Well, AI isn't just making waves—it's creating tsunamis! AI agents are here, and they're nothing like the ChatGPT you've been using. Meanwhile, employee engagement has hit rock bottom, and Harvard is making a $200K promise that could change higher education forever.
In this episode, workplace experts (us, Mel & Francesca) break down:
⏰ 3:15 AI agents: Clippy on meth? How these digital assistants could save you an entire workday (and maybe get us to a 4-day workweek!)
⏰ 9:42 Engagement crisis: Only 30% of employees feel connected to their company's mission (yikes!) and it's costing the global economy $8.8 TRILLION
⏰ 17:30 Harvard's big move: Free tuition for families making under $200K—game-changer or PR stunt?
⏰ 21:15 Pour one out for Forever 21: The retail giant that got us through our 20s files for bankruptcy
🔥 CAREER ADVICE YOU CAN USE TODAY:
- Why you should embrace AI agents now (before your colleagues do)
- The simple thing managers can do to boost engagement when everyone's burned out
- How to prepare for the coming talent war in 2030
- What Harvard's tuition change means for accessing elite education
CONNECT WITH US: Website: https://yourworkfriends.com and on the socials.
kijqi3kgV3TDP3ccWW6U
#AIAgents #EmployeeEngagement #WorkplaceTrends #HarvardTuition #4DayWorkweek
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.
Thanks for listening!
Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I want to talk about AI agents.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I love it.
It seems like clippy on speed.
Yeah, maybe meth.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hey, welcome to your work friends.
I'm Francesca and I'm Mel.
Thank you for joining us on ourlittle indie workplace, pod, If
you like what you're hearingplease feel free to subscribe,
and the more that you like,subscribe and share, it helps us
keep going.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
All right, mel, what's going on?
Yeah, listen, you can't tell meanything bad today, because
tomorrow is the first day ofspring.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is Just for folks on the
line.
It is St Patrick's Day.
I'm just ready, just ready.
We have this tree outside ourfront yard, yeah, and this
weekend we looked out and thingsare starting to bud a little
bit so exciting.
But we have this family of bluejays and cardinals in this one
(01:09):
tree.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Oh, it's so complex, yeah, what's?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
going on here.
Little meeting, little Disneyprincess action in my front yard
.
I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, I should go out there and sing to them in the
morning I plan to.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My neighbors will think I'm crazy, but that's all
right, it's good.
It's a good thing.
What's going on?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
with.
You Got to give theneighborhood Listen.
We are missing a tooth in ourhouse.
Hey yeah, enzo lost one of hisbottom teeth, proceeded to put
it on the counter.
I went back for it.
I asked him where is it?
He does not know.
Either the dog ate it or it'sloose in the house somewhere.
Either is equally disgustingand Lucyinate it.
(01:44):
We just have teeth floatingaround my house.
Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it.
At least you don't have acollection?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I do.
Have you got a little jar ofbaby teeth?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, there is teeth.
I'm like what the hell am Isupposed to do with this?
But then I'm like, oh cheap,yeah, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
You could get a molar gold plated as a little
necklace charm.
Time Gross.
Why are we?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
so weird.
All right, mel, what are youtalking about today?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I have two topics.
I want to talk about Gallup'srecent article that came out on
the 11th, talking about thepost-pandemic workplace the
experiment continues.
And then also just some reallygood news around Harvard, making
tuition free for more students.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Okay, harvard Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Harvard I like to see it?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, I like to see it.
What are you talking about?
Quite the endowment, so that'snice.
Yeah, nothing to see here.
Move over LLMs and apps.
Ai agents are the next bigthing.
I have a theory that AI agentsare the thing that's going to
get us to the four-day work week.
I want to talk about AI agents.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I love it.
It seems like Clippy on speed.
Yeah, maybe meth Everything wewish Clippy was back in the
early 2000s.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I know, I think it's a missed opportunity not
bringing Clippy back.
Yeah, truly.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Someone please help it out.
It's right there.
It's right there.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
All right, Mel, what's going on with Gallup?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Okay.
So Gallup put out an article onthe 11th called the
Post-Pandemic Workplace.
The Experiment Continues andessentially they're highlighting
how the pandemic reallyreshaped workplaces dramatically
, obviously making hybrid workmore common, a bunch of other
things, but also some of theunintended side effects that are
happening.
One employee engagement andconnection are at all-time lows.
(03:32):
That's what I'm actually goingto focus on.
They also touch on mentalhealth challenges having risen
and managers are increasinglyfeeling burned out.
By the way, one of their statsthere was that managers are more
likely to quit than theemployees they manage.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You're like peace, you do this.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I understand you and I spoke about this a few weeks
ago on New Week New Headlineshow, houston, we have a manager
problem, there's a mass exodusand Gen Z doesn't want that job.
