Our expectations of work are changing. Whether you're a cubicle-dweller, side gig hustler, or blue-collar breadwinner, we're all experiencing some major changes to the idea of what a workplace should look and feel like. Can the culture of work change too?
In this latest season of Rough Translation, we'll be traveling the globe to see how people are shifting their relationship to their jobs. From the mysterious man who inspired a "slacker revolution" in China to an American trans woman trucker changing the rules of the road, and from to the new codes of small talk in the Brazilian metaverse, to the ways that a war can change how Ukrainians look at work (and how work can change how they see a war). We explore what happens when international workplace norms are challenged both by local customs and homegrown rule-breakers.
87 Available Episodes (87 Total)Average duration: 00:32:33
Aug 03, 2022
The Cat Must Still Be Fed
00:39:56
A hyperlocal news site in Red Hook, N.Y. posts a job opening. A journalist in Ukraine applies. And what readers think of as "local news" is going to change dramatically.
Jul 13, 2022
Alone@Work: Miles To Go Before I'm Me
00:31:48
726 miles in one day. Gas station sushi. Mysterious loading docks. We hit the road with two American women who found long-haul trucking as a means of escape and self-transformation.
Jul 06, 2022
Ourselves@Work: Home Is Where The Hustle Is
00:26:36
Nigerian novelist Chibundu Onuzo dreams of returning to Lagos, but she worries she'll struggle to adapt in the city of her birth, where the word "oppressor" is often used as a compliment. In this episode, she seeks advice from her "big boss" older brother.
Jun 29, 2022
You're@Work: The Right Persona for the Job
00:33:57
Who are you at work? In this episode, two stories of people who really commit to embodying their work selves. The result? New realms and new personalities.
Jun 22, 2022
Failing@Work: Epic Fails & Failure Epics
00:30:19
Many of us think we can't share our stories of failure until we've reached success. Some Mexico City entrepreneurs started a club to change that, and the world took notice.
Jun 15, 2022
Stuck@Work: Your Country's Brand Is Escape, But You Can't
00:41:26
When Portugal forbade bosses from contacting employees after hours, international media jumped at the chance to cover the new law. Portuguese workers were oddly quiet. Why?
Jun 08, 2022
Lunching@Work: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden
00:30:48
In 2021, France suspended a law that forbids eating lunch at work. We talk to an American teacher relieved to see it go and a French historian determined to bring it back.
Jun 01, 2022
Slackers@Work: A Song for the Exhausted
00:40:44
A video ricochets across Chinese offices, and a scooter thief becomes an icon for brewing discontent. Why is a thief who says he's tired of working viewed by the Chinese state as such a threat?
May 25, 2022
New Season: @Work. Starting June 1.
00:02:45
We're back @Work. The new season of Rough Translation will tell surprising stories from workplaces and work cultures around the world.
Apr 27, 2022
The Good Russians
00:20:01
Hundreds of thousands of Russians are leaving Russia. They're facing an uncertain welcome abroad. Poet and writer Linor Goralik joins us to read from "Exodus 22," her uncomfortably frank conversations with Russians who – before the war – lived in a Westernized bubble, ignoring the mounting threats of Putin's regime. Then, the bubble burst.
Aug 03 | 00:39:56
The Cat Must Still Be Fed
Jul 13 | 00:31:48
Alone@Work: Miles To Go Before I'm Me
Jul 06 | 00:26:36
Ourselves@Work: Home Is Where The Hustle Is
Jun 29 | 00:33:57
You're@Work: The Right Persona for the Job
Jun 22 | 00:30:19
Failing@Work: Epic Fails & Failure Epics
Jun 15 | 00:41:26
Stuck@Work: Your Country's Brand Is Escape, But You Can't
Jun 08 | 00:30:48
Lunching@Work: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden
Jun 01 | 00:40:44
Slackers@Work: A Song for the Exhausted
May 25 | 00:02:45
New Season: @Work. Starting June 1.
Apr 27 | 00:20:01
The Good Russians
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