This episode marks one year of Frequency!

Jenni Field and Chuck Gose dig into four stories that together reveal a system under pressure: from the psychology of corporate jargon to an emerging reader backlash against AI-generated content, the CFOs quietly reshaping workforce decisions, and the persistent myth that more hours means more output.

A Cornell psychologist has built a "corporate BS receptivity scale" tested on more than 1,000 workers, and the results are uncomfortable. People who rate jargon-heavy language as business savvy score significantly worse on analytical thinking, cognitive reflection, and workplace decision-making — while also reporting higher job satisfaction.

A new term is spreading online: AIDR, short for "AI didn't read," used by readers to dismiss content that smells like it came from a chatbot rather than a person. Developer David Minajirode coined it on. Jenni and Chuck argue that the real issue isn't AI assistance, it's authenticity — if you couldn't be bothered to write it, why should anyone be bothered to read it?

A survey of around 750 CFOs by Duke University economist John Graham, alongside economists from the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond, found that while AI had essentially no employment effect in 2025, CFOs now expect a 0.4% reduction in overall headcount this year — concentrated almost entirely in clerical, administrative, and customer service roles.

The final story uses new World Bank and UC Berkeley research — showing the world's employed adults work an average of 42 hours a week — to open up a much bigger question: what does the number of hours actually signal? Stanford research on British munitions workers from World War I found output declined beyond 48 hours and added nothing beyond 63. Yet Sergey Brin has reportedly called 60 hours the sweet spot, and Narayana Murthy of Infosys has advocated for 70-plus-hour weeks.

Want to find out more about Chuck’s work and ICology - check out the website and how to become a member here: https://www.joinicology.com/

Jenni’s a regular speaker and consultant on leadership credibility and internal communication, you can find out more about how to learn from her and work with her here: https://thejennifield.com/

Articles mentioned in this episode: 📍 People who love corporate BS are bad at their jobs, new Cornell research confirms 🔗 https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/people-who-love-corporate-bs-are-bad-at-their-jobs-new-cornell-research-confirms/91314405 📍 'AI; didn't read': AI;DR is the new TL;DR 🔗 https://www.fastcompany.com/91498062/ai-didnt-read-aidr-is-the-new-tldr

📍 America's chief financial officers say AI is coming for admin jobs 🔗 https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-admin-job-market-6a1c3436

📍 How many hours should employees work? A question that reveals something about every boss 🔗 https://www.economist.com/business/2025/12/04/how-many-hours-should-employees-work