Managers are just gettingsandwiched with everything right
now, so I have real empathy forthem.
But I want to talk aboutemployee engagement, because
what they noted was thatengagement and connection are at
(04:14):
all time lows.
Employee engagement, as we know, fell to a 10-year low by 2024.
Oh shit, oh yeah, it's prettygrim.
Only 30% of employees feelconnected to their company's
mission or purpose.
That's another record low.
You're going to hear a commontheme here where they're like
historic low, record low.
Only 44% of employees stronglyagree they know what's expected
(04:38):
of them at work.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
That's not surprising , you and I not surprising.
We hear that all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yep, we hear it all the time.
We're researching it forreciprocal work, right the boss,
employee relationship.
This is a huge gap.
Only 28% of employees stronglyagree that they're proud of the
products and services that theirorganization offers.
Another historic low.
Did you say 28%?
28%, yikes, yeah, that's a lotof disconnect happening here.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Your employees are one of the best manifestations
and best communicators of yourbrand, and if they're not proud
of that, whoops.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Only 21% of employees saythey've received meaningful
feedback from their manager inthe past week.
You and I talk about this allthe time.
Yeah, this performancemanagement gap, that's really
happening here Hygiene yeah,yeah, but managers are burnt out
.
So there's this trifecta ofthings happening, and then
(05:37):
Gallup is estimating that thepoor engagement is costing the
global economy $8.8 trillionannually, and about 9% of global
GDP.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Wow, I believe it.
This is the thing, this number.
Okay, can I just say this youand I obviously have spent our
life doing workplace stuff.
We've also been covering thisfor the last 18 months on this
pod and every month it getsworse and worse.
It's costing us more and more.
It's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Yeah, fascinating.
Yeah, look, I think leaders areneeding to pay attention to
these issues because it'sdirectly impacting productivity
retention.
Ultimately, it's yourorganization's success that is
getting damaged, and it's goingto leave severe and lasting
consequences and you and I talkabout this all the time If these
(06:26):
things don't start gettingaddressed really quickly.
That war on talent that we keeptalking about, we've talked the
silver tsunami is coming.
We're five years away, folks,2030, all of these things are
coming to a head around the sametime, so now is the time to
start really paying attention toyour organization.
What you need to do here,what's going to happen Look, the
workplace post COVID and nowwith AI as well, I'd like to add
(06:49):
is still an experiment inprogress, as Gallup likes to
point out.
Our advice to you stay informed,stay engaged.
Don't wait for the next wave ofchange to catch you off guard.
Especially if you're anemployee, if you're a manager
and especially if you're anorganization, you really need to
start zeroing in on like whereis your org at in these numbers?
Even in this state, though,there are core things that
(07:11):
remain true, and you and Ialways talk about these core
things.
Employees want clarity.
They don't want guesswork.
Orgs need to focus on makingexpectations clear, investing in
manager support, reestablishingyour company's purpose to keep
teams connected, because apaycheck isn't enough.
People want to feel value, theywant to feel heard, they want
(07:32):
to be heard, they want to bepart of something, and when they
don't get that, it does impactyour business profit, because it
isn't just a nice to have, it'sa non-negotiable.
I'm just going to leave it atthat.
So get out there, read it.
Really interesting stuff, but,man, shocking.
That 28% was really shocking.
They don't feel connected towhat you do, or yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, it's a little sad because I think a lot of
organizations are sitting onsuch great potential to rally
your folks right, to get peoplebehind a vision.
I don't care what you're doing,I don't care if you're a
trucking line, if you're Google,if you're Airbnb.
Clear messages, though.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Clear themes.
Clear things happening.
Very clear yeah, if you donothing else in the next six
months to a year, at a minimummeasure where your org is at on
each of these things.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I would argue too, if you're a manager, the easiest
thing you can do is haveconsistent one-on-ones Ask
people how they are, make surethey're clear on what they need
to do, give them feedback.
That is like the most basicthing you can do that will give
you the most return 100%.
So here's the thing If you'reworking right now, you are
(08:45):
talking about AI, you're hearingabout AI, you're probably using
chat, gpt or clot or perplexityat work, at home, at home.
Potentially, that is like weused to say in retail.
That's so L Y, because now wehave AI agents.
Obviously, we've been talkingabout this for the last six to
seven months.
You're starting to see more andmore companies integrate them,
(09:07):
like you have Microsoft co-pilot, salesforce has one, workday is
coming out with one, oracle hasone, and I wanted to make sure
that everyone got what the hellan AI agent is, because if
you're not entrenched in thisall the time, you won't know
what it is.
So let's take a minute and talkabout what AI agents are, what
you can use them for, what thebenefits will be to you as an
(09:29):
employee and also what might besome drawbacks.
Talking about managers here andthen, if you really want to get
into this and I'd recommendeveryone get into it get excited
about AI agents.
