#254 – Why the 9 to 5 is limiting our ability to learn and grow
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music
What’s in this episode?
In this NEW series, sponsored by WorkTripp, we are looking at all things Future of Work, and how that intersects with learning, leadership, humans, and technology.
In this episode, I’m chatting with the authors of WorkStyle, and the founders of Hoxby, Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst. We explore:
- Why 2014 is a magical year for the “future of work”
- The role of technology in the “future of work”
- Why flexible working and the 4 day working week still track back to the 9 to 5
- Autonomy, motivation and upskilling
People
Lizzie Penny
Lizzie is an entrepreneur and a campaigner for ‘workstyle’ – the freedom to choose when and where you work.
She is fascinated by how new working practices can fundamentally redefine inclusion at work, whilst also improving wellbeing and step-changing productivity.
She has co-authored a book on Workstyle which will be published by Hachette in October 2022.
She co-founded Hoxby in early 2015 – a global working community set up to test and prove the success of working in a workstyle way.
The organisation is a social enterprise and B Corp and specifically looks to include groups who are excluded from work through traditional 9-to-5, five-day-a-week working structures, such as older workers, carers, those with mental health problems, people living with disabilities, neurodiverse individuals, and working parents.
Along with her business partner Alex, she has grown Hoxby to be a multi-million-pound business and works with clients including Unilever, Amazon, Sony, AIA, Etsy, Divine Chocolate and Merck. Last year Hoxby provided workstyle work for more than 600 Hoxbies.
When she is not being a spokesperson for the workstyle revolution, Lizzie focuses on business growth strategy, virtual leadership and remote cultures. Her restless drive towards improvement, effectiveness and inclusion is at the heart of why she co-founded Hoxby and her character as an inspirational leader has greatly influenced the culture and ethos of Hoxby.
Alex Hirst
Inspired by his personal experiences of managing burnout and fatherhood, Alex is on a mission to embed the idea of workstyle into the very fabric of digital age working practices.
Alongside co-founder Lizzie Penny, he has founded a successful B-Corp called Hoxby and more recently wrote their much-anticipated book: Workstyle: A revolution for wellbeing, productivity and society.
A husband and father of two young children, Alex is a working parent whose workstyle accommodates the daily needs of his daughter, his son and his wife. He understands the importance of gender equality and his role as a male leader in changing the narrative for the benefit of women and wider society.
Sophie Bailey
Sophie is the founder of the iTunes new and noteworthy, The Edtech Podcast. The mission of The Edtech Podcast is to improve the dialogue between ‘ed’ and ‘tech’ for better innovation, through storytelling. The podcast is downloaded from over 145 countries with the UK, US & Aus in the top 3. Sophie has spoken and moderated at a variety of events including SXSW EDU, Yidan Education Prize, ASU GSV Summit, and the Next Billion Edtech Summit. She is an industry mentor and advisor, a Reimagine Education, GESA Awards, Bett Awards and XPrize Adult Literacy judge, and previous Edtech50 and Edtech Digest winner.
Sophie is passionate about lifelong and everyday learning. If she’s not interviewing a University Vice-Chancellor, Edtech Investor, School Leader, or StartUp about education innovation, she’s engrossed in Teach Your Monster to Read or wrestling her lockdown baby. A keen cyclist, she has recently relocated to West Devon which she considers the English version of the Pyrenees. She is very lucky to work with a distributed team on The Edtech Podcast. She is now building WorkTripp.
Quotes from this episode
“The freelance workforce is the fastest-growing workforce in Europe.”
“WorkStyle is about the freedom of choosing when and where you work.”
“There has been a lot of research done to prove that autonomy is better for productivity and better for reducing stress.”
“Mostly we operate in a digital-first way now.”
References from this week’s episode
Thank you to WorkTripp
The Future of Work Series is produced by The Edtech Podcast and supported by WorkTripp
We supercharge team culture, talent retention and performance through offsites and back at desk design 🌿💫🌊
Create your account and discover memorable venues, executive coaches and meaningful experiences. We help you measure the impact of your offsites www.worktripp.com
Tell us where you are listening in from
We’d love to hear about innovative technology or approaches you are developing or using in adult education. Leave your stories in the comments below. Alternately, record a quick free voicemail via speakpipe for inclusion in the next episode. Finally, you can post your thoughts or follow-on links via Twitter @podcastedtech or via The Edtech Podcast LinkedIn page or Instagram.
