Work Appropriate

Our society's understanding of ambition is that it never stops burning, that it rules your life and every decision you make, and that it somehow lands people in some mystical land of perfect contentment. But how much ambition is too much? Or what if, after decades of striving, your ambition is just... gone? Rainesford Stauffer, author of the forthcoming All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to hear from listeners about the vagaries of ambition when it comes to work — and how to conceive of ambition as a potentially positive force outside of work.

Questions from listeners are how we plan future episodes-- so if you've got a workplace quandary you want help figuring out, let us know! Head to www.workappropriate.com and fill out the form, or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

On this show, we talk a lot about systemic workplace problems, with roots in rapid-growth capitalism, the gender and racial wage gap, etc. Today, we're doing something a little different-- we're talking about the little things coworkers do that are just plain annoying. Writer Lyz Lenz joins host Anne Helen Petersen about how to cope when your colleagues are on your last nerve.

Got a workplace quandary you need help solving? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know!

"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" sounds like sage advice, but it doesn't account for the burn-out, demoralization, constant churn, and low pay of so many passion jobs. Lisa Sánchez, city council member for Boise, Idaho, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer listeners' questions on how to manage when a passion job is wearing you out.

Got a workplace quandary you need help addressing? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know.

For people who aren't white, straight, cis men, being your authentic self at work can be risky. Even though your identity isn't and shouldn't be a problem, many workplaces treat it like one. We received a slew of listeners' questions along these lines-- from choosing to come out at work, to celebrating LGBTQ+ employees in a hostile work environment, to caring for oneself in the process of asking for accommodations-- so host Anne Helen Petersen invited writer and creator Morgan Givens to help answer them.

Got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know!

It's the start of a new year-- and with that inevitably comes resolutions to get out of a soul-sucking job and into a life-giving one. But job hunting can be really frustrating, and the process can be opaque. Laura Mariani, a neuroscientist-turned-recruiter, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer listeners' questions about deciphering job postings, inquiring about remote work policies, and pivoting industries altogether.

Got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know. 

This is Work Appropriate's version of a holiday episode! As work parties ramp up, so do small talk conversations about diets and eating habits. So what can you say at the holiday potluck when your boss comments on people's weights, or says she's being "so bad" for eating a brownie? What can you do when your workplace cafeteria has calorie counts plastered everywhere? How can you have a frank conversation about accommodations you need for work travel when you have a larger body? Virginia Sole-Smith joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer all these listener questions and more.

Got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know!

There are plenty of reasons people choose to freelance-- better hours, more money, freedom from all-staff emails. But then... there's often a moment when you look around and realize that you've created a toxic work environment for yourself. In this episode, freelancer extraordinaire Wudan Yan joins host Anne Helen Petersen to help freelancers everywhere become better bosses to themselves.

Got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know!

Sometimes there's no amount of therapy that's going to fix your relationship with your job. Sometimes your company's culture might be irreparably toxic. And also, sometimes you're just... bored. But when should you cut bait and move on? Jane Coaston, host of the New York Times podcast The Argument, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer listeners' questions about whether it's time to quit.

Got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out? Head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know.

Starting a new job is almost always stressful-- there's, of course, the tasks and workflow to figure out, but there's also a whole new culture and set of norms to find your place in.  Throw in a pandemic and remote work, and it's gotten even more complicated. Work has changed. It’s not going back to how it was. And it’s time for us to figure out new ways to onboard and mentor within this new way of working. 

Joining host Anne Helen Petersen is Adrian Hon, founder and CEO of Six to Start, a game design company with an entirely remote workforce. Together, they answer listener questions about how to onboard new employees efficiently, what kinds of team-building activities won't make everyone roll their eyes, and whether you should listen to the "new job remorse" you're feeling.

If you've got a workplace quandary you want help figuring out, head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know.

Often, people get promoted into management because they're good at their jobs-- not because they know anything about managing people. In this episode, Melissa Nightingale from Raw Signal Group joins host Anne Helen Petersen to posit that management is a skill that can be learned. From learning to manage a remote workforce, to dealing with generational differences in the workplace, to setting a good work-life-balance example to young reports-- we answer listeners' questions about all things managerial.

If you've got a workplace quandary you need help figuring out, head to www.workappropriate.com and let us know.