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In this episode of Frequency, Jenni Field and Chuck Gose record in person, fresh off Unily's Unite 26 conference in London. They work through five stories that keep circling back to one idea: technology and structure only go as far as people trust them.
They start with Microsoft moving communications out of marketing and into Brad Smith's corporate, external and legal affairs group, while Satya Nadella says "the people closest to the work" should help tell the company's story. Chuck worries that once legal is involved, employees will hear "no" a few times and stop trying, or get handed a script instead of a voice. Jenni thinks clear rules could get more employees posting. Whether they'll say anything candid is another question.
Next is ResumeBuilder's survey, where 18% of workers say their job has changed significantly or is completely different from what they were hired for. Chuck points out that the report's 74% headline stat is padded, and that "bait and switch" implies intent when most roles just drift. Jenni has spent her career in brand-new roles, so she sees shaping the job as normal. The real problem is the career conversations that get delayed or avoided. Chuck suggests job descriptions built around outcomes instead of outputs.
PayrollOrg found 46% of more than 9,000 respondents are uncomfortable with AI in payroll, up from 39% in 2024. Jenni quotes Hattie Roach from Unite 26: AI moves at the pace of trust, not the pace of tech. Getting paid correctly is a basic need, and people want a human to call when it goes wrong. Chuck's verdict: don't mess with someone's paycheck.
LinkedIn's AI Confidence Index shows only 38% of Gen Z plan to build AI skills, compared with 63% of Gen X, and 52% are nervous about AI's impact on their jobs. Chuck notes the "warming up" headline rests on a 2-point move, and that the hiring and pay benefits LinkedIn cites are correlation. Jenni pushes back on the idea that Gen Z is refusing to learn. She thinks they haven't figured out which parts are worth learning yet, and that nobody else really knows what they're doing with AI either.
Last, a Journal of Accounting Research study on who gets scarce training budget. Chuck asks the $5,000 question: split it or pick a favorite? He'd give each person $2,500 and let them build the business case, and accuses Jenni of dodging. Jenni says the money matters less than the conversation about what each person wants and needs to learn.
In the freq-outs, Jenni is counting down to Comms Reboot in London with 130 people coming, and Chuck is disappointed by a viral LinkedIn post cheering communicators for saying no to another newsletter instead of asking why someone wants one.
Honest, a little argumentative, and reliably human.
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and Unite 26 recap
01:29 Microsoft moves communications under legal and policy
05:20 Hiring bait and switch: when the job isn't the one you took
10:25 Nearly half don't want AI in their payroll
14:20 Gen Z and AI skepticism
21:04 Who gets the training budget?
24:57 Freq-outs
Links
- Internal memos: Microsoft shakes up communications as Nadella makes a push to build in public (GeekWire): https://www.geekwire.com/2026/internal-memos-microsoft-shakes-up-communications-as-nadella-makes-a-push-to-build-in-public/
- Bait and Switch Hiring: Nearly 1 in 5 Workers Say Their Current Job Was Misrepresented (ResumeBuilder): https://www.resumebuilder.com/hiring-bait-and-switch/
- Survey Finds Employee Caution Around AI in Payroll Persists (PayrollOrg): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-finds-employee-caution-around-ai-in-payroll-persists-302884225.html
- Workers are warming up to AI, but Gen Z remains skeptical (LinkedIn News): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/workers-warming-up-ai-gen-z-remains-skeptical-linkedin-news-jukbc
- Developing lower-performing employees may annoy the go-getters (Cornell Chronicle): https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/09/developing-lower-performing-employees-may-annoy-go-getters
