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From AI-reshaping careers to widening talent gaps, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of labor “stuckness.” We analyze the fastest-growing jobs, high-pay trade shortages, teen gap-year programs, and the quiet end of happy hour.

Here’s the deal—2026 isn’t a boom year.
It’s not a crash either.

It’s a labor lockdown.

In this episode of Your Work Friends, we break down the biggest signals shaping the U.S. job market right now—and why so many people feel stuck, cautious, and quietly uneasy about what’s next.

We cover:

• The 2026 labor outlook and why “stuckness” is the defining theme (low hiring, low firing, high anxiety)
• The 25 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S.—and what they reveal about AI, power, and who’s getting left behind
• A gap year program promising six-figure salaries for teens (and the uncomfortable truth about access, privilege, and judgment)
• Ford’s $160K mechanic problem—and why the headline hides the real barriers to trade work
• And yes… the death of happy hour 🍸 (what we’re losing, what we’re gaining, and why Tito’s isn’t a culture strategy)

We also get real about:

• The growing two-tier workforce (AI insiders vs. everyone else)
• Why proof of work can quietly become proof of privilege
• Where the real bright spots are in a shaky, uneven economy
• And how leaders, employees, and independents should be thinking differently about talent, pay, and pathways in 2026

This one’s part analysis, part side-eye, part “someone needed to say it.”

If you’re feeling stuck, watching the job market with concern, or trying to lead without losing trust—this episode is for you.

🎙️ Hosted by Mel Plett and Francesca Ranieri
🎵 Music by Pink Zebra
🔗 Find more at yourworkfriends.com

References:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• KPMG 2026 Labor Economic Insights
• SHRM 2026 Talent Acquisition Forecast
• The Upwork Research Institute: 2026 Strategic Workforce Planning
• LinkedIn: Jobs on the Rise 2026 - the 25 Fastest Gr

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

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• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
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Smart people don’t automatically make a smart team.

In this episode of Your Work Friends, we talk with Dr. Anita Woolley, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the world’s leading researchers on collective intelligence, about what actually drives team performance—and what most leaders get wrong.

Anita breaks down why high-performing teams aren’t about talent density, charisma, or motivation, but about coordination, goal clarity, and participation—most of which is decided before the work begins. We discuss how team intelligence (team IQ) can be measured, why equal participation predicts better outcomes, and how leaders unintentionally undermine collaboration in meetings.

We also explore what collective intelligence looks like in remote and hybrid teams, including how to reduce meeting overload, improve asynchronous collaboration, and avoid proximity bias.

Then we go into the future: AI agents as teammates. Anita explains why AI doesn’t improve teams by default, the critical difference between AI as production technology vs. coordination technology, and how AI could strengthen collective memory, psychological safety, and cross-team collaboration—if leaders use it intentionally.

If you lead, manage, or work on teams in an AI-shaped workplace, this episode is essential listening.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

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Why are we still treating wealth-building at work like a VIP perk?

Senior executives have long enjoyed equity as part of their compensation. But what happens when everyone gets a piece of the upside?

This week, we sit down with Anna-Lisa Miller, Executive Director of Ownership Works, a nonprofit partnering with companies and investors to expand broad-based employee ownership - creating real financial stability for workers and driving stronger business performance for employers.

📈 Here’s the wild part:
Shared ownership isn’t a feel-good perk. It’s delivering life-changing payouts —
helping employees pay off debt, buy homes, build generational wealth, and finally get out from under the daily squeeze that 1 in 4 American workers are living in.

In this conversation, we get into:

• How equity for all employees actually works (it’s simpler than you think)
• Why private equity has become an unlikely accelerant of inclusive wealth-building
• The cultural shift that happens when workers feel, think, and act like owners
• What CEOs gain when they stop treating employees as a cost and start treating them as partners
• Why empathy + transparency are becoming future-of-work leadership superpowers

This movement is already proving what many of us believe:
When companies win, workers should too.

And Anna-Lisa? She’s a powerhouse — and the daughter of a badass immigrant mom who built the American dream the hard way. This work is deeply personal.

Listen in to hear how shared ownership could redefine what’s possible for millions of workers - and for the companies bold enough to lead the way.

About Anna-Lisa

• Anna-Lisa Miller is the founding Executive Director of Ownership Works. She is responsible for the organization’s strategy, key partnerships, growth, and overall impact. With a career deeply rooted in expanding shared ownership, advancing racial equity, and driving systemic change, Anna-Lisa is a recognized leader in the nonprofit sector. She brings extensive experience in building organizations, designing impactful programs, and forging partnerships that deliver lasting social and economic benefits to communities.

More about Ownership Works:

• Site
• Videos Anna-Lisa references:
  • Ownership Works – ISC Employees Share in Big Payout, Showcasing the Power of Ownership

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

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“With AI you can delegate a bunch of the work, but you cannot delegate the accountability.”

This week on Your Work Friends, we sit down with Zapier’s Chief People & AI Transformation Officer Brandon Sammut to break down how Zapier hit 97% AI adoption without traditional L&D, why they declared an internal “Code Red,” and how culture—not tools—is the real engine of AI transformation.

