The Future Of Less Work

Nirit Cohen
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

What if the future of work isn’t about having all the answers but about asking the right questions? The Future Of Less Work podcast reimagines the relationships between individuals, organizations, and work. Hosted by work futurist Nirit Cohen, the podcast delves into the evolving work ecosystem through conversations with leaders, thinkers, and visionaries. Together, they explore how we are co-creating work—one puzzle piece at a time. https://workfutures.niritcohen.com/ https://linktr.ee/niritcohen

  1. 9h ago

    How AI Is Changing Software Engineering Jobs with Mo Bhende

    When AI can write code, what makes a software engineer great? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Mo Bhende, co-founder and CEO of Karat, to explore how AI is reshaping software engineering, technical hiring and the future of engineering talent. Together, they discuss why AI is not eliminating the need for engineers, but moving engineering work closer to real business problems. Mo explains why strong engineers may become even more valuable in the AI era, why companies need to rethink technical interviews, and how entry-level engineering jobs can be rebuilt around AI fluency, judgment and domain expertise. Whether you’re hiring technical talent, leading AI transformation or starting a software engineering career, this conversation offers a practical look at what changes when AI becomes part of the engineering team. https://youtu.be/vKg3EPvuqP8 Guest Information: Mo Bhende is the co-founder and CEO of Karat. Karat is the trusted standard for talent evaluation and improvement that helps leaders build more capable and competitive workforces in the Human + AI era. Before Karat, Mo held leadership roles at Microsoft, leading global strategy for Xbox and overseeing the company's China fund. He holds an MBA from Wharton, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a BS with Honors from Penn State. Mo resides with his family in Seattle.   Links: Karat’s 2025-2026 Workforce Transformation Report: https://connect.karat.com/hubfs/2025-2026-AI-Workforce-Transformation-Report.pdf Chapters: 00:00 What Makes a Great Software Engineer When AI Can Code?01:25 Will AI Replace Software Engineers?02:49 Why Engineering Jobs Are Moving Beyond Big Tech04:30 What Is the Future of Entry-Level Software Engineering?06:50 Why Software Engineering Is More Than Writing Code09:10 Why Strong Engineers Become More Valuable With AI11:45 How Companies Should Measure Engineering Value14:45 How AI Is Changing Technical Interviews17:04 What Skills Define the Engineer of the Future?19:02 Why Engineering Managers Need to Become Builders20:53 How New Software Engineers Can Build AI-Era Careers23:53 Why Future Engineers Need More Than Computer Science25:48 What Will Software Engineering Look Like in the Future?28:44 How Should Companies Compensate AI-Era Talent?

    How AI Is Changing Software Engineering Jobs with Mo Bhende

  2. Aug 11

    How AI Will Change Competitive Advantage with Doug Stephens

    What Will Customers Pay for When Everyone Has AI?  What Happens When Consumers Use AI to Make Buying Decisions? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with retail futurist Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet and author of The Future of Competitive Advantage, to explore how AI is changing business, retail, consumer behavior, and the value of human work. Together, they discuss why AI will quickly become table stakes, why creativity and critical thinking will become essential sources of competitive advantage, and why companies that replace people without understanding their unique contribution may lose what makes them different. Doug explains how AI-powered consumers and shopping agents could transform advertising, purchasing decisions, brand transparency, and the relationship between companies and customers. They also explore what happens to retail jobs when information becomes a commodity, why customers may increasingly pay for human experience rather than product knowledge, and why trust and fairness will determine whether employees support or undermine AI transformation. Whether you are leading AI strategy, rethinking customer experience, redesigning retail work, or asking what humans contribute when intelligence becomes abundant, this conversation offers a new way to understand competitive advantage in the age of AI. https://youtu.be/OB4k915AXKY Guest Information: Doug Stephens is a globally recognized futurist, keynote speaker, and advisor to major international brands. His work explores how technology, demographics, and cultural shifts are reshaping consumer behavior and business strategy. He is the author of several influential books on the future of retail and commerce including Resurrecting Retail, Reengineering Retail and The Retail Revival. https://www.retailprophet.com/ Author of The Future of Competitive Advantage: A Business Plan to Save Your Customers, Your Company, and Democracy   LINK: https://www.retailprophet.com/books/   Chapters: 00:00 What Makes Companies Different When Everyone Has AI?01:35 Where Does Competitive Advantage Come From in the AI Era?05:12 Will AI Replace Knowledge Workers?08:20 Why Critical Thinking and Creativity Matter More With AI?11:07 How Human Creativity Becomes a Competitive Advantage?13:25 Why Trust Matters for Successful AI Transformation?17:19 Who Gets the Productivity Gains From AI?19:54 Can AI Agents Replace Human Expertise?22:18 What Happens When Consumers Have AI Too?22:58 How AI Will Change Advertising and Consumer Choice?25:17 Will AI Shopping Agents Replace Traditional Advertising?28:03 How AI Will Change Brand Trust and Transparency?29:45 Which Jobs Are Most Vulnerable to AI?31:19 What Will Customers Still Pay Humans For?32:09 Why Human Experience Becomes More Valuable in Retail?34:55 What Should Business Leaders Ask About the Future of Work?37:31 How Trust and Fairness Can Become Competitive Advantage?

