Workplace Insights by Adrie van der Luijt
Careers aren’t really ladders, they’re more like messy scribbles with occasional moments of clarity. I’ve spent decades watching talented people waste years chasing what they thought they should want rather than what actually suited them.
The posts in this section reflect what I wish someone had told me thirty years ago: that the most successful careers are built on knowing your strengths, acknowledging your limitations and having the courage to navigate workplace politics without becoming what you despise.
Whether you’re just starting out or questioning decades of choices, you’ll find honest reflections on creating a career that works for you rather than burning yourself out for an organisation that sees you as replaceable.
A government content designer explores how to build trust in AI-driven public services through trauma-informed approaches, transparency and ethical design principles.
A review of Rebekah Barry’s “Considerate Content” by a trauma-informed, vulnerability-aware veterian, exploring accessible digital design through the lens of trauma-informed content creation for vulnerable audiences.
Relationships are at the heart of our work as management support professionals, yet engagement has become so bastardised in corporate environments that it’s nearly lost all meaning.
Systems thinking is about understanding how organisations actually function beneath their formal structures. Executive assistants excel at it.
Analyse the contradictions in the WEF Future of Jobs report where employers simultaneously predict AI transformation whilst expecting humans to show more creativity and resilience – all for less pay and recognition.
The UK government’s recent partnership with Anthropic to integrate AI into public services raises a familiar question: will AI replace human professionals, or will it enhance their expertise?
AI isn’t coming for copywriters’ jobs in some hypothetical future. The question isn’t whether this change will happen, but what you’ll do now that it has.
The denial among professional writers about AI’s impact on their livelihoods has become painful to watch. I’ve spent months researching AI and professional writing jobs. Here’s the hard truth about how irreplaceable most writing jobs are.
Authencity is key for Executive Assistants in an AI-driven world. Executives don’t want a flawless automaton. They want someone who understands the unspoken context, who can read the room, who knows when to push back and when to step in. They want someone real.
The traditional professional development model relied on a progression that now risks disappearing. Without deliberate intervention, we face not just economic disruption for current mid-tier professionals, but potentially an expertise crisis in the coming decades.