We make sense of the craziness of modern American work culture. It's a podcast for early-to-mid-career professionals who want to do more than cope when work's a lot.
Last Episode Date: 26 July 2024
Total Episodes: 51
This week, we discuss big news from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)—their decision to focus on diversity and inclusion but not to talk about equity. We Mode/Switchers—David, LaShone, Ken, Emily, and I—are not on the same page on this one. Some are ...
Heads-up: we use explicit language in this episode. But more importantly, we discuss what “bad words” do at work and why… …the C word is proliferating among Gen Z employees workers …the difference between slurs and swears matters …“the language rules” ...
What in the world could change the Cocaine Bear Status of your break room fridge? Throwing everything out? Scrubbing the shelves with acid? That won’t help. The shelves will fill right back up in a week or two. No, you’ll have to address people’s choices about where t...
I have a good friend who’s a hazmat responder in a UPS warehouse. He inspects the weird and dangerous things people ship to each other: Dead cats. Draino. Deer heads. White powder of indefinite origins. That sort of thing. Working at UPS gives him a clear view of the invis...
Using words well in the workplace is hard. It’s easy to gaslight. It’s easy to lie. It’s easy to exclude. It’s easy to forget what you’re trying to say or who you’re saying it to. This week, the Mode/Switchers engage two poets, Jane Zwart and Lew Klatt, who have ...
A podcast convo about practicing authenticity and restraint--and what both have to do with happiness in working community. Arthur Brooks’s recent article, “Why a Bit of Restraint Can Do You a Lot of Good,” argues, Don’t let it all hang out—you’ll be happier long...
Last year, a friend of mine dove into the shallow end of a swimming pool and very nearly drowned. Today, he navigates his job in a wheelchair and relies on a coworker to chauffeur him from job site to job site. That story invites reflection on the turns that life takes. But ...
What it’s it feel like to do your job these days? Vital question, maybe, but the tougher question is, how does your company talk about what it feels like to do your job these days? What’s the HR department saying about your company’s vibe? What are the stories your co...
Can We Fight Exclusion at Work? It depends. That’s one good answer to the question above—especially after this week’s podcast with Jemar Tisby of Simmons College and the New York Bestseller author of The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism. Jemar suggests...
Getting to the top of the chain of command’s a pain in the arse. Especially if it’s a pyramid. Very not comfy, right? So pointy. This week’s podcast engages Elan Babchuck on how chains of command destabilize our workplaces. The appeal’s understandable, but the delus...
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