From endless meetings and meaningless corporate jargon to mission statements, values workshops and post-it note exercises, Charles and James have spent years observing the strange rituals of the modern workplace. In this episode of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, they explore why so much of the working day seems to be spent creating work rather than actually doing it. They reveal the tricks people use to avoid responsibility, explain how phrases like “let's take that offline” and “who's holding the pen?” became workplace survival tools, and question why organisations keep adding layers of management, processes and bureaucracy. And what happens when AI starts replacing jobs? Their argument is that we shouldn't be too worried: companies have an extraordinary ability to invent entirely new tasks to keep everyone busy. The conversation also takes in Britain's obsession with bureaucracy, why getting things built has become so difficult, and how corporate culture has spread far beyond the traditional office — reaching NHS workers, gardeners and even professional rugby players. In this episode: Why modern workplaces seem to generate so much pointless work The art of looking busy while avoiding responsibility What corporate jargon really means Why companies keep inventing meetings, missions and values Whether AI will actually make our working lives any easier How bureaucracy gets in the way of getting things done About the guests: Charles and James are the comedians behind Wankernomics, turning the absurdities of corporate life into comedy, drawing on their own experiences in the business world. 👋 Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future takes career advice from people at the top of their game. Hosted by former Downing Street Special Adviser, Jimmy McLoughlin. Follow us on socials!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong Editor: Rhodri Beynon Social Producer: Alex Kularatnam

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The Budget is out. But will it actually make Britain a better place to start, build and grow a business?

Jimmy McLoughlin breaks down the biggest announcements from the Chancellor's Budget, with reactions from entrepreneur Alex Depledge and Jack Pardoe from Octopus Energy.

From the cost of hiring and scaling a business to energy bills, gas standing charges, electric vehicles and Britain's energy future, we ask what the announcements really mean for founders, employers and households.

Are the government's measures enough to kickstart growth? Will energy bills finally come down? And is Britain becoming a more competitive place to invest and create jobs?

In this episode:

• What the Budget means for British founders and businesses

• Whether the announcements will encourage investment and hiring

• Why removing gas standing charges won't necessarily lower everyone's bills

• The future of EVs, heat pumps and Britain's energy system

• What needs to change to make Britain cheaper and easier to build in

Subscribe to Jimmy's Jobs of the Future for conversations with the people shaping Britain's economy, businesses and jobs.

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Want to see how an episode gets made? We’ve just launched our Jimmy’s Jobs Slack channel for students, with opportunities to shadow our production team. Join us and tell us which part of the job you’d want to see firsthand → https://form.typeform.com/to/CdBAfNrp Why did Peter Kyle, former Business Secretary, want to light up Piccadilly Circus when a British company hired its 5,000th employee? Why is Salesforce giving Slack to six million UK students? How can AI give a ward nurse back an hour a day? We took Jimmy's Jobs of the Future to Salesforce's AIforce World Tour in London to find out. Can Britain build a trillion-dollar company? Peter and Salesforce's Kendall Collins, CEO of Missionforce and Government Cloud, join Jimmy to debate what it would take, from the role of government to a cultural mind shift around failure and AI as an economic growth driver. Zahra Bahrololoumi, Salesforce UKI CEO, makes the case for why students should get hands-on with Slack and the AI tools they’ll use at work before their first job, not after. Then the front line. Erika Bannerman talks through how an AI assistant at NHS Shared Business Services answers NHS staff questions instantly, cutting the admin that pulls nurses away from patients. And Colin Foley, Head of Consular Services at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, shares how his team is exploring AI to take routine work off their plate, so they can bring more judgment and empathy to Brits in trouble overseas. ********** Got an idea for our next episode? Drop us a line at [email protected] Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong Editor + Camera: Rhodri Beynon Social Producer: Alex Kularatnam

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Pret a Manger CEO Pano Christou on why Pret is so expensive, Service Culture, and Creating Jobs

Join our Slack channel, for students only:

https://form.typeform.com/to/CdBAfNrp

You’ll get to shadow the team digitally + learn how we put the show together - how we find guests, do research + come up with up with topics.

