Wellbeing
Has the psychological contract with the workforce weakened?
To mark WORKTECH Academy’s tenth anniversary, this column looks at persistent themes over the past decade such as a worsening relationship between employers and employees
Signal File: exposing culture that nobody is measuring
From collapsing faith in leadership motives to unprompted AI anxiety and workers pushing through illness, this week’s signals show culture being shaped by what employees say when they think nobody is listening
The golden rule of designing to prioritise people before technology
Don’t set ambient conditions for working with machines. People want to feel valued in the workplace, so why not treat them how you’d like to be treated yourself?
Signal File: the culture that leaders are not seeing
From the narcissism behind return-to-office pushes to the mental toll of remote work, this week's signals show how culture is shaped from the top down
Will the universality of AI knowledge make every space look the same?
Use of AI in the design of environments is currently hit and miss, but in the near future access to verified knowledge will improve. At that point, designers will face difficult ethical choices
Signal File: preventative workplace measures
From health and workplace connections to job security and recognition, organisations are being pushed to shift from reactive fixes to preventive approaches to sustain performance over time
Signal File: signals that spotlight the renegotiation of work expectations
The relationship between people and work is becoming more openly transactional – and more emotionally charged. Shorter periods of time…
Signal File: what this week’s headlines reveal about emotional infrastructures
This week’s signals track the emergence of emotional intelligence as a new layer of infrastructure, from AI that understands human reasoning to wellbeing metrics guiding resilience
