Financial Times launches new podcast Working It

The Financial Times has launched Working It, a new weekly podcast about the future of work, hosted by Isabel Berwick, the FT’s work and career editor.

Working It covers the big ideas and emerging trends shaping the workplace today, from the gig economy and side hustles to corporate wellness and hybrid working. It features expert analysis and water-cooler chat with FT journalists, innovators and industry leaders to help listeners make sense of the new world of work as we emerge from the pandemic.

The FT developed Working It in response to rapid growth in its US audio audience coupled with reader concerns about the future of work. Renée Kaplan, the FT’s head of digital editorial development, said, “We found a sweet spot with Working It - we matched the content our audience is interested in with the format they want more of.”

The FT has achieved 137% growth in US listeners since February 2020, compared to a 36% increase worldwide in the same period. Peter Spiegel, the FT’s US managing editor, said, “Audio is an important part of the FT’s expansion plans in the US. Our American audio audience has grown nearly four times as much as our global audience so we’re ramping up our podcast efforts to meet the demand.”

In addition, the 2021 FT Reader Survey highlights ongoing concerns about uncertainties in the workplace post-pandemic. The top three concerns in the survey include:

Women who chose remote work may pay a career penalty as old habits of presenteeism reassert themselves. “I do worry that this will lead to systemic advantages for men in the workplace,” observed one male working in the non-profit sector in San Francisco.

Women think they will be able to better accommodate work and family in a hybrid working world.

The pandemic has allowed the working day to expand.

Younger workers are worried that senior staff will be reluctant to return to the office, leaving them without guidance and unable to build contacts and social capital. Among the younger readers who responded, the 31 to 40-year-olds agreed most strongly that this would hurt their careers.

Working It drops weekly on Wednesdays. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify or at ft.com/workingitpodcast.