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Let's do it.
A few months ago, allie KMiller, who's like the AI go-to,
wrote a really great article onhow to set up your own AI agent
, and I was very tempted to doit, and then I was afraid about
securities.
Yeah, I'm excited to talk aboutthis.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
I think about an AI agent as like a helper that can
do tasks, they can make choices,they can help you get stuff
done.
The thing that's interestingabout AI agents is they not only
do what you ask, but they alsoknow what you need and help you
out.
They'll finish multiple tasksfor you, as opposed to right now
, chatgpt or a large languagemodel where you ask it a
(10:16):
question and then it gives youan answer, and then you ask it
another and then it gives you ananswer.
Ai agents could do multiplethings at once and basically be
your little assistant on theside.
Truly.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, my favorite AI agent video recently was someone
updating their website on theside, so all they did was set it
and forget it, and they werewatching it to the updates for
them.
Which hours of time saved.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
That's the thing.
They can work on their own.
And the thing with AI agents,too, is they get better over
time.
Very exciting stuff.
Just a prime example of thislet's say you're at work and you
ask your AI agent.
We'll call your AI agent, alex.
You say to Alex I need you toplan next week's team meeting,
and so Alex is going to go outand check everyone's schedule,
find the best time, send theinvites, create an agenda based
(11:05):
on past meetings and even remindyou about follow-ups after the
meeting is over.
That's an AI agent.
Okay, very different than alarge language model.
Still using AI as the back canwork on its own, complete
multiple tasks and get smarteras it goes along.
Who doesn't want that?
Other ways you can look at ittoo email help.
They can sort your emails, putimportant ones first, write them
(11:26):
back.
They can help you sort throughdata, make better choices, make
reports.
They can do calendar planninglike setting up.
I fucking hate setting meetingsup.
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
That one task alone.
Oh my God, that's why.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I love having an admin Go away yeah, but now you
can have an AI agent that's justtaking care of all of it right
Setting up the meetings,updating the calendar, reminding
you, helping customers as well.
We're starting to see some ofthis in bookkeeping and in
accounting.
I almost think about it, aseverybody's got a coordinator
now.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
All right, it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Just to give you a lay of the land around AI agents
and what will this look likenext year?
Because we already know what itlooks like this year with
ChatGPT and Claude in 2025.
We're starting to see AI agents.
Next year, ai agents will beeverywhere.
So what's it going to look like?
It'll be part of every workdayand it'll be hopefully running a
(12:16):
little bit smoother.
There's some upsides to this.
There's some things I'd like usto consider as well.
Right, it's projected that by2026, 20% of organizations will
use AI to flatten theirstructures.
Potentially, economic Timescame out with an article last
year with those predictions andyou can see that, because AI
(12:37):
agents can save basically rightnow, in 2025, on average, one
full workday of work foreveryone.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
They're projecting that by 2026, they could even
save at least two to three daysof work and or do two to three
days of work for somebodyGetting more done absolutely on
the table.
I would love for everyone tothink about this as an
opportunity and not will AI takemy job?
(13:07):
Do not think about this, asthey're here to replace you,
right?
They're here to work with you.
That's the way I would go intothis.
Think about what they can do todo your most boring, repetitive
tasks that follow some clearrules of thinking that leaves
you to do more creative thinking, more of the human-centered
work, understanding feelings,making tough choices.
The best teams will have folksthat can do that really
(13:29):
sophisticated, human-centeredwork, strategic work, and AI
agents doing some of the kind ofthe work that a lot of us don't
even want to do anyway.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Like orgs really need to think and get clear about
what the future of work lookslike for each role within their
organization.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
You have people trying to figure this out and to
your very good point in thisdiscussion for at least 10 years
.
And I still haven't seen a lotof organizations really make big
swags of change.
We just did that report theother week about only 13% of
organizations are activelyreskilling their people right
now.
Right, okay, that tells mewe're not there and AI agents
(14:06):
are here, and so there's goingto be some friction and AI
agents are here, and so there'sgoing to be some friction.
Here's the thing.
What can you do to get ready?
Here's my recommendation, ifyou can.
So right now, openai you canget an AI agent and make your
own AI agent.
All right, on OpenAI, that's200 bucks a month.
(14:27):
You could do that.
Here's my other recommendation,so you don't have to spend
money.
One is ask in your organization.
If you don't know, start to asklike where are AI agents in the
systems that you're using?
If you use Workday Oracle,salesforce, microsoft, there is
an AI agent in that, and if theyhaven't embedded it already, it
(14:50):
is coming.
Ask if it's there, ask whenit'll be there and put yourself
as number one to be on the listto get it, if you can, because
be an early, early adapter.
Do not get afraid by this stuff.
