads to before delving into the effectiveness of video in internal communications. After Jenni finished reading Gallup's 'Culture Shock,' the pair discuss some of the data from the book and what that means for professionals working in HR and communications. Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  Tube staff to strike over pay and work conditions How Opendoor’s CEO resignation underscores the power of visibility Can we have a healthy discussion (debate?) about video for internal comms? Recommended reading:  Soundtracks - Jon Acuff Art of Gathering - Priya Parker Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gawande Playful Rebellion - Gary Ware Digital Body Language - Erica Dhawan Busy: how to thrive in a world of too much - Tony Crabbe Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us - Daniel Pink Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You - Frances Frei and Anne Morriss Remote not Distant - Gustavo Razzetti Leading with cultural intelligence - David Livermore 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

The discussion about working remotely, away from offices and the current trend to return to office (RTO) is still rumbling on and in this week’s episode, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field dive back into the conversation about the reasons behind the call back to the cubicle.  The themes this week focus in on some recent AI stories: The memo from Duolingo CEO stating it’s going “AI-first”, a recent MIT report that shows corporate AI pilots are already failing to deliver results and a real watch out for leaders and comms professionals about data poisoning. The conversation wraps up with the age old debate about where the internal communication function should report to in organisations - spoiler, it doesn’t matter. Links and articles behind the conversation this week    Duolingo clarifies “AI-first” memo The hidden risk: AI data poisoning MIT: 95% of generative AI pilots failing Remote work wins despite executive obsession with offices Where should internal comms report? 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose discuss the impact of attention spans on employee engagement, and the evolving role of internal communications in a changing work environment.  They are asking questions about the role of internal comms in a world where leaders are being more open about the fact work is work and Gen z are ok with these boundaries - what does this mean for the employee engagement agenda?  They bring in some advice to help with all employee meetings to help sift from content agendas to outcome agendas and they discuss the remit of internal comms as organisations explore streamlining communication to create more efficient workplaces.    Links and articles that inspired this episode It’s Time to Streamline How We Communicate at Work The attention apocalypse Revolutionize Your Company Meetings: A Case Study on How Launch Darkly Improved Communication and Engagement What is the role of internal comms in the new era of work? 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

In this episode of Frequency the conversation starts with a question of simplicity in internal communication with frontline teams. Chuck Gose and Jenni Field also look at how AT&T’s CEO responded to employee feedback on RTO, how one UK council turned a retiring employee into an AI chatbot, and what internal comms can learn from the surprising power of perceived effort in B2B marketing. They discuss how some of these stories highlight bigger things to consider for internal communicators and what really needs to be done to build trust. Jenni wraps up the episode with a reflection on employee engagement stats for the last 25 years and how they have never got close to 50% - ever!    Links and articles this week “Sometimes We Make Internal Comms More Complicated Than It Needs to Be” AT&T CEO Dismisses Employee Feedback on Return-to-Office Policy Retired Worker Transformed into AI Chatbot to Preserve Institutional Knowledge Why It Works: The illusion of effort is a powerful behavioural driver for B2B marketing   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

Why are managers miserable? Why isn’t hybrid working? Is there a link between manager engagement and the success of hybrid work?  These are some of the questions Chuck Gose and Jenni Field try to answer in this week's episode.  They discuss the importance of supportive leadership, the challenges of hybrid work, and the role of technology in enhancing communication. They explore recent research findings on manager engagement and employee satisfaction with internal communication, as well as whether paying for meeting room space is a good or bad thing for workplace culture.  The conversation also touches on the issue of loneliness at work and how it relates to communication practices and the desire for meaningful connection at work. Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  Why Are Managers So Miserable at Work? Hybrid still isn’t working The $25 Billion Company Where Employees Pay to Book Conference Rooms 2025 International Employee Communication Impact Study by Staffbase Join ICology at Transform in 2026 - The EX Summit  

In this episode of Frequency, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the recent controversy surrounding the CEO of Astronomer at a Coldplay concert, exploring themes of leadership, workplace culture, and the public's reaction.  They delve into the issue of judginess in communication, the challenges of navigating constant change in organizations, and the importance of employee feedback in rebuilding trust.  The conversation also touches on the red flags of bad bosses and the real reasons behind return-to-office mandates, emphasizing the need for honesty and transparency in leadership.    Links and articles mentioned in this episode:    Are comms professional too judgy With employees stressed by disruption, HR must lead the charge in ‘routinizing change’ Employees were happy to “Tell Dell” that things are not okay The No. 1 red flag that someone is a bad boss, according to a workplace expert: ‘Sometimes you want a job so badly that you ignore it’ The real reason your boss wants you back in the office   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