    How AI Will Change Competitive Advantage with Doug Stephens

  3. Aug 7

    How AI is changing organizational design with Karalee Close

    How do companies successfully implement AI across the organization? How do you redesign jobs with AI?   In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Karalee Close, Global Lead for the Talent Practice at Accenture, to explore how AI is changing organizational design. Together, they discuss why work is replacing jobs as the building block of organizations, how AI is reshaping leadership, learning, and internal talent mobility, and why companies need to redesign workflows instead of simply automating existing roles. Karalee shares how Accenture transformed its own operating model before helping clients do the same, and explains why organizations that align talent, technology, and business strategy are pulling ahead. Whether you're leading AI transformation, rethinking organizational design, or preparing your workforce for what's next, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for building organizations that can continuously adapt in the age of AI.  https://youtu.be/xrubGI9qOo0  Guest Information: Karalee Close is Accenture’s Global Lead for the Talent & Organization practice and a member of the company’s Global Management Committee. She is dedicated to reinventing work, driving change and enhancing the employee experience to boost productivity, drive growth and make work more meaningful. Karalee is expanding the Talent & Organization practice to further help clients fuel sustainable growth by connecting people and technology to unlock human ingenuity; find new ways to access, create and unlock talent; and design organizations that thrive in the context of constant change. She drives Accenture’s talent, organization and change agendas across the full range of capabilities and ecosystem partners and leads asset and offering development. Karalee is a respected and innovative leader whose career spans more than two decades of senior regional and global leadership roles while based in Toronto, Calgary, Paris and London. She has had a passion for working at the intersection of strategy, technology and people for her entire career and has deep expertise in organizational change and digital & AI transformation services, coupled with a highly successful track record of CxO advisory. In recent years, Karalee worked for a top-tier consulting firm where she held a variety of regional and global industry-based leadership roles in addition to her client work. With clients, her focus is large-scale digital, AI and technology transformation and innovative approaches to accelerating value and speed through integrated approaches to technology, people and ways of working. Karalee is a renowned author, TED and event speaker, an invited lecturer and CEO advisor who enjoys exchanging ideas across sectors and disciplines. She is a passionate supporter of women in technology and leadership, thought diversity, psychological safety and new ways of working. Karalee also leads a full and enriching life as a mother of two teenagers, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She enjoys outdoor adventures, traveling and cooking and spent a glorious “gap year” sailing across the Atlantic with her family! She received her Master of Business Administration from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and is based out of Vancouver, Canada. Links:Karalee's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karalee-close-3b706232/ Talent Reinventor's report: accenture.com/talent-reinventors Chapters: 00:00 Why Are Most AI Projects Failing to Deliver Business Value? 03:32 How Do You Redesign Work for AI Instead of Jobs? 07:14 How AI Is Changing Organizational Design 09:04 How AI Improves Internal Talent Mobility 11:56 What Skills Will Humans Need in an AI Workplace? 18:42 What Is Co-Learning Between Humans and AI? 23:38 How Managers Will Lead Humans and AI Agents 28:47 Why Trust Is the Key to Successful AI Adoption 32:36 Can AI Create Better Jobs Instead of Eliminating Them? 35:50 What Will the Organization of the Future Look Like?

