If you thought your awkward Zoom moment was bad… buckle up.

In this episode of Under NDA, hosts Dorian and Woody are joined by guest Linda, a longtime employee benefits consultant, to share two unforgettable stories from the remote work era.

First up: a marketing team member dials into a Zoom call from what sounded suspiciously like a waterpark. When asked about it? Denial. Next: a senior account manager joins an all-hands meeting shirtless after a post run cool down, unaware his camera’s on and dozens of coworkers are watching. Whoops.

We explore the rise of video call mishaps, remote work culture, and the bigger questions behind accountability, honesty, and leadership in the age of working from anywhere.

🎙️ If you’ve ever been on mute, off mute, or just off your game, this one’s for you.

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In this episode of Under NDA, guest Nicole joins us to unpack two classic corporate trainwrecks:

Story 1: “Bonuses for Who?”
A consulting firm calls an all-hands to celebrate record-breaking performance—then tells employees there won’t be any bonuses. The message? Leadership is thriving… you’re just lucky to have a job.

Story 2: “Failing Upward”
Meet Brad: a manager with zero EQ, vague feedback, and a knack for taking credit for other people’s work. Naturally, he gets promoted—and his team breathes a collective sigh of relief.

We dig into performative leadership, the myth of meritocracy, and how companies keep getting management so, so wrong.

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Workplace comedy meets corporate horror—again. In Part 2, Under NDA serves up two more head shaking tales of control obsessed leadership and morale in free fall. Former tech exec turned Code TV (https://codetv.dev) creator Jason joins the mic to discuss workplace control run amok.

Stories in this episode:

1. “Why I Left the Startup” –  A product manager promised “zero red tape” arrives in a Notion jungle of templates, mandatory rewrites, and Slack policing, right down to bug ticket titles. 
2. “The Priorities Were the Problem” –  An engineering manager celebrates a freshly agreed roadmap until execs change course 48 hours later (and again the next week, and the next…). ICs scramble, weekends vaporize, and Jason’s blood pressure hits new highs.

Along the way we unpack leadership FOMO, template tyranny, and why great managers know when to back off and let teams cook.

Make sure to also listen to Episode 3 – “Control Issues Everywhere” (Part 1). 

Have a corporate horror story of your own? Submit it (anonymously) at UnderNDApodcast.com.

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Workplace comedy meets corporate horror. In “Control Issues Everywhere, Part 1,” Under NDA dishes up two jaw dropping tales of bad boss behavior, toxic management fails, and HR nightmares.

Stories in this episode:

1. “Consistently Unreasonable” – Meet the manager who decided that 5:30 a.m. (!) was the perfect time for a mandatory, cameras on weekly meeting…for a totally local team with zero emergencies. (Spoiler: the whole thing goes off the rails, and the cameras do, too.)
   
   
   
2. “The Manager Who Faked a Data Breach” – Think phishing drills are harmless? Try a newbie boss who impersonates the CEO, dangles a $100 carrot, and then publicly shames the click-happy victims on a leaderboard.

Sprinkled between the stories: spicy takes on grind culture, quiet-quitting survival tips, and the kind of unfiltered banter that’ll make your next Zoom call feel tame.

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A wise woman once said- “no career has ever been made at a corporate event, but many a career has been lost…”

So what happens when a brand-new hire dazzles and then detonates before Day 1 even arrives? And how do you handle an HR crusade that suddenly outlaws every hug, even though it’s part of company culture?

This week, game-industry insider Andrew K. joins us  to discuss these “too much, too soon” scenarios. We tease out where the line between healthy enthusiasm and instant career suicide really lies, and Andrew shares the playbook he’d use as a manager:

• spotting the red flags before an off-site implodes,
• salvaging culture without swinging the policy hammer, and
• coaching teams to read the room, without killing the vibe.

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What if the developer everyone praises for flawless code has never actually touched the codebase?

What if the “always online” analyst shows up in every system log, yet never lifts a finger?

And what if a harmless looking expense line hides the boldest reimbursement request your finance team has ever seen?

Veteran marketing leader Kat Stratford joins us to dissect three workplace stories where perks overshadow the work itself.

Together we sift clues, debate motives, and tease out the leadership lessons buried beneath the smoke and mirrors. By the end, you’ll rethink what “reliable” really means, and see why transparency still beats trickery, even in an AI-driven world.

New episodes drop on Wednesday’s, so make sure to Follow us and share Under NDA with your friends and colleagues. 

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A discussion between hosts that sets the tone for the upcoming podcast. Get ready! It's a blast!

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