Honestly, in my experience,with all technology coming from
an elder coming from an elder,the worst thing you can do is
(15:12):
run away from it.
The best thing you can do isrun face forward into it and
figure out how it's going towork for you.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, test little things.
Test it on something dumb.
Scan my email for tasks that Ineed to do and organize it for
me.
Put it in a project plan for me.
Do that.
A minimal at a minimal test set.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I think these are exciting.
I'm stoked for this.
I also feel like this is goingto move very quickly.
The people that have been usingit and can teach everyone else
how to use it and be the earlieradopters are going to win.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
A hundred percent.
I was thinking when you saidit'll, by next year it'll be
everywhere.
I was like in three months itwill be everywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
From an enterprise perspective.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
That's everything's going on a three month clip.
We're going quarter by quarterreleases and that sort of thing.
I feel like one of the reasonswhy LLMs got so much traction so
quickly because they have thefreemium versions of things 200
bucks a month.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, that's still not cost effective for a lot of
people, and I would be very waryof trying something that's free
from an agent perspectivebecause of the level of access
it receives.
There's a lot of free stuff outthere.
This is a little different,though, I think, from a security
standpoint.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
When it's free, you're the product.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
What's your FBO?
So Harvard is going to maketuition free for more students,
which is very exciting.
Well, how do you like them?
Apples Good one.
Well, how do you like them?
Apples Good one, all right.
Harvard is making a major shift.
Families earning $200,000 orless will now pay no tuition.
It's not just aboutaffordability.
(16:55):
According to the article in theNew York Times, it's a
strategic move to maintaindiversity and access and higher
education After that SupremeCourt ruling that struck down
affirmative action and highereducation.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
After that Supreme Court ruling that struck down
affirmative action, anybodythat's under $200,000 or is like
they're getting five, fivescholarships away.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Good call.
Previously, only familiesmaking under $85,000 qualified
for free tuition.
Now a much larger pool willbenefit from this.
This move follows similarpolicies that we saw recently
with MIT, penn other eliteuniversities that are moving in
this direction after thatSupreme Court decision.
It also comes at a time whenconfidence in higher ed is
declining significantly anduniversities are facing a lot of
(17:34):
scrutiny from political leaders.
Why does this matter?
Because access to eliteeducation is often a pipeline to
top careers and leadershiproles, as you and I both know.
In expanding and we have thatawesome talk with Braden Olson
around socioeconomic status andhow that is actually the number
one indicator of someone'sfuture success is where they
start and how they're like.
(17:54):
That's our biggest discrepancyin success.
So expanding financial aidcould make a real impact on who
gets a seat at the table in thefuture, one of the things this
article calls out, though timewill tell if this is really
going to be a benefit or if it'sa PR strategy play, so
something for us to track andwatch.
I'd like to think that this isnot just a PR strategy play and
(18:18):
that they really are trying tolevel the playing field, so I
like to see it.
Keep it coming.
I hope more universities do itquite frankly, because access to
education should be expanded,especially at elite universities
.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah, I love seeing that the elite universities are
going first.
I don't think Harvard has a PRissue right now in terms of
getting a massive endowment,like when you look at MIT, when
you look at Pitt, like these aremassive schools that have
massive endowments.
The fact that they're goingfirst here and $200,000 is not
chump change right that is.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
That's a great number .
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, it's a great number.
It's a great number, so I'mstoked for that.
I am absolutely stoked for that.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
They don't and you don't have to do it.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
This is my other thing Like when you're seeing
some of these organizations dothings that they don't have to
do, especially now.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah.
I'm for it.
Yeah, I'm so for it.
So to me, this is FI news Gofor it.
Don't count yourself out.
If you're a student consideringone of these elite institutions
, apply.
Yeah, I love to see it.
What's?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
your sad one, Dude.
Did you hear Forever 21 filedfor I?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
know.
I just sent my girlfriend incollege a note and said do we
need to pour one out for Forever21 for getting us through our
20s?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
The funny thing was, a couple of days ago I was
thinking like, is Forever 21even still a thing?
And I don't remember the firsttime I was in one, but remember
it was like the shit.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Listen, we all had an outfit.
It was black pants and a nicetop, and then it turned to jeans
and a nice top.
And where did you get thosetops?
Forever 21.
You could always count on goingin and coming out the Union
Square Forever 21.
Did you ever go into that?
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yes, I know exactly which one you're talking about.
Yes, eight floors Just get lost.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah, and for a hundred bucks you had 10 new
outfits.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Oh my God, it was the best Because it was like a
treasure hunt.
Plus, it was oh, this lookslike it's all peach and frilly,
but it was all like.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yeah, I was like Forever 21 walked, so Shein
could run.
Oh, forever 21.
I know, thank you, thank youfor the good times.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
We appreciate you and I'll take.