    How AI is changing organizational design with Karalee Close

  4. Jul 28

    How to Build Trust and Human Connection at Work with Randy Lyman

    What Becomes More Human as AI Takes Over Work?  Why do people perform differently when they feel seen, heard, and connected at work? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Randy Lyman, physicist, entrepreneur, executive coach, and author of The Third Element, to explore why emotional awareness may become one of the most important leadership capabilities in the age of AI. Together, they discuss how leaders can develop emotional awareness even when it does not come naturally, and why leadership itself may become the most valuable human capability as more work is shared with non-human intelligence. Randy explains how listening, slowing down, asking better questions, and paying attention to emotional and physical cues can help leaders build trust and strengthen human connection, even across remote and digital workplaces. Whether you are leading through AI transformation, managing a distributed team, or rethinking what people uniquely contribute at work, this conversation offers a practical reminder that technology may change how work gets done, but trust, belonging, meaning, and human connection still determine whether people can do their best work. https://youtu.be/zUxxUh8IIls  Guest Information: Randy Lyman is a physicist, entrepreneur, and expert in emotional intelligence and service-based leadership. He built the American Dream from humble beginnings, eventually founding multiple 8-figure businesses, including an Inc. 500 company. He discovered that lasting success requires embracing the emotional aspect of being human. His entrepreneurial journey spans four decades, earning multiple patents and growing his businesses 30x after integrating spiritual principles, he now shares through The Third Element, which offers tools for emotional healing and personal growth.   His background in both physics and business gives him credibility in corporate and spiritual communities. His book, The Third Element (#1 New Release in Personal Growth), reveals how unhealed emotional patterns shape reality and how to transform them for abundance.   A pivotal moment for Randy came after achieving material success but realizing emotional disconnection. This led him to focus on emotional awareness, which spurred business growth and renewed purpose. Today, Randy shares his principles to help individuals and organizations achieve clarity, connection, and authentic transformation by harnessing emotional intelligence and turning inner healing into outward success. Beyond his professional life, Randy is a craftsman who builds custom motorcycle engines and restores classic cars. His mission is to inspire others to heal, lead, and unlock their full potential by embracing "The Third Element" and their emotional truth.   Links: Instagram: @iamrandylymanLinkedIn: @iamrandylyman  Chapters: 00:00 What Human Skills Matter Most in the Age of AI?01:13 Why Emotional Awareness Improves Leadership02:49 How Human Connection Drives Business Performance07:24 How Leaders Can Develop Emotional Awareness08:04 How Active Listening Builds Trust at Work10:42 Why Human Conversations Matter More in the AI Era12:06 How Leaders Make Employees Feel Seen13:55 The Leadership Habit That Makes People Feel Valued16:29 How to Build Human Connection in Remote Teams19:00 Why Small Talk Is an Important Leadership Skill19:51 How Networking Builds Career Resilience22:24 How Leaders Can Become More Emotionally Aware24:06 Simple Ways to Practice Better Leadership Every Day25:35 What Human Capability Will Matter Most in the Future?27:41 Why Emotional Awareness Matters in a Technology-Driven World29:19 What AI Cannot Replace About Human Work32:28 Randy Lyman and The Third Element

    How to Build Trust and Human Connection at Work with Randy Lyman

  5. Jul 21

    How Do You Manage AI Work You Can't See with Lexi Reese

    How can leaders see what AI is actually doing inside their organization? If employees are using AI every day, why can't leaders see where work is changing, what value AI is creating, or how work is actually getting done? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Lexi Reese, Founder and CEO of Lanai, to explore why organizations have systems for managing people but almost none for managing AI work. Together, they discuss why AI should be treated as operating labor rather than just another software tool, why measuring prompts and licenses tells leaders almost nothing about business impact, and how organizations can gain visibility into the work AI is already performing across the business. They also explore how companies can identify the employees quietly transforming workflows, why AI forces leaders to rethink accountability and performance, and why the future of work will depend less on execution and more on human judgment. Whether you're leading AI adoption, measuring AI ROI, or trying to understand how work itself is changing, this conversation offers a new way to think about managing organizations in the age of AI. https://youtu.be/MriSEpv8Yfg  Guest Information: Lexi Reese is Co-Founder and CEO of Lanai. Enterprise AI Accountability Company. Former COO of Gusto, VP of Google Advertising, and US Senate Candidate from California. Links: https://www.withlanai.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/lanai-software/posts/?feedView=allhttps://substack.com/@lexireeseChapters: 00:00 What AI Work Is Already Happening Inside Your Company?01:20 How Do Humans and AI Actually Work Together?03:08 How Do You Measure AI ROI Instead of AI Adoption?05:04 Why Is AI Transformation Happening From the Bottom Up?08:06 How Do You Measure AI Productivity?09:32 Why Aren't Companies Seeing Results From AI?12:04 How Do You Build High-Performing Human-AI Teams?15:06 How Do You See What AI Is Actually Doing?18:51 How Do You Scale AI Success Across the Organization?19:52 Why Should AI Be Treated as Labor Instead of Software?22:06 Should AI Have Performance Reviews?24:33 How Do You Break Organizational Silos With AI?29:02 What Skills Will Humans Need When AI Does the Work?31:16 Is AI Eliminating the Experience Future Leaders Need?34:15 What Makes Humans Valuable in an AI World?36:00 What Legacy Will We Leave in the Age of AI?

