The Big Balance

Despite the fact that our lives are so dependent on it, this pod has taken aim at the effects of technology in the past. This week we decide to put on our positive pants and call out some of the benefits tech brings us

Companies already monitor worker chats and emails - but how the ---- would you feel if those messages also got the ---- censored out of them after you hit the send button? We're not just talking about expletives, either... Brian runs through Amazon's alleged plans to do exactly that.

Toxic people suck. They also happen to be everywhere - so we better learn how to handle them. In this episode, Brian outlines some strategies to do exactly that.

The phrase "people-pleasing" is oftentimes viewed through a negative lens, is this a fair assessment? Let's examine what it means to be a people-pleaser and how we can use it to our advantage.

This week's episode has Brian and John taking a look at a Buzzfeed article? And looking at TikTok videos? Something can't be right here? Ah, but it's about the "right" way to take your PTO. Join the guys as they take the leap into Gen Z territory.

Check out the article yourself and let us know what you think:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristatorres/right-way-to-take-pto-tiktok

President Biden has made several calls for employees to go back to the office. But who does this serve? What would we gain as well as lose by giving up our work-from-home arrangements? RageQuit returns with stories about people pissed to have to go back to the office.

Special music this week:

Trailer Sport Trap Action | Horses by Alex-Productions | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0_M61F81Nfb-BRXE-SeVA Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Losing control can feel terrible. Obsessing about control can also feel terrible. Most of us walk the line between these two states of stress - In this episode, Brian and Andy talk about the best way to handle it.

Films like "The Internship" or "Wolf of Wall Street" are a fun watch - but how accurately do they portray life in corporate America? In this episode, Brian and John pretend to be film critics to gauge how true-to-life this genre really is.

Also, today is a special day for John as his band released their first single. Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1HjzYeb4atk9ZSU0Yuf1OJ?si=ce210002394d430d

It can seem like a selfish act to plan an entire trip around a singular hobby, especially when we already struggle to use our PTO, but trips like these can teach us a lot of valuable skills.

Let's go on tour with John and hear about his experience as an early 20-something in a van with six smelly guys. Would you drive 6 hours for a 30 minute reward? How about doing that 10 days in a row?

Is your company monitoring you while you work? They certainly have the capability. Brian and John weigh in on how they feel about several techniques used to monitor workers - and consider what it means for the future.