Law And Culture

Beyond the Gym: The Workplace Wellness Crisis No One Is Talking About

Wellness is more than gym memberships, surveys, and data collection. It's about creating workplaces where employees can thrive without bullying, threats, harassment, or discrimination. Join employment law attorney Christel Best and a wellness attorney for a powerful conversation about what real workplace wellness looks like—and why a healthy workplace starts with how people are treated.

Check out Attorney Zabawa's publications:

1. Ouick & Easy Wellness Law: "No Fluff" Answers to Wellness Practionitioners
2. Law for Fitness Managers and Exercise Professionals
3. Rule the Rules of Workplace Wellness Programs

Episode 56 - If you dread at going to work? Why ? Are you being discriminated against or bullied? Maybe you're bored and feeling unappreciated?

If you enjoy the challenges and fulfillment of your work, are you able to share your exhilaration with your teams?

In this episode, I encourage you to A.C.T. {Assess. Connect. Tame}. I provide resources for you to Assess your own situation at work, then I encourage you to Connect with your own strengths and the stregths you may gain from people and organizations around you. Lastly, I challenge you to Tame the limiting behaviors and thoughts which keep you stuck in doing the sme things over and over. I provide some really great resources as well.

In this episode, Kevin Lynch of the National Constitution Center joined me to talk about the critically important work this non-profit, non-partisan entity is doing to educate people about our Constitution.

Musical Credit - Grand Patriotic March, Maxine Cobalt

Olympian Zara Northover joined me this week to share her story of what she feels were threats, gaslighting, workplace manipulations and abuse at Rocket Mortgage in Detroit, MI. Northover bravely shares her journey from the Beijing Olympics to Rocket Mortgage where Northover was a Product Manager of Strategy and Innovation. In that role, Zara identifed data that appears to have been problematic for Rocket Mortgage. Zara is now at the application stage with the US Supreme Court. She is looking for attorneys who can submit an amicus brief in the matter.

Want to learn more? Check out Zara's book "The Cost of Justice" www.movingfaith.com/products/the-cost-ofjustice

Supreme Court Case: www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/Docketfiles/html/public/26-5428.html

TedTalk - "We are Worth the Cost of Justice" - https://youtu.be/CKu3kvXQVA?is=VnVcuJN-IVVoVK02.

In this episode, I spoke with Attorney Keir Bradford-Grey. We talked on the Philadelphia morning radio show "Wake Up With WURD". We discussed changes afoot at the EEOC; specifically what it might mean if the EEOC does away with certain types of neutral data collection that shows subtle, even unconcious bias against historically disenfranchised groups. These are called "disparate impact" claims. For Keir, these disparate impact scenarios are more than just possiblities, they impacted her family. Listen in as Keir shares her own story about how disperate impact discrimination impacted her mother's work and the courage her mother had to fight back.

In this episode, I talk about my response to the EEOC's request for comments to its proposal to end employer data submission of to the EEOC which shows practices such as hiring, promotion and termination. The data collection tool called EEO-1 helps with accountability and reduces certain forms of discrimination.... Or is the requirement unduly burdensome to employers.

Your opinion matters.

On my August 5, 2025 podcast, I explained that I was inspired by a sign I saw in a bthroom stall. It encouraged people who had been bullied in the workplace to reach out to a phone number. I was intrigued by the posting since I was already discussing the topic through my training program at www.christelbesttraining.com. In that episode, I provided 3 key strategies for managers to avoid being a part of a workplace culture that allows bullying to persist.

I didn't know then that almost a year to the date later I'd be participating in the "Leverage Lab - A National Convening" conference on August 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. At the Leverage Lab we'll educate, support, inspire, motivate and take tangible steps at stopping bullying and workplace abuse.

Today, I'm replaying that episode from one year ago. The subjuect and the timing align perfectly. Have a listen and then consider participating at the conference. Get your tickets to the Leverage Lab at www.fairpathproject.com/national-conference.

We are pleased to welcome back former Target Asset Protection manager Jennifer Terry. In this episode, Terry walks through her experience of reporting a major security breach at the Pueblo Colorado Target warehouse. Jennifer shares how, following her report, her manager supported and promoted multiple males; all of whom were younger than she is. What does the emotional aftermath of workplace favoritism look like? How can you protect yourself following instances of possible discrimination or harassment?

Subscribe to see the latest chapter in Jennifer's story.

It's October 2023 and award-winning asset protection manager Jennifer Terry has just reported a major security breach at Target's Pueblo, Colorado warehouse. Listen in as Jennifer chronicles how she was abused for reporting the security breach. Jennifer's abuse did not involve yelling, screaming, hitting or physical attacks. Rather, there was systematic and ever-increasing criticism against Jennifer masked in the form of a Performance Improvement Plan. In this episode, we will look at how one employee of a major corporation experienced the gaslighting, silencing and intimidating subtle behaviors that escalated and left Jennifer unemployed from a career she cherished.

Subscribe to see the latest chapter in Jennifer's story.

Statistically, either you or someone who works with you has been, or is being bullied at work. It's hard to know where to turn when this scary and upsetting work environment is your daily reality. Go to HR? Just deal with it? quit? Get legal help? The questions swirl with very few clear answers. In today's episode, I had the honor of interviewing two experts in the field of workplace abuse. These experts walk us through some answers-- real, informed and useful answers. We'll meet Nora Delay, a spokes person for "End Workplace Abuse", who is also an organizational psychologist and Founder of Aria, an AI driven platform that helps people lead better. We'll also hear from Kimberly Williams, Founder at the Fair Path Project which confronts the silent epidemic of workplace bullying by working with attorneys, legislators and HR professionals to create legislation that renders workplace bullying as potentially a violation of civil law.