    How Do You Manage AI Work You Can't See with Lexi Reese

  6. Jul 14

    How Do You Build A Career That Lasts 100 Years with Lyndsey Simpson

    What if retirement is the wrong goal? What if the future of work isn't about stopping work, but redesigning it? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Lyndsey Simpson, founder and CEO of 55/Redefined and author of The Age Rebellion, to explore how longer lives are forcing us to rethink careers, retirement, flexibility, and purpose. As people routinely live into their 90s and beyond, the traditional model of education, career, and retirement is breaking down. Simpson argues that many people no longer want a cliff-edge retirement. Instead, they want more control over how they work, when they work, and what they work on as they move through different stages of life. The conversation explores why flexibility means much more than remote work, why experienced workers are becoming one of the most overlooked talent pools in the economy, and how organizations are discovering the business value of experience. Simpson shares surprising examples of how older workers outperform common stereotypes around adaptability, attendance, customer service, and even AI adoption. Together, they discuss the rise of second careers, entrepreneurship after 50, age bias in hiring, the changing role of lifelong learning, and why the most important question may no longer be "When do you want to retire?" but rather "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Whether you're navigating a career transition, leading a workforce spanning multiple generations, or wondering how AI and longevity will reshape work, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what comes next. https://youtu.be/eM9Xt5vLIVU  Guest Information: Lyndsey Simpson is the Founder & CEO, 55/Redefined and a Sunday Times bestselling author, The Age Rebellion; Supercharge the Second Half of Your Life   Lyndsey Simpson is a leading voice on the future of work, health and longevity. As Founder and CEO of 55/Redefined, she is enabling organizations to rethink how people live, work and stay well in an era of longer lives.   Her work sits at the intersection of workforce transformation, preventive health and human performance, supporting organizations to build truly age-inclusive environments where people of every generation can thrive and perform at their best.   Lyndsey is also the author of The Age Rebellion, an international bestseller challenging how individually we think about longevity, purpose and reinvention. An award-winning entrepreneur and influential media commentator, she brings an energizing, evidence-backed perspective to one of today’s defining challenges: how we create longer, healthier, more fulfilling lives for everyone.   Buy The Age Rebellion here: The Age Rebellion – Amazon US Chapters: 00:00 Why Retirement No Longer Fits A 100-Year Life01:20 What Does A Career After 50 Look Like?03:35 What Is A Squiggly Career?05:05 Why More People Start Businesses After 5006:46 What Does Flexible Work Really Mean Today?10:12 Are Older Workers Better At AI Than Younger Workers?11:08 Why Companies Are Hiring More Experienced Workers15:31 Why AI Needs Human Experience17:18 What Is Return On Experience (ROE)?20:06 Why Companies Measure Employee Performance Wrong22:30 How Do You Stay Relevant After 30 Years In Your Career?23:43 How Do You Reinvent Your Career After 50?25:00 How To Change Careers Later In Life28:52 Why Transferable Skills Matter More Than Technical Skills31:06 How To Build A Life You Never Want To Retire From32:07 What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

