Problem Performers

We need to destigmatize mental illness at work.

CW // Suicide
 
“What I didn’t realize (about bipolar disorder) was that my mental illness was fueling my success,” says Natasha Bowman, Founder & President of Performance ReNEW and Author. Natasha continuously poured herself into her career as an accomplished HR Executive and Consultant and believed that her work defined her. When she attempted suicide one unbearable night, she realized that her professional burnout was untreated depression. After finally evaluating her mental health, Natasha shares her story to destigmatize mental illness in the workplace and promote a kinder, more aware world.
 
There is minimal emphasis on mental health in the workplace. Though some environments may provide physical wellness resources, health insurance typically fails to provide enough coverage for adequate therapy. Nor are there actual therapists on-site to support workers. Natasha argues that company cultures need to change to ensure that work no longer creates or exacerbates mental health issues for employees.
 
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a crucial conversation on mental health and professional life. Learn more about Natasha’s mental health journey, the long-term psychological impact of the pandemic, and what employers can do to address mental health in a life-saving way.
 
Quotes
• “I’m always asking, ‘You have privilege. What do you do with your privilege?’ It’s not about being ashamed of having privilege. It’s about what you do with that privilege. Lend your privilege to others.” (4:59-5:08)
• “What I didn’t realize (about bipolar disorder) was that my mental illness was fueling my success… I was always, I know now, in a manic episode. I lived in mania. I could go nights without sleep. You feel like you’re on top of the world. You can accomplish everything. People would ask me as a Black woman, “How can you walk in the room so confident?” I just thought, “Oh, that’s just me. That’s my personality.” But it was the mania that fueled my career in a positive direction. It wasn’t until Covid happened… that I realized I had wrapped who I was into my career and profession. And when that was taken away from me, I didn’t know who I was anymore.”(6:04 - 7:50)
• “You are enough. Set expectations for yourself, and make sure those expectations are reasonable. Sometimes my best is to sleep all day, and that's all I can do. And everybody has to be okay with that.” (19:07 - 19:31)
• “Black women are the most educated population in America, but the most left behind. You hit that ceiling and have gotten the degrees and the certifications but can't get ahead. Sometimes, that seat at that table that we want is uncomfortable, and we don't want to be in it. We don't want to sit at every table. Set your own table.” (20:07 - 20:40) 
• “I have to remind myself, you are enough, just as you are. And you don't need validation and confirmation from any organization, because if they are not giving that to you, they don't deserve you.” (21:45 - 21:56) 
• “Most workplaces focus on physical wellness. They're providing gym memberships, weight loss programs, nutrition programs, steps, challenges, all these things, for your physical health. And we need that, but there's no real resource for mental health. So, it's looking at what resources you are providing and including mental health in your health insurance because it isn't enough.” (22:21 - 22:57)
• “Many organizations have an occupational health office or workforce health and safety office. If we have faculty injured at work, I can go there, and they'll patch me up. Why don't we have a therapist on-site? Why don't we have someone, where if I'm being bullied, experiencing a toxic work environment, or I'm just feeling sad and depressed, or struggling with my mental health for other reasons, I can go there or at least pick up the phone and talk to someone?” (23:23 - 24:04) 
• “I don't care what resources and benefits you provide. If I'm walking into a toxic work environment that's not promoting mental wellness, then that's an issue. There are no resources that are going to accommodate for that.” (24:11 - 24:28)
• “We're just not addressing the long-term impact of this pandemic…We are not even discussing how we go back, reflect, and heal from what we just went through for almost three years.” (37:39 - 38:05)
• “It took me a while to accept that I was someone living with a mental illness… Even in my own head, there’s a stigma around it. And I have to talk myself off the ledge, ‘That's okay. One in five people in the US suffers from it. It's more common than a heart attack or stroke…’ Once you accept it, then you're able to figure out how to live with it.” (40:29 - 41:11)
• “There was a reason that I woke up on January 26. I don't know how I woke up. I just knew what I needed to do. I'm turning that pain into purpose so that others can wake up to their feelings and not have to be so solid anymore. If you're not suffering, wake up to those that suffer, and provide them with support, resources, and empathy. That's the keyword there because that's what's missing when it comes to mental illness.” (46:03 - 46:50)
Links
Natasha’s Survey on mental health: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K5CVVSG
Natasha LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashabowmanjd/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_workplace_dr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NatashaBowmanJD
Natasha’s website: https://performance-renew.com
Pre-Order for her new book The Power of One: Leading With Civility, Candor, and Courage
And check out her previous book: You Can't Do That at Work: 100 Legal Mistakes That Managers Make In The Workplace
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text Hello to 741741
 
Connect with HRuprise at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
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The Bill Clinton scandal was about your workplace.

“White women in white-collar and creative industries, please situate yourselves in the power structures that you are in,” implores Jeannie Yandel. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Eula Scott Bynoe and Jeannie Yandel, intersectional feminist podcasters extraordinaire, discuss the Bill Clinton scandal and how it relates to workplace power dynamics.
 
