Just Work It

In front of a live audience on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, Atkinson’s Ausma Malik had a seriously funny conversation about inclusion, technology and power with U.S. comedian Hari Kondabolu and Canadian Roots Exchange’s Max FineDay. The podcast includes cameo appearances from the cast of The Jetsons, the first colour cartoon series which aired in 1962 […]

We’ve covered a lot of topics when it comes to decent work and our generation — and we’re not done yet! Our third series about the future of work is dropping soon. It features U.S. comedian Hari Kondabolu and Indigenous activist Max FineDay. Stay tuned!

Dramatic changes in the world of work are igniting new visions and strategies for decent work everywhere. Unionized and non-unionized workers alike are part of a movement to rebalance power and to create a future characterized by greater equality. In this episode, Ausma talks to Sarah Hoy and Fahmida Kamali, two young workers in the […]

There is a common phrase: “Real democracy is what happens between elections.” It also moves beyond politics – it’s how we relate to each other online and offline, at work and in the public square, wherever we find community. . We work together, often across difference, to make decisions in our individual and collective interest. […]

Urban and infrastructure developments are often hotly contested, with disruptive construction schedules, impacts on local communities, and debates over how benefits get distributed. While traditionally the scales of power have tipped in favour of developers, historically marginalized and equity seeking communities across Canada are organizing to demand that their voices and interests are heard in […]

Anti-Black racism is built into our economy and society. Affordable housing and job prospects are hard to come by for most millennials, but even more so for Black workers. We know more equitable systems and structures are possible – especially where people have created their own space to go deeper, speak unfiltered about the experience […]

Every year, April 10 marks Equal Pay Day. Why? Because women on average have to work an extra three and a half months each year to earn what a man does in twelve months. And it takes even longer if you’re a woman of colour, and Indigenous woman, an immigrant woman, and/or a woman who […]

We hear a lot about how technology is shaping the future of work – booming digital industries, apps for finding work, and artificial intelligence. But these conversations often exclude many of the people who are most affected by technological change – workers, especially precarious workers. In the first episode of Lovers and Fighters, Ausma sits […]

Lovers and Fighters is the second podcast series on the Just Work It platform, for and by millennial workers. In this series, we dive deep into the issues that millennials workers love enough to fight for and what motivates them. Join us!

In this short bonus episode, Ausma asks our guests the all-important millennial question: do you eat avocado toast? Listen for some surprising and hilarious answers from Jenny Fortin (Episode 5), Chenjerai Kumanyika (Episode 2 & 3), Nil Sendil (Episode 2), Matt Gurney (Episode 1), Carolyn Ferns (Episode 6), Ahmad Gaied (Episode 4), Vass Bednar (Episode […]

Millennials are having fewer children than previous generations. Why? The reasons are as diverse as this generation, ranging from personal preference to affordability to apprehensions about the fate of the planet. In the final episode of this series, Ausma talks to Alana Powell and Carolyn Ferns about how the realities of work and childcare are […]

Millennials are frequently portrayed as big supporters of greater flexibility in work. They want to explore their interests, like hobbies and travel, and work from anywhere. But this doesn’t tell the whole story: ‘flexible’ work can create insecurity, make it harder to pay off debt, and delay reaching milestones like buying homes and having a […]

Ausma attended the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) Young Workers’ Assembly in November 2017 and spoke with young union activists shaping the future of the labour movement and their place in it. Paige Kezima – Representative for Young People, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Aaron Zboch-Alves – Co-Chair of the NextGen Committee, IBEW Local 353 @Local353 […]

We have talked a lot about how economic transitions and the precarious nature of work are affecting millennials, but they aren’t taking these changes lightly. In some digital industries, including media, some younger workers are using their voice, collective power, and union organizing tools to make their work decent. In this episode, Ausma gets advice […]

Millennials grew up on the internet – chatting with friends on messenger services, researching homework on the computer, and sharing lives on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, you name it. Is this an addiction or are millennials using technology to stay afloat in a world and workplace that expects too much from them? In this third […]

Millennials are known as the selfie generation. Do they care about anything but themselves? While some take a pessimistic view of millennials and activism, evidence tells a different story. One in four millennials who live in Canada has actively engaged by a cause or issue in the past year. Mostly, they’re working on social justice, […]

Some people think millennials aren’t getting ahead because of their frivolous spending on fancy phones, trips to Europe, and avocado toast. Studies show, however, that millennials are more budget conscious than other generations. Rising rates of student loans, precarious employment, and consumer debt suggest millennials are getting a bad rap. In the first episode of […]

Avocado Toast: Smashing Millennial Myths in Pursuit of Decent Work is the first podcast series on Atkinson’s Just Work It platform.