How do you manage the stress of looming layoffs? Last month, layoffs across the U.S. rose an astonishing 205% compared to March of last year, for a total of 275,240 job cuts. 

Stats like these mean layoffs are top of mind for many people these days. You might be finding yourself in limbo right now, wondering if you’re next on the list to receive a pink slip. There’s no question that a concern like that is a major contributor to our overall stress and mental health. The psychological and emotional impact that comes with layoffs is huge, so today, I’m resharing a 2022 episode updated for 2025 with practical strategies for how to address the overall worry that your job is next on the chopping block.

Keep your head on straight in this endlessly swerving era with concrete action steps, including

• Why planning ahead beats burying your head in the sand;
• The vital importance of prioritizing your mental health;
• How phoning a friend will help keep your feet on the ground;
• What your past resilience can teach you about your situation right now.

Related Links:

• Episode 68, I Got Fired—Help! - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode68
• Episode 402, How to Financially Prepare for Layoffs - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode402
• Episode 457, How to Explain Your Layoff in a Job Interview - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode457
• Episode 500, How to Stand Out in a Competitive Job Market - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode500
• Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra - https://herminiaibarra.com/working-identity-book/
• Reuters, US announced job cuts surge in March on Doge hit, recruitment firm Challenger says - https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-announced-job-cuts-surge-march-doge-hit-recruitment-firm-challenger-says-2025-04-03/
• CNBC, U.S. payrolls rose by 228,000 in March, but unemployment rate increases to 4.2% - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/04/jobs-report-march-2025-.html
• HIRED: our Job Search Accelerator - https://www.bossedup.org/gethired
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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Job searching in the current “white collar recession” can be truly daunting. Today, I’m joined by Dr. Kyle Elliott, a career coach and mental health expert who helps people “own their fabulousness” and elevate their careers. We cover some of our favorite tactics for focusing on what you can control during this tumultuous time so you can propel yourself into the next job opportunity without losing hope. 

Level up your search with Kyle’s actionable strategies to land your next job:

• Why it’s no longer enough to be qualified for a job;
• The drawbacks of the buckshot approach to job applications;
• What the right amount of resume and cover letter tailoring looks like;
• How to tactically approach your networking for real results.

Related Links:

• S&P Global, Layoffs surge in US white collar jobs as rates, AI alter office work - https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2024/11/layoffs-surge-in-us-white-collar-jobs-as-rates-ai-alter-office-work-85986794
• Business Insider, Americans with a college degree say they'd need at least a $100K salary to change jobs. But roles that pay in that range are getting harder to find - https://www.businessinsider.com/100k-salary-jobs-hard-find-americans-with-college-degrees-2024-5
• Reuters, US job openings decline as labor market steadily slows - https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-job-openings-fall-sharply-december-layoffs-low-2025-02-04/
• Episode 453, Prioritizing Your Job Search While Holding Down a Full-Time Job - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode453
• Episode 452, Redefining Success: Women and the Fight for a Fair Economy - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode452
• Episode 455, How to Create a Sustainable Job Search Schedule When You’re Unemployed - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode455
• Episode 449, Your Cover Letter is Better With Bullet Points - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode449
• Kyle Elliott Consulting - https://caffeinatedkyle.com/
• Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecromerelliott/
• HIRED: A Job Search Accelerator to Land Your Dream Job - https://www.bossedup.org/gethired
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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What can your workplace do to celebrate holidays like Women’s History Month the “right” way? Whether you’re proud of how your organization shows support for marginalized groups in the workplace or feel like it could be doing more, my conversation with DEI educator and Ampersand Workspace founder Veronique Porter is just as (if not more) relevant today as when it first aired in May of 2023. 

Veronique shares what her experience as a Black American woman, her education in international development and American studies and culture, and her work as a facilitator has taught her about the best way to approach this often fraught topic—a way to create company events and initiatives for heritage holidays that uphold both company and employee values and stand to make a real difference.

Learn how your organization can host outstanding and inclusive cultural events:

• Why workplace wokeness doesn’t detract from the financial bottom line (and actually does the opposite);
• The significance of spending money and resources on heritage events;
• Why it’s vital to give every employee the chance to get involved;
• The importance of getting clear on the company’s values before diving in.