Monica Lewinsky’s entire life was turned upside down by her affair with Bill Clinton, while he faced minimal consequences and continued his career in office. Yet no one at the time seemed to recognize, much less question, the vastly unbalanced power dynamic that defined their relationship. Eula and Jeannie discuss how this relates to today’s workplace structures, and how often people labeled ‘problem performers’ are in fact targets or scapegoats of a structural power imbalance. Case in point: Eula, a Black woman, has been labeled a problem performer many times throughout her career, whereas Jeannie, a white woman, has never – at least not to her face. 
 
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a conversation with Eula Scott Bynoe, Jeannie Yandel, and host Rebecca Weaver about the ways gender and race define power dynamics at work, and why the Bill Clinton Scandal has EVERYTHING to do with your modern workplace.
 
Quotes
• “The consensuality (between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton) is beside the point of what’s at stake. For her, it’s everything. For him, it’s nothing. Even if she signed up to be intimate with him, she didn’t sign up to lose her entire life as a result of it.” (15:41-15:58 | Eula)
• “As a Black woman, I have to make every single decision super consciously, right? And if I don’t do it right, I could just fall off the Planet Earth and be one of them that’s literally just taken and disappears, or other things that happen to Black women in America.” (16:09-16:25 | Eula)
• “I don’t know if we as white women have gotten any better (since the Bill Clinton scandal). Because I think that we still use our whiteness to gain proximity to power in patriarchy. I think that we still weaponize the notion of supporting other women to our own advantage. And I think we still will paint ourselves as the victim when it’s advantageous.”  (23:20-23:49 | Jeannie) 
• “White women, in terms of workplace structures in large part, we refuse to recognize the power dynamics at play, whether it’s because we’re legitimately ignorant of it, or there’s something else happening there. But we’re ignoring or refusing to recognize a power structure at play, and our role in it.” (25:56-26:21 | Jeannie)
• “One of the other things that struck me with this Bill Clinton scandal was how many of these people would argue that essentially they are mission-driven. They’re doing this because of their patriotism. Every single person here is making an argument about, “I have a vision for what my country should be and I’m fighting for that.” And where the stakes are much, much, much lower, I do think that there is something in common there with the people that you meet in some workplaces who talk about caring very deeply about the mission of the place where they work, caring very deeply for what that workplace exists to do. That happens a lot in public media. People will sing the praises of the mission of public media all the live-long day, as though that excuses a lot of the things that we’ve gotten wrong.” (30:08-31:35 | Jeannie)
• “Companies don’t realize how often they are the bad guys in situations because of how much they’re looking to create their mission of “freedom of speech.” And in doing so, letting somebody use the N-word all day long, tell people that vaccines are killing people and all the other misogynistic things that happen. It’s a wild thing. It’s just Rush Limbaugh of 2022.” (33:27-33:58 | Eula)
• “The Rush Limbaugh to Joe Rogan line, it’s largely white, cisgender, straight dudes, or at least straight-appearing dudes, who are like, “I’m just here to ask the question. It’s just important that somebody ask the question.” Which is another example of not taking responsibility for power dynamics that are at play and your role in them, and pretending that you as an individual are the most important thing here.” (35:43-36:19 | Jeannie)
• “I think most workplaces have lots of kinks in them. And I’m one of those people that goes in and when I see the kinks, I really want to fix them. Some people don’t. Some people get a job and they’re like, ‘This place is really messed up and I can just disappear…’ I am the complete opposite. I came here to work. I want to see exactly what the flaws are. I want to figure out where the injustices are. I want to figure out if we’re doing the right thing. Ideally, the job is for the community. I really didn’t know that there were jobs outside of community service jobs until I was, I guess really, really grown up… I thought that you had to think of something that was going to help someone abolish a problem. So it’s been interesting realizing that for a lot of people, it’s just that. But for me, I’ve been written up a million times.” (41:46-42:53 | Eula)
• “I think part of being labeled a problem performer is, it’s as much about the person giving you the label as it is about you and your actual performance.” (48:04-48:14 | Jeannie)
• “Part of the weirdness of workplace power structures is that your boss or someone with more power than you can talk about you to someone else. And that can be just as damaging as having something on a permanent record, or part of your annual review, or the reason you were let go.” (48:37-48:54 | Jeannie)
• “You ruffle people’s feathers with how visionary you are. And I think that sometimes it’s kind of annoying when someone has a really good vision and does really good work, but you just didn’t want to go there.” (50:56-51:12 | Eula)
• “White women in white-collar and creative industries, please situate yourselves in the power structures that you are in. You are not just an individual operating in a chaotic cosmos all by yourself. You are part of a power structure. And in the same way that you, as an individual, are not responsible for fixing every form of oppression you experience in the workplace, and every bias you experience in the workplace, you are also not completely absolved of responsibility for your role in the power structures that currently exist.” (55:35-56:13 | Jeannie)
 
Links
 
Connect with Eula Scott Bynoe and Jeannie Yandel
Listen to Battle Tactics For Your Sexist Workplace at https://btswpodcast.com/ 
 
Follow Battle Tactics on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTSWpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btswpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BTSWpodcast
 
Follow Eula on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EulaScottBynoe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eulalurene/
 
Follow Jeannie on social media: 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeannieyandel
 
Connect with HRuprise at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
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Blow up the patriarchy, one financial plan at a time.

