This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan dives into one of the biggest myths in today’s workplace — that AI is killing entry-level jobs.
Spoiler alert: it’s not.
Drawing on Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s recent comments that “AI can do the interns’ work, but leaders should still hire Gen Z,” Steve explores why cutting early-career roles is one of the most dangerous mistakes companies can make — and how it’s quietly dismantling the leadership ladder from the bottom up.
He shares lessons from his time building LinkedIn’s early-career hiring programs, explains the real culture cost of removing young talent, and makes the case for why Gen Z might be the generation best equipped to help organizations use AI more intelligently.
You’ll learn:
Why the “AI took my job” narrative misses the real issue.
How skipping entry-level hiring sabotages your future leadership pipeline.
How to redesign early-career roles so humans and AI actually work better together.
Why Gen Z could be your company’s best AI accelerators.
And as always, Steve leaves you with a Workquake Challenge to turn insight into action — by reimagining one role on your team for the age of AI.
Tone: Conversational, optimistic, and deeply human — this episode is a wake-up call for leaders who want to future-proof their culture and their talent.
🎙️ Workquake Weekly — helping you make sense of the chaos we call modern work… one short episode at a time.
https://fortune.com/2025/10/30/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-ai-can-do-intern-work-bosses-should-hire-gen-z-lose-management-automation-employment-hiring-advice/
This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan unpacks a powerful truth Brené Brown shared at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit: “If you’re leading people, you probably know people are not okay.”
In an age of nonstop change, AI disruption, and emotional overload, leaders aren’t just managing projects — they’re managing nervous systems. Steve explores why burnout today is less about weakness and more about biology, how disconnection shows up before disengagement, and what great leaders are doing differently to restore trust, calm, and meaning at work.
If you’re leading anyone — or just trying to stay grounded yourself — this episode is your reminder that being human isn’t a liability. It’s the advantage.
🎧 Listen in under 10 minutes — and start leading like it’s 2025, not 1999.
AI has officially moved from curiosity to urgency. But before we race ahead, Steve Cadigan asks a better question: Fast enough… toward what?
In this episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve explores how AI could finally repair our broken relationship with technology — if we let it. From burnout to trust, from productivity to potential, this is a call to leaders everywhere to rethink what “progress” really means.
Because the defining question of this era isn’t “How fast can we deploy AI?”
It’s “Will we use AI to bring people back — to creativity, curiosity, and possibility?”
Listen for practical hope and grounded wisdom on how leaders can make AI a force for human good.
This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan unpacks a quiet shift in tech compensation: companies are moving from the classic four-year, even vesting schedule to front-loaded equity. Think 40/30/20/10 or even three-year designs. Why the change, what it signals, and how it might reshape trust, loyalty, and performance at work. Steve explores potential drivers like offer competitiveness, accounting optics, and the rise of refresher grants tied to impact, along with the tradeoffs that could speed up churn or strengthen engagement. If you lead people, negotiate offers, or design rewards, this short episode will help you rethink equity as more than retention math, and more like a performance promise.
What you’ll learn:
• Why many firms are moving away from 25/25/25/25
• How front-loaded equity changes behavior and incentives
• The role of refresher grants in rewarding real impact
• Risks to watch, from shorter cycles to signaling effects
• Practical questions to ask when evaluating an offer
This week on Workquake Weekly, we’re peeling back the curtain on something rare: CEOs getting real about AI and talent.
Accenture’s Julie Sweet admits reskilling isn’t moving fast enough. Walmart’s Doug McMillon promises to guide employees “to the other side.” Both perspectives reveal a deeper tension: leaders are trying to look in control while racing to figure it out themselves.
Are companies really ready to upskill at scale? Or are they just cramming for the AI exam and hoping to pass?
In under 10 minutes, Steve unpacks what these CEO confessions mean for you, why fear-driven upskilling may backfire, and what to watch for in the next wave of earnings calls.
If your CEO sounds like they’re cramming… they are. And so are we.
This week on Workquake Weekly, we’re stirring things up with a story that hits close to home — especially if you’re a coffee lover. Inspired by Heather Haddon’s recent piece in The Wall Street Journal, “Inside the Starbucks Plan to Get 200,000 Baristas on the Same Script,” we dive into one of the most pressing questions in today’s workplace:
Can you engineer human connection… with a script?
