Exploring the last human job and the role of connective labour with Allison Pugh

Since the public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, scarcely a day goes by without a news headline forewarning of mass redundancies caused by technological efficiency.

But aren’t there some jobs or vocations where, no matter how sophisticated technology becomes, it simply won’t be able to replicate human empathy, reason and oversight?

In this episode Cat, Jen and Dom chat with sociology Professor Allison Pugh of John Hopkins University, drawing on her book The Last Human Job. They examine the role of connective labour and empathic communication in building goodwill, trust, mutuality and human connection, never more urgently needed in workplaces across the board.

About Allison Pugh

Allison Pugh is Research Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of four books, most recently The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (Princeton 2024). The 2024-5 Vice President of the American Sociological Association, Pugh has given more than 100 invited talks and has had visiting appointments in Australia, France and Germany. She is a former journalist, and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and other outlets. Pugh has served as a US diplomat in Honduras, cofounded an elementary school in California, waited on tables at the US Tennis Open and was an intern at Ms. Magazine. She and her husband have three children and live in Washington DC.

Find Allison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-pugh-b6169467/

Allison’s website: https://www.allisonpugh.com/