“If you can’t find who you want to help you, become that person,” says Peggy Haslach, Financial Advisor with The Finity Group. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Peggy discusses difficulties faced by women and LGBT employees in the financial service field. 
The financial service industry is heavily male-dominated with outdated stigmas that can cause women and LGBT employees to feel uncomfortable speaking up. The majority of LGBT employees still choose to hide their identity at work due to fear of marginalization. Financial planning heavily revolves around the nuclear family which bypasses the needs of anyone with a less traditional family structure. To dismantle the patriarchy, the definition of family must be broadened to truly work for each individual’s needs. 
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a conversation with Peggy Haslach and host Rebecca Weaver about the impacts of the patriarchy on financial planning. Learn what changes are needed to make the financial services sector more inclusive of LGBT and female employees. 
 
Quotes 
• “If you can’t find who you want to help you, become that person.” (3:08-3:13)
• “A majority of LGBT cover their identity at work. And actually, now it’s gotten worse, especially in financial services and in those male-dominated fields where you feel if you talk about your own situation, you will become marginalized or you’ll become otherized in the workplace.” (4:48-5:16) 
• “There’s a lot of people who think that LGBT women don’t know how to handle money. Where does that come from? I think a part of it is because they’re afraid to be honest about what their financial situation is, for fear of being judged.” (6:20-6:46)
• “I think one of the most unique challenges (LGBT people face in financial services) is the family dynamics that happen a lot of time in the LGBT (community)... When your family doesn’t understand your situation, or in many cases you’re estranged from your family, you feel that (you’re) being discounted.” (7:35-8:03)
• “Financial services were built on transactional relationships. So in other words, you sold somebody something. But what I’m finding with women and LGBT and small business owners is they want more collaboration. They want more conversation. The real planning is listening to their needs and saying, ‘OK, how can we do that?’ So how we blow up the family is saying, ‘There is no fixed answer. Let’s really try to help these individuals get to their goals.’” (13:36-14:25)
• “There’s a concept in our field, ‘fake it till you make it,’ which drives me nuts. Here I am sitting on the DEI committee and I remember turning to some of the leaders of the firm and saying to them, ‘do you still have that policy fake it til you make it?’ And they said ‘Yeah, we do. That’s how we train everybody.’ I said, ‘Can I ask you a question? How does a 56 year old LGBT female fake it? Who does she emulize?’ I never got an answer to the question. I handed in my resignation letter the next day.” (38:10-39:00) 
 
Links
Connect with Peggy on social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggyhaslach/ 
https://www.facebook.com/tfgpeggyhaslach 
https://www.instagram.com/peggy_haslach_she_her_hers/   
 
And through her involvement with patriarchy-exploding financial orgs like:
https://pursestrings.co/ 
https://www.thewsource.com/ 
https://femalesandfinance.com/ 
https://thefinitygroup.com
 
Connect with a coach at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
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When employees work less, they achieve more.

“We have to remember that we borrow our people from their lives,” explains Charlotte Lockhart, founder and CEO of 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit community promoting the benefits of a productivity-focused and reduced-hour workplace. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Charlotte discusses how reducing the work week actually increases productivity.
Charlotte’s 4 Day Week Global community focuses on bringing pilot programs into businesses to demonstrate the effectiveness of a reduced work schedule. The 40-hour work week was designed at a time when life looked very different for most employees. With the increased connectivity and workloads of modern life, it is no longer a well-balanced solution for most businesses. By reducing the length of the work week, business owners can reduce stress and burnout levels in their employees, and increase their efficiency as a result.
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a conversation with Charlotte Lockhart and host Rebecca Weaver about the impact a reduced work week could have on your business, and how to broach the idea with your boss. Learn more about Charlotte’s pilot program and the ways businesses can adapt to better value their employees’ time.
 