Steve unpacks Starbucks’ surprising move to give baristas more time to connect with customers — while also standardizing exactly how those connections should happen. It’s a fascinating case study in the delicate balancing act every leader is facing:
Speed vs. Humanity. Efficiency vs. Experience. Cost vs. Culture.
We explore:
Why burnout is bad business — for employees and customers
How scripting authenticity might backfire
What Starbucks’ decision says about the broader evolution of work
And how you can rethink what you’re optimizing for in your own organization
Whether you’re leading a team, designing employee experience, or just ordering your next oat milk latte… this episode will get you thinking about what really drives connection — and why that matters more than ever.
Tune in, reflect, and maybe look a little closer at your barista next time.
☕
If you enjoy the show, be sure to follow, rate, and leave a review. And if you’ve read Workquake, a review on Amazon goes a long way in helping others join the conversation. See you next Friday! https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/starbucks-barista-training-sales-b1f11395?st=unzGPP&reflink=article_copyURL_share
In this episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan dives into something that feels almost rebellious in today’s always-on world: boredom.
Inspired by Arthur Brooks’ recent article in Harvard Business Review, “You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why,” Steve explores how boredom isn’t wasted time—it’s fertile ground for creativity, reflection, and even breakthrough ideas. From brain science to leadership strategy, Steve makes the case that embracing stillness might be the smartest move for anyone trying to innovate, lead, or simply think more clearly.
He also shares a personal story, practical tips, and one simple challenge to help you tap into your creative default mode.
If you’ve been feeling stuck, overstimulated, or just too busy to think—this episode might be the nudge you didn’t know you needed.
https://hbr.org/2025/08/you-need-to-be-bored-heres-why by Arthur C. Brooks
AI feels brand new, but the pattern we’re living through is not. In this week’s episode, Steve Cadigan explores why most AI investments are failing to deliver value — and what history can teach us about breaking that cycle. Inspired by Ibanga Umanah’s article “From Email to AI: The Hidden Pattern Behind Tech Adoption Failure,” Steve examines why it’s so hard to let go of old processes, why unlearning may be the hardest skill of all, and how leaders can shift the question from “How do I do what I already do better with AI?” to “How can AI help me solve problems differently?”
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by AI hype or unsure where to start, this episode offers clarity, encouragement, and a powerful mindset shift for navigating what’s next in work.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-email-ai-hidden-pattern-behind-tech-adoption-failure-umanah-gfmec
AI is supposed to be our shiny new superpower, yet many people feel embarrassed using it. In this episode, Steve digs into the rise of “AI shame” at work, unpacking a Times of India report, “AI Shame Is a Real Phenomenon in the Workplace, Claims Report: What Is Scaring Top Execs in America.” The surprising part, executives and Gen Z appear to be hiding it most. According to the survey Steve cites, 53% of executives conceal their AI use, and 62% of Gen Z pass off AI-generated work as their own. Formal training is scarce too, roughly 6–7% for Gen Z and 17% for executives, which means most people are winging it. No wonder 65% of Gen Z say AI slows them down, and 68% feel pressure to overperform.
Steve connects this to earlier stigmas like online dating, then shifts the conversation to culture, identity, and how we define value when AI is always in the room. You’ll hear practical steps for leaders and teams, from setting norms on when and how AI can be used, to creating safe forums, to running low-stakes experiments that build confidence and transparency.
What you’ll take away:
• Why secrecy emerges when there is no playbook.
• How to talk about contribution and originality in an AI-assisted world.
• A simple starter plan for leaders and teams to make AI use normal, not taboo.
If you find this helpful, follow the show and leave a quick review to support the conversation.
In this episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan explores why Taylor Swift isn’t just a global pop icon — she’s also a masterclass in leadership. From constant reinvention to building genuine community, from generosity that strengthens her team to humanity that inspires an entire industry, Taylor shows us what modern leadership looks like. Steve unpacks four big lessons we can borrow from her playbook and challenges listeners to apply at least one in their own “era” of work this week. Because sometimes the most powerful leadership examples don’t come from the boardroom… they come from the stage.
