Jenni Field and Chuck Gose on the say-do gap, a 1977 survey the US forgot about, and why nobody has a playbook for Ozempic at work.
This week on Frequency: a US jobs report showing 23,000 jobs lost and labour force participation down to 61.4%, Sam Altman's claim that AI won't cut your hours, a 13-question internal communications satisfaction survey that's been around a decade, new culture research from bink, and the workplace conversations GLP-1 drugs have made unavoidable.
Chuck argues the falling US unemployment rate is hiding the real story — people have stopped looking. On Altman, he points to SHRM data showing AI saves about six hours a week and burns four fixing its own output, and calls the competitiveness framing a convenient way to move responsibility for long hours off employers. Jenni brings the ICSQ short form from Ana Tkalac Verčič and Nina Pološki Vokić; Chuck counters that the University of Kansas built the same thing in 1977 before the US replaced it with eNPS, and questions whether satisfaction tells you anything about impact.
The bink Culture at Work study surveyed 300 culture, comms, HR and strategy professionals. 91% say the gap between leadership messaging and leadership behaviour is one of the most damaging forces inside organisations. Only 14% say senior leaders view culture as a strategic lever tied to performance — the number Chuck says matters most. And 54% say the people responsible for improving culture lack the authority to change the systems that shape it.
Then GLP-1s at work: colleagues speculating about who's using them, one man badgered so persistently he went to HR, and the US insurance friction underneath it all. Chuck ends somewhere unexpected.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:47 The US jobs report and the labour force participation problem
4:50 Sam Altman says AI won't give you a four-hour workweek
9:35 The ICSQ: a 13-question internal comms satisfaction survey
17:02 bink's Culture at Work study and the say-do gap
22:05 Ozempic, GLP-1s and awkward workplace conversations
ARTICLES MENTIONED
Sam Altman on the 4-hour workweek: https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-ai-4-hour-workweeks-people-competitive-2026-7
ICSQ short form: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ana-tkalac-vercic-4a30571_i-like-questionnaires-so-every-once-in-share-7490394530265907200-HUnq/
bink Culture at Work Study: https://thinkbink.com/culture-at-work-research-study/
Ozempic and awkward work conversations: https://www.businessinsider.com/ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-causing-awkward-work-conversations-hr-nightmares-2026-8
ICology was one of six distribution partners on the bink Culture at Work study.
COME SEE US
Comms Reboot, London, 9 October: https://redefiningcomms.com/comms-reboot-the-communication-unconference-london-2026/
Unite26, London, September (use code Frequency20): https://www.unily.com/unite
MORE
Chuck and ICology: https://www.joinicology.com/
Jenni Field: https://thejennifield.com/
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