Quotes 
• “Life is shorter than you might think, often, and when I mean that it’s not just your physical life, but we turn around and in the blink of an eye our work life is gone.” (04:21-04:32)
• “In the end, what we’re talking about when we’re talking about the four-day work week or some form of reduced-hour work week is we’re talking about rebalancing the place that work has in our lives. If we think about it, when we first had the 40-hour work week…our society was constructed differently. We didn’t have laptops and cellphones, and generally it was just dad that went to work, and he was generally home for family meals, and mum did the children and the community and charity stuff.” (05:44-06:28)
• “Work’s place in our lives has gotten out of proportion to where it should have been, even with the 40-hour week. So the conversation we’re having with people is actually, how do we rebalance that life for ourselves?” (06:54-07:07)
• “When I’m talking to employers I say, ‘We have to remember that we borrow our people from their lives’....If you take that attitude to your employment and into your environment, then actually you’ve got to think, ‘Okay, so if the bit of someone’s life that I have them for is to give me a productive outcome, then how can I do that with them that means that they can have more time away from work.” (07:11-07:50)
• “At its heart, our program is a productivity-gaining program. We say to people ‘you need to join together with your people to find ways to do what your business does in less time. How you do that really will be up to the business, your people, and your customers’...It’s about management and business owners recognizing that they’re in partnership with their employees.” And when you treat that relationship as a partnership and respect each other in a partnership-style role, you’ll actually drive things better. And that’s what all the successful companies do.” (08:01-08:48)
• “We’ve been talking about health and safety in the workplace for so long now, but really, it’s just been safety. And so the pandemic has given us a renewed focus on how we can work. Who’d have thought that you can run your business from home?” (11:08-11:29)
• “The people are choosing their workplace, not the other way around. And this is a significant shift, and it’s global.” (13:06-13:17)
• “Even though in our employment contracts it says ‘you will work these days, and you will work these hours, and we’ll give you this amount of time off,’ even though our employment contracts largely are around time, what we’re really employing people to do is an output. An outcome. We’re looking for what you’re going to give me, and what’s your productive outcome. So what we’re doing is we’re shifting from measuring time to valuing time.” (18:47-19:18)
• “Leadership’s job in (adopting a 4-day week) is to decide to do it. And then there’s a full stop. Because actually, the only people who can truly work out how to make this a success are your team…The companies that have either look at this and then not run a pilot, or have started it and then stopped doing it, all got to that position because the C-suite got in the way.” (21:00-21:51)
• “In your workforce at any time, between one in four and one in five [people] in your workforce have a workplace stress or mental health issue. And that’s probably greater with all of us coping with life post-pandemic…So those people are already not performing to a very high standard, because you just can’t. And we know that burnout rates are skyrocketing, and unprecedented. And of course, somebody that’s leading up to a burnout looks like they’re hyperproductive because there’s a bit of a manic phase that goes in before burnout…You only know you’re burning out when you’ve burnt out.” (23:14-24:05)
• “If you give (employees) more time to recover and more time to look after themselves, more time to eat well and exercise and engage with community, and engage with all of the things that top us up whether it be physically or emotionally or mentally, then they will perform better for you in the time that they are with you. And so by giving people, for example, Wednesday off, then you are going to get better productivity out of them for the rest of the time.” (24:40-25:14)
• “You run a reduced-hour 4 day week pilot in your business, you’re going to get a more productive business, more profitable business, and a happier workforce, and it won’t have cost you a cent. So it’s kind of like a win-win.” (28:47-29:03)
 
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottelockhartnz/
www.4dayweek.com
 
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Our time is the most valuable thing we have.

“If you want to change your life, you have to chase a feeling,” explains Katrina Kibben, HR and recruiting expert and CEO of Three Ears Media. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Katrina discusses the Great Resignation, the international trend that is occurring as people discover the power they have to change their lives by leaving toxic work environments behind.
As a trans and non-binary person, Katrina is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. They explain that they created their company, Three Ears Media, in part because of an experience of being labeled a “problem performer” in a previous job. Katrina now lives and travels in a converted van while running their company, something they always wanted to do, but that felt unrealistic until the pandemic shifted work culture. They describe to listeners the importance of listening to your gut no matter what, especially when it comes to breaking out of an unhealthy or unfulfilling job.
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a conversation with Katrina Kibben and host Rebecca Weaver about embracing your differences, following your gut, and reclaiming your power. Learn more about what is commonly referred to as “The Great Resignation” and what it means for employers and employees alike. 
 
