Humans have a complicated relationship with meetings. We need to meet but we don't always do it well. Hybrid work adds another tricky layer.  Host Melanie Green explores our love-hate relationship with meetings, why they matter, and how they could even be the highlight of the day.

For many, hybrid work presents an opportunity for companies and employees to change how they work. But at the same time a lot of people are nervous about getting back to the office. They’re grappling with a lack of flexibility, the hassle of the daily commute, and finding work life balance. Remote Works is your personal hybrid work survival guide. We’re digging into the big questions about how work is changing again. Questions about how and where we meet now. Security. And what Gen Z can teach the rest of us about the new hybrid workplace. This episode is all about back to the office jitters. We’ll hear how Ultima, a company in the UK, is easing people back into the office with its own unique blueprint for a new hybrid workplace. Later in the episode, psychotherapist Joyce Marter will give her biggest takeaways for easing the anxiety that comes with heading back to the office.

As we make a shift to hybrid work, business leaders and companies are seizing the opportunity to build a successful work model that will last for years to come. Our host Melanie Green explores how we hold on to work life balance and keep everyone on equal footing in and out of the office as the way we work evolves.

We end this season with a listener favorite. Host Melanie Green invites three experts to join her for a look at the future of work: Dave Cook, a researcher who was studying remote work long before most of the world had heard of it, Matthew Metelsky, a tech guru who understands the importance of the human side of IT, and Dean Sevin Yeltekin, a business school dean who is preparing her students for a radically different way of working.

The numbers are jarring. Since March 2020, nearly 2.5 million women have left the U.S. workforce, compared with 1.8 million men. One of the women who left was Farida Mercedes. Before the pandemic, Farida was on a fast-track in a corporate job she loved. But then she made the tough decision to leave. We'll hear Farida's story. We'll also hear from Laura Zarrow, Executive Director of People Analytics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, about some of the reasons women have been dropping out of the workforce, and how data and flexible work could bring them back.

We've all felt it at some point this year: Tired and wired. This episode is all about data and well-being. Host Mel Green and Amy Haworth, Citrix’s Senior Director of Employee Experience, embark on a two-week experiment with wearable tech to gain a little insight into their own well-being. Red Bull Racing Performance Coach David Osgathorp steps in to have a look at Mel’s results and says the most important thing to look at is sleep data. When we sleep well we’re more productive, more creative and more engaged. Amy reflects on how she’ll use her data to make changes in her day, and offers big picture advice on how business leaders can keep the well-being of employees front and center.

Did you know that your desk speaks volumes about you? Environmental psychology consultant Lily Bernheimer analyzes host Mel Green’s desk personality type. Lily says that knowing our type can help us design our own physical workspaces in a way that will help us work better - whether we’re setting up in a coffee shop, dining room, office, or all of the above. Then we move into the digital workspace with James Bulpin, Citrix’s Senior Principal Engineer in the Emerging Solutions Team. James offers tips and insight into how digital design can make our lives easier. It can remove distractions that stretch out the work day. It can reduce the number of passwords we have to remember. And it can allow us to work from many devices in many locations. Ultimately, good design can help us succeed in work and have time for play.

Flexible work has empowered people to choose where they want to live. This past year there has been a shift away from large urban centres in the U.S. The number of people moving out of big cities in 2020 was far greater than in 2019. We’ll find out where they’re going and what the shift means for housing markets, for flexible workers and for the companies they work for.

So you're embracing flexible work. That could mean less commuting, fewer takeout lunches and a lot less stress on the environment, right? Yes, but there's more to the equation. Hear from Paul Dickinson from CDP on how companies need to reconsider how they define sustainability, and how to truly make flexible work a viable option for a long time to come.

In 1918, when the Spanish Flu was ravaging America, Baseball gave people something to cheer about. Now, over a hundred years later, Baseball is again helping us learn how to cheer again – and this time Major League Baseball® has been doing it remotely. Host Melanie Green finds out how America’s Favorite Pastime is working and playing remotely. Noah Garden Chief Revenue Officer of Major League Baseball® walks us through how MLB® has shifted just about everything they do to embrace a flexible work environment. Now they’re planning for the digital future of Baseball – enhancing fan and employee experience while preserving all the best elements of the game.