I am.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Oh, okay, I know Forever 21.
I am oh okay, I know forever 21.
This episode was produced,edited and all things by us
myself, mel plett and francescarennery.
Our music is by pink zebra andif you loved this conversation
and you want to contribute yourthoughts with us, please do.
(20:50):
You can visit us atyourworkfriendscom, but you can
also join us over on LinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn communitypage and we have the TikToks and
Instagrams.
So please join us in thesocials.
And if you like this and you'vebenefited from this episode and
you think someone else canbenefit from this episode,
please rate and subscribe.
(21:11):
We'd really appreciate it.
That helps keep us going.
Take care, friends.
Bye, friends, thank you.
I want to talk about AI agents.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I love it.
It seems like clippy on speed.
Yeah, maybe meth.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hey, welcome to your work friends.
I'm Francesca and I'm Mel.
Thank you for joining us on ourlittle indie workplace, pod, If
you like what you're hearingplease feel free to subscribe,
and the more that you like,subscribe and share, it helps us
keep going.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
All right, mel, what's going on?
Yeah, listen, you can't tell meanything bad today, because
tomorrow is the first day ofspring.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
No, it's not.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is Just for folks on the
line.
It is St Patrick's Day.
I'm just ready, just ready.
We have this tree outside ourfront yard, yeah, and this
weekend we looked out and thingsare starting to bud a little
bit so exciting.
But we have this family of bluejays and cardinals in this one
(01:09):
tree.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Oh, it's so complex, yeah, what's?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
going on here.
Little meeting, little Disneyprincess action in my front yard
.
I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, I should go out there and sing to them in the
morning I plan to.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My neighbors will think I'm crazy, but that's all
right, it's good.
It's a good thing.
What's going on?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
with.
You Got to give theneighborhood Listen.
We are missing a tooth in ourhouse.
Hey yeah, enzo lost one of hisbottom teeth, proceeded to put
it on the counter.
I went back for it.
I asked him where is it?
He does not know.
Either the dog ate it or it'sloose in the house somewhere.
Either is equally disgustingand Lucyinate it.
(01:44):
We just have teeth floatingaround my house.
Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it.
At least you don't have acollection?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I do.
Have you got a little jar ofbaby teeth?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, there is teeth.
I'm like what the hell am Isupposed to do with this?
But then I'm like, oh cheap,yeah, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
You could get a molar gold plated as a little
necklace charm.
Time Gross.
Why are we?
Speaker 1 (02:04):
so weird.
All right, mel, what are youtalking about today?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I have two topics.
I want to talk about Gallup'srecent article that came out on
the 11th, talking about thepost-pandemic workplace the
experiment continues.
And then also just some reallygood news around Harvard, making
tuition free for more students.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Okay, harvard Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Harvard I like to see it?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, I like to see it.
What are you talking about?
Quite the endowment, so that'snice.
Yeah, nothing to see here.
Move over LLMs and apps.
Ai agents are the next bigthing.
I have a theory that AI agentsare the thing that's going to
get us to the four-day work week.
I want to talk about AI agents.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I love it.
It seems like Clippy on speed.
Yeah, maybe meth Everything wewish Clippy was back in the
early 2000s.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I know, I think it's a missed opportunity not
bringing Clippy back.
Yeah, truly.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Someone please help it out.
It's right there.
It's right there.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
All right, Mel, what's going on with Gallup?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Okay.
So Gallup put out an article onthe 11th called the
Post-Pandemic Workplace.
The Experiment Continues andessentially they're highlighting
how the pandemic reallyreshaped workplaces dramatically
, obviously making hybrid workmore common, a bunch of other
things, but also some of theunintended side effects that are
happening.
One employee engagement andconnection are at all-time lows.
(03:32):
That's what I'm actually goingto focus on.
They also touch on mentalhealth challenges having risen
and managers are increasinglyfeeling burned out.
By the way, one of their statsthere was that managers are more
likely to quit than theemployees they manage.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You're like peace, you do this.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I understand you and I spoke about this a few weeks
ago on New Week New Headlineshow, houston, we have a manager
problem, there's a mass exodusand Gen Z doesn't want that job.
Managers are just gettingsandwiched with everything right
now, so I have real empathy forthem.
But I want to talk aboutemployee engagement, because
what they noted was thatengagement and connection are at
(04:14):
all time lows.
Employee engagement, as we know, fell to a 10-year low by 2024.
Oh shit, oh yeah, it's prettygrim.
Only 30% of employees feelconnected to their company's
mission or purpose.
That's another record low.
You're going to hear a commontheme here where they're like
historic low, record low.
Only 44% of employees stronglyagree they know what's expected
(04:38):
of them at work.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
That's not surprising , you and I not surprising.
We hear that all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yep, we hear it all the time.
We're researching it forreciprocal work, right the boss,
employee relationship.
