Game Plan

The conventional wisdom on crying at work is: Don't do it. Executive coaches advise clients to hold back tears in times of distress. But what about when there's no stopping the waterworks? It happens. Many of us have had emotionally overwhelming moments at the office, and you know what? It's totally acceptable. That's right. It's OK to—sometimes—cry at work.

This week, Francesca and Rebecca tackle the taboo of tears in the office, arguing that crying at work, in moderation, is natural and can even be beneficial. They're joined by crying experts Susan Orlean and Sarah Thyre, who host Crybabies, a podcast about which movies, books, and music make people cry. Together they discuss strategies for making the most out of a good office cry.

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When Susan Fowler, a former engineer at Uber, told Human resources she was being sexually harassed, the company did nothing about it, she said. When she discovered other women had reported being harassed by the same manager, HR still did nothing. Last week, in a viral blog post, Fowler painted a picture of a toxic work environment where management ignores bad behavior and punishes people like Fowler. Her story is not unique to Uber, or the technology industry.

This week on Game Plan, Francesca and Rebecca dive into toxic workplaces, how people cope with them, and how they finally get out. Maureen Sherry, a former trader at Bear Stearns joins them to talk about the bro culture of Wall Street, where she endured sexual harassment for 12 years before finally getting fed up and leaving.

(Correct spelling of Bear Stearns in final sentence.)

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Do you suffer from exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficiency at work? Does the idea of getting up and going into the office fill you with dread? You might be suffering from burnout. While we tend to throw around the term, it's a specific psychological state. People who work in high-stress, high-stakes professions, such as medicine, are the most at risk. Yet even we cube-dwellers can overextend ourselves and reach a breaking point.

This week on Game Plan, Rebecca and Francesca seek advice on how to avoid burnout from Wharton professor and author of "Give and Take" Adam Grant. He explains how to be a "giver" at work without losing enthusiasm and energy for your job.

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The phrase “workplace safety” conjures images of factory floors or corny training videos that warn office workers against spilling hot coffee. But as work has begun to bleed into our personal and online lives, what it means to stay safe on the job has become murkier.

On this week's Game Plan, Francesca and Becca talk to Lauren Duca, a freelance writer for outlets that include Teen Vogue. Duca's articles and TV appearances have made her a target of severe online harassment, so she must work while considering whether bigoted, violent e-mails and social media posts constitute legitimate threats or mere words. We wrestle with how—and whether—employers can look out for workers when the threats to employee safety are virtual.

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In an ideal world, hard work and good ideas would be enough to succeed. In reality, getting things done at work requires playing the game, navigating office politics and persuading people to buy into your vision.

This week on Game Plan, Francesca and Rebecca get some tips and tricks from Derek Thompson. He's the author of "Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction," a book that explores the popularity of all sorts of things -- from politicians to art and music. He explains how to use his insights to get ahead at work.

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People must take extended leaves of absences from work for many different reasons. The luckiest workers get paid for their time off, and have employers that make leaving and coming back as easy as possible. But for even the most privileged, reentering the workplace after a bunch of time off isn't entirely seamless.

One of our own, Game Plan co-host Francesca Levy, knows the realities of coming back very well. She's just back from a months-long hiatus for her own maternity leave. For her, in some ways, coming back has been easier than expected. In others, it hasn't: Pumping, anyone? Anna Sale, the host of "Death, Sex & Money," joins the show to talk about what she calls a "visible" leave and how she balances work and parenting.

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Most people wish they were more productive at work. To feed this never-ending desire for increased efficiency, an entire industry peddles so-called productivity hacks that promise quick fixes to snuff out procrastination and boost output. Unfortunately, most of this advice amounts to snake oil.

This week on Game Plan, Sam and Rebecca take a novel path to solving their productivity problems: The subconscious. Gary Latham, an organizational psychologist at the University of Toronto, joins them to discuss his decades of research into how subtle influences to our psyches can help us get more done at work. Productivity here we come!

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Four years ago, Sheryl Sandberg started a national conversation about women in the workplace with her wildly popular manifesto, Lean In. In it, she urged women to "lean in" to their work lives in ways that don't come naturally: Speak up in meetings and ask for raises, for example. For many, this advice was refreshing, even radical.

Unfortunately, a lot of it doesn't work, research has found. Sandberg herself has even walked back some of her claims, admitting it would be hard for a single mother to follow her advice. No matter what women do, they can't seem to get ahead. They still make up less than 20 percent of c-suite jobs, and the pay gap persists.

So, what now? This week on Game Plan, Sallie Krawcheck joins Sam and Rebecca to offer her advice on what women can do to succeed. In her new book, Own It, she argues that women don't need to act more like men to get ahead at work. Being a woman, she says, is more than enough.

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Every year we come back from the holidays and resolve to be our best workplace selves in the coming year. Some of us make specific New Year's resolutions, such as keeping a tidier desk. Others simply try to start the year off on their best foot. And then, about a month later, we slide right back into our old habits. Let's make this year different!

On this week's Game Plan, Sam and Rebecca make their own workplace New Year's resolutions. To make sure they stick to them, they enlist the help of Gretchen Rubin. Rubin, of "The Happiness Project," who also wrote a book about habits, "Better Than Before." She offers strategies on behavior change and making 2017 a year of good habits.

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New year, new workplace. That's our motto here at Game Plan. And with a new government administration, many workers' lives will likely change this coming year.

But how exactly? Will Donald Trump follow through on his promise of a federal paid maternity leave law? And will automation continue to gut jobs or can we keep humans employed? This week, on the final episode of 2016, Sam and Rebecca talk about some of the biggest changes coming to a workplace near you in 2017. See you next year!

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