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For the 150th episode of my award-winning podcast series, FUTURE OF XYZ, I sat down with Nick Foster, former head of design at Google X and leading futures designer. We quickly found common ground in our strong belief that society doesnt think about the future in the right way. Too often, the future is reduced to flashy visions, both in media headlines and through messages from leading corporations. The future feels like a sci-fi movie that still seems far away. Nick and I both believe the future isnt some distant fantasy, but rather a tomorrow already unfolding before us. To prepare, we must pay closer attention to what we know now and how people are acting today. What drives Nick and his work isnt predictions or bets, but a deeper exploration of how we think about the future itself. That distinction resonated deeply with me. In my own workwhether the podcast, as a leader at iF Design, or in my consulting work, Ive argued that the future isnt something just out there to predict. Rather, the future is something we actively construct through our choices and the questions we dare to ask. IMAGINE THE FUTURE Nicks new book, Could Should Might Dont: How We Think About the Future, emerged from years of conversations inside Google X and beyond, where he noticed a surprising truth: Even among the worlds leading innovators, we often fail to approach the future with real rigor. We rely on hunches, dotted lines, and simplified stories. This lack of discipline not only weakens the conversation, but leaves us ill-equipped for whats actually to come. Rather than writing a manifesto or prescriptive framework, Nick created a taxonomya way to classify the different modes of imagining the future. By delving into how we think about the future, he hopes our collective conversations become more rounded, more actionable, and more honest about uncertainty. During our conversation, we touched on the future mundane, the idea that most lived experiences will be found not in extremes, but in the everyday middle of the bell curve. This lens particularly aligns with my own mission at iF Design. Design, after all, is the mediator between big ideas and daily life. From the products we use, to the systems that govern them, to the values they embed, design shapes how we experience change. My role at iF Design is precisely about interrogating this: How do we embed sustainability and impact into design decisions so that what feels ordinary tomorrow reflects responsibility and resilience, not just convenience or speed? Nick also reflects on a profound cultural shift we are experiencing. For the first time in modern history, entire generations are less confident about what the future will bring. Having pushed exponential economic growth to its limits, were beginning to wrestle with the well, and now what? question that undercuts strident narratives of progress. In my own conversations, Ive seen how this moment of reckoning demands we focus on intentionality, pivoting from chasing growth alone to cultivating resilience. WHATS NEXT In Nicks view, technology currently holds the wheel when it comes to shaping whats next. With that power comes responsibilitya responsibility corporations and societies alike have yet to fully embrace. I often remind audiences that while technology will remain a critical driver, its our values, our courage, and our willingness to collaborate that will ultimately determine the future(s) we design into being. And as Nick reminded me, in a time of unprecedented change, we must resist the urge to cling blindly to what we already believe. Instead, we need to ask deeper questions, demand more rigorous thinking, and recognize that imagining the future is not just for futurists. Its a collective skill we all must learnand practice together. Thats precisely why this conversation mattered to me. Every day I explore how leadership, design, and purpose intersect to shape a more human, more sustainable future. Nicks work underscores that same truth: The future isnt something happening to us. Its something we are all responsible for shaping. And that begins with how we choose to think, design, and act today. Lisa Gralnek is global head of sustainability and impact for iF Design, managing director of iF Design USA Inc., and creator/host of the podcast, FUTURE OF XYZ.
Category:
E-Commerce
Picture the scene. Youve advertised a job on LinkedIn and received applications from around Europe. The perfect candidate lives in one of the worlds top tech citiesParis, Berlin, or Amsterdam, for instance. Your company is based somewhere in Europe, so hiring them should be easy, right? Unfortunately, no. Despite their geographical proximity, countries in Europe still vary significantly in their hiring rules and regulations, making it hard to compliantly pay cross-border workers. Lets take a closer look at the problem. So close, yet so far Theres naturally a certain amount of friction in terms of labor law compatibility between European states inside and outside of the European Union (EU). But even within the umbrella of the EU, countries have their own labor, tax, and social security rules that can turn simple payroll procedures into a nightmare. Thats because EU labor law is issued via directives that allow member states discretion in how they implement rulings. For businesses, this makes an EU-wide hiring strategy impossible, instead requiring individual approaches to each and every country a company might want to hire inup to and including incorporation. This isnt something that can be done as an afterthought. Misclassifying a worker, for instance by employing someone as a contractor rather than an employee, may lead to penalties and legal trouble. The state of cross-border hiring in Europe Despite the difficulties, businesses continue to hire across borders for the simple reason that talent is getting harder to find locally. One report found that 54% of European employers expect labour shortages to worsen over the next five years. And a patchwork of talent availability means skills and the businesses that need them are rarely in the same placeforcing businesses to look elsewhere. But hiring across borders isnt getting easier. While the demand for specialized talent has increased by 112% over the last three years, the complexity of hiring talent has also increasedparticularly in the EU, with incoming requirements like the pay transparency directive. The movement of workers between countries is also a minefield. Under EU rules, employees can only be subject to one countrys social security requirements at a time (to avoid double contributions). Some countries have cross-border agreements but employee tax exposure can be hard to fully comprehend, even for the experts. Heres what that looks like in practice A London startup wants to hire its first engineer in Berlin. Expanding into a new European talent market means a costly and months-long process of establishing a business entityall to justify a headcount of one. How about a Dutch company trying to support an employee relocating to Spain? The employer wants to be supportive, but there are clear tax residency and other legal implications such as pay transparency that have to be explored. The difficulty of navigating these all-too-common issues is putting a roadblock on progress and forcing businesses to compromise on quality by hiring in their own backyards. The problem with payroll Despite most companies having employees in more than one country, the means of paying them continue to lag behind. Payroll (often the largest expense for a company at around 50-60% of spending) has historically been seen as a back-office burden. Payroll is an essential cost of business, but because of all the challenges weve discussed, its expensive, complex, and generally fails to add strategic value. When youre running payroll across borders, the complexity only goes up. Indeed, 85% of global executives say compliance requirements have become more complex in the last three years. In short, its all risk and no reward. The right software can help In response to the expanding global workforce, more workforce management companies are developing software designed to help companies hire and pay European workers without the burden of navigating complex administrative requirements. My company, Multiplier, offers one of these solutions. As a centralized platform for payroll operations, our payroll solution enables companies to pay employees in countries where they dont have a legal entity, fully compliant with local tax and social security rules. This would allow the London startup discussed earlier to hire its first engineer in Berlin without the delay and expense of incorporation in Germany. And if things dont work out, the startup wont have to go through the rigmarole of shutting down an entity in Berlin afterwards. Similarly, the Dutch company with a marketer who relocated to Spain doesnt have to worry about the tax residency implications and potential penalties. They can seamlessly support their employees without disrupting their existing payroll compliance efforts. Unlocking European talent Paying people across borders is a problem unlikely to be solved politically. In an increasingly multipoar world, theres little prospect of the increased regulatory alignment necessary to enable seamless international payments. In the meantime, payroll solutions will help remove the friction required to pay cross-border workers, helping companies to accelerate their growth and recruit the best European talentinstead of settling for the best available talent locally. Sagar Khatri is CEO and cofounder of Multiplier.