Related Links:

• McKinsey: These Women Experience the Highest Levels of Microaggressions - https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/chart-of-the-day/these-women-experience-the-highest-levels-of-workplace-microaggressions
• New York Times, “Google Calendar Deletes Women’s History Month and Other Cultural Events” - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/technology/google-black-history-womens-history.html
• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-art-of-gathering-how-we-meet-and-why-it-matters-priya-parker/588739?ean=9781594634932&next=t
• The Bossed Up Sports Reference case study - https://www.bossedup.org/forteams
• Morgan Freeman on why he doesn't want a 'Black History Month' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpnpIhqSLto
• Episode 304, White Fragility, White Women's Tears, and Dismantling White Supremacy - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode304
• Connect with Veronique Porter on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/veroniqueporter/
• Learn more about Ampersand Workspace - https://ampersand-workspace.com/
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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How can you reclaim your power in a job that’s just “good enough”?

It turns out The Perfect Job isn’t nearly as common as the LinkedIn posts would have us believe. Most of us spend our working hours in a job that’s okay but far from perfect. The good news is that you can thrive in a just-okay career if you embrace the art of “leading yourself.” 

In this episode, I sit down with Elizabeth Lotardo to talk about this very concept, which doubles as the title of her new book, Leading Yourself. Elizabeth has spent years helping people at all different stages of their careers discover the potential that awaits when they stop pursuing perfection and begin taking charge of the job they’re already in.

Learn to maximize the job you already have by uncovering:

• The reason we feel like we’re failing if we aren’t holding out for the perfect job;
• Why it can be empowering to “give up on the dream” of getting a paycheck from our passion
• How small changes in your day-to-day can make a huge difference;
• And when you might need to phone it in before you fall apart.

Related Links:

• Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have (Despite Imperfect Bosses, Weird Economies, Lethargic Coworkers, Annoying Systems, and Too Many Deliverables) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/leading-yourself-elizabeth-lotardo/20999467?ean=9781394238705&next=t
• Elizabeth’s website - https://www.elizabethlotardo.com/
• Follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethlotardo
• Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu - https://bookshop.org/p/books/drop-the-ball-achieving-more-by-doing-less-tiffany-dufu/8440970
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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Feel like you’re the only one keeping your friendships going? Recently, I received a letter from a listener about an extremely relatable issue: how to build or rebuild stronger friendships when it seems to be increasingly difficult to do so.

You’ve probably experienced some shifts in friend frequency and intensity throughout your adult years. Making plans and finding the right people to share platonic relationships with gets harder as our priorities shift and our lives get more hectic. In this episode, I explore some of the ways I’ve dealt with this increasingly common and publicized problem myself.

Spark some hope with these actionable approaches to fixing your friendships:

• Identify exactly what’s missing from your relationships;
• Normalize and ritualize casual hosting;
• Keep resentment from curbing your call for companions.

Related Links:

• I’m Starting to Think You Guys Don’t Really Want a “Village” on Slate - https://slate.com/life/2024/11/parenting-advice-friends-loneliness-village.html
• Stuff Mom Never Told You, Can We Be Friends? - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-mom-never-told-you-21123631/episode/can-we-be-friends-30231271/
• Americans Need to Party More on The Atlantic - https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/01/throw-more-parties-loneliness/681203/
• Bossed Up Episode 479: America’s Parents Are Not Okay - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode479
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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How do you get what you need from the people in charge?

It’s not just people managers who need to be good at influencing conversations; anyone who interacts with a supervisor or even a more dominant personality benefits from learning how to manage up. That’s what I’m covering today with Melody Wilding, the author of a new book, “Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in Charge.”

The book combines Melody’s work in emotion research and therapy with her professional development experience to teach everyone—from the new hire to the department director—how to communicate with confidence and comprehensive understanding, regardless of how different their and their boss’s communication styles might be. Improving this skill set has huge positive effects on not just how we rise at work but also how much we enjoy our time there.

Hear Melody’s insights to expertly manage your workplace conversations, including:

• Why you need to get into your boss’s head;
• How to set boundaries that ensure your time and expertise are respected; 
• How to plant the seed for your next promotion;
• Where assertive communication and advocacy at work overlap.

Related Links:

• Order “Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in Charge” - https://melodywilding.com/managingup/
• Melody’s website - https://melodywilding.com/
• Episode 218, “Managing Your Inner Critic” - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode218
• SPEAK UP: An Assertive Leadership Course for Women in the Workplace  - https://www.bossedup.org/speakup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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You’ve heard of paid family leave—but what about paid prenatal leave? 

Today’s episode highlights good news for women, workers, and families in the Empire State. As of January 1, 2025, New York enacted a first-of-its-kind new benefit that provides 20 hours of paid prenatal leave benefits to all pregnant private-sector workers.

Learn more about this groundbreaking new law and what it could mean for the rest of us:

• What rights pregnant New York workers are now entitled to;
• How this benefit came to pass in the New York State House;
• And how we might advocate for similar legislation nationwide. 