Quotes
• “We say that work has changed. We say that we’re upgrading, that we have higher value on people, that we’ve changed our culture, but we haven’t changed a lot of the artifacts that represent the culture of the company. Job postings are of course one of those artifacts and it’s really fascinating to look back 40, 60, 100 years and realize how consistent the job postings still are despite the world being very different now than it was 100 years ago today, yet we haven’t changed the currency of recruiting. We haven’t changed the job posting. It’s the one thing that everyone has and you really shouldn’t be hiring or firing without it.” (6:08-6:53)
• “I’ve actually come to believe that people who struggle in traditional environments, it’s for different reasons and typically it’s because there’s not good infrastructure around leadership.” (15:26-15:38)
• “I work with a team of people who tell me daily how traumatizing other work environments have been for them. To the point where I have to talk them through not working, or realizing that it’s OK not to turn on their camera…People having immune attacks, and saying, ‘Well, I just wanted to get through our call.’ And I’m like, ‘You go to the hospital!’” (20:26-20:55)
• “I literally have been on a call during an emergency, where the emergency happened while I was on the call, and I waited for a quiet moment to tell them I was leaving…that is not okay. It is not okay, from the depths of my heart. It kind of makes me want to cry, to even admit that I lived like that. That I thought that work was more important than literally my physical wellbeing.” (21:03-21:34)
• “We told ourselves for many years that we were the only ones, that we were taking it wrong, that we needed this to survive. And all of a sudden the market flipped, the tables turned, and the job market is a wide open field. You want to go? Run. You want more money? Go get it. You want better hours? Shoot for the stars. You want to go remote and ask for all this? Live your life! And all of a sudden people are like, “Wait, I get to set the terms?” Hey, newsflash. We always had the power to set the terms.” (22:34-23:12)
• “Time is the only thing we cannot buy, trade or sell. It is literally the most valuable thing we have.” (25:58-26:11)
• “If you want to change your life, you have to chase a feeling. If something does not make you feel the way you want to feel, you will not change shit. Nothing. Not one fucking thing will change about your life if all you do is try to say, “Oh yeah, I’m just doing the thing and I followed the rules.” If you had to follow the map, the map is not the answer. The feeling is the answer.” (30:42-31:15)
• “If your gut screams, ‘Oh my god, this project is going to suck,’ it is going to suck. You should say no. No matter the amount of money.” (34:55-35:03)
• “I’m trans and nonbinary and I grew up in a military family so I know what it feels like when you don’t fit in anywhere.” (38:09-38:15)
 
Links
Read Katrina’s blog at https://katrinakibben.com
Follow them on social media @katrinakibben
https://twitter.com/katrinakibben 
https://www.instagram.com/katrinakibben/
 
Connect with a coach at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
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”Professionalism” is a dehumanizing concept.

“We are human beings, even when we’re at work. And we really have to be treated as such,” says Rebecca Weaver, Problem Performers host and Founder of HRuprise. On today’s episode, Rebecca discusses her personal experience with workplace dehumanization and explains how employers can do better.
Rebecca describes the experience of undergoing radiation treatment for cancer and being visibly emotionally distressed, while none of the technicians noticed. To these professionals, her treatment was just another part of their job. Rebecca relates this experience to HR and the relationship employers have with their employees. Too often, companies choose to emphasize productivity over humanity and label it as “professionalism.” 
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers with host Rebecca Weaver for a conversation about why “professionalism” is a dehumanizing concept. Learn how to improve your workplace culture by recognizing the humanity in others and not allowing the myth of “professionalism” to rule your work life.
 
Quotes
• “[During COVID], companies taught us that they are perfectly capable of making life more sustainable for employees. Remote work? Perfectly functional. Commuting is totally unnecessary. I think about it now and I really do think how on earth did we used to do the commute five days a week?…in-person supervision is totally unnecessary.” (5:35-6:22)
• “We’ve learned through (the experience of covid) that our careers are precarious, probably just as precarious as the companies that we work for. We saw whole sectors collapse due to an unexpected global event. And I think we’ve all learned how risky it is to tie our personal identity up with our jobs. Because those jobs can disappear. And they have.” (6:44-7:18)
• “I think the real reason behind what we are calling the Great Resignation is that people are realizing they want meaning in their work. We want to be supported as people while we do our work. That includes being supported in our disabilities, parenthood, racial & gender identity, family lives, our career goals…Applauding frontline workers as essential is just lip service. What they really need is good pay, reasonable hours, respect, sustainability in their work lives. And while we’re at it, let’s forgive those student loans too.” (7:38-8:32)
• “We all want to make sure that we’re devoting our lives to work that actually means something, for companies that see us as more than just a job description.” (8:35-8:47)
• “And then they go, ‘OK, we’ll see you tomorrow.’ And I said, ‘Hold on a second. I just need to pause for a minute. I need all of you to pause with me for a moment. And I just need to share with you what this represents for me. What this entire experience represents for me. For me, this represents another assault on my body, in what has been a year of one after another after another. It feels incredibly vulnerable to lay here like this. And I think it’s really important for you to know that.’” (19:06-19:48)
• “It is incredibly scary and feels like very high stakes for people at the bottom of a power structure to speak up and critique the people who are in charge. So when they do, listen. Don’t get defensive. Understand how much this person is putting themselves out there. And listen.” (21:17-21:47)
• “Be that person for someone in your workplace. Be that ally who is attuned to the humanity of those around you. Be the reason that someone else breathes a sigh of relief.” (23:28-23:44)
• “I want employers to understand that the default cultural structure for most workplaces is to erase people’s humanity. We make little or no space for emotions, extenuating circumstances or different ways of being. And historically, we’ve called this “professionalism.” But the truth is there’s no such thing as leaving it at the door. We are human beings, even when we’re at work. And we really have to be treated as such.” (24:16-24:52)
• “If you are feeling dehumanized at work, or by your job, and you’re thinking, ‘It must be just me,’ it is almost certainly not just you…I want you to know that you absolutely deserve better.” (25:01-25:41)
 
Links
Connect with a coach at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
Follow us on social media: 
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Layoffs are hard, but they don’t have to be cruel.

