Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

· found · management

Bookmark: RTO is never going to happen for real until we redesign the office

Revamp office designs to boost productivity and employee well-being, making workspaces attractive for top talent and enhancing creativity.

In a thought-provoking piece from Fast Company, architect Bakr Kurani dives into why the push to return to traditional offices isn’t working. The key issue? Outdated office design that ignores modern needs for focus, creativity, and well-being. Reimagining workspaces with diverse, thoughtfully designed areas can make a significant difference in productivity and employee satisfaction. A smarter office environment could transform the workplace from a burden back into a magnet for top talent.

“A lack of fresh, circulating air creates stale, stuffy environments that make people drowsy and sicker.”

RTO is never going to happen for real until we redesign the office

Why customer tools are organized wrong

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.

Infrastructure shapes thought

The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.

Server-side dashboard architecture: Why moving data fetching off the browser changes everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

The work of being available now

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The practice of work in progress

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

The smartest code you'll ever delete

The most dangerous kind of waste isn't the thing that doesn't work. It's the thing that works beautifully and shouldn't exist.

The first real user breaks everything

Your product works until someone actually uses it. The gap between 'works in dev' and 'works for a person' is where most systems fail — and most organizations avoid looking.

The loop nobody bothers to close

Most systems observe. Almost none learn. The difference is a feedback loop — and the boring cleanup work that makes it possible.

Bookmark: How return-to-office mandates could change in 2025, according to top HR leaders from pwc, ey, and canva

Explore insights from HR leaders at PwC, EY, and Canva on how return-to-office policies may evolve by 2025. Stay ahead in workplace trends!

Bookmark: Half of companies with office space say leases are affecting their RTO policies

Leases are driving RTO policies for half of companies with office space, forcing a balance between costs and evolving work patterns.

Bookmark: Amazon’s RTO delays exemplify why workers get so mad about mandates

Amazon's return-to-office delays reveal critical issues with office space and communication, risking top talent and heightening employee dissatisfaction.