In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose kick off 2026 with a frank check-in on how the year is going — personally and professionally — before diving into a stack of research that reveals just how disconnected leadership and employees have become.

The conversation opens with an article on millennial disengagement, where employees say the quiet part out loud: "my leader doesn't know me and doesn't care to know me." Jenni and Chuck explore whether curiosity can really be an antidote to stagnation, and what it takes for leaders to actually demonstrate they care.

They then tackle Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser's widely reported memo telling staff "we are not graded on effort" — and surprisingly land on the side of her directness. Sometimes, they argue, honesty about expectations beats the flowery alternative.

A DHR Global study sparks discussion on the culture gap between C-suite and entry-level employees, with 77% of execs calling culture "very important" while only 37% of junior staff agree. The disconnect gets sharper when nearly half of employees describe their culture as reactive and inconsistent.

Gallup's new span-of-control data brings the manager conversation back into focus, with average team sizes now at 12.1 — nearly 50% larger than a decade ago. Chuck breaks down the math: if you manage 10 people and give each just an hour a week, that's a quarter of your time before you even start your own work.

Finally, they examine a growing satisfaction gap between leaders and employees on change communication — a 30% divide in 2026 that shows no signs of slowing. The culprit? Communication built for leadership, not the people receiving it.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

• 3 tips to replace employee stagnation with curiosity in 2026
• Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser warns of job cuts and says it's time to raise the bar in a fiery memo to staff: 'We are not graded on effort'
• Global Survey Reveals Workplace Culture Gulf Between Execs and Employees
• Span of Control: What's the Optimal Team Size for Managers?
• The satisfaction gap - what employees and leaders think good communication looks like (Lars Hancke)

In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose explore the quiet pressures tightening around modern work - from burnout and broken flexibility promises to the unintended consequences of AI “efficiency”.

The episode opens with a deceptively simple question: what happened to happy hour? Not as a drinking debate, but as a signal that the informal “third space” of work - where trust, mentoring and belonging once formed, is disappearing.

They then unpack Amazon’s evolving performance and office-tracking approach, questioning where healthy accountability ends and surveillance begins, and what communicators should really be saying when trust is already fragile.

A global frontline study from UKG brings the conversation back to reality, revealing burnout rates of 76% and a widening “two-culture” divide between frontline and office workers. Flexibility and financial security aren’t perks anymore, they’re retention levers.

The episode also tackles McKinsey & Company’s idea of “super agency”, asking whether AI’s biggest blocker is actually leadership hesitation, not employee readiness.

Finally, Jenni and Chuck examine a counter-intuitive risk of AI: when busywork disappears, so does recovery time — unless work itself is redesigned.

As ever, this is straight-talking, reflective and a little uncomfortable — in the best way.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

What Happened to Happy Hour?

Amazon is making big changes to the way it treats workers

Global study reveals flexibility and financial wellness are top 2026 priorities for frontline workers

Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential

The Downside to Using AI for All Those Boring Tasks at Work

In this special bonus episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose are joined by Carolyn Clark, VP of Communications and Employee Experience at Simpplr, to dig into the findings from the 2025 State of Internal Communications and Intranet Report.

This isn’t an employee survey, it’s a look at how the builders of the system (comms, HR and IT leaders) think internal communication is working… and where it’s quietly falling apart.

Together, they unpack ten findings that reveal a familiar tension: internal comms is getting more attention and investment, but employees are still navigating tool sprawl, unclear ownership and platforms that don’t always help them get real work done.

The conversation covers:

• Why exec attention doesn’t always equal understanding
• The growing gap between “we have an intranet” and actual employee experience
• Tool sprawl, digital stress and the hidden cost of friction
• Why IT satisfaction doesn’t equal employee usability
• What “ethical AI” really means inside organisations
• And why relevance, targeting and governance are still lagging behind ambition

Straight-talking, practical and occasionally uncomfortable — this episode challenges leaders to stop counting tools and start fixing system.

Thanks to Simpplr for sponsoring the episode!

Read the report here: https://www.simpplr.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-ic-and-intranet-technology-uk/