“The employer-employee, that’s a relationship. How would you handle ending a relationship?” asks Brian Anderson, HRUprise Coach and educator with over 20 years of high-level HR experience. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Brian discusses the best practices for approaching layoffs, and how companies can handle them in a more compassionate and humane way. 
Using the recent mass layoffs conducted by Better.com as a case study in what NOT to do, Brian explains that layoffs are a particularly emotional experience for both the employer and the employee. It is important to show goodwill to employees by offering a generous severance package, extending COBRA benefits, covering childcare, and/or providing employee assistance programs. Brian points out that the world is different than it used to be, and cancel culture can have profound and lasting effects on your business. It is in the employer’s best interest to be as humane and caring as possible to employees, especially when they are being laid off through no fault of their own. 
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a conversation with Brian Anderson and HRuprise founder Rebecca Weaver about how to navigate layoffs with empathy. Learn tactics for good communication around layoffs, how to avoid the pitfall of becoming “robotic” during tough conversations, and how employees can prepare if they suspect layoffs are coming.
 
Quotes
• “When someone goes through a layoff, there’s a lot of different emotions…shock, anger, whatever emotion that person gets to.. But then there’s this realistic, real-life, ‘How am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to feed myself?’...If you can provide some level of a severance, it does help impact the first emotion as well.” (16:18 -17:39)
• “If I'm laid off, in my severance package, not only should it be hard cash, but extend my EAP (Employee Assistance Program) offerings. So I have the ability to at least get counseling. Something for my mental health….Let’s take a look at…outplacement services. Help me find something else. Give me three months of outplacement services so I can meet with someone to talk about resumes.” (20:14-21:07)
• “One of the things that also hit me in terms of an interesting offering in severance that I’ve not seen in my many years of doing this would be extended childcare services…I think it’s really, really important.” (23:55-24:57)
• “Cancel culture is real. It is real. It impacts people, organizations. And at the end of the day, it impacts dollars…Goodwill can create and generate revenue. I think organizations are not really understanding what…influence cancel culture can have on their bottom line. And a little goodwill, whatever that costs you, truly will create dividends. It really will.” (27:16-28:01)
• “I allow leaders to have that emotion…The leader is also an employee…I always let leaders have some time to walk through their own emotion…Your first reaction might not be your final reaction. As a leader, go through that reaction. You’re mad, you’re angry, you’re sad. Let’s talk about it. Because in the actual conversation with your employee letting them know they’re being laid off, the way in which you express that is going to be extremely important to that person. I’ve seen leaders cry during the actual layoff… That’s not a good look.” (33:04-34:28)
• “I think there’s this fear at times leaders have in terms of being robotic… ‘I want to make sure I say exactly what I’m supposed to say, I’m not being tape recorded, I’m not going to get sued, I’m making sure I’m giving the same message.’ So there’s this fear. And I think that, unfortunately, creates that robotic feeling. So the person who’s having this happen to them is like, ‘Wait a minute. I’ve eaten lunch with you. I’ve been over to your house. I know your children. This is how this is going to happen to me?’” (36:19-36:54)
• “The employer-employee, that’s a relationship. They call it an employer-employee relationship. So if we just use that basic term, when people are thinking of how they handle conversations, how would you handle a conversation with someone you’re in a relationship with? I think it’s really key. One of the key things they talk about a relationship is communication. Communicate. Tell me why. Tell me often. Those are basics when you have an employer-employee relationship. It’s the same thing in layoffs. How would you handle ending a relationship? What’s the best practice in ending a relationship?” (43:11-44:00)
• “I was one of these people, when I first started in HR many decades ago... ‘Hey, people need to come to work and leave their problems at home. They need to show up to work, to work.’ Guess what happened? People are actually working in their homes. Where are they supposed to leave their issues?” (49:30-49:52)
 
Links
HRuprise Employees Guide to Preparing for Layoffs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_lWUxaYwXe5JMqhOV_qabKScnoUuEOXI/view?usp=drivesdk
 
Find Brian at https://www.lcampbellconsulting.com 
Instagram @lcampbellconsulting and @brianthecareercoach
Twitter @LCconsultants 
Book Brian for an HRuprise coaching session at https://app.hruprise.com/coach/BrianAnderson
 
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Paid leave is the key to economic recovery.

“Going into any negotiation as a working parent…it’s so important to remember that what you’re asking for is not just for you in your personal life, but you’re asking for essentially everyone,” explains Lauren Smith Brody, author of The Fifth Trimester. In today’s episode of Problem Performers, Lauren discusses the role of accessible childcare and paid family leave in our overall economic recovery during the pandemic. 
Lauren is passionate about supporting mothers as they return to work after giving birth. Her book and consultation firm are focused on revolutionizing workplace cultures to support new moms, who face enormous challenges in the form of insufficient paid family medical leave and lack of affordable childcare. Lauren explains that women rarely have access to the resources necessary to simultaneously parent and maintain their careers, and these benefits are especially elusive for hourly wage workers and BIPOC parents. She tells listeners that it is crucial for business leaders to talk openly about their own balance between work and family, even the hard parts, to help normalize it for their teams.
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers for a candid (and hilarious) chat between Lauren Smith Brody and Rebecca Weaver about the challenges of being a postpartum professional, and the importance of making paid family medical leave the national standard. Learn about what you can do to advocate for paid leave and support new moms in the workplace – which ultimately benefits everyone, parents or not.
 