This is a huge gap.
Only 28% of employees stronglyagree that they're proud of the
products and services that theirorganization offers.
Another historic low.
Did you say 28%?
28%, yikes, yeah, that's a lotof disconnect happening here.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Your employees are one of the best manifestations
and best communicators of yourbrand, and if they're not proud
of that, whoops.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Only 21% of employees saythey've received meaningful
feedback from their manager inthe past week.
You and I talk about this allthe time.
Yeah, this performancemanagement gap, that's really
happening here Hygiene yeah,yeah, but managers are burnt out
.
So there's this trifecta ofthings happening, and then
(05:37):
Gallup is estimating that thepoor engagement is costing the
global economy $8.8 trillionannually, and about 9% of global
GDP.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Wow, I believe it.
This is the thing, this number.
Okay, can I just say this youand I obviously have spent our
life doing workplace stuff.
We've also been covering thisfor the last 18 months on this
pod and every month it getsworse and worse.
It's costing us more and more.
It's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Yeah, fascinating.
Yeah, look, I think leaders areneeding to pay attention to
these issues because it'sdirectly impacting productivity
retention.
Ultimately, it's yourorganization's success that is
getting damaged, and it's goingto leave severe and lasting
consequences and you and I talkabout this all the time If these
(06:26):
things don't start gettingaddressed really quickly.
That war on talent that we keeptalking about, we've talked the
silver tsunami is coming.
We're five years away, folks,2030, all of these things are
coming to a head around the sametime, so now is the time to
start really paying attention toyour organization.
What you need to do here,what's going to happen Look, the
workplace post COVID and nowwith AI as well, I'd like to add
(06:49):
is still an experiment inprogress, as Gallup likes to
point out.
Our advice to you stay informed,stay engaged.
Don't wait for the next wave ofchange to catch you off guard.
Especially if you're anemployee, if you're a manager
and especially if you're anorganization, you really need to
start zeroing in on like whereis your org at in these numbers?
Even in this state, though,there are core things that
(07:11):
remain true, and you and Ialways talk about these core
things.
Employees want clarity.
They don't want guesswork.
Orgs need to focus on makingexpectations clear, investing in
manager support, reestablishingyour company's purpose to keep
teams connected, because apaycheck isn't enough.
People want to feel value, theywant to feel heard, they want
(07:32):
to be heard, they want to bepart of something, and when they
don't get that, it does impactyour business profit, because it
isn't just a nice to have, it'sa non-negotiable.
I'm just going to leave it atthat.
So get out there, read it.
Really interesting stuff, but,man, shocking.
That 28% was really shocking.
They don't feel connected towhat you do, or yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, it's a little sad because I think a lot of
organizations are sitting onsuch great potential to rally
your folks right, to get peoplebehind a vision.
I don't care what you're doing,I don't care if you're a
trucking line, if you're Google,if you're Airbnb.
Clear messages, though.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Clear themes.
Clear things happening.
Very clear yeah, if you donothing else in the next six
months to a year, at a minimummeasure where your org is at on
each of these things.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I would argue too, if you're a manager, the easiest
thing you can do is haveconsistent one-on-ones Ask
people how they are, make surethey're clear on what they need
to do, give them feedback.
That is like the most basicthing you can do that will give
you the most return 100%.
So here's the thing If you'reworking right now, you are
(08:45):
talking about AI, you're hearingabout AI, you're probably using
chat, gpt or clot or perplexityat work, at home, at home.
Potentially, that is like weused to say in retail.
That's so L Y, because now wehave AI agents.
Obviously, we've been talkingabout this for the last six to
seven months.
You're starting to see more andmore companies integrate them,
(09:07):
like you have Microsoft co-pilot, salesforce has one, workday is
coming out with one, oracle hasone, and I wanted to make sure
that everyone got what the hellan AI agent is, because if
you're not entrenched in thisall the time, you won't know
what it is.
So let's take a minute and talkabout what AI agents are, what
you can use them for, what thebenefits will be to you as an
(09:29):
employee and also what might besome drawbacks.
Talking about managers here andthen, if you really want to get
into this and I'd recommendeveryone get into it get excited
about AI agents.
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Let's do it.
A few months ago, allie KMiller, who's like the AI go-to,
wrote a really great article onhow to set up your own AI agent
, and I was very tempted to doit, and then I was afraid about
securities.
Yeah, I'm excited to talk aboutthis.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
I think about an AI agent as like a helper that can
do tasks, they can make choices,they can help you get stuff
done.
The thing that's interestingabout AI agents is they not only
do what you ask, but they alsoknow what you need and help you
out.
They'll finish multiple tasksfor you, as opposed to right now
, chatgpt or a large languagemodel where you ask it a
(10:16):
question and then it gives youan answer, and then you ask it
another and then it gives you ananswer.
