Coloradan Conversations: The Future of Work
One thing is clear — the pandemic upended the way we work. As many organizations transition to hybrid workplaces and collaborate over Zoom, how should we prepare for a shifting workplace landscape? Boulder faculty discussed this topic, inspired by the Coloradan article,
[video:https://youtu.be/kjNPqGbYsK4]
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If you would like to make a gift in support of Boulder’s efforts in this area, please reach out to Donor Relations Senior Program Manager John Barrall. He will guide you to a point of contact on campus that aligns with your area of interest.
Engage
This movement amplifies the need for paid leave in the United States.
A roundup of resources, including webinars and white papers, to help businesses navigate issues related to leave.
The Center for Positive Organizations is the leading global center for the science of designing and sustaining thriving organizations.
The UCW-CWA 7799 union united the University of Colorado’s workforce to address critical issues and champion the interests and well-being of University labor.
Participate in Sidney D’Mello’s team study, “The Future of Work: Understanding and Improving Team Performance.”
the speakers
[video:https://youtu.be/nA96LrC4mes]
is a PhD candidate in organizational behavior at the Leeds School of Business. Her research focuses on understanding the complexities and challenges of interpersonal relationships at work, such as navigating unique relational dynamics, advocating for oneself during difficult times and building more compassionate workplaces. Her work has appeared in outlets such as PLOS One, Organizational Psychology Review and Harvard Business Review. In addition to her academic work, Liza has worked in healthcare consulting and client operations and is currently a research advisor at Prime Chief of Staff.
[video:https://youtu.be/beycZPtw6Do]
is a professor in the and the at Boulder. He is interested in the dynamic interplay between cognition and emotion while people engage in complex, real-world activities. He applies insights gleaned from this basic research to develop intelligent technologies that help people achieve their fullest potential — by coordinating what they think and feel with what they know and do. D’Mello has co-edited seven books and published more than 300 journal papers, book chapters and conference proceedings. His research has received 16 awards at international conferences and has been funded by numerous grants. D’Mello directs the NSF National Institute for Student-Agent Teaming (2020–25), which aims to develop AI technologies to facilitate rich socio-collaborative learning experiences for all students.
[video:https://youtu.be/OO07nMt9F20]
is a professor in the CMCI Department of Communication and currently serves as its chair. He has been on ’s faculty since 2000, and his research and teaching address how communication constitutes organizations and thus doesn’t merely occur within them. He’s also interested in explaining how identities and knowledge emerge in power-laden organizing practices. He has held visiting appointments at Lund University in Sweden and Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. He is also a fellow of the and presently chair of its Organizational Communication Division.
Learn More
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The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is an exploration of the joys and perils of the modern workplace, beautifully exploring what other people wake up to do each day — and night — to make our frenzied world function.
A deeply-reported examination of why “doing what you love” is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives.
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To attract and retain talent, businesses need to understand the top priorities of the future workforce. This means they must embrace new, flexible work models and cultivate a workforce that can design their own careers.
What does true flexibility look like? Most organizations approach it in one of two ways: as an ad hoc work-life accommodation available upon request, or as giving people permission to get their work done on their own schedule — as long as they’re available to answer emails and put out fires 24/7. Neither approach is sustainable over the long term.
A dual need for increased compassion and higher performance is hitting while Covid fatigue has employees, leaders and customers running on fumes. This problem of extreme demands isn’t going away. To deliver both compassion and performance in a sustainable way, leaders need data, prioritization, setup and collaboration.
When it comes to psychological safety, managers have traditionally focused on enabling candor and dissent with respect to work content. As the boundary between work and life becomes increasingly blurry, managers must make staffing, scheduling and coordination decisions that take into account employees’ personal circumstances — a categorically different domain.
In times like these, leaders need to make hard decisions, deliver negative feedback and, in some cases, lay people off. How do you do the hard things that come with the responsibility of leadership while remaining a good human being and bringing out the best in others?