Welcome to today's episode for a unique conversation. Megan, a borderline Reddit obsessive reads Lakisha, a reddit novice, a collection of tales from one of the most popular subreddits, r/antiwork. After each story we ask ourselves;

• Do we think the story is real?
• What went wrong here?
• What advice would you give the poster?
• What could someone do in a similar circumstance?
• Should they just quit their job?

The antiwork subreddit is an online community on Reddit where users discuss issues related to work, labor, and employment. Topics often include critiques of capitalism, sharing of personal stories related to workplace struggles, advice on quitting jobs and/or finding better work-life balance. The community has gained significant attention, especially during movements like the Great Resignation, where many people started questioning the value and impact of their jobs.

Embrace internet anonymity and ponder the other side of the story in today's lighthearted episode.

On this show, our favorite conversations are the ones that result in a shift in perspective.

The ones that challenge us to put ideas and language around things we either believe strongly about, or never even considered.

So, when our guest Nick Duggan wanted to discuss the concept of Workplace Spirituality, recognizing our host's vastly different outlooks on this topic, we knew we were in for an interesting episode.

Nick has been developing people and organizations for more than 20 years, and is passionate about making work more meaningful for all. As the founder of the coaching and training firm Deeper Work, Nick partners with people-focused leaders to increase their impact through meaningful, identity-conscious leadership development and coaching. He brings to this work a successful track record of leading learning & development; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and employee communications and engagement for companies such as AppFolio, GoTo, DaVita, and the American Heart Association. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from UC Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from William James College, where he completed a thesis on “Engaging The Soul Within Organizations: Practical Implications of Workplace Spirituality Research.”

In one of our most interesting and honest conversations to date, we discussed the difficulties putting language around concepts like spiritualty, how we can engage with others productively when their beliefs are different or counter to our own, and what it means to find a sense of purpose in our work.

Get a bit uncomfortable, define what spirituality means to you, and decide where it fits into you own work in this introspective discussion.

Connect With Our Guest & Episode Resources

Deeper Work

Going Deeper with Nick Duggan

Check Out Nick's Recommended Reading List

Pew Research "Nones On The Rise"

People don't quit jobs, they quit bosses.

If you spend any time on TikTok, you can get lost in the sea of clever, passionate, or comedic videos of frustrated employees complaining about their bosses. While these videos are certainly entertaining, rarely do we get to hear the other side of the story. This trend grabbed the attention of our guest today, who wanted to answer the question "what is your boss thinking?"

Jane Yan is an award-winning digital innovation and business builder with over half a billion dollars in generated revenue. She has a wealth of experience, from leading small startup teams to managing large divisions in Fortune 1 companies. Her career spans various industries, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer technology, and e-commerce. Currently, she is the COO of Lunajoy Health, transforming women's mental wellness. Recently, she received the Innovation Award for New Era of Leadership, recognized by industry leaders like the ex-CEO of Pepsi. With her dual perspective as both an employee and a "boss lady," Jane shares invaluable insights into what the "boss" is thinking.

We hope employees and managers alike can gain new insights from this thoughtful and honest conversation.

Places to Find and Connect with Our Guest:

Check out Lunajoy: www.hellolunajoy.com

Connect with Jane on LinkedIn

For mentorship, coaching, or advisory inquires, send Jane an email.

Some Words from our Hosts:

We feel so lucky to have made it to episode 10! Thank you to our listeners for your words of encouragement and ongoing support. We look forward to bringing you more insightful conversations on career and culture, we're more appreciative of this experience than we could ever articulate.

Have a story to share? Looking for a spot to plant your soapbox? Have words of wisdom you think our listeners would like to hear? Looking for us to discuss a specific topic? Just want to say "Hi"? We'd love to hear from you! Email us.

What happens when you take a reluctant podcast host and exercise novice to a reformer Pilates class for "research" purposes?

You end up with two closet confessionals and an in depth discussion centered around the complex relationship many of us have with exercise. From folks who see it as a necessary evil, to those who can turn it into a successful career and community.

