The BARF

About The BARF

Breaking news, Acquisitions, Research, and Funding is The BARF. A look back into last week’s most talked about news in the world of work, what’s happened, what does it mean, and why should you care. Analysis that you can understand without a Ph.D. Proudly brought to you by WRKdefined with hosts William Tincup and Ryan Leary.

Publisher

WRKdefined

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Feb 2024

Latest episode

27 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

72 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Jul 2026

   Are AI Agents Becoming Coworkers?

   AI is moving from workplace tool to workplace participant. Companies are adding AI agents to daily operations while employees question whether greater productivity will protect their jobs or accelerate their replacement. At the same time, influence lists, funding announcements, and online controversies are shaping reputations without always telling the full story behind them. In this episode, Ben Mones, founder and CEO of Fama Technologies, joins a wide-ranging conversation about the future of work, industry credibility, AI-driven layoffs, digital coworkers, and online workplace behavior. From Google employees demanding stronger protections to a Chili’s termination becoming a national culture-war story, the episode examines what happens when technology, employment, and public identity collide. Key Takeaways Industry lists can create legitimate recognition, credibility, and business opportunities. They can also function as marketing campaigns engineered to generate nominations, tags, backlinks, and social traffic. The value of a list depends on how people are selected. When sponsorships, payments, popularity, or audience size influence the outcome, that relationship should be disclosed. Recognition still matters, but appearing on a list is not the same as demonstrating expertise or building a successful business. A major funding announcement can make a startup look established before it has proven its business model. Once the attention fades, the company still needs customers, predictable revenue, sustainable growth, and a product people will continue paying for. AI companies face another challenge because investors have not developed the same reliable pricing and valuation playbook that shaped the SaaS market. Large investments give founders more resources, but they also create larger expectations that must eventually be supported by real performance. More than 4,500 Google employees signed a petition requesting guaranteed severance, voluntary buyouts before mandatory layoffs, an end to performance-review quotas, greater transparency, and fairer treatment during AI-driven restructuring. Their concern goes beyond layoffs. Employees are being asked to embrace AI, improve it, and incorporate it into their work without knowing whether that effort will make them more valuable or make their positions easier to eliminate. AI adoption is unlikely to stop, but companies still have a responsibility to communicate clearly and manage the transition fairly. Platforms such as VICTOR present AI agents as coworkers that can be onboarded, assigned responsibilities, and added to a company’s team. That framing may sound like marketing, but it reflects how some organizations are beginning to use and manage AI. If an agent performs meaningful work, someone must control its access, evaluate its output, and accept responsibility when it makes a mistake. AI agents may not be employees, but they still create management, security, performance, and accountability issues. The ability to manage AI labor may become as important as knowing how to use an AI tool. A former Chili’s employee said he was fired over a disagreement involving pronouns. Chili’s said he repeatedly harassed and intimidated a coworker after receiving multiple warnings. Once the employee posted his version online, an internal termination became a national culture-war story. The issue was no longer limited to what happened inside the restaurant. It became a fight over who controlled the public narrative. Employers must be able to separate personal beliefs from workplace conduct, document repeated behavior, and respond consistently. The internet is now an extension of the workplace when online activity affects coworkers, company culture, safety, or job performance. 1 in 15 candidates screened showed high risk patterns of behavior such as harassment, intolerance, violence, and other forms of misconduct, a 34% increase year over year. Online Harassment / Trolling: 37.2% of flagged behavior Intolerance: 23.9% Sexually explicit misconduct: 17.8% Check out this report: https://hubs.ly/Q048xBVT0 About The Guest Ben Mones is the founder and CEO of Fama Technologies. Fama helps employers evaluate job-related online behavior in a compliant and fair way, including potential harassment, fraud, threats, and workplace misconduct. About the Hosts: William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   20 Jul 2026