Category:
E-Commerce
Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce its new return-to-work (RTO) mandate. The first phase of the mandate is set to start in February 2026, requiring Seattle-area employees living within a 50 miles radius of a Microsoft office will need to be in office at least three days a week. Over the next year, the company expects the same from the rest of its U.S. and international employees. Microsoft was one of the last big companies to offer their workforce flexibility. Competitors like Google, Meta, Amazon, Zoom, and AT&T have all announced their own unique policies requiring workers to be in the office. These are all innovative, technology-led companies. Yet their RTO mandates and hybrid work policies are all supremely outdated. Instead of honestly considering what the future of work means for employees and how it can benefit companies, many leaders are scared that if employees are allowed to work from anywhere, they will lose a bit of control over their workforce. Real leaders are embracing the future. At Gather, we recognize that flexibility is the key to accessing higher tier talent, bigger clients, and ultimately better business outcomes. Change of mindset Once upon a time, CEOs were huge fans of working from home. Many notable business leaders are on record stating the benefits of working from home from a business, personal, and even a societal level. Mark Zuckerberg famously said, I’ve found that working remotely has given me more space for long-term thinking and helped me spend more time with my family, which has made me happier and more productive at work. Why the sudden shift? These RTO mandates arent to build culture or increase productivity or any of the other canned responses. Instead, many companies are locked into long-term leases on office spaces in cities all across the country. For decades, a 10-year lease for office space was the norm for large corporations. It kept rent costs stable and allowed companies to set up roots in major hubs across the nation. When companies signed these leases, it was a smart move. Then came the pandemic. People were forced to work from home. Large office spaces werent just unnecessary; they became a hazard for employee safety. All work shifted to remote work, and the results spoke for themselves. A study from the U.S. Career Institute found that companies can save up to $10,600 per employee who works remotely and remote work can have a positive impact on an employees mental and physical health. Countering many productivity claims, the study also found that 79% of managers feel their team is more productive when working remotely. RTO does more harm than good Fast forward a few years post-pandemic, and these long-term leases still exist. Despite all the benefits seen from remote work, companies are desperate to justify their massive spends on office space. So, employees are coerced to get their butts back in seats with rigid mandates bolstered by claims of productivity. These mandates have already demonstrated a negative impact on employees and businesses alike. There is little evidence that RTO mandates improve a companys financial performance, according to an MIT Sloan Management Review article. RTO mandates disrupt employees established positive work routines, leading to higher attrition, especially among high-performing employees and those with caregiving responsibilitiesanother strike against corporate America and its record with women in the workforce. Whats more, RTO mandates often function as thinly veiled layoffs, further increasing attrition and the exodus of top talent while decreasing trust. A recent study from Workways found that 71% of HR leaders report eroded trust post-RTO announcements and 80% of companies lost talent because of the mandates. Even if returning to the office actually increased productivity, to make the terms of returning so inflexible disregards the way people work. Even when these mandates are classified as hybrid and only require a few days in the office, companies are missing the point. To be truly productive requires flexibility and agility. A new definition of hybrid In 2025, defining hybrid work must go well beyond the outdated discussion of where work is being done. Hybrid must be multifaceted. Companies need to approach hybrid work by considering which projects and teams come together for collaborative roles and which need the privacy and focus of working independentlyand recognizing that those parameters can change depending on project demands. It is a balance of people, places, tools, and culture. To be clear, Im not anti-office. There is a time and a place for bolstering corporate culture and collaboration. However, the decision should not be made by executives in an ivory tower but by team leaders based on the needs of their teams. RTO mandates will continue to make headlines for the rest of this year and any time a major company announces its new policy. But, as these long-term leases diminish, lets see how many mandates remain. The debate is not and has never been about the RTO mandates themselves. The real debate is on the future of work and what that looks and feels like for leaders. The pandemic made it clear: Companies are perfectly capable of adapting to the wants and needs of the workforce when forced to do so. The real future of work isnt about office space, water cooler talk, or butts in seats. It is rooted in trust, respect, and readiness to embrace change. The leaders that follow this path will set their companies up for success, winning the battle for talent and performance. Justin Tobin is founder and president of Gather.
Category:
E-Commerce
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