------- Pret CEO Pano Christou recounts his 26-year rise from assistant manager to CEO at 41, including a short Harvard exec MBA that boosted his confidence after rapid promotion. He explains Pret’s management approach: short meetings, pre-reads, early-morning reflection, empowering smart teams, and a weekly mystery-shopper system that can trigger a 10% weekly bonus for all store staff based on service, speed, availability, and cleanliness. He discusses COVID’s disruption via hybrid working and Pret’s response through coffee subscriptions, delivery, and value initiatives like “Pick Your Pair” for £4.99 and 99p filter coffee. Addressing “why Pret is expensive,” he cites 2022–23 inflation (food inflation peaking around 20%), refusing shrinkflation, and then limiting price rises for about three years. He highlights expansion plans to open 100 UK stores, inclusive hiring (NEETs and people facing homelessness), training, pay (around £15/hour for baristas), and policy asks on VAT and national insurance support. Chapters 00:00 Why Pret Costs More 00:48 Panos Pret Journey 04:05 Fast Track To CEO 05:46 Leadership Mindset Shifts 12:35 Unusual CEO Habits 14:40 Post Covid Business Model 17:05 Value Deals And Pricing 21:05 Service Culture Joy 22:58 Hiring Growth And Homelessness 28:16 Behind The Counter 30:32 Pay Bonuses And Training 34:20 Menu Trends And Hiring 38:00 Government And VAT 40:54 Quickfire And Wrap Up ********** Got an idea for our next episode? Drop us a line at [email protected] Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong Editor: Rhodri Beynon Social Producer: Alex Kularatnam

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Octopus Energy’s Greg Jackson on Agile Tariffs, Standing Charges, and the Future of Electrification Jimmy interviews Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson about how Octopus’s Agile tariff mirrors half-hourly wholesale prices, sometimes going negative when supply exceeds demand, and how “powerdowns” and “powerups” pay customers to shift usage when electricity is expensive or cheap.

Greg says over four million customers have used these tools, saving over £1 billion, and argues smarter use of existing grid capacity could reduce the need for £100 – £200 billion in new infrastructure.

They discuss why standing charges are “out of control,” how fixed network costs now make up much of bills, and the growing cost of paying wind generators to turn off.

He highlights falling costs and benefits of EVs, home charging, batteries, and heat pumps, plus energy geopolitics, China’s clean-tech lead, and AI’s emerging impact on jobs. He calls for consistent policy focused on electrification.

Chapters:

00:00 Agile Tariff Explained 01:20 Negative Pricing Moments 02:15 Powerdowns and Powerups 04:07 Savings and System Efficiency 06:10 Standing Charge Breakdown 09:57 Where Your Bill Goes 12:02 Using Wind Power Better 12:45 Why Electricity Use Fell 15:00 EV Charging Cost Reality 17:33 Octopus EV Leasing Scale 18:45 Why UK Power Costs More 19:56 Cutting Energy Levies 20:30 Home Batteries Boom 21:36 Heat Pumps Data Edge 23:45 Energy Geopolitics Shock 26:50 China Tech Risk Reality 29:23 China Innovation Machine 34:35 AI Jobs Uncertainty 38:47 Raising Kids With AI 41:46 Budget Wish List Electrify 43:49 Closing Thoughts

This episode is powered by Octopus Energy.