Manager engagement just dipped to 27% in Gallup’s latest survey, and Steve asks a sharper question: is this a manager problem, or a system that keeps overloading and undertraining leaders? In this episode, Steve pairs the Gallup data with Jonathan J. Hsu’s Rolling Stone argument for slowing down, going deeper, and leading more humanly. The result is a candid look at why speed and dashboards won’t fix disengagement, and what will.
You’ll hear:
• Why 27% isn’t the real headline
• How slowing down builds trust and better decisions
• Why human, not heroic, leadership wins
• Simple ways to create space, support, and clarity for managers
Takeaway: less noise, more depth. Create one meaningful pause this week, ask a better question, and give your team room to be heard.
If you enjoyed this episode, follow and leave a review. And if you’ve read Workquake, a quick Amazon review helps keep the conversation going. See you next Friday.
Welcome to Workquake Weekly. Each week we take a short pause to make sense of the wild, ever-changing world of work, without the doom and gloom. Think of this as your weekly coffee break for fresh ideas, practical experiments, and maybe a laugh when work feels like it is spinning out of control.
In this episode, Steve Cadigan digs into a surprising insight from recent research covered in Fast Company. Many people are opening up more to an AI coach than to a human one. Why would that be, and what does it mean for real coaches, leaders, and teams? Steve unpacks the idea of psychological safety wrapped in code, shares what he is seeing through Slate Advisers and their AI coach, Kai, and lays out where AI can help and where humans still shine. We also talk about the big caveat, privacy, and how to blend AI for breadth with humans for depth so coaching becomes more accessible and more effective.
Highlights: why people feel safer with a bot, what stays uniquely human, experiments you can try this week, and the privacy must-haves to earn trust.
Questions or want to learn more about Kai, email kai@teamslate.com.
If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your support helps grow this conversation.
This week on Workquake Weekly, we’re heading to the gridiron—not for football tips, but for leadership gold.
Steve Cadigan takes inspiration from Bill Belichick’s new book The Art of Winning—specifically Chapter 5, a masterclass in talent evaluation—and breaks down how the Patriots’ legendary coach built a dynasty by spotting potential others overlooked.
Forget résumés and star power. Belichick built his teams around grit, adaptability, and fit. And as Steve argues, it’s exactly the mindset modern leaders need now more than ever.
Tune in to learn:
Why hiring for potential beats hiring for pedigree
How to build roles around people—not the other way around
The overlooked power of development-first cultures
What NFL stars like Brady, Edelman, and Vrabel can teach us about seeing talent differently
Whether you’re building a team, leading a company, or just trying to unlock more from your people—this one’s for you.
And hey… if you’ve ever passed on someone who “wasn’t quite ready,” this episode might make you think twice.
Most companies aren’t falling behind in AI because they lack the tools… they’re falling behind because they don’t know what they’ve already got.
In this week’s episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve unpacks two powerful articles—one from Sally Thornton at Forshay, and another by David Michels in Forbes—that both spotlight a surprising but critical truth: the real AI opportunity isn’t just about upskilling. It’s about skill visibility.
Steve explores why organizations are freezing instead of evolving, how outdated talent systems are holding us back, and what leaders at every level can do to move forward—one smart question at a time.
If you’re leading people, growing your own career, or just trying to make sense of the future of work, this one’s for you.
In this week’s episode, Steve tackles a question that just won’t go away: Does working from home damage company culture?
Inspired by a recent article in The Economist — “Does working from home kill company culture?” — Steve unpacks why this debate is still alive years after the pandemic “officially” ended, and why the return-to-office narrative isn’t as clear-cut as some leaders might think.
Key takeaways from the episode:
Culture is complicated. Everyone agrees it’s important… but no one fully agrees on what it is. Is it energy? Values? Trust? Decision speed? That ambiguity makes it a tough scapegoat for in-office mandates.
The data tells a different story. Research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that forcing employees back into the office led to lower engagement and higher turnover — not the cultural boost leaders hoped for.
Maybe it’s not culture that’s the issue… it’s leadership. Remote and hybrid environments don’t kill culture, but they do expose weak leadership. If your direction is vague, your communication is inconsistent, or your team doesn’t feel seen — it shows up fast in a remote setup.
