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Longstanding workplace issues such as mistreatment, the normalization of toxic behaviour and a lack of accountability for workplace culture have fuelled a growing trend known as revenge quitting. This phenomenon, on the rise since the 2000s, sees employees leaving their jobs not just for better opportunities, but as a form of protest and self-preservation against unfair treatment. In the past, fear of economic ruin, social stigma and valuing job stability over personal dignity kept many employees from quitting under such circumstances. However, unprecedented inequality and other geopolitical risks are causing an increase in revenge quitting and similar behaviours.…

Melody Wilding is a professor of human behavior at Hunter College and was recently named one of Insider’s “most innovative career coaches.” Her background as a therapist and emotions researcher informs her unique approach, weaving evidence-based neuroscience and psychology with professional development. She is the author of Trust Yourself. What’s the big idea? Do you feel stuck navigating office politics, micromanagement, or being overlooked at work? In Managing Up, human behavior professor and executive coach Melody Wilding reveals how to subtly teach those above you to respect your ideas—without needing a title change. Through real-life stories and research-backe…

When markets swing, plans break, inboxes explode, and everyone starts saying the situation is “unprecedented” again, most teams do what humans have always done under pressure: they grip tighter. They add meetings. Escalate more decisions. Demand more updates. Work longer hours. And mistake motion for control. That response is understandable. It is also exactly how teams get slower, more political, and more exhausted at the moment they most need clarity. What’s the big idea? The teams that perform best in chaos rely less on heroics and more on habits. They do not magically become unflappable; they build simple, repeatable ways of working that reduce confusion, s…

Job interviews are nerve-wracking at the best of times. But for those who see themselves as introverts, they can be extra intimidating. It’s not due to a lack of skill. The ability to think on your feet and sell yourself—no doubt important in the interview process—tends to come more easily to those who go through life a little more extroverted. And yet more Americans see themselves as introverted than extroverted. Contrary to conventional wisdom, that’s not necessarily a bad trait in the workplace: Research has found that introverted leaders outperform extroverts by 28%, driving higher productivity from their teams. Connar Walford, student success lead at t…

The conference room door opened, and the team filed back to their desks. Sam had missed the meeting. A client call had run long; it happens. He leaned over the cubicle wall as Elaine sat down. “What did I miss?” he asked. She paused. “Nothing big. Just the usual.” That answer should concern every leader. Because something did happen in that room. Slides were shown. Words were spoken. Time was invested. But nothing stuck. No idea traveled, and no action accelerated. A meeting happened, but communication did not. George Bernard Shaw once wrote that the biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Leaders fall into that illusion more …

As companies adopt AI, the conversation is shifting from the promise of productivity to concerns about AI’s impact on wellbeing. Business leaders can’t ignore the warning signs. The mental health crisis isn’t new, but AI is changing how we must address it. More than 1 billion people experience mental health conditions. Burnout is rising. And more people are turning to AI for support without the expertise of trained therapists. What starts as “empathy on demand” could accelerate loneliness. What’s more, Stanford research found that “these tools could introduce biases and failures that could result in dangerous consequences.” With the right leadership, AI can usher …

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Well, this year was a wild ride. As we turn the page to 2025, it’s time to set intentions and make our own agency New Year’s resolutions. If your company is anything like ours, you’ve already met with your internal teams to determine what steps you will take to level up this year. This isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your approach may look entirely different, depending on your: Ni…

After losing a boardroom power struggle with Apple CEO John Sculley, Steve Jobs was exiled to a small building across the street from Apple’s headquarters. It was May 1985. He and his colleagues called his new office “Siberia.” Corporate reports stopped flowing to his desk, and executives stopped calling, leaving him bored and lonely. “It was amazing to see how ostracized he was in the Valley,” recalled Susan Barnes, a Macintosh financial controller who had previously reported to him. “It was really cruel.” Jobs is remembered as the visionary who returned to Apple, the company he cofounded, in 1997, and saved it from near-bankruptcy. But before the comeback, he ma…

Picture this: A teenager stares at their phone, paralyzed by headline after headline about the climate crisis, political dysfunction, and societal division. They want to act but feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem. This scene plays out millions of times daily, and it represents a critical challenge for brands: 80% of Gen Z globally report being personally affected by climate change, yet their engagement with sustainable solutions is declining. Looking to the future, many young people are asking, “What’s the point?” Instead of feeling empowered to act, young people are becoming paralyzed by anxiety, overwhelmed by complexity, disillusioned by a lack of l…

As one of the world’s leading charity auctioneers and a seasoned keynote speaker for companies like Goldman Sachs and Google, I have spent 80 to 100 nights on stage every year for over two decades. Since I am typically one of the last people to take the stage at a fundraising event, I have watched countless people in various stages of panic just moments before they go on stage. After they find out my role, I usually receive a predictable set of rapid-fire questions from upcoming speakers in the hopes that some last-minute tips from a pro can help them do more than keep from passing out when they hit the stage. Here are five things I tell people in the final moments b…

Sixteen years ago, I received a phone call that was both unexpected and surprising. On the other end of the line was Lisa (a pseudonym) who had previously been the leading applicant for an open job position at our agency. Lisa had learned about our agency from some of her peers who worked with us and who had encouraged her to apply for a position in the firm. But, halfway through the interview process, Lisa informed us that even though she really wanted to work with us, she had received an offer from a competitor that she just couldn’t refuse. At the time, we were a start-up agency that was bootstrapping its way forward. We simply couldn’t match the salary that the co…

