Andi Owen, the CEO of MillerKnoll, recently went viral for telling employees not to ask about bonuses during a company-wide meeting, adding, “You can visit pity city, but you can't live there.” The company said Owen’s comments were taken out of context and that she is committed to her team. But in a still newly post-Covid world and workplace, Owen’s advice about traveling to Pity City struck a nerve. There are so many tensions still at play in blue-collar and white-collar workplaces: work-from-home, wages, and balancing work and gratification – all in the shadow of a pandemic that took about seven million lives globally. Sarah Green Carmichael has written about work culture, including the “Pity City” boss, childcare, and the merits of hybrid work as a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. 

<p>Andi Owen, the CEO of MillerKnoll, recently went viral for telling employees not to ask about bonuses during a company-wide meeting, adding, “You can visit pity city, but you can't live there.” The company said Owen’s comments were taken out of context and that she is committed to her team. But in a still newly post-Covid world and workplace, Owen’s advice about traveling to Pity City struck a nerve. There are so many tensions still at play in blue-collar and white-collar workplaces: work-from-home, wages, and balancing work and gratification – all in the shadow of a pandemic that took about seven million lives globally. Sarah Green Carmichael has written about work culture, including the “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-04-19/millerknoll-ceo-andi-owen-s-pity-city-video-taps-into-worker-anxiety">Pity City” boss</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-04-25/remote-work-isn-t-the-answer-to-america-s-child-care-crisis">childcare</a>, and the merits of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-12-22/what-we-learned-about-hybrid-work-in-2022">hybrid work</a> as a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. </p>

Hosted by Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor Tim O'Brien, Crash Course will bring listeners directly into the arenas where epic business and social upheavals occur. Every week, Crash Course will explore the lessons to be learned when creativity and ambition collide with competition and power -- on Wall Street and Main Street, and in Hollywood and Washington.

<p>Hosted by Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor Tim O'Brien, Crash Course will bring listeners directly into the arenas where epic business and social upheavals occur. Every week, Crash Course will explore the lessons to be learned when creativity and ambition collide with competition and power -- on Wall Street and Main Street, and in Hollywood and Washington.</p>

Crash Course

Pity City vs. The Workplace

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/63256dd5-1cef-41df-a972-aff501144e01/transcript

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