Jenni Field and Chuck Gose kick off this episode delving into the concept of 'quiet cracking,' a new term for unnoticed workplace burnout.  The conversation shifts to the challenges of authenticity in corporate communication, emphasizing the need for credible leadership and that honesty and compassion are key to a communicator's success.  They also explore positive trends in the internal communication job market and address the concerning statistic that only 20% of employees trust their organization's leadership, questioning the reasons behind this lack of trust and the implications for organizational culture.   Links and articles mentioned in this episode: Are you "quiet cracking?" Let's stop pretending corporate comms can be authentic The State of the Internal Comms job market in 2025 20% of employees trust the leadership of their organization   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

Today’s episode sees Chuck and Jenni dig into a theme that keeps getting louder: what happens when we push AI into places it maybe shouldn’t go? Yes, the potential is exciting-but this week’s stories raise some very human questions surrounding communication, technology and leadership.  They discuss the exec who suggested laid-off employees turn to AI for emotional support,  the evolving definition of hybrid work (is it just about location?) and the critical role of responsiveness in communication. The conversation wraps up with a discussion about the role of internal communications and what is in and outside the control of the function.   Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  I’m being paid to fix issues caused by AI - BBC Use AI for emotional support - Microsoft exec draws controversy after advice to laid off staff Forget return-to-office. Hybrid now means human plus AI (Fast Company) The simplest growth tool What does internal comms control? Ex1 and Ex2 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss the ongoing challenges of returning to the office, and strategies for maintaining engagement during the summer slump. The conversation also explores generational perspectives on work and the implications of the Venice Pledge regarding ethical AI.  They delve into whether the return to office debate is ever going to stop, and whether the quiet summer workload is a myth. A recent instagram video sparks a discussion about employee loyalty, commitment and engagement and the team unpack the recent Venice pledge and whether it will translate into action and impact.  The episode concludes with personal reflections and 'freakouts' about common workplace phrases that annoy Chuck and the importance of finding balance in decision-making in a world of extremes   Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  The List of Companies Ordering Employees Back to the Office Keeping the momentum: How internal comms pros can maintain engagement in slower times The different reasons for why we work and what this means for employee retention Global Alliance Updates Responsible AI Guiding Principles for the PR and Communication Profession 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Jenni Field and Chuck Gose explore various topics including the concept of 'collywobbles', the importance of employee experience, and the impact of workplace culture on financial performance.  They discuss the Icology Flyover Festival taking place in August, a unique event aimed at internal communicators, and delve into a report revealing that 97% of employees feel the need to hide parts of themselves at work.  The conversation also touches on the disconnect in AI adoption within companies and the need for leaders to create environments that foster employee happiness - something Jenni feels strongly about!  They explore the complexities of trust in AI, the importance of understanding AI proficiency, and how organizations like Amazon are addressing these issues: the necessity of upskilling in the workplace, the evolving nature of dress codes, and the ethical implications of using voting systems in events.  The conversation also touches on the significance of appearance in professional settings and the need for clear guidelines as how we dress for work has changed - anyone ok with Crocs in the office?  Links and articles mentioned in this episode: Hidden at work: The human cost of covering in today’s workplaces Strong employer brands see higher stock returns Section's AI Proficiency Report AI will shrink Amazon’s workforce in the coming years, CEO Jassy says The 39 definitive rules of office fashion ICology's Employee Comms & Culture Flyover Festival Lisa Talbot (Jenni’s stylist) Methane-powered sea spiders   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss some of the latest research and insights this week covering AI and cultural intelligence, how to protect cultures and what employee advocacy really is. They kick off the conversation with the latest piece of research from the Institute of Internal Communication which is showing a real mix of positive and negative news for the industry.  Exploring employee advocacy and the role of the communicator in creating it,Chuck shares strong views on how we have got this so wrong.  The conversation explores some of the latest thinking in applying the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) model to AI and whether or not you should get rid of disruptive people in the workplace.  If you think there is something they should be talking about, get in touch on LinkedIn and let them know!   Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  Future of the IC Profession Survey” from the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) Jamie Dimon on Firing “a—Holes” to Protect Culture Why Employee Advocacy Starts With Culture, Not Just Content Cultural Intelligence: Your Compass in the World of AI 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

Chuck and Jenni have both been on the road in the last week attending the IABC World Conference in Vancouver and Atomicon in Newcastle in the UK, and they kick off this episode with some of their reflections and learnings from both.    Throughout the episode they reflect on the changing nature of workplace culture, the importance of meaningful connections, and the challenges of presenteeism. The conversation touches on Jim Collins' concept of 'Good is the enemy of Great' and the need for companies to strive for superior results and lasting impact.    They explore the evolving expectations of employees regarding work social events and the signals that leaders send about taking time off when you’re sick. In this episode they discuss the challenges of workplace illness in a remote and hybrid world and the expectations placed on employees by leadership.    They get into some recent research that shows the impact of gender bias in reporting misconduct in the workplace, with the conversation turning to the history of the witch trials!    Finally, they address the rapid adoption of AI in organizations and the potential risks to employee autonomy and trust, emphasizing the need for thoughtful communication and support during these changes for employees.   Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  Unhappy Hour: People used to relish getting sloshed with their colleagues after work. What happened? Research: Why Employees Work While Sick—and How Leaders Can Stop It Research: Women’s Complaints of Workplace Abuse Get Ignored More Than Men’s Good is the enemy of great Washington Post: More companies are mandating employees to use AI. Not everyone is on board   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  