Quotes
• “Some of the people who have made it to the top just do not feel comfortable being transparent about when they are doing things for their families, which is such an easy fix….Especially if they’re in leadership, when they are visible about the things that they’re doing to support their family life, that’s doing their job well. Because they’re actually helping retain people. They’re helping people see that there’s a path forward for them.” (13:41-14:10 | Lauren)
• “We should all be in a ‘normal’ here, nationally and I would say even globally, that supports the rights of parents and caregivers to earn a paycheck while also caring for their families.” (22:44-22:54 | Lauren)
• “Going into any negotiation as a parent who is trying to find a way of working that will let them keep working, it’s so important to remember that what you’re asking for is not just for you in your personal life, but you’re asking for essentially everyone. And so when say to you, ‘Well, I’d have to do it for everyone,’ the answer to that is, ‘That’s probably what’s needed to make progress here and for us to stay competitive.’” (24:28-24:53 | Lauren)
• “Eighty-two percent of the existing childcare spots available in our country before the pandemic are available now. Simultaneously 50% of America is in what is classified by the government as a childcare desert. Which means that you’d have to drive a certain number of miles or that childcare is so out of bounds expensive compared to what the average income is that it’s inaccessible. And that is particularly true for people of color.” (25:56-26:32 | Lauren)
• “It’s important for managers and HR to really understand that if the childcare industry’s recovery is going to be so much more delayed than every other industry, that those other industries don’t just get to keep on recovering.” (27:44-27:58 | Lauren)
• “I want HR and business owners and leadership to listen to this message: there will be no economic recovery without childcare support. Period. There just will not.” (29:02-29:16 | Rebecca)
• “Until we have (federally mandated paid leave), what we have is a K shaped economic recovery. At the top leg of the K, people who had access are going to keep moving up. At the bottom leg of the K, the people who didn’t have access are going to keep moving down. And those two end points of those two legs get further and further and further apart.” (37:19-37:36 | Lauren)
• “Thirty-seven percent of people who are ‘voluntarily’…out of work right now, who could go back to work but are not…say that if they had access to paid family leave, they would come back into the workforce.” (39:30-39:50 | Lauren)
• “Pay them better. Pay them a livable wage, so that they can pay for childcare or elder care to take care of the people they love. And if you can’t pay them, then you don’t have a viable business.” (40:43-40:55 | Lauren)
• “You shouldn’t have to fix the problem that you’re in, but if you have one ounce of energy to do it, to speak up, to be a tiny bit more transparent than is comfortable for you, please do. Because there are a lot of people who don’t have the ability to do that who are counting on you.” (44:22-44:36 | Lauren)
 
Links
http://www.thefifthtrimester.com/ 
https://www.chamberofmothers.com/ 
Instagram: @thefifthtrimesteer 
Twitter: @laurensbrody
https://paidleaveforall.org/
Email your senator to push for paid leave with just a few clicks at https://paidleave.us/email-your-moc
 
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Make your company culture inclusive by design.

“When people can bring a full version of themselves to the workplace, then it makes things better for all of us,” says La’Kita Williams, Founder and Principal Strategist of CoCreate Work, a future-focused coaching and consulting company. As a professional coach with over 15 years of experience, La’Kita developed “The 5 Components of Inclusive Culture,” a step-by-step guide for companies to build more inclusive workplaces.
La’Kita strongly believes that companies can be more successful when they step back, evaluate their processes, and redesign them to be more inclusive and people-focused. She explains that many of the typical systems used by workplaces are outdated, rooted in white supremacy, and fail to help employees thrive or feel supported. In order to cultivate a healthy workplace culture, fundamental changes often need to be made to systems that people never thought to question – including systems of thinking held by leaders themselves.
Tune into this week’s episode of Problem Performers to hear La’Kita and HRuprise founder Rebecca Weaver discuss how to intentionally transform your workplace to be people-centered and community-led. Learn about what truly defines an inclusive culture, and how emerging founders, especially women, are leading the way in designing radical new systems that support all employees.
 
