The evolution of work

The rise of productivity apps

Today's chaotic workplace

Reimagining the modern workplace

For thousands of years, the workplace was very much a physical space. In agrarian societies, farmers tilled land, sowed crops, and reared and kept animals. Artisans crafted clothing, footwear and tools.
Then, in the 18th century, the industrial revolution came along and threw out the rulebook. Over the space of about 80 years, we went from subsistence-based work to mass production. We ditched our farms for factories, the outdoors for offices. It was an irrevocable shift in how we work &ndash; and the way we think about it.&nbsp;
Today, we&rsquo;re going through another seismic shift, powered by the internet. Our colleagues no longer occupy the same physical space, office, country, or time zone.&nbsp; To meet this challenge, we turned to tools to help us, just like we did in the pre-information age, but this time we built apps. And not just one or two. We built thousands.
Although these apps were developed like tools, they&rsquo;ve been problematic at best, often designed with very little consideration for how they might be used by other organizations with different structures. The result is a productivity paradox.&nbsp;

Watch a mini-documentary on the chaos of the modern workplace. Learn how the tools designed to make us more productive are doing the opposite.

An exposé on the chaos of the modern workplace and how the very tools designed to make us more productive are doing the exact opposite.

Productivity Paradox Documentary | language.work

Productivity Paradox

Operations in the modern workplace

The changing face of operations

Operations and company culture

The people behind operations

In years gone by, the role of operations in many businesses was rarely acknowledged or even understood. Today, it is a different story altogether, and operations leaders are recognised for their integral role in driving growth and building culture, giving them a seat at the top table.&nbsp;
Alongside the growing strategic role of operations, we&rsquo;ve also witnessed increased specialization, with new fields such as DesignOps, ProductOps, and CultureOps developing.
It is a clear sign that the field is maturing, but this decentralization also threatens to create new silos and points of friction that operations was supposed to help fix.&nbsp;
The rise of remote work has brought other challenges too, requiring new ways to keep track of what&rsquo;s working and what&rsquo;s not, and a renewed focus on how to build culture in a remote work environment, once again demonstrating the crucial value of operations.&nbsp;
All of this has helped make operations an attractive career path, with curiosity, adaptability, and a hunger to learn, seen as some of the key attributes for the next generation of aspiring leaders.&nbsp;
Interviewees featured are:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Astrid Verstraete - Co-founder of Operations Nation</li>
<li aria-level="1">Ben Gateley - CEO and Co-founder of CharlieHR</li>
<li aria-level="1">Gerisha Nadaraju - Head of Product Operations at Dojo</li>
<li aria-level="1">Kelsey Traher - COO of Marvel App</li>
<li aria-level="1">Marta Kutt - Chief of Staff at Qatalog</li>
<li aria-level="1">Mike Strange - Director of Operations at Just Eat for Business</li>
</ul>

Watch a mini-documentary on the critical role operations teams play in driving growth and building culture in today's workplace.

Shining a spotlight on the critical role of operations in helping to drive growth and build culture in today's workplace.

Operations Nation Documentary | language.work

Operations Nation

Create a culture that works

The hard truth about technology

The war for talent

Throughout the course of history, new technologies have continually altered our relationship with time. The internet is no different, and has already transformed huge parts of our lives. Now, it is &nbsp;helping to drive a dramatic shift in the way we think about time at work.&nbsp;
Amidst the rise of remote work and distributed teams, employers and employees have realized that the traditional 9-5 is neither necessary, nor productive. Instead, asynchronous work is seen as the future, a system that allows people to get work done on their own schedules. In this new world, output is what matters, not how many hours you put in.
But the era of clock watching isn&rsquo;t over quite yet, as old habits learned in the office are proving hard to kick. Digital presenteeism is running amok, as workers feel under pressure to be online at certain times, an issue that has been compounded by poor leadership and broken technology.&nbsp;
Companies can&rsquo;t afford to get this wrong either. The best talent increasingly expects greater flexibility and, if they don&rsquo;t get what they want, they&rsquo;ll go elsewhere.&nbsp;
Interviewees featured are:
<ul>
<li>Daphn&eacute;e Laforest, Founder of Modern Leaders</li>
<li>Darren Murph, Head of Remote at GitLab</li>
<li>Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School</li>
<li>La&iuml;la von Alvensleben, Head of Culture and Collaboration at MURAL</li>
<li>Oliver Harrison, founder and CEO of Koa Health</li>
<li>Sheela Rubramanian, Vice President of Slack Future Forum</li>
<li>Siobhan McKeown, COO at HumanMade</li>
</ul>

Watch a mini-documentary on the rise of flexible and asynchronous working. Learn how leaders can meet the changed demands of modern employees.

The rise of flexible and asynchronous working has irreversibly changed the way we think about time at work, but the reality is still catching up.

Timeless Work Documentary | language.work

Timeless Work

The work from anywhere era

The future of the office

Talent goes global

The challenges of remote working

For almost all of human existence, our work has been tied to shared physical spaces. &nbsp;But new technology and a fundamental shift in mindset has enabled an entirely new way of working. People now able to work from anywhere, while companies can access global talent.&nbsp;
The consequences of this remote revolution are varied and sizable. For a start, it has provided life changing opportunities to millions of people across the globe. In-person collaboration is now at a premium, with companies much more intentional about how they use this time. And, with the long-term role of the office now in question, talent hubs like London and New York may have to adapt.&nbsp;
There are other challenges too. Fair pay among distributed teams remains a thorny issue. Proximity bias is a risk. And training and development can prove difficult. Yet for companies who do want to give it a shot, there has never been a better time to build a remote team.&nbsp;
Interviewees featured are:
<ul>
<li>Chase Warrington - Head of Remote at Doist</li>
<li>Claire Donald - VP of Engineering at MOO</li>
<li>Kaleem Clarkson - COO at Blend Me</li>
<li>Katrina Larkin - Co-founder of Fora</li>
<li>Laura Giurge - Assistant Professor at London School of Economics</li>
<li>Rhys Black, Director of Workplace Design at Oyster</li>
<li>Ryan Burke - CRO at Qatalog</li>
</ul>

Watch a mini-documentary on remote work revolution and the opportunities and challenges it creates for workers and businesses alike. 

With millions of people now free to work from anywhere, there are far reaching implications for the global economy, as well as significant challenges still to be overcome. 
