125 - New Future of Work: Driving innovation via cross-company research with Jaime Teevan and Brent Hecht

In this episode of The New Future of Work series, Chief Scientist Jaime Teevan and Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht of the Experiences and Devices group at Microsoft delve into how researchers are driving innovation through cross-company research. The New Future of Work initiative, which was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, brought together various teams across the company to address the challenges posed by remote work.

Through their interdisciplinary research, the team has collected the largest amount of data on the pandemic's impact on work, which they have used to develop product features that support remote work and enable a future of hybrid work. They emphasize the importance of research during times of disruption and the relevance of productivity tools in the ever-widening scope of work.

Among other topics, Teevan and Hecht discuss why going back to work two to three days per week is ideal, and what companies need to consider when adopting new work models. Overall, their conversation sheds light on the value of cross-company research in driving innovation and contributing to a more productive, collaborative, and flexible future of work.

You can listen to the full podcast episode on Spotify.