We get into Zapier’s AI fluency rubric for new hires, their “clear the lane” discipline that freed HR to actually innovate, and the role of AI Automation Engineers reshaping how teams work. If you’re stuck in pilot purgatory, wrestling with tool sprawl, or trying to get your leaders hands-on with AI, this episode gives you the moves.

What you’ll learn:

• Why Zapier called “Code Red” on AI early
• The habits behind their 97% adoption rate
• How transparency + psychological safety supercharge experiments
• The AI fluency bar every new hire must meet
• One golden rule: delegate work, not accountability

If you’re a CHRO, CPO, or operator trying to make AI real inside your org—not just a slide—this one’s your playbook.

About Brandon Sammut
Chief People & AI Transformation Officer at Zapier, leading the organization’s AI adoption, AI fluency standards, and automation strategy. Follow him on LinkedIn for playbooks and real-world experiments: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-sammut-8147b76

#YourWorkFriends #Zapier #AIAtWork #AITransformation #FutureOfWork #HRLeaders #PeopleStrategy #TalentStrategy #Automation #GenerativeAI #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

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Here’s the deal—AI promises a lot.
Efficiency, productivity, transformation. Every week, something new.

But work also runs on things like trust, connection, and human relationships. So the real question isn’t just how fast we adopt AI—it’s how we balance ambition with reality, timelines, people, and humanity.

In this episode, we sit down with Wendy Miller, Chief HR Officer for North America at McKinsey & Company, to talk about what balancing AI ambition and reality actually looks like on the ground. Wendy gets candid about the chaos, the learning curves, and what it really takes for leaders and teams to adapt without losing their footing—or their people.

We dig into the rewiring of organizations, the blind spots most execs miss, and why the real edge in the AI era isn’t speed—it’s humanity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “go smaller, but go fast” might be the smartest AI adoption strategy yet
• The cost of chasing speed before impact—and how to avoid it
• How to upskill, experiment, and play without losing control
• The new role of HR as the human side of digital transformation
• Why trust and authenticity are still your best performance tools
• What a “learner’s mindset” really looks like in practice
• How to reinvest AI’s efficiency gains back into better leadership, better work, and better culture

Find Wendy on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

Send us a text

Here’s the deal—fear isn’t the villain.

Left alone, it just drives.

In this episode, we sit down with Harvard Business School professor and Thinkers50 honoree Ranjay Gulati, author of How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage to talk about acting through fear—at work, in leadership, and in a world that feels permanently uncertain. We get into why uncertainty hijacks the brain, what separates risk from true unknowns, and how everyday people “hack” fear with rituals, reframes, and the right support squad. For leaders, we get real about absorbing ambiguity, setting a confident narrative (without turning into a motivational poster), and why courage—not conformity—is becoming a competitive advantage.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why uncertainty (not danger) triggers fear—and how to build a rapport with it
• The freeze → flight → fight reality, and practical “fear hacks” that actually help
• The four kinds of support that make courageous action possible (resources, info, moral, feedback)
• How to reframe your team’s story to build self-efficacy without the cringe
• What bold leadership looks like in down markets (plus the 9% who invest and win)
• Why outcomes don’t always prove courage wrong—and how to “give luck a chance”
• The culture shift from fear/anger to purpose/impact—and why courage is the new currency

Find Ranjay:

On LinkedIn

His Website

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

Send us a text

First: AI is now sliding into your performance reviews.

Forbes says it’s here to “remove bias” and “automate feedback.”
We say… careful what you outsource. Because when algorithms start coaching humans, you risk losing the part that actually makes feedback work — connection, trust, and care.

Then: OpenAI’s Sam Altman claimed that if AI wipes out your job, maybe it wasn’t real work to begin with.

Uh, scuzi? We unpack the arrogance behind that take, the history of who decides what “real work” even means, and the danger of rewriting value just because it doesn’t fit into a founder’s business model.

This episode hits the intersection of tech, humanity, and meaning — because it’s not just about AI.

It’s about what makes work worth doing.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com

Send us a text

Ever felt like you’re on your own at work—even in a “great culture”?

That’s because culture isn’t the same as community.
One happens whether you shape it or not. The other takes intention, safety, and a shared purpose.

In this episode of Your Work Friends, we sit down with DeMario Bell—community strategist, speaker, and founder of Gatherful, who’s spent over a decade building communities across higher ed, startups, and global enterprise, including leading Culture Amp’s 100,000+ member HR community.

We talk about:

• The difference between a workplace and a true community
• Why family is inherited but community is chosen
• How psychological safety is the real test of culture
• Common mistakes leaders make when “building community”
• The role of vulnerability, trust, and micro-moments in belonging
• Why the future of work is “more human, more diverse, and more fluid”

If you’ve ever wondered how to build connection that lasts—without forcing fake “family” vibes—this conversation will make you rethink what healthy community really looks like at work.

More about DeMario:

• Gatherful Consulting

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

• On The Socials! You Tube, TikTok, Instagram on LinkedIn - Mel + Francesca.
• The LinkedIn Group: We'd love to have you join the Your Work Friends Group on LinkedIn
• Drop Us a Line: Send us your ideas, questions, comments, complements, whatnot, to friend@yourworkfriends.com