   Korn Ferry Buys AMS, Reuters Cuts Engineers, and Work Gets Weird

   Would you hold a workplace grudge for 17 years? A candidate was ready to send a cease and desist after losing out on a job, raising a bigger question about grudges, second chances, and when it’s finally time to move the hell on. In this episode, we look at Korn Ferry’s $1.1 billion acquisition of AMS, whether workplace culture has gotten worse since COVID, and Thomson Reuters replacing 500 engineering roles while hiring 250 senior AI-native engineers. Is this a real talent strategy, or a layoff wrapped in AI language? What we cover: ➡️ Holding a workplace grudge for 17 years probably hurts you more than the other person. ➡️ Korn Ferry’s acquisition of AMS connects executive search with high-volume hiring and RPO. ➡️ AMS gives Korn Ferry access to more predictable, recurring revenue. ➡️ The $1.1 billion price tag may be more surprising than the acquisition itself. ➡️ Workplace culture may not be worse than it was before COVID. Employees may be reacting to the return of structure. ➡️ Remote work can increase freedom, but it can also make conflict easier to avoid and harder to resolve. ➡️ Thomson Reuters plans to remove 500 engineering roles while adding 250 senior AI-native engineers. ➡️ The Thomson Reuters move could be a workforce reduction disguised as an AI talent strategy. ➡️ Companies may be underestimating how quickly experienced employees can develop new AI skills. ➡️ Barbara Marks from McAfee wins $100 on the Canditech wheel. Timestamps: 00:00 – Malt Liquor, Misspent Youth, and Nick Returns 01:40 – Holding a Workplace Grudge for 17 Years 03:57 – Korn Ferry Acquires AMS for $1.1 Billion 05:29 – What the Acquisition Means for Recruitment Agencies 06:26 – Was AMS Sold Too Cheaply? 07:23 – Has Workplace Culture Gotten Worse Since COVID? 09:25 – When Workplace Structure Feels Like Control 10:03 – Remote Work, Collaboration, and Employee Freedom 11:10 – Conflict Behind a Keyboard 12:50 – Workplace Politics and Career Growth 14:41 – Fighting With AI Instead of Coworkers 16:38 – Thomson Reuters Cuts 500 Engineering Roles 17:02 – Why Not Retrain the Existing Engineers? 18:30 – Is This an AI Strategy or a Disguised Layoff? 20:07 – Can Engineers Close the AI Skills Gap? 21:23 – The Canditech Wheel 22:24 – Barbara Marks Wins $100 23:08 – Weddings, the World Cup, and England’s Chances This episode is sponsored by the team at Canditech, the skill assessment platform for the AI-age Guest : Nick Leslie, Director of Customer Success, Canditech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickleslieprofile/ Hosts: William Tincup LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/⁠ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/⁠ Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network: Website: ⁠https://wrkdefined.com⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/wrkdefined⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/wrkdefined⁠ Substack: ⁠https://wrkdefined.substack.com/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   22 Jun 2026

   Could AI Become Evidence Against Your Company?

   Companies love talking about culture. Then a manager tells an employee they should've skipped the hospital after a car accident and come back to work. That's where this episode starts. The conversation digs into toxic leadership, whether AI conversations could eventually become evidence in workplace lawsuits, what social media actually tells us about employees, and why some people may try to avoid AI altogether. Along the way, there's a debate about quiet workplace cultures, companies that are honest about what it's really like to work there, and whether refusing to use AI today is the equivalent of refusing to use email twenty years ago. Key Takeaways Culture is what employees experience every day. A mission statement doesn't mean much if a manager's response to a workplace injury tells a different story. Emails. Slack messages. Internal documents. AI conversations may simply become the next place lawyers go looking when questions need answers. One post doesn't tell you much. Thirty-three posts complaining about thirty-three different companies might. They want the culture they want. Some people want collaboration. Some want quiet. Some want flexibility. Some want structure. The challenge is knowing the difference before accepting the job. Amazon came up as an example. Enterprise came up as an example. Not because everyone wants to work there, but because they tend to be clear about expectations. You know what you're signing up for. Just understand your peers may not. The conversation closes with a software engineer who received an accommodation to avoid using AI tools and whether that decision ultimately helps or hurts long-term performance. Chapters: 00:00 Beer Talk, Graduation Week, and Lemonade Stands 05:09 Toxic Leadership and Workplace Injuries 09:05 Could AI Become Evidence in Future Lawsuits? 16:29 What Social Media Really Tells Us About Employees 22:02 Quiet Workplaces, Culture, and Productivity 24:00 Companies That Tell the Truth About Culture 26:58 Religious Accommodations and AI 33:45 SHRM, the Candy Wheel, and Closing Thoughts Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

837,746

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 76 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

68

Social presence

100

YouTube

93

Engagement

68