Quotes 
• “I actually believe that systems are one of the most powerful things you can use to be in community and to work together more effectively, to have more successful companies. But we have just been reusing systems that are based in white supremacy culture, or based in ways of working that are not good for humans. So how do we create new systems? And that's about design and partnership and working together.” (25:51-26:18) 
• “As I think about the future of work we’re designing it now, I completely agree with you. The pandemic accelerated a lot of change – big transformations or challenges often do that. And so, we’re shifting towards a new way of working that I think we all recognize as more employee-driven than it had been in the past, which I’m very excited about. I think it provides a great opportunity for us to think about partnership and how we build workplaces and building systems that really work for people.” (27:06-27:41)
• “And so, what I've found with the founders that I've worked with is that they are really thinking end-to-end: what does it mean for someone to make a decision to come and be in partnership with me? Not just to, quote, ‘work for me,’ but what does partnership look like? So that we all create or all have win-win situations in how we work together.” (9:54-10:19)
• “What we know is that when people can bring a full version of themselves, their new ideas, their innovation, and how they view things to the workplace, then it makes things better for all of us.” (10:57-11:08)
• “One of the things that I have found most powerful as I do this work is this idea of design. That you have an opportunity to work with your team and your community, your clients, to take all of those inputs, and help to design a workplace that's different than not just the way things used to be, but is more effective than the way things are.” (19:14-19:45)
• “On my wish list is that folks, especially organizational leaders, take a step back and think about how we can redesign and rebuild the way we're working in ways that are actually supportive of people, and that they have the insight to know this is going to be better for us all. So it's not from a patriarchal view of, ‘Here's a gift. I'm willing to be flexible,’ (but) that we come to this knowing that we can build something that's greater together.” (27:43-28:25)
• “Often people want to separate, ‘When does this end? When does leadership development end, La’Kita? When does coaching end? When does working on this damn culture end?’ It doesn't end. Because it’s a part of the work.” (29:57-30:09)
 
Links
• Connect with La’Kita on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakitafwilliams/
• And on Instagram: @lakitamwilliams
• And check out CoCreate Work at www.cocreatework.com
• White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun
https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture_2020.pdf 
• End Imposter Syndrome In Your Workplace, by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey
https://hbr.org/2021/07/end-imposter-syndrome-in-your-workplace 
 
Connect with a coach at https://www.hruprise.com/
 
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Neurodivergence can be a superpower.

“Everybody should find their superpower. You are made unique for a reason,” says Nickolett Hocking, Co-Founder of HRuprise. Nickolett has been in HR for over 15 years, and is committed to shaking up expectations by staying curious, questioning norms, and educating herself on how to create optimal conditions for people to succeed.
Driven by a passion for mindfulness and introspection, Nickolett believes that mental health is just as important (if not more important) than physical health. In today’s episode, she discusses her experience receiving an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood and what this diagnosis has meant for her as an employee.  She describes some of the strategies that employers can use to better accommodate neurodivergent employees, and challenges the stigmas around ADHD that are still commonplace in the workplace. Nickolett explains that by understanding how ADHD manifests in her life, she has been able to better advocate for what she and others need from employers. 
Tune in to this week’s episode of Problem Performers to hear Nickolett discuss how to reframe what makes you different as your superpower. Learn how to seek help, ask thoughtful questions, and destigmatize your own thinking about neurodivergence and mental health. 
 
Quotes 
• “For women, it is more common to be diagnosed [with neurodivergence] as an adult than it is as a child. And the reason for that is, with men or boys, they tend to show ADHD symptoms more externally… Where for females...we internalize it. We think, ‘Okay, how can we fix this? How do we show up differently?...Why do I have to work so much harder? It looks so easy for someone else.’ Not knowing that our brain is actually different. The true brain chemistry is different. Without understanding that, we're just going down this path of, ‘Okay, I'm different. I have to work harder. I have to hide it.’” (18:51-20:02)
• “Neurodiverse is this idea that it's normal and acceptable for people to have brains that function differently.” (21:26-21:32)
• “One of the things that often manifests with women as adults with ADHD is the lack of self-compassion... You're able to give it away freely to everyone else, but to have that for you is incredibly hard.” (28:48-29:17)
• “I am a huge proponent of therapy. I think your mental health is just as important, if not more, than your physical health. So I will scream from the rooftops that everybody should do therapy. There is no stigma around it. Take care of your mind.” (32:49-33:04)
• “Everybody should find their superpower. Regardless of a diagnosis or not...you are on this planet for a reason. You are made unique for a reason. How do you find what you're good at and be in your flow?” (33:52-34:06)
• “Any neurodivergent diagnosis does not look the same for everyone. So whatever that is, find experts that are familiar with your diagnosis... And get really curious. Get really curious about seeking help, asking questions. You don't have to do it alone.” (36:14-36:49)
• “From an employer perspective, I would say educate yourself on what being neurodivergent is. Because I guarantee you, there's a large part of your population that is neurodivergent that you don't know about.” (37:34-37:46)
 
Links
Email Nickolett at nickolett.hocking@designit.com 
Connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickolett-hocking-39a06948/ 
 
Some of Nickolett’s favorite resources for self-work you can do to understand ADHD and identify your own superpowers:
https://instagram.com/adhdoers
https://instagram.com/thepsychdoctormd
https://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org
https://www.additudemag.com
 
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