Curiosity isn’t just a valuable personality trait—it’s a leadership superpower. In a business environment where innovation dictates success, curiosity serves as the catalyst for breakthroughs and industry reinvention. Yet, despite its transformative potential, curiosity remains one of the most undervalued tools in leadership today. According to a Harvard Business Review study, curiosity fosters openness and collaboration while reducing decision-making errors. Yet only 24% of organizations actively encourage it, leaving a wealth of untapped potential on the table. The best leaders don’t just seek answers; they reframe problems. Instead of asking, “How do we fix this?” …

Below, Rebecca Hinds shares five key insights from her new book, Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done. Rebecca is a leading expert on organizational behavior and the future of work. Her research is consistently featured in publications like Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Wired. What’s the big idea? If you’re tired of watching your organization suffer under the weight of bad, broken, bloated meetings, there are proven ways to replace that slow-motion dumpster fire with calendars that actually move work forward. By treating meetings like a product, you can design the be…

When meeting clients, I make one promise—to see the world as it could be. That’s not a bad message right now. It’s a pretty weird world out there. The volatile political and socio-economic landscape can make us all feel like things are going to hell. And in the slightly less real world of marketing and advertising, that’s even more the case. The challenges of any agency or client team continue to escalate. Instability abounds. Then there’s the issue of client loyalty, reduced scopes, tighter timelines, and the not-so-secret plan of AI to take everyone’s jobs. And then the cynicism comes. As we know, misery loves company, so soon—if you want to find it—it can turn…

The pressure to adopt AI is relentless. Boards, investors, and the market tell us that if we don’t, we’ll be left behind. The result is a frantic gold rush to implement AI for AI’s sake, leading to expensive pilots, frustrated teams, and disappointing ROI. The problem is that we’re treating AI like a magic wand—a one-size-fits-all solution for any problem. But true transformation comes from strategically applying it where it can make the most impact. This is the “AI sweet spot,” where the real competitive advantage lies. It’s not about having the most advanced AI, but about having the right AI, applied to the right problems, with the right people. Here are five …

Below, Chris Bailey shares five key insights from his new book, Intentional: How to Finish What You Start. Chris is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a more productive and intentional life. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject and garnered coverage in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, and Harvard Business Review, among many other outlets. What’s the big idea? Most of us struggle with follow-through, not because we lack discipline, but because we don’t understand what’s driving us and accommodate that which holds us back. When you clarify your core values, lower the friction to getting started, and align s…

When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor named Ms. Carmen. She was in her late 70s, fiercely independent, and lived alone with her two dogs and one cat, which were her closest companions. Each hurricane season, she would anxiously ask if I would check on her when the winds began to pick up. She once told me: “I’m more afraid of being forgotten than of the storm itself.” Her fear wasn’t just about the weather; it was about facing it alone. When hurricanes hit, we often measure the damage in downed power lines, flooded roads, and wind-torn homes. But some of the most serious consequences are harder to see, especially for older adults who may struggle with mobility,…

Did you buy a new pink dress to watch the Barbie movie, only to never wear it again? An Oura ring because your favorite TikTok influencer had it? A new pair of baggy jeans because ’90s fashion is making a comeback? Niche trends fueled by social media can influence your shopping decisions. Participating often brings some happiness and a sense of community, but the problem comes when you do it so often that you’re not using your money to achieve your financial goals, or worse, you get into debt, said Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor for Beyond Finance, a financial services company. Whether it’s coastal grandma or clean girl aesthetic, microtrends can take a …

Where success is concerned—in whatever way you choose to define success—effort matters. So does skill. Experience. Perseverance. A willingness to do what others will not. And a little bit of luck: A study published in Physics and Society found that while some degree of talent is necessary to be successful in life, “almost never do the most talented people reach the highest peaks of success, being overtaken by mediocre but sensibly luckier individuals.” Outworking, outthinking, and outlasting other people will definitely improve your odds of success, but still: You need a little luck. Fortunately, all luck isn’t necessarily random. According to neurologist Jame…

Showing enthusiasm in a job interview can be the make-or-break factor in getting that position. In fact, nearly 47% of hiring managers say a candidate’s keen interest in the job is the most important factor in determining whether they get the new role. Enthusiastic candidates are more likely to fit in, stay longer, and do great work. So, here are five ways to project excitement about the role throughout the job interview process: 1. ARRIVE EARLY First, show up 10–15 minutes early for your interview. An early arrival demonstrates enthusiasm, shows respect for the interviewer, and helps you gather your thoughts so that you will come across as poised and prepared…

Professional workdays are full, fast, and designed for productivity, not recovery. In Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index, 80% of global workers said they don’t have enough time or energy to do their work, and workers were interrupted about every two minutes during the day. That’s the experience of modern work: back-to-back meetings, endless emails and chats, and constant task-switching. The day doesn’t pause for you. We know breaks matter. But for most of us, the problem in taking them isn’t desire or discipline, it’s that the workday doesn’t seem to have room. The good news is you can build short, targeted recovery into the day you already have, once you learn to see …