"Pay me first, then I’ll do the work."

It sounds fair, right? But in this episode of Handled by The Y Variable, Yaa-Hemaa pulls back the curtain on why this mindset might be keeping early career professionals stuck.

Following up from Part 1's discussion, "What Managers Say About Gen Z Behind Closed Doors," we are diving into the solution. We explore the "broken social contract" of work and the uncomfortable truth: Managers don’t promote potential; they promote demonstrated capability.

If you feel like your initiative isn't being rewarded, or if you're a manager frustrated by a lack of "ownership" on your team, this video provides the framework to fix it.

In this video, you’ll learn:

The 3-Question Risk Check: How to decide if you should send that "pushy" follow-up email.

The "Evidence" Rule: Why you have to do the job for months (or years!) before you get the title.

For Managers: How to make the "invisible visible" and coach your team toward resilience.

The Script: A simple, non-annoying line to "bump" a project to the top of your boss's inbox. Stop waiting for the rules to change and start learning how to navigate the ones that exist, or build the reputation you need to find a better workplace.

HANDLED BY THE Y VARIABLE Making what's invisible visible and what's assumed obvious and explicitly stated. Each week, we translate the untold rules of work into actionable insights for managers and early-career professionals.

🔗 CONNECT WITH ME Website: theyvariable.com / [email protected]

Free Download: Workplace Translation Starter Guide: https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide 

Welcome to a special episode of Handled by The Y Variable! For the first time, host Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah sits down with a guest - Gregory Jack, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Ipsos Canada.

In this candid conversation, Greg shares his career journey from federal government to the energy sector to market research, offering practical wisdom on everything from career pivots to managing multi-generational teams. With insights grounded in Ipsos research on generational workplace dynamics, this episode delivers actionable strategies for both early-career professionals and experienced managers.

What You'll Learn: 

• How to approach career transitions with patience and an open mind 

• Why "quitting early" when something isn't right is actually smart career strategy 

• The critical importance of in-person workplace connection in a hybrid world 

• How to build your workplace "village" and meaningful professional relationships 

• Understanding Gen Z's unique workplace challenges and perspectives

 • Leadership advice: giving younger employees meaningful opportunities to contribute 

• Creating the kind of career legacy that impacts people, not just résumés

Whether you're starting your career, navigating a transition, or leading a team, this episode offers insights on bridging generational divides with empathy, understanding, and practical action.

Subscribe now for weekly episodes that cut through the buzzwords to deliver real solutions for modern workplace challenges.

About Gregory Jack: Greg is Senior Vice President of PUblic Affairsat Ipsos Canada, a leading global market research firm, specializing in government policy, political trends, energy, and U.S.-Canada relations, leveraging his extensive background as a senior public servant in both Canadian and Alberta governments, and frequently appears in media to interpret research data and political shifts. He leads Ipsos' public affairs in the Ottawa region, analyzing data for clients and the public, and has authored articles on Canadian political and generational trends. 

Free Download: Workplace Translation Starter Guide: https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

HANDLED BY THE Y VARIABLE

Making what's invisible visible and what's assumed obvious and explicitly stated. Each week, we translate the untold rules of work into actionable insights for managers and early-career professionals.

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: theyvariable.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yaa-hemaa-obiri-yeboah-3231659 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itstheyvariable/?hl=en 

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@itstheyvariable 

Want to work with me? Reach out at: [email protected] 

What are managers really saying about Gen Z when early-career professionals aren't in the room? In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on a conversation that's happening in leadership circles right now; and it's not what you think.

This isn't about the usual "kids these days" complaints. It's about leaders who genuinely care about developing their teams but are grappling with patterns they're seeing around professional risk-taking. Small risks like picking up the phone instead of sending an email, walking down the hall to start a conversation, or asking a question in a meeting seem magnified. These are things that used to feel routine but now seem to trigger hesitation.

If you're early in your career, you need to know this conversation is happening. And if you're a manager, you need to know you're not alone in what you're observing.

In this episode, we explore:

- The specific patterns managers are noticing around risk avoidance

- Why "What if I mess up?" has become such a loaded question for Gen Z

- How growing up with social media fundamentally changed the calculation around professional mistakes

- The difference between resilience as "toughening up" vs. resilience as specific capabilities

- Why some Gen Z employees already have this resilience built in (and who they are)

- What managers are really concerned about and why it comes from care, not judgment

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. In Part 2 we will get tactical with frameworks Gen Z can use to assess risk and strategies managers can implement to create safe spaces for practicing essential skills.

Free Download: Workplace Translation Starter Guide: https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

HANDLED BY THE Y VARIABLE

Making what's invisible visible and what's assumed obvious and explicitly stated. Each week, we translate the untold rules of work into actionable insights for managers and early-career professionals.

🔗 CONNECT WITH ME

Website: theyvariable.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yaa-hemaa-obiri-yeboah-3231659 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itstheyvariable/?hl=en 

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@itstheyvariable

You're doing great work. but is anyone noticing? In this episode, we're breaking down the untold rules of workplace visibility, especially in the age of AI.

If you've ever finished a big project and wondered "did anyone even see what I did?" then this episode is for you. We're sharing the Document → Distill → Deliver framework that helps early-career professionals build confidence from evidence, and how managers can create cultures where good work doesn't stay invisible.

What we cover: 

Why "good work speaks for itself" is outdated advice that can stall your career.

How to keep receipts of your wins without feeling fake or braggy. 

What managers wish Gen Z knew about making your contributions visible. 

How to talk about using AI at work without looking replaceable. 

Why visibility isn't vanity. It's information that protects your career. 

Practical tools you can start using today (including a weekly reflection habit that can really change how you show up).