Ai agents could do multiplethings at once and basically be
your little assistant on theside.
Truly.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, my favorite AI agent video recently was someone
updating their website on theside, so all they did was set it
and forget it, and they werewatching it to the updates for
them.
Which hours of time saved.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
That's the thing.
They can work on their own.
And the thing with AI agents,too, is they get better over
time.
Very exciting stuff.
Just a prime example of thislet's say you're at work and you
ask your AI agent.
We'll call your AI agent, alex.
You say to Alex I need you toplan next week's team meeting,
and so Alex is going to go outand check everyone's schedule,
find the best time, send theinvites, create an agenda based
(11:05):
on past meetings and even remindyou about follow-ups after the
meeting is over.
That's an AI agent.
Okay, very different than alarge language model.
Still using AI as the back canwork on its own, complete
multiple tasks and get smarteras it goes along.
Who doesn't want that?
Other ways you can look at ittoo email help.
They can sort your emails, putimportant ones first, write them
(11:26):
back.
They can help you sort throughdata, make better choices, make
reports.
They can do calendar planninglike setting up.
I fucking hate setting meetingsup.
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
That one task alone.
Oh my God, that's why.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I love having an admin Go away yeah, but now you
can have an AI agent that's justtaking care of all of it right
Setting up the meetings,updating the calendar, reminding
you, helping customers as well.
We're starting to see some ofthis in bookkeeping and in
accounting.
I almost think about it, aseverybody's got a coordinator
now.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
All right, it's awesome.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Just to give you a lay of the land around AI agents
and what will this look likenext year?
Because we already know what itlooks like this year with
ChatGPT and Claude in 2025.
We're starting to see AI agents.
Next year, ai agents will beeverywhere.
So what's it going to look like?
It'll be part of every workdayand it'll be hopefully running a
(12:16):
little bit smoother.
There's some upsides to this.
There's some things I'd like usto consider as well.
Right, it's projected that by2026, 20% of organizations will
use AI to flatten theirstructures.
Potentially, economic Timescame out with an article last
year with those predictions andyou can see that, because AI
(12:37):
agents can save basically rightnow, in 2025, on average, one
full workday of work foreveryone.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Oh, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
They're projecting that by 2026, they could even
save at least two to three daysof work and or do two to three
days of work for somebodyGetting more done absolutely on
the table.
I would love for everyone tothink about this as an
opportunity and not will AI takemy job?
(13:07):
Do not think about this, asthey're here to replace you,
right?
They're here to work with you.
That's the way I would go intothis.
Think about what they can do todo your most boring, repetitive
tasks that follow some clearrules of thinking that leaves
you to do more creative thinking, more of the human-centered
work, understanding feelings,making tough choices.
The best teams will have folksthat can do that really
(13:29):
sophisticated, human-centeredwork, strategic work, and AI
agents doing some of the kind ofthe work that a lot of us don't
even want to do anyway.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Like orgs really need to think and get clear about
what the future of work lookslike for each role within their
organization.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
You have people trying to figure this out and to
your very good point in thisdiscussion for at least 10 years
.
And I still haven't seen a lotof organizations really make big
swags of change.
We just did that report theother week about only 13% of
organizations are activelyreskilling their people right
now.
Right, okay, that tells mewe're not there and AI agents
(14:06):
are here, and so there's goingto be some friction and AI
agents are here, and so there'sgoing to be some friction.
Here's the thing.
What can you do to get ready?
Here's my recommendation, ifyou can.
So right now, openai you canget an AI agent and make your
own AI agent.
All right, on OpenAI, that's200 bucks a month.
(14:27):
You could do that.
Here's my other recommendation,so you don't have to spend
money.
One is ask in your organization.
If you don't know, start to asklike where are AI agents in the
systems that you're using?
If you use Workday Oracle,salesforce, microsoft, there is
an AI agent in that, and if theyhaven't embedded it already, it
(14:50):
is coming.
Ask if it's there, ask whenit'll be there and put yourself
as number one to be on the listto get it, if you can, because
be an early, early adapter.
Do not get afraid by this stuff.
Honestly, in my experience,with all technology coming from
an elder coming from an elder,the worst thing you can do is
(15:12):
run away from it.
The best thing you can do isrun face forward into it and
figure out how it's going towork for you.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, test little things.
Test it on something dumb.
Scan my email for tasks that Ineed to do and organize it for
me.
Put it in a project plan for me.
Do that.
A minimal at a minimal test set.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I think these are exciting.
I'm stoked for this.
I also feel like this is goingto move very quickly.
The people that have been usingit and can teach everyone else
how to use it and be the earlieradopters are going to win.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
A hundred percent.
I was thinking when you saidit'll, by next year it'll be
everywhere.