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If AI can write code, why are companies hiring more software developers? And why are people starting their careers still struggling to get in?Financial Times columnist and chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch joins Jimmy to unpack what the data actually tells us about AI, work and opportunity. Hiring for experienced software workers is recovering, while opportunities for new graduates remain flat. If AI can handle the tasks juniors once learned on, how do they gain the experience employers want?John explains why human judgement could become more valuable, how AI-generated applications could push recruitment back towards personal connections, and why predictions of mass unemployment may miss the bottlenecks that still require people.They also explore the forces making it harder to build an adult life: housing pressures, fewer young people forming relationships, falling birth rates and the appeal of better-paid work abroad.In this episode:00:00 AI layoffs reality check01:54 Where job losses show up03:42 Rate hikes vs AI effects05:47 Software jobs rebound06:36 Decide execute deliver08:55 Why juniors still matter11:48 Trainee pipeline dilemma13:42 Networks and meritocracy16:26 Recruitment goes old school18:17 Hiring at the FT20:14 Journalism identity shift24:13 Job titles and personal brand27:33 Computer science enrollment dip30:46 Deep knowledge beats tasks35:48 Jevons paradox and training37:34 AI and non AI assessments39:36 Bottlenecks and productivity41:07 AI Bottlenecks Need Humans42:58 Birth Rates Falling Everywhere45:09 Housing And Digital Media48:53 Social Media Gender Divide51:24 Dating Apps And Work Ties53:37 Why Low Birth Rates Matter57:40 UK Centralization And Housing59:05 Broken Jobs Data Problem01:03:15 UK Emigration And Pay Gaps01:07:58 Fixing Britains Growth Story01:09:18 UK Role In Global AI01:12:04 Will AI Cause Unemployment01:13:39 Iced Coffee Interview Debate01:15:09 Pink Socks And Dress Codes01:17:48 Favorite Chart And Wrap UpSubscribe to Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future for more conversations about work, technology and the changing economy.********** Got an idea for our next episode? Drop us a line at [email protected] Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong Social Producer: Alex Kularatnam

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Football, Power and Shirts: On China, FIFA and Fields of Power

In a wide-ranging conversation, journalist Joey D'Urso discusses how football and politics have always been intertwined, from FIFA’s unpopularity in the UK and World Cup expansion debates to historical links with regimes and soft power.

Drawing on his book More Than a Shirt, he explains China’s top-down push to become a football power, the use of football by the state, and figures like Li Tie amid opaque corruption allegations.

The discussion covers how national-team success depends on deep football ecosystems, France’s team as an immigrant story, and football’s roots in industrialization and natural resources.

Joey outlines his career from BBC Westminster and BuzzFeed to The Athletic and The Times, his shift to full-time writing, and monetization via Substack, social media, and freelance work. He previews his next book, Fields of Power, telling 20th-century history through 20 stadiums worldwide.

Chapters

00:00 FIFA Backlash

00:24 China Football Ambitions

01:58 Corruption And Control

03:24 Why Money Isnt Enough

05:35 France Culture And Ecosystems

07:32 Industry And Soft Power

08:55 From Politics To Football Writing

12:13 When Football Turned Political

15:37 Colombia Shirt Crime Story

18:46 New Book Fields Of Power

20:29 Breaking Into Football Journalism

22:20 Original Ideas In An AI Era

24:00 Making Money Plans

25:45 Nonlinear Growth Lessons

26:56 Football as Live Media

30:04 Stadiums and Tailgating

31:43 FIFA Revenue and Hosts

33:14 FIFA Criticism and Culture

35:14 New Book Story Teasers

37:03 More World Cups and AI

38:27 Data Driven Clubs

41:00 Attendances Up Atmosphere Down

44:02 Bigger World Cup Debate

45:33 Wrap Up and Thanks

********** Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Want to come on the show? [email protected] Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong

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Jimmy interviews author Dan Wang about his book "Breakneck" and why the UK and other Western societies struggle to build infrastructure, contrasting Britain’s strengths in “sounding clever” industries (universities, finance, media) with weak construction capacity and rule-bound governance that stalls projects.

We discuss how “verbal cleverness,” PPE and law-heavy elites in the UK and US, and litigation-driven processes since the 1970s have reduced state capacity and deterred ambitious people from public service, versus China’s engineer-led political culture and legitimacy-through-building (dams, bridges, high-speed rail).

We also cover meritocracy and immigration in the US/UK, AI’s uncertain impact on software, legal, and “busy work” jobs, the value of embodied reporting, Singapore’s high-paid civil service model, lost manufacturing process knowledge in the US, and Apple’s intensive China supply-chain feedback loop.

00:00 Britain Talks Not Builds

04:05 Why The West Stopped Building

07:45 PPE Politics And Brexit

09:05 America The Lawyer Elite

14:08 Meritocracy And Immigration

17:27 Poetry Versus Engineering

20:06 China Engineer Leadership

27:21 AI Software Or Hardware

30:10 Work Stamina After AI

32:02 Writer Work And Travel

37:01 Restoring State Capacity

43:26 Process Knowledge Manufacturing

49:18 Generations And Opportunity

********** Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Want to come on the show? [email protected] Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong

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Jimmy visits Gravity Industries in Somerset to meet founder Richard Browning, the inventor behind the real-life jet suit.

