Future of Work

Is it really that hard to make friends in midlife? And why should we try?

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In my native Finland, Valentine’s Day is officially Friendship Day. A beautiful idea. Yet research suggests many of us feel lonelier than ever, particularly in midlife. I hear this often in my client conversations, perhaps slightly more from midlife men who admit that their social world has narrowed. It is not surprising. Midlife can be …

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Flow, Figure Skating, and Finding Your Element in Midlife

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Watching the Winter Olympics this week reminded me that I used to be a figure skater. Yes, really. Not a particularly good or serious one. But between the ages of six and fourteen, it was something I approached with genuine passion. When I later moved to the UK, that chapter closed. My more nerdy pursuit …

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Career Reinvention Cues in Midlife: The Signals We Miss Until Later

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If you reinvented your career around midlife, what clues pointed you in the right direction – in hindsight? Most of us miss them at the time. We are far better at noticing what we are not, especially in midlife, when many of us are sandwiched between multiple responsibilities, rising complexity, and sustained pressure. Yet when …

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I no longer work for companies – I work for people

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“I no longer work for companies – only for people.” A friend said this to me recently. I hear variations of the same sentiment from many clients, particularly those in mid-career who have invested years, sometimes decades, of time, energy, and identity into organisations. Often, that investment was made in exchange for promises of progression, …

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Curiosity, Not Certainty: How My Career Actually Evolved

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From the outside, my career and life today may look like the product of a masterfully crafted long-term plan.People often ask how I designed that “grand strategy,” expecting a clean blueprint and a confident vision that guided every step. And sure, with hindsight and a knack for spotting patterns, I can now tell a compelling …

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Sometimes Layoffs Lead to Life Upgrades…

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Being laid off led me to adopt two Maine Coons – and start a business and career I now love passionately. Of course, it wasn’t quite that simple or that quick. There was a pandemic (remember that?), homeschooling, endless courses, frantic soul-searching, a newly bought house, and the usual worries about mortgages and “what now?”. …

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Living Neuroplasticity: Why It’s Time to Rethink Work, Leadership and Age

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For years, we assumed the adult brain was fixed; that once neurons died, they were gone for good. The idea that the brain could change, adapt, and even grow new cells after childhood was considered impossible. That view began to shift only a few decades ago. In the 1960s, researcher Joseph Altman first observed new …

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Much of Europe’s Debate on Pensions Misses the Point: Work Itself

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Sometimes it feels as if we are told to work longer for jobs that do not exist, for pensions we should not expect, to eventually enjoy an old age that might not be so enjoyable – because we are burned out. That may sound like the pessimist’s view, but it reflects a sentiment many share. …

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A Snapshot of the Future (Already Present) of Learning – from the Sandwich Generation

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A week ago, I found myself in an airport hotel outside Helsinki. I had just finished a long day of flying, leaving my children safely at home with my spouse (though never without the familiar logistical stress test of family coordination). The next day, I was set to continue my journey to celebrate the 80th …

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Why Some Leaders Push False “Facts” – and Why It’s Damaging

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A concept came to mind this morning: willful ignorance; the intentional act of avoiding information that reveals the negative consequences of one’s actions (Big Think, 2025). Research on willful ignorance shows that around 40% of people deliberately avoid information that could challenge their choices or self-image (Dr. Linh Vu, in Big Think, 2025). This “strategic …

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