This episode is for you if: 

You're an early-career professional who feels invisible despite doing solid work;

You're a manager wondering how to help your team advocate for themselves;

You're worried about whether AI is going to replace you;

You want to build real confidence based on evidence of your abilities, not just positive thinking.

Subscribe for a new untold rule every week

ABOUT HANDLED BY THE Y VARIABLE

Where workplace friction gets translated and transformed.

Each week, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah (founder of The Y Variable) offers insightful, human-centered leadership conversations that bridge the generational gap at work. You'll come away with practical frameworks that help managers and Gen Z work better together. It’s guidance you can use immediately.

Work with me: Speaking & Training | Manager Toolkits | Team Facilitation

  [email protected]  theyvariable.com

Did you know that part of your job is managing your manager? If you’re early in your career, in all likelihood, nobody told you this explicitly. Today, we're making this invisible expectation visible.

In this episode, you'll learn: what "managing up" actually means (and what it's NOT) and why this expectation is invisible to early-career professionals. 

Yaa-Hemaa offers three frameworks you can use starting tomorrow: 1) The Proactive Status Update, 2) Solutions Not Problems, and 3) Understanding Your Manager's World. Yaa-Hemaa will also show you some useful scenarios that show what this all looks like in action. 

For Gen Z: Managing up shouldn’t be viewed as manipulative; it's strategic communication that serves you in every job. It’s also how you build relationships and gain clarity at work.

For Managers: Members of your team who are early in their careers aren’t “difficult”  when they don't manage up naturally. They're operating in the dark because this expectation hasn’t been modelled to them. 

Subscribe for a new untold rule every week. Let's make what's invisible visible.

About Handled by The Y Variable

Where workplace friction gets translated and transformed.

Each week, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah (founder of The Y Variable) offers insightful, human-centred leadership conversations that help to bridge the generational gap at work. You’ll come away with guidance that helps managers and Gen Z work better together, with practical frameworks that can be used immediately. 

Work with me

86% of Gen Z workers want mentorship, but only half of them have it. 

In this episode, we make the unspoken rules of workplace mentorship explicit: how to find mentorship without seeming needy, how to offer mentorship without burning out, and how to make it work in the reality of a busy work week.

You'll learn:

Drop a comment or review with the best mentoring question you've ever been asked, or wish you'd asked. We'll compile the top ones for a future episode.

About Handled by The Y Variable

Where workplace friction gets translated and transformed.

Each week, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah (founder of The Y Variable) offers insightful, human-centred leadership conversations that help to bridge the generational gap at work. You’ll come away with guidance that helps managers and Gen Z work better together, with practical frameworks that can be used immediately. 

Work with me

Imagine this: you're three weeks into a new job. You receive a task from your manager, but it doesn't quite make sense to you.  So you ask, "Why are we doing it this way?" Suddenly, the energy shifts. 

For Gen Z, asking "why" is how they learn and how they get context. But for many managers? "Why" can sound like "I don't trust your judgment" or "I'm about to tell you why you're wrong."

In this episode, Yaa-Hemaa breaks  down the untold rule nobody explains: there's a hierarchy to questioning decisions at work, and there's a wrong way and a right way to ask "why". Watch for advice for  both employees AND managers to navigate these conversations with mutual respect and honesty.

What you'll learn: 

Download the free Workplace Translation Starter Guide: 

https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

About Handled by The Y Variable

Where workplace friction gets translated and transformed.

Each week, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah (founder of The Y Variable) offers insightful, human-centred leadership conversations that help to bridge the generational gap at work. You’ll come away with guidance that helps managers and Gen Z work better together, with practical frameworks that can be used immediately. 

Work with me

Every workplace runs on invisible rules. Phrases like "be proactive," "run with it," and "step up" make perfect sense to experienced managers, but can leave early-career team members guessing. The result? Misalignment, miscommunication, and frustration on both sides.

In this episode, we turn workplace shorthand into clarity. You'll learn how to translate vague expectations into specific, observable actions so managers and early-career professionals can actually thrive together.

In This Episode:

Who This Helps: Managers looking to reduce miscommunication and team anxiety and early-career professionals who want to align faster and show initiative without guessing.

Try the challenge and check out the free Workplace Translation Starter Guide:

https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

About Handled by The Y Variable

Where workplace friction gets translated and transformed.

Each week, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah (founder of The Y Variable) offers insightful, human-centred leadership conversations that help to bridge the generational gap at work. You’ll come away with guidance that helps managers and Gen Z work better together, with practical frameworks that can be used immediately. 

Work with me

What's the most important skill for the workplace that Gen Z can learn according to renowned therapist Esther Perel? It's not time management; it’s talking to strangers. 

In this episode of Handled by The Y Variable, Yaa-Hemaa explores why small talk is more than filler. It’s everyday improv that builds trust, resilience, and connection. You’ll learn how managers can coach new hires to engage with confidence and why genuine, unscripted conversations matter more than ever in today’s workplace.

Business doesn’t move solely at the speed of technology; it moves at the speed of relationships.

Free Download: Workplace Translation Starter Guide: https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

Work with me

This week on Handled by The Y Variable, Yaa-Hemaa Obiri-Yeboah explores one of today’s biggest workplace questions: how should we use AI without losing trust, learning, or accountability?

We talk about:

By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with a practical way to talk about AI on your team and a reminder that the goal isn’t to ban tools, but to build better thinkers.

Listen weekly for insightful, human-centred leadership conversations that help you bridge the generational gap at work.

Free Download: Workplace Translation Starter Guide: https://stan.store/theyvariable/p/workplace-translation-starter-guide

Work with me