I was like in three months itwill be everywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
From an enterprise perspective.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
That's everything's going on a three month clip.
We're going quarter by quarterreleases and that sort of thing.
I feel like one of the reasonswhy LLMs got so much traction so
quickly because they have thefreemium versions of things 200
bucks a month.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, that's still not cost effective for a lot of
people, and I would be very waryof trying something that's free
from an agent perspectivebecause of the level of access
it receives.
There's a lot of free stuff outthere.
This is a little different,though, I think, from a security
standpoint.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
When it's free, you're the product.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
What's your FBO?
So Harvard is going to maketuition free for more students,
which is very exciting.
Well, how do you like them?
Apples Good one.
Well, how do you like them?
Apples Good one, all right.
Harvard is making a major shift.
Families earning $200,000 orless will now pay no tuition.
It's not just aboutaffordability.
(16:55):
According to the article in theNew York Times, it's a
strategic move to maintaindiversity and access and higher
education After that SupremeCourt ruling that struck down
affirmative action and highereducation.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
After that Supreme Court ruling that struck down
affirmative action, anybodythat's under $200,000 or is like
they're getting five, fivescholarships away.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Good call.
Previously, only familiesmaking under $85,000 qualified
for free tuition.
Now a much larger pool willbenefit from this.
This move follows similarpolicies that we saw recently
with MIT, penn other eliteuniversities that are moving in
this direction after thatSupreme Court decision.
It also comes at a time whenconfidence in higher ed is
declining significantly anduniversities are facing a lot of
(17:34):
scrutiny from political leaders.
Why does this matter?
Because access to eliteeducation is often a pipeline to
top careers and leadershiproles, as you and I both know.
In expanding and we have thatawesome talk with Braden Olson
around socioeconomic status andhow that is actually the number
one indicator of someone'sfuture success is where they
start and how they're like.
(17:54):
That's our biggest discrepancyin success.
So expanding financial aidcould make a real impact on who
gets a seat at the table in thefuture, one of the things this
article calls out, though timewill tell if this is really
going to be a benefit or if it'sa PR strategy play, so
something for us to track andwatch.
I'd like to think that this isnot just a PR strategy play and
(18:18):
that they really are trying tolevel the playing field, so I
like to see it.
Keep it coming.
I hope more universities do itquite frankly, because access to
education should be expanded,especially at elite universities
.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah, I love seeing that the elite universities are
going first.
I don't think Harvard has a PRissue right now in terms of
getting a massive endowment,like when you look at MIT, when
you look at Pitt, like these aremassive schools that have
massive endowments.
The fact that they're goingfirst here and $200,000 is not
chump change right that is.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
That's a great number .
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, it's a great number.
It's a great number, so I'mstoked for that.
I am absolutely stoked for that.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
They don't and you don't have to do it.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
This is my other thing Like when you're seeing
some of these organizations dothings that they don't have to
do, especially now.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah.
I'm for it.
Yeah, I'm so for it.
So to me, this is FI news Gofor it.
Don't count yourself out.
If you're a student consideringone of these elite institutions
, apply.
Yeah, I love to see it.
What's?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
your sad one, Dude.
Did you hear Forever 21 filedfor I?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
know.
I just sent my girlfriend incollege a note and said do we
need to pour one out for Forever21 for getting us through our
20s?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
The funny thing was, a couple of days ago I was
thinking like, is Forever 21even still a thing?
And I don't remember the firsttime I was in one, but remember
it was like the shit.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Listen, we all had an outfit.
It was black pants and a nicetop, and then it turned to jeans
and a nice top.
And where did you get thosetops?
Forever 21.
You could always count on goingin and coming out the Union
Square Forever 21.
Did you ever go into that?
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yes, I know exactly which one you're talking about.
Yes, eight floors Just get lost.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah, and for a hundred bucks you had 10 new
outfits.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Oh my God, it was the best Because it was like a
treasure hunt.
Plus, it was oh, this lookslike it's all peach and frilly,
but it was all like.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Yeah, I was like Forever 21 walked, so Shein
could run.
Oh, forever 21.
I know, thank you, thank youfor the good times.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
We appreciate you and I'll take.
I am.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Oh, okay, I know Forever 21.
I am oh okay, I know forever 21.
This episode was produced,edited and all things by us
myself, mel plett and francescarennery.
Our music is by pink zebra andif you loved this conversation
and you want to contribute yourthoughts with us, please do.
(20:50):
You can visit us atyourworkfriendscom, but you can
also join us over on LinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn communitypage and we have the TikToks and
Instagrams.
So please join us in thesocials.
And if you like this and you'vebenefited from this episode and
you think someone else canbenefit from this episode,
please rate and subscribe.
(21:11):
We'd really appreciate it.
That helps keep us going.
Take care, friends.
Bye, friends, thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!