Most companies are already hybrid. Whether leaders realize it or not, if you have teams across time zones or offices in different cities, you’re already managing remotely. So why treat working from home like a radical shift?
It’s time for better questions. Instead of asking “Where should people work?” Steve suggests asking things like:
“What kind of experience are we trying to create?”
“What do our people need to do their best work?”
“Is it really the culture that’s struggling… or our ability to lead in new ways?”
Ultimately, Steve challenges us to stop seeing proximity as a proxy for culture — and to start seeing trust, clarity, and intentional leadership as the real drivers.
🎧 Final thought:
The future of work isn’t about one-size-fits-all answers. It’s about choice, context, and the courage to keep evolving.
In this episode, we’re diving into a question that touches just about everyone—students, parents, leaders, and anyone thinking about the future of work: Is the traditional college-to-career pipeline still working?
Steve breaks down two recent articles from The Atlantic by Rose Horowitch that reveal a surprising shift in education trends:
✅ Humanities majors are making a comeback
❌ Computer science degrees are cooling off
What’s going on here? And what does it say about how we prepare people for a future that’s moving way too fast for old playbooks?
Tune in as Steve explores:
Why the “major = career” formula is cracking
What future-fluency means in a world of AI and ambiguity
How parents, educators, and leaders can shift the conversation around career readiness
Plus, he shares a mindset challenge to help you rethink how we learn, lead, and grow—no matter where you are in your career journey.
AI isn’t the end of leadership. It might just be the beginning of better leadership.
In this episode, I dig into two recent Fortune articles that finally move the AI-leadership conversation from theory to reality. We explore how Chris O’Neill, CEO of GrowthLoop, is using AI to become more present, not less. And we zoom out with Fortune’s bold insight: “AI doesn’t make you less of a leader. It forces you to become more of one.”
This is a turning point. We’re seeing leaders use AI not to escape their responsibilities, but to elevate them.
If you’re wondering how to lead when machines can do almost everything (except be human), this one’s for you.
Let’s talk about what makes leadership truly human—and how to use AI to double down on exactly that.
––
Follow Workquake Weekly for practical insight on the future of work, every Friday.
This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan takes you inside a recent trip that left him more hopeful than ever about the future of work. Invited to speak at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Steve didn’t just deliver a talk—he discovered a living, breathing ecosystem that’s actively reshaping how learning and careers intersect.
From students solving real-world problems to industry partners co-designing curriculum, TU Dublin isn’t just innovating—they’re implementing. In this episode, Steve shares what he saw, what surprised him, and why he walked away more energized than ever.
If you’ve ever wondered what the future of education and work could look like… this is it.
🎓 This week on Workquake Weekly, we’re diving into the crisis that’s quietly reshaping the early career landscape: the disappearance of entry-level work.
With headlines flooding in from The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, and more, it’s clear—this isn’t just a bad year for new grads. It’s a global shift. And it’s time we stop pretending otherwise.
In this episode, Steve Cadigan unpacks why the entry-level job market is drying up… and what we can do about it. From rethinking internships and onboarding strategies, to building better bridges between education and employment, this conversation is a wake-up call for leaders, educators, parents—and anyone trying to launch a career in 2025.
🔥 Plus: practical takeaways, a dose of optimism, and a big call to action for companies that want to stay competitive in the age of AI.
If you’re a grad, a parent, or someone who hires early talent—you don’t want to miss this one.
This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve unpacks a jarring headline: Ford just pulled its financial forecast for the year. With profits plunging and EV policy swinging wildly, one of America’s most iconic companies hit pause on long-term planning. But this isn’t just Ford’s problem. It’s a signal flare for every employer navigating the intersection of business, politics, and people.
In this episode, Steve explores how political volatility—not just AI or tech disruption—is reshaping workforce strategy in 2025. He reflects on the emotional toll of uncertainty for workers, the rising strategic burden on HR, and why today’s leaders need more than operational plans… they need civic agility.
Whether you’re running a factory or managing a team, this one’s for you.
Tune in for fresh insights, a challenge to spark honest conversations about volatility, and a call to lead with trust—even when the rules keep changing.
