Future Of Work Podcast

About This Episode Hybrid work is no longer an experiment and has now become the standard operating model for much of the workforce. In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle spoke with Wesley Edmonds, Director of Workplace at OFS, to explore how organizations can create workplaces that employees genuinely want to use. Drawing from workplace research, design expertise, and conversations with architects, designers, and business leaders, Wesley explains why today's workplace must go far beyond furniture, layouts, and amenities. The discussion examines employee autonomy, workplace experience, culture, productivity, and the growing importance of designing environments that support a wide range of work styles and human needs. The conversation also explores the role of AI, flexible workspace strategies, coworking environments, and how organizations can prepare for constant change. As companies continue balancing employee expectations with business goals, this episode offers practical insights into creating workplaces that support engagement, performance, and long-term talent retention.

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Daniel Lamadrid speaks with Melissa Doman, MA, an organizational psychologist, former mental health therapist, author, and founder of The Workplace Mental Health Method™. Melissa brings deep expertise from her work with global companies including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Siemens, Dow Jones, Estée Lauder, and more. The conversation explores why leaders are often expected to support everyone else’s mental health while their own emotional toll goes unaddressed. Melissa explains how workplace mental health conversations can become more effective, appropriate, and practical, especially as organizations navigate remote work, loneliness, flexibility, communication challenges, and rising pressure on leaders. For listeners, this episode offers a grounded look at how companies can support human functioning, healthier leadership, and stronger workplace cultures in the future of work.

About This Episode In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with Bob Cicero, who leads Future Proofed Workplace for Real Estate at Cisco, about how AI is transforming the physical workplace. The conversation explores the rise of agentic AI, the growing role of digital workers, the move toward collaborative “we space,” and why companies must now “earn the commute” by making the office more valuable, frictionless, and human-centered. Bob brings a technology and real estate perspective to one of the biggest questions facing organizations today: how should workplaces evolve when humans, AI agents, physical space, and virtual collaboration all become part of the same operating system?

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle speaks with Lara Vandenberg, Founder and CEO of Assemble, about the structural changes redefining how modern teams are built. Drawing from her work with chief marketing officers and enterprise leaders, Lara explains why traditional headcount models are breaking down and why companies are moving toward capability-based ecosystems that combine full-time employees, freelance specialists, AI, and operational strategy. The conversation explores the future of work through one of its most urgent questions: how should companies design teams when speed, uncertainty, and technology are changing faster than org charts can keep up? Together, Frank and Lara unpack the rise of fractional talent, the growing importance of internal culture, the role of AI in reducing but not eliminating jobs, and why businesses must rethink talent systems from the customer backward. For leaders navigating workforce design, marketing operations, and long-term organizational resilience, this episode offers a sharp and practical look at where work is heading next.

About This Episode The future of work is no longer defined by productivity alone—it is being reformed by how organizations prioritize people, leadership, and purpose. In this Expert Compilation episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, three leading voices explore the fundamental changes transforming how we work, lead, and build sustainable organizations. Kurtis Lee Thomas, founder of Breathwork Detox, shares how workplace well-being is evolving from a perk into a measurable, strategic business priority—impacting performance, retention, and long-term resilience. Stephanie Chung, former Chief Growth Officer at Wheels Up, brings over 30 years of leadership experience to redefine what it takes to build high-performing teams, emphasizing trust, vulnerability, and the neuroscience of winning. Finally, Jasmine Escalera, PhD, a career expert and LinkedIn Top Voice, explores how Gen Z is shaping expectations around work, identity, and success—challenging organizations to adapt or risk losing emerging talent. Together, these perspectives reveal a clear truth: the organizations that will thrive in the future of work are those that prioritize human experience as much as performance.

About this episode In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle is joined by Chase Garbarino, Co-Founder and CEO of HqO, to explore how cities evolve when we treat them like outcomes-driven systems rather than tech experiments. Chase introduces the framework behind “Quantum Cities,” arguing that technology must serve measurable results—starting with GDP—while balancing essential principles like privacy, liberty, and economic dynamism. Together, they connect the dots between city revitalization, the changing demands of the workforce, and the growing need for better feedback loops on what people actually value. The conversation then moves into the practical reality of commercial real estate and workplace experience—from the limitations of legacy landlord thinking to the rise of “experience” as the new differentiator. Chase explains why the industry must become more customer-oriented and data-driven, including concepts like tenant health scores and better success signals tied to renewal and expansion. Frank expands the lens with a “food chain” view: if the employee experience breaks, every layer above it—tenants, buildings, cities, capital—eventually feels the impact.

