work appropriate

We're kicking off a new series on Work Appropriate called "My Industry Is Failing." First up? Academia.  Professor Dominique Baker of SMU joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer listeners' questions about surviving within academia when the whole institution seems irrevocably broken. Regardless of your own industry, you're sure to hear some familiar themes in these stories.

If you've got a workplace problem that feels emblematic of your own broken industry, we want to hear about it! Some of the realms we want to explore include health care, retail,  veterinary medicine, teaching, non-profits... the list goes on and on. Head to www.workappropriate.com to view submission guidelines and send us your question.

Just 10% of American workers are in a union. But according to a 2022 Gallup poll, support for unions is at 71%-- the highest since 1965. Unions can be a source of protection and security, but just like any organization they can be run poorly or run well. Maximillian Alvarez, editor in chief of The Real News, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answers questions from listeners about forming solidarity, reforming a corrupt union, and weighing their union options.

If you need advice about a workplace woe, let us know! Head to www.workappropriate.com and fill out the form. We use your questions to plan future episodes, so no problem is too petty, too weird, or too complicated.

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!

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!

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.

American society is still organized around a presumption that every family unit has a full-time caregiver in the home. Jessica Grose, mom of 2 and opinion writer for The New York Times, joins host Anne Helen Petersen to answer questions about the struggle, sadness, and burnout that comes from trying to still get by in that space, even when it isn't reality for millions of families.

If you've got a workplace quandary you want help figuring out, head to workappropriate.com to tell us about it.

Inspired by her immensely popular newsletter, author Anne Helen Petersen turns her attention to the wild world of work in Work Appropriate. Featuring guest appearances by the smartest people Anne knows, the show delivers humorous but practical workplace advice for a range of listener questions. The problems may be limitless but so are the solutions!

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