Related Links:

• Episode 414, New Rights for Pregnant Workers - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode414
• Episode 311, How to Talk About Marital Status, Parental Status, and Pregnancy in the Interview - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode311
• Episode 494, Matrescence and the Transformation of Motherhood - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode494
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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What do you know about matrescence? Most people will agree that everything changes with parenthood, and that’s what this term covers: the process of becoming a mother. Yet, despite shared private understanding and a large body of recent research on all the physiological and mental effects, many policies and medical processes continue to ignore what mothers have always known.

Lucy Jones is a journalist and the author of Matrescene: On The Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood. In this episode, we delve into what’s lacking in support for matrescence and why, and how ongoing research, policy changes, and sharing information through resources like Lucy’s book can help change the conversation. Whether you’re already a mother, are considering becoming one, or support one in any way, Lucy’s insights will be enlightening and empowering.

Discover the details of matrescence and why we need to talk more about it:

• The origins and importance of having a word for this universal, natural experience;
• The impact of not having enough information in the early months and years of parenthood;
• The permanent changes the brain goes through during this period;
• The social disconnect between the expectation to give birth and the lack of support.

Related Links:

• Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood by Lucy Jones - https://bookshop.org/p/books/matrescence-on-the-mind-body-spirit-transformations-of-pregnancy-childbirth-and-motherhood-lucy-jones/20398692
• Lucy’s website - https://lucyfjones.com/
• Discover all of Lucy’s books: https://lucyfjones.com/books/
• Lucy on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lucyfjones/
• Episode 333, An Honest Look Into Motherhood and Health - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode333
• Episode 488, Talking Menopause at Work - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode488
• Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure, Nature Neuroscience - https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4458
• The Birth Of A Mother by Alexandra Sacks - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/well/family/the-birth-of-a-mother.html
• Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution by Adrienne Rich - https://bookshop.org/p/books/of-woman-born-motherhood-as-experience-and-institution-adrienne-rich/8794956?ean=9780393541427
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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Today’s episode marks my return from maternity leave, and a lot has happened in the world since I was last behind the mic! I’m kicking off my return with a recap of the past few months and sharing my future vision for the Bossed Up podcast.

Tune in to hear my thoughts on election 2024,  transitioning from one child to two, and how the many hats I wear will impact the conversations we cover here in the coming months.

Tune in for some hot takes, reflections, and my vision for the future, including:

• Two observations that stuck out to me most during this campaign cycle;
• How becoming a “girl mom” has impacted my mindset;
• And a few experiments I’ll be exploring with the podcast this year.

Related Links:

• Episode 479: America’s Parents Are Not Okay - http://bossedup.org/episode479
• Episode 477: The Impact of State Abortion Bans on HR Politics - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode477
• Episode 469: Surprising Trends Impacting Women At Work - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode469
• Episode 463: A Different Approach To My Second Maternity Leave - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode463
• Boy Mom: Reimagining Boyhood In The Age of Impossible Masculinity by Ruth Whippman - https://bookshop.org/p/books/boymom-reimagining-boyhood-in-the-age-of-impossible-masculinity-ruth-whippman/20583177?ean=9780593577639&next=t&next=t
• NYT: Masculinity is on the Ballot https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/opinion/masculinity-liberal-conservative.html
• WTF Podcast with Marc Maron - https://www.wtfpod.com/podcast
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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How can positive psychology help curb burnout? We’re a bunch of overachievers here in the Bossed Up community, and burnout is a pretty common thread between us. Burnout is painful, frustrating, and—as my guest on this episode explains—more avoidable than we might think if we’re willing to work on “working happier.”

Stella Grizont was named the world’s leading happiness expert by TIME Magazine. She uses her master's in Applied Positive Psychology to help leaders find career fulfillment and organizations engage their employees more deeply. We discuss her recent book and how her approach can help you help yourself, leading to more enjoyment in work and in life.

Embrace Stella’s thoughtful approach to positive psychology by uncovering:

• The impact of negativity bias and a play mindset when navigating uncertainty;
• How to practice self-compassion when waffling between anxiety and excitement;
• Learned optimism and the three Ps that can help you cultivate a brighter outlook;
• Why we should focus on “What do I want to be?” before “What do I want to do?”

Related Links:

• The Work Happiness Method: Master the 8 Skills of Career Fulfillment - https://www.stellagrizont.com/work-happiness-method-book
• Download the Vision Generator - https://stellagrizont.mykajabi.com/visiongenerator
• Sign up for Stella’s newsletter on her website - https://www.stellagrizont.com/
• Connect with Stella on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-grizont-a4b7792/
• Connect with Stella on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stellagrizont/
• Oprah speaks to finding your vision - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfrOcfc8zNs
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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