Recent scrutiny of the Post Office Horizon scandal, in particular, has thrown questions around ethical business and good governance into stark relief. So what would happen if the threshold for being convicted for corporate wrongdoing was somehow lowered? What could this look like in practice – and what could be the potential unintended consequences? Academics Alison Taylor and Andrew Kakabadse debate.

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With Barclays Bank, Boots, JD Sports and Dell Technologies among some of the big names to have asked staff to spend a certain percentage of their time at their desks, 2024 has very much been the year of the return-to-office mandate. But what’s the evidence in favour or against? And, with tribunals in this area mounting, what happens if employees just don’t play ball? Academic Gemma Dale and HR leader Tim Mitchell discuss.  

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Most would agree that people shouldn’t be promoted into line management roles just because they've been at the company a while or are competent technical performers. Which means there is no reason why a talented young employee, with good EQ, shouldn’t be an older person’s boss. But how does this work in practice? Author Mark Beal and Gen Z manager Lea Karam advise.

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Should you ever send a bot to a meeting in your place? Will the advent of ChatGPT et al eventually mean people lose the skill to write from scratch? Should all employers be racing to hire prompt engineers? Economist Carl Benedikt Frey and HR leader Natalie Sheils give their expert steers on where generative AI is being most usefully applied in the workplace at present – and where it could go next.

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The UK’s National Health Service is in such a parlous state that the new government should declare it a national emergency, a commission of experts recently declared. So what would happen if it were no more? Where would this leave employers? And is it, in fact, time we considered a different healthcare model in the UK anyway? Professor Cary Cooper and policy adviser Charlotte Wickens give their prognoses.

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Once upon a time, if the likes of Google or Netflix were up to something, it wouldn’t be long before other employers followed suit (think stack ranking, radical honesty, ping-pong tables…) But, given the headlines over recent years around issues such as overwork and lack of diversity – to name just two – is it time we looked elsewhere for inspiration? Authors Bruce Daisley and Marissa Orr think it is.

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During the Covid-19 lockdowns we all gained a renewed appreciation for frontline workers – healthcare professionals in particular, but also delivery drivers and supermarket staff. So why do we pay some of those doing jobs with arguably the most real-world impact the least? Should we pay them more, or would this lead to unintended economic consequences? Academics Zeynep Ton and Julian Jessop discuss.

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‘Unconscious bias’ has not enjoyed the best of reputations over the last few years, with much training labelled ineffective, and concerns around the concept being used to justify what is actually fully conscious, overt prejudice. So is it just fact that everyone is biassed on a purely subconscious level? And if so, what should HR and EDI professionals do about it? Academics Keon West and Pragya Agarwal advise. 

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To become a farrier (fitting horseshoes) in the UK, there is a legal requirement to have certain qualifications or experience and to register with a regulatory body before practising. No such requirement exists for HR – but should it? The CIPD’s David D’Souza and ‘father of HR’ Dave Ulrich explore what the advantages – and disadvantages – of more direct, explicit professional oversight might be.

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Rules drawn up by ITV following the Phillip Schofield scandal mean staff must now declare all workplace relationships – including friendships – to the broadcaster or risk losing their jobs. But is such a system workable in practice? And might it have a chilling effect on positive working relations? Organisational psychologist Susan Hetrick and friendship app founder Claudia Gård explore how HR should approach this perennially knotty topic. 

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Many people’s lives now feel fully ‘back to normal’ several years after Covid-19 lockdowns, almost as if the pandemic never happened... But should the possibility of another deadly virus be more heavily factored into how workplaces organise themselves, and how businesses approach risk management? And what other ‘unexpected’ events should also be on our radars, ask academics Cassandra Berry and David Alexander.  

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Some of today’s most high-profile leaders make no secret of micro dosing – the practice of ingesting small amounts of psychedelic substances to enhance creativity and leadership. Could this one day become the norm in workplaces? And what are the dangers? Business leader and psychedelics-for-wellbeing advocate Sandra Statz and Imperial College London professor David Nutt discuss.

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Many might be unaware that the pandemic led to the greatest ever surge in billionaire wealth globally. So is it time to take steps towards wealth redistribution? Or would doing so put the brakes on the ambition and vision that creates jobs and opportunities for everyone? Financial journalist David Bain and angel investor and Patriotic Millionaire UK member Julia Davies discuss.  

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Is calling for an individual or institution to be boycotted ever justified, or productive? Or do we just need to grow thicker skins against offensive comments, if we want to protect free speech? And what about those from less privileged, diverse backgrounds trying to avoid triggering content? Work. puts all this to HR director Neil Morrison and founder of freespeechunion.org Toby Young 

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Have the people of this country – as Michael Gove had it back in 2016 – simply had enough of experts? HR leader Amanda Arrowsmith and AI expert Rob McCargow explore how the notion of expertise is being impacted by technology, societal norms and polarising viewpoints. And what that means for work, skills and the functioning of society at large.

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In the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, many are trying desperately to expect the unexpected – to anticipate the next ‘unthinkable’ global crisis. But are there bigger threats to worry about in relation to China – most notably security- and surveillance-related? Work. puts this all to academic Rana Mitter and former diplomat Charlie Parton.

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In a world of work that looks very different to even five or 10 years ago, is employment legislation in the UK fit for purpose? Do any regulations stifle growth for smaller businesses especially, or do they provide necessary protection for workers and bosses alike? Professor Len Shackleton and employment law consultant Kate Palmer explore.

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What if… you could brainwash staff? 

Whether deployed knowingly or not, ‘choice architecture’ is everywhere in the workplace, from encouraging people to move about more, to reminding them to practise better cyber security. But is application of nudge theory always ethical? And do rapid advances in neurotechnology – or mind reading – complicate the issue? Academics Nick Chater and Nita Farahany discuss. 

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Why, come 2023, is childcare still perceived as a predominantly ‘female’ domain by so many? Why is leave at the start of a child’s life still very rarely shared by parents? Do we need to scrap the current system of SPL in the UK? Academics Sarah Jackson and Michael Kimmel discuss.

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The way many people now work post pandemic is almost unrecognisable compared to how this looked before, raising the question of whether formal employment contracts have had their day. Academics Peter Cappelli and Ranjay Gulati explore what it might mean for the future of organisational culture and employee loyalty if we all essentially became contractors.

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