5.3: Why autonomous working is the future, with Alex Hirst and Lizzie Penny

HR Most Influential Podcast

HR Most Influential Podcast
5.3: Why autonomous working is the future, with Alex Hirst and Lizzie Penny
Mar 30, 2026 Season 5 Episode 3
HR magazine

Does flexible working actually work? Or are today’s ways of working stuck in the past? 

Alex Hirst and Lizzie Penny, who jointly ranked at #4 in our HR Most Influential thinkers list 2025, call for a radical rethink of our approach to work, to better meet employee and business needs in the digital age.

Hirst and Penny – business partners, authors and changemakers – co-founded the consultancy Hoxby, and created the concept of ‘workstyle’, ensuring that people have the autonomy to choose when, where and how they work. 

Listen to Hirst and Penny challenge the current status quo, arguing why and how personalisation can boost workplace performance. 

Episode Artwork 5.3: Why autonomous working is the future, with Alex Hirst and Lizzie Penny 46:37 Episode Artwork 5.2: How to better care for carers, with Natalie Quilter 45:07 Episode Artwork 5.1: Adapt to win, with Tim Pointer 48:45 Episode Artwork HR Focus (7): Innovation success secrets from Experian 32:44 Episode Artwork HR Focus (6): Perfecting positive company culture 19:19 Episode Artwork 4.5 Transformational performance management, with David Liddle 44:40 Episode Artwork HR Focus (5): How to align wellbeing and ESG strategy 36:53 Episode Artwork HR Focus (4): Leadership success secrets from Admiral 29:47 Episode Artwork 4.4 Inclusion is the answer to everything, with Aggie Mutuma 39:53 Episode Artwork 4.3 Defending the profession, with David Blackburn 42:06 Episode Artwork 4.2 Personal branding gets you noticed, with Georgina Kelly 37:25 Episode Artwork 4.1 The future of HR (is giving transactional work the boot), with James Devine 36:40 Episode Artwork 3.6 Taking the pulse, with Tiger de Souza 33:06 Episode Artwork 3.5 How to work with your CEO, with Kerry Smith 37:38 Episode Artwork 3.4 Don't let DEI die, with Woosh Raza 38:47 Episode Artwork 3.3 Siding against stress, with Rachel Lewis 38:42 Episode Artwork HR Focus (3): How to introduce AI to talent management 39:37 Episode Artwork 3.2 When change meets resistance, with Pam Parkes 36:11 Episode Artwork HR Focus (2): The Talent Mismatch 36:55 Episode Artwork 3.1 Hyper-personalisation, with Bertie Tonks 37:56 Episode Artwork HR Focus (1): SME Talent 40:18 Episode Artwork 2.7 Understanding employee experience, with Jabbar Sardar 36:53 Episode Artwork 2.6 Putting the 'S' in ESG, with Neil Morrison 35:14 Episode Artwork 2.5 Solving the hybrid working conundrum, with Gemma Dale 41:10 Episode Artwork 2.4 AI: The Human Impact, with Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic 44:59