Inside Modern Work
Isabel Berwick - FT Editor and host of Working It
Isabel Berwick is an expert on workplace and leadership. She's a Financial Times editor and host of Working It, the FT’s platform dedicated to leadership, careers, and the future of work. Listen to some previous Working It podcasts, all about doing work differently. She explores how workplaces are evolving in a hybrid, AI-shaped world and is the author of the bestselling ‘The Future- Proof Career’
Q: You work inside an evolving hybrid newsroom while also reporting on how workplaces are changing. How does this perspective shape your understanding of modern work differently from traditional reporting?
It’s both a privilege and - occasionally - quite hard. I see best practice out there, and sometimes we lag. That’s not about the FT, it’s about our sector: newsrooms, and media organisations in general, have not traditionally been progressive or, indeed, kind workplaces.
Internally, things have changed enormously over the past decade or so, but an editorial department is still a very different type of environment from that of many corporates. Journalists don’t have anything like the structurally-embedded feedback or career progression systems that are common elsewhere. (Including parts of the FT - it’s a big company and most people who work here aren’t journalists!)
But our purpose is very visible: we produce content, across text, video, audio and socials etc. It keeps us very close to our product, and it keeps us very focused on our readers. I have never felt cut off from our customers, aka the readers - or that any of us are just a corporate cog in a wheel.
My current job is different from, say, the neutral reporting and editing I’d done in the past, because it allows me to put my voice and opinion out there. People message me, send me emails - it’s lovely, and I am explicitly building community with FT readers, and on LinkedIn.
Newsletters are especially good for this - writing them gives you a very intimate relationship, sometimes a dialogue with your readers. I get lots of emails and messages. When I do a book give-away, it’s me sending out the books! I love it - and the newsletter has been growing strongly in 2025.
Q: What aspects of hybrid work have genuinely improved people’s working lives, and which challenges remain stubbornly unsolved?
The massive bonus: time to do the life stuff we all need to do, at a time that suits us. People who work from home now have more or less abandoned the lunch hour - that time is saved up and used to walk the dog or collect kids or whatever. I don’t think Fridays in the office are ever coming back, on any kind of major scale.
Downside? There are collaborations that work better in person, and the real issue in my opinion is with younger people who aren’t getting experience of navigating workplaces or informal time with mentors and senior people. It’s a social issue though - not a productivity one. Those arguments don’t wash.
Q: Are organisations getting better at the “human connection” side of hybrid work? What could they be doing differently to support teams this year?
It’s been six years since the pandemic so I’d hope things are improving. But so often it’s down to managers - how are they supporting the team? Top down initiatives are great, but mean nothing if your manager is not interested or actively hostile to thinking about the human side of work.
My guess is that a lot of the support we’ll need in 2026 and beyond is around managing uncertainty - AI and other disruption. Social schisms. It’s a lot. We need to focus on what we have in common - which is, actually, that we all work for the same team or organisation. So a lot clearer signposting of strategic goals, purpose will be a good thing.
Q: How do you think psychological safety can be supported through the environment? How important is this when it comes to wellbeing at work, and getting people into the workplace?
Swanky new offices are all about biophilia - bringing nature inside. It’s certainly calming to look at. Does greenery make any difference at all if your boss is toxic? No. But getting back to the office more often is certainly more enticing if it’s aesthetically pleasing and (increasingly) looks like a private members’ club.
I’m slightly unbothered about scruffy offices as they can be very homely - it’s hot desking that’s often stressful and bad for wellbeing. Humans like predictability and stability. Let people have kids’ photos on their desks!
Q: Do you think the idea of a “future-proof career” itself has shifted? Are people seeking resilience in different places (skills, networks, identity, etc)?
Yes and no. My aim with the book was to create a ‘one stop’ volume with tools for all sorts of eventualities during our working lives. That’s the same: office politics, promotion, tricky colleagues etc. Timeless. But there’s definitely a generational shift in terms of what we expect from work: older cohorts can learn a lot from Gen Z. Our employers don’t love us back. We have to build networks, loose ties, find purpose that’s meaningful to us - that won’t come wholly from work.
Q: If you were writing a second edition of The Future Proof Career today, what new chapter or theme feels “unignorable” for 2026.
Trust! It’s the single word that sums up what we need more of - at work and in the world. Successful organisations will work incredibly hard to build trust among their workforce - and with clients and customers. We seek points of clarity and trust in an increasingly volatile world. That doesn’t mean we can expect total security at work - those days have gone. But realistic, clear communication from leaders is going to help.
Q: Have you seen any patterns in how teams balance in-person and remote communication? What’s the biggest shift you’ve observed as hybrid work has settled into something more permanent?
A shift towards everything online even when you are right there next to each other! If the team is hybrid, that’s understandable. But I still like to chat in real life. I’m an old Gen X, though. It’s like the serendipity of print newspapers - you never know what will catch your eye. Real time communication allows for that wildcard aspect - who will you bump into?
Online communication is far more linear and less surprising. We are just entering the huge new age of AI transcribed meetings. It’s making a massive difference already in efficiency. Will it inhibit how we communicate? I’m interested to find out.
I have to say, AI transcription has been game changing for my day to day job - both in interviews and meetings.
Q: Work is defined by meaning, belonging and purpose. Which emotion do you think is shaping work culture strongly in the UK, and why?
Belonging, but in the sense of mattering. I think it’s evolved from the definition of inclusion. We all want to matter - at work and in our lives.
Making that happen is a difficult task but I think many employers will be focusing on this - especially as DEI evolves beyond its previous remit.
Q: What is the most encouraging shift you’ve seen in your time leading Working It — something that makes you feel optimistic about the future of work?
The recognition that careers are longer and more attention being given to ‘next act’ transitions. As more people age well, they have a huge amount to give - perhaps in the shape of working flexibly, mentoring etc - or career changing or giving back as school governors or trustees.