Our guest this week is Kiara, who is the owner of BODYROK in Santa Barbara, CA. BODYROK is a Pilates-inspired workout on a reformer machine, designed to improve energy levels and fuel your metabolism while sculpting and defining your body.

Kiara previously worked in the Silicon Valley tech scene as a Product Manager. Her passion for teaching fitness classes as a part-time BODYROK instructor in San Francisco led her to make a career shift and open her own studio in Santa Barbara a year ago.

In this episode, Kiara shares her unique journey through her career and her fitness. She also shares some valuable tips for listeners on how to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle.

They say if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. We hope this episode leaves our guests pondering how they can chase their own passions, or, at least find different ways to incorporate fitness into their day to day.

Find Our Guest:

BODYROK Santa Barbara

On this episode Lakisha and Megan break down different lessons they have learned throughout their career. They discuss how they've grown, how they've failed, how they've embraced or resisted change, and more. Our hosts share stories, reflect, laugh and also get a bit uncomfortable.

What advice would you give your younger self? Would you want to? Would you want to change the way you've done something in your past? Let's dig into it on this introspective episode.

Media Mentioned In This Episode:

Mass Tech Layoffs? Just Another Day in the Corporate Blender

Boundaries, Burnout And The "Goopification" of Self Care; Ezra Klein Show

Appblock App

Why Job Hopping Is Going To Continue For The Foreseeable Future

Books Our Hosts Learned Lessons From

Work Won't Love You Back - Sarah Jaffe

No Hard Feelings - Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals - Oliver Burkeman

Scattered Minds - Gabor Mate MD

Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included) - Pooja Lakshmin MD

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

"The reward for good work is more work."

On this week's episode, Lakisha and Megan welcome Lauren Lefkowitz to the show to have a deep conversation on how achievers and people pleasers can set better boundaries and begin to take their lives back.

Lauren is an Executive Coach, partnering with executives and emerging leaders who have gotten to the middle of their careers and think, this is IT? It’s fine…I guess. She works with humans who are ready to find joy, excitement, challenge, and balance in their careers...and have a personal life to love.

Lauren was an 80-hour-a-week executive, is a recovering people pleaser, and has lived with chronic illness for nearly 20 years. She was living the ‘fine is a trap’ way for years, convincing herself that working all the time and never feeling well were just part of life.

Despite these challenges, she decided to take control of her life, learn to set boundaries, create opportunities for personal choice, and relaunch her own career to find her version of success and joy. She coaches people and teams who function the way she used to – and find their own versions of amazing.

Lauren makes it comfortable to get uncomfortable, create powerful goals, and create real, sustainable career and life transformation. And! Lauren is a certified Laughter Yoga Leader, which she found time for once she realized life could be about more than work.

Learn what drinking coffee in your shower and sitting on your hands have in common in this engaging and honest conversation among 3 recovering achievers.

Learn More About Our Guest:

Visit Lauren's Website - Fine Is A Trap

Listen to Lauren's Podcast

Lauren's Linktree

On this episode, we continue on the complex topic of immigration with our guest Charina Garcia.

Charina is an immigration attorney and a Strategy and Innovation Partner at WR Immigration, one of the world’s leading business immigration law firms. For over two decades, Charina has guided thousands of HR professionals from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies through the employment-based immigration process. In recent years, she has led the development of WRapidTM, the industry's leading immigration case management platform that streamlines global workforce management and compliance for corporate HR and global mobility teams.

In our conversation, we tackle overlooked gaps in immigration that impact young adults, what it is like to be on an employer sponsored visa in America, and how Charina, as a second generation Filipino immigrant, navigates the heaviness of her work.

Take a nuanced look into the immigration industry with us in this educational and engaging discussion.

Non-Profit Resources From This Episode:

Upwardly Global

Immigration Justice Project

Learn More About Our Guest

Read Charina's Full Bio

Connect with Charina on LinkedIn