    How Do You Build A Career That Lasts 100 Years with Lyndsey Simpson

  7. Jul 8

    What Happens When AI Creates More Time with Shawn Casey

    What happens when AI can write, analyze, create, and automate many of the tasks we've traditionally associated with expertise? What skills will matter most when intelligence is available to everyone? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Shawn Casey, Co-Founder of Noria, to explore a surprisingly optimistic vision of the future of work. Rather than focusing on jobs AI might replace, the conversation focuses on what AI might make possible. Together, Nirit and Shawn unpack why the future may belong to people who understand themselves as well as they understand technology. They explore how AI can create space for more creativity, purpose, entrepreneurship, and self-discovery by freeing people from routine and repetitive work. The conversation challenges listeners to think beyond job titles and technical skills and instead identify the unique strengths, talents, perspectives, and contributions that make them irreplaceable. They discuss the rise of human-centered leadership, the growing importance of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and trust, and why leaders must learn to uncover the hidden potential within their teams rather than simply manage tasks. Shawn also shares why she believes AI may lower barriers to entrepreneurship, create new opportunities for women, and accelerate a wave of career reinvention. If you're wondering how to future-proof your career, discover your human advantage, develop skills AI can't replace, or find purpose in the future of work, this episode is for you. https://youtu.be/McaVCDY2aZk  Guest Information: Shawn Casey, is the Co-Founder of Noria and Women's Leadership Platform, The Residency. One of the country’s first board certified NBC-HWC health and wellness coaches and a leader in the field. She founded the Care Navigation and Health Coaching programs at One Medical, a national primary care organization that went public in 2020 and was acquired by Amazon in 2023. Throughout her tenure in healthcare, she built and managed teams, created workplace wellbeing programs, developed a board-certified coach training program, and supported thousands of people to lead healthier lives.https://hellonoria.com/   Chapters: 00:00 What Makes Humans Valuable in the Age of AI? 01:16 How to Stay Relevant When AI Can Do Your Job 04:22 How AI Creates More Time for Meaningful Work 05:37 Will AI Create More Entrepreneurs? 08:17 How Leaders Can Unlock Human Potential with AI 09:15 The Human Skills Every Leader Needs in the AI Era 11:20 How to Prevent Burnout During AI Transformation 13:20 Why Vulnerable Leadership Matters More Than Ever 16:14 How to Lead Teams Through AI and Uncertainty 18:46 How to Discover Your Unique Human Strengths 20:42 How to Find Your Purpose in the Age of AI 22:36 Why Power Skills Matter More Than Technical Skills 24:27 What Skills Will AI Never Replace? 24:49 Can AI Replace Human Intuition? 28:10 How to Find Your Unique Value in an AI World 30:56 The One Question Everyone Should Ask About the Future of Work

    What Happens When AI Creates More Time with Shawn Casey

  8. Jun 30

    Can Humans Compete With AI At Work with Rob Garlick

    Will AI replace jobs? What happens when AI agents and robotics become cheaper, faster, and more scalable than human workers? And how will AI impact wages, inequality, and the future of capitalism? In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Rob Garlick, author of AI – Anarchy or Abundance? and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey, to explore how artificial intelligence, automation, and non-human labor could reshape the global workforce. Together, they unpack why AI is not just a productivity tool but a new form of labor competing with people on cost and speed, why companies may replace workers faster than societies can adapt, and what happens when economic systems reward efficiency over human value. The conversation explores AI job displacement, wage pressure, AI and capitalism, universal basic income, the future of careers, shorter work weeks, reskilling, and the growing tension between shareholder expectations and social stability. Garlick also shares his BESST framework for building a more “pro-human” AI economy, focused on better jobs, enough opportunity, safety nets, and giving people a greater voice in shaping the future of work. If you’re wondering how AI will change jobs, whether technology creates abundance or inequality, and what leaders should do now to prepare for the next phase of work, this episode is for you.   https://youtu.be/_u_yJAqKni0   Guest Information: Rob Garlick is the author of AI – Anarchy or Abundance? and a Visiting Professor at the Future of Work Research Centre at the University of Surrey. With three decades experience working with C-suite leaders and top investors globally, Rob guides, speaks and writes about AI, innovation and pro-human leadership. Rob held a number of senior leadership roles at Citi, including: Head of Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work; Head of Research for EMEA; Global Research Product Head; and US Sales Head. Rob started his career as an analyst and US Fund Manager. Amongst other qualifications he holds a Masters in Behavioural Change, is an AIIMR prize-winner and EMCC Senior Practitioner. Chapters: 00:00 Can Humans Compete With AI at Work? 01:35 Why Companies Will Replace Labor With AI 04:25 Can Businesses Choose People Over Profits? 06:15 Will AI Cause Political and Social Backlash? 08:20 What History Teaches Us About AI and Jobs 10:45 Can AI Create Better Work Instead of Unemployment? 15:00 Will AI Create More Entrepreneurs Than Employees? 17:45 Do We Need New Safety Nets for the AI Economy? 20:30 Universal Basic Income vs. Meaningful Work 22:15 Why Workers Need a Say in AI Decisions 24:45 Why AI Transformation Is Really a People Problem 27:45 What Makes Humans Valuable in the Age of AI? 31:40 How CEOs Can Build a Pro-Human AI Strategy 33:40 The Future of Work Depends on Human Choices

    Can Humans Compete With AI At Work with Rob Garlick
See All (96)

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

What if the future of work isn’t about having all the answers but about asking the right questions? The Future Of Less Work podcast reimagines the relationships between individuals, organizations, and work. Hosted by work futurist Nirit Cohen, the podcast delves into the evolving work ecosystem through conversations with leaders, thinkers, and visionaries. Together, they explore how we are co-creating work—one puzzle piece at a time. https://workfutures.niritcohen.com/ https://linktr.ee/niritcohen

Information

  • Creator
    Nirit Cohen
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    96
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nirit Cohen
  • Show Website
    The Future Of Less Work

You Might Also Like