About this episode Bad bosses aren’t just a workplace problem—they’re a leadership pattern that can spread, normalize, and quietly erode culture. In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Daniel Lamadrid talks with Mita Mallick, a bestselling author and seasoned marketing and HR executive, about her book The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses. Together, they explore why bad boss behavior happens, how marketplace pressure and personal “earthquakes” shape leadership, and why hustle culture can reward the very behaviors that burn teams out. The conversation gets practical: how to give feedback when psychological safety exists, how leaders can run a weekly self-awareness check, why gratitude builds trust and retention, and how boundaries protect top talent—especially as work evolves with AI, hybrid models, and rising uncertainty.

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, Frank Cottle sits down with Tony Jamous, founder and Executive Chairman of Oyster, a B Corp-certified global employment platform. With a visionary take on the post-pandemic workplace, Tony explores how distributed workforces, AI, and conscious leadership are transforming not just how we work—but why we work. From removing geographic hiring constraints to rethinking the very purpose of companies, this conversation unveils the profound economic, environmental, and human impact of global employment models. Whether you're a startup leader, HR exec, or policy maker, this episode offers future-forward insights on capital, workforce access, and business sustainability.

In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, we sit down with Sophie Wade, a renowned workforce innovator, author of Empathy Works, and founder of Flexcel Network, whose courses on future‑of‑work skills have reached over 650,000 professionals worldwide. Sophie brings a deeply human‑centered lens to major workplace changes — from AI integration to upskilling strategies and generational dynamics. Together we explore why companies must design work thoughtfully, invest in people alongside technology, build trust between executives and teams, and prioritize empathy to navigate the ongoing future‑of‑work transitions. If you’re curious how AI will truly impact jobs, why generational viewpoints matter now more than ever, and what leaders must do to meaningfully prepare for tomorrow’s workforce realities, this episode delivers pragmatic insight with a visionary perspective.

About This Episode In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, host Daniel Lamadrid sits down with Amanda Litman, co‑founder and president of Run for Something and author of When We’re In Charge — a fresh perspective on how Millennials and Gen Z are fundamentally redefining leadership in the modern world. They explore how generational experiences have shaped new expectations of authenticity, workplace culture, power, and effectiveness. Amanda shares insights from her work helping thousands of young leaders run for local office, and connects those lessons to leading teams, organizations, and communities in today’s evolving workplace. This episode is essential listening for anyone seeking to understand how leadership is changing — from political arenas to corporate boardrooms — and what skills leaders need to thrive in 2026 and beyond.

About This Episode In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Britt Andreatta—renowned leadership expert, neuroscientist, and CEO of Brain Aware Training—about why most change initiatives fail, and how leaders can succeed by understanding the brain. Drawing from decades of research and her best-selling "Wired" book series, Britt explains the biological resistance to change, the rise of change fatigue post-pandemic, and what truly empowers employees. Whether you're an executive, a middle manager, or an emerging leader, this episode delivers science-backed strategies for leading with clarity, empathy, and sustainable momentum in a time of non-stop disruption.

Discover how managed workspaces are redefining flexible office solutions with Robert Schogger, Co-Founder of MetSpace.

About this episode In this episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, we bring together three visionary leaders to explore how organizations can radically reimagine work: from reducing time to improving impact, from hierarchical management to leader‑creation, and from forced culture programs to conditions for authentic belonging. Dr. Dale Whelehan leads the global campaign for the four‑day workweek and helps companies redesign work systems to meet human psychological and physiological needs. Chris McAlister specializes in leadership development that creates self‑sustaining teams, not just managers. Drew Jones examines how workplace culture is shaped by environment, autonomy and experimentation. Together, they offer actionable insight into how forward‑thinking organizations can address burnout, evolve leadership, foster meaningful culture and make shorter workweeks a strategic advantage — not a cost.