In this episode, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss some of the latest stories about AI, employee experience, leadership and workplace challenges. They reflect on their health and energy levels during the recording, share insights about the upcoming Comms Reboot event in Toronto on June 25, and delve into the issue of negative signaling on social media.   The conversation transitions to the importance of employee experience in shaping organizational behavior looking at some of the latest research into the link between the two.   Jenni recently attended the Gallagher London Summit and shares some of the key stats and insights from the presentations across the two days. Some older stories that have bubbled up on social media are debated - specifically why venting isn’t the best thing to do to create change and they finish on a big question - how does work shift from 5 days on, 2 days off with the growing use of AI? Links and articles mentioned in this episode: How employee experience drives employee behaviors Why venting isn’t the way to solve our problems AI And The End Of Traditional Work: Are We Entering A Post-Work Era?   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.

In this conversation, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field discuss various themes surrounding corporate culture, employee experience, and the impact of recent changes in workplace dynamics.  They explore the troubling shift in corporate culture from positivity to fear amidst the recent stories of cutting middle management roles.  They explore the disconnect between executives and middle managers, the challenges of internal communication, and the cultural differences in how deskless and office workers receive information.  They discuss the need for more strategic communication within organizations and the delicate balance businesses must maintain when addressing societal issues based on some recent research in the USA.  The conversation also touches on the role of values inside organisations, the expectations of employees regarding workplace culture and the importance of focusing on relevant communication.   Links and articles mentioned in this episode:  (05:55) From friendly faces to firing squads - the new corporate culture (14:02) Not just slash and burn (22:42) Workshop’s Internal Communication Trends Report for 2025 (31:57) Business is a new stabilizer in a divided nation Additional resources What do we mean when we talk about strategy and tactics?   Tried-and-tested frameworks for communicating organisational change What can fit inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? 🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.    Connect with Jenni Field and Chuck Gose on LinkedIn. 

In this episode of Frequency, hosts Chuck Gose and Jenni discuss some big topics in the world of internal comms, employee experience and workplace culture.   ⚫️ Is work/life balance your responsibility or the organizations? ⚫️ Is it a surprise that AI is making boring work more fun? ⚫️ What happens to managers when organizations get too big?   They explore the latest news and research into generational differences in workplace preferences, the importance of choice in work arrangements, while also addressing the impact of AI on productivity and motivation. They delve into a few recent podcasts that discuss work/life balance and the role of line managers as organizations grow and hierarchy gets in the way of getting stuff done. In this conversation, they also explore the challenges of timezones, the pressure of hustle culture, and the importance of play in our lives.   Links and articles mentioned in this episode: (04:00) Working from beach had its time in the sun. Now it’s back to offices   (10:31) HBR Research: Gen AI Makes People More Productive—and Less Motivated  (15:52) They're Lying About Work Life Balance –The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett  (26:10) HBR IdeaCast: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Agility, AI Strategy, and the Changing Role of Managers    Books mentioned in this episode: 📕 All It Takes is a Goal by Jon Acuff 📗 Long Haul Leader by Chris Ducker 📘 Playful Rebellion by Gary Ware    🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound. Connect with Jenni Field and Chuck Gose on LinkedIn.

In this episode, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose explore the evolving landscape of employee communication and experience.  They dig into the growing disconnect with frontline workers, the surprising decision by Moderna to merge HR and IT, and why internal communicators should start thinking more like journalists. The conversation also dives into Gallup’s “remote work paradox,” highlighting how employees can be both highly engaged and deeply stressed.  Throughout, Jenni and Chuck emphasize the value of listening, the risks of surface-level metrics, and the growing need for clarity, connection, and courage in how organizations communicate. The links and articles that inspired this week's episode: (4:45) Frontline Friction Report from Unily and ScreenCloud  (11:05) Moderna merges HR and IT departments (16:45) From headlines to deadlines (22:57) Remote work paradox   🎶 Theme music for Frequency is “Blessed Be the Weary," produced by Poet Ali. You can find the track on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you stream music. We're grateful to Poet for setting the tone with his powerful, reflective sound.  Connect with Jenni Field and Chuck Gose on LinkedIn.