Richard takes Jimmy inside Gravity’s HQ, explains how an oil trader ended up building a flying suit, and shows what it takes to turn a seemingly impossible idea into a £100m business operating across 53 countries.

Jimmy also gets suited up to attempt his first hover. Watch him take off, and, well, mostly land, on our YouTube channel. Link below:

They discuss how Gravity trains jet suit pilots, the company’s work with Special Forces and emergency response teams, the world’s first jet suit race series, and why Richard believes Britain needs to get more comfortable with ambition, innovation and recoverable failure.

In this episode:

• How Richard Browning built a real-life Iron Man-style flying suit
• What it costs—and what it takes—to fly one
• Gravity’s work in entertainment, military mobility and medical response
• Building a 30-person company valued at around $100m
• Hiring for initiative, not just qualifications
• How to take big risks without betting the company

This episode is supported by Octopus Legacy. They’re offering Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future viewers a free simple will, plus money off a trust. Find out more via the link below:

octopuslegacy.com/free-will-jimmy

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Jack and Jill: AI Agents Rewiring Hiring and Job Search Jimmy interviews Matthew Wilson, founder of Jack and Jill, about how AI is worsening recruitment noise by automating mass applications and outbound recruiting, making traditional CV-based signaling less effective.

Matt explains Jack and Jill’s two AI agents: Jack helps individuals find and prepare for “dream jobs” through deep voice-based profiling, job matching, interview practice, and salary benchmarking (free for users), while Jill helps companies hire by capturing nuanced role needs and matching against Jack’s user network; the company has 350,000 users and thousands of companies, mainly across London, San Francisco, and New York.

Matt shares his background (Yorkshire Dales, Oxford, inspiration from a Batley-based startup), building Omnipresent (remote employment infrastructure later sold to Deel), and lessons on competitive advantage.

They discuss early-career guidance, AI tool literacy, major white-collar work changes, Jevons paradox, small high-talent teams, transparent high pay, and hiring via paid trial days and networks. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:27 AI Hiring Spam Problem 03:19 What Jack and Jill Builds 04:03 Why Job Search Feels Random 06:45 Jack the Career Agent 08:02 Jill the Hiring Agent 08:49 First Principles Recruiting 10:04 Advice for Early Careers 12:57 From Yorkshire to Startups 16:36 Building Omnipresent in COVID 19:47 Selling to Deel Lessons 24:22 Choosing the Next Venture 25:45 AI as Patient Career Coach 29:03 Why Work Changes Lives 31:00 Reimagining Recruitment 31:44 AI Tool Fluency 34:03 Career Catapult Mindset 34:29 White Collar Disruption 36:39 Jobs Change Not Vanish 38:41 Jevons Paradox Debate 40:05 Bureaucracy Versus Leverage 42:50 Building a Lean Team 42:59 Pay Transparency Hiring 48:52 Scaling Across Markets 51:39 Fast Hiring Playbook 53:56 Paid Trial Workdays 57:09 Early Hires Through Networks 59:30 First Employees Matter 59:58 Closing Thoughts

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Sara Davies on Changing Dragon’s Den, Building a Personal Brand, and Why Small Business Is Tougher Than Ever

Jimmy welcomes Sara Davies as the first “Dragon” guest on Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, discussing how she brought a more empathetic, collaborative approach to Dragon’s Den by refusing to be “more dragon-y” and staying true to herself.

Sara explains how her confidence grew over six years on the show, how her investing prioritizes working with entrepreneurs and impact over pure returns, and the questions she asks founders about why an idea might not work and who their real competitors are.

She contrasts hiring versus investing criteria, emphasizing cultural fit, non-verbal communication, and surrounding yourself with complementary skills. Sara also shares her personal branding process, her approach to BHAGs and thinking time, and how she uses AI to condense her own ideas rather than generate generic posts.

She also covers content strategy, the challenges facing small businesses amid Brexit, the pandemic, and economic pressures, and highlights memorable Den deals and lessons.

********** Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Want to come on the show? [email protected] Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Thuy Dong

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