We need to talk about the impact of the childcare crisis on the workforce! Some people may wonder why this topic matters beyond its impact on families of young children. The truth is, this issue has wide-reaching ramifications for the nation’s economy as a whole, and that deserves our attention whether we have children or not. In this episode, I share what the research and statistics reveal about the direct link between the exorbitant price of childcare and the labor shortage that’s crunching companies across the U.S. 

Let’s break down why this is a problem everyone should care about:

• The disproportionate impact of childcare costs on different demographics;
• The broader ramifications on the economy as a whole;
• What organizations can do to start making a difference.

Related Links:

• Episode 424, The Jobs of America’s Next Silicon Valley https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode424
• Episode 434, The Economic Imperative of Affordable Childcare - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode434
• EPIC- Executives Partnering To Invest In Children - https://www.coloradoepic.org/
• Episode 463, a Different Approach to My Second Maternity Leave - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode463
• Episode 479, America’s Parents Are Not Okay - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode479
• Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Program - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/30/2016-22986/child-care-and-development-fund-ccdf-program
• How Much Childcare Costs by State in the USA in 2024 - https://illumine.app/blog/how-much-childcare-costs-by-state-in-usa/
• Economic Data Underscores the Need for Significant, Sustained Investment in Child Care and Early Learning - https://www.ffyf.org/resources/2021/12/latest-economic-data-underscores-the-need-for-significant-sustained-investment-in-child-care-and-early-learning/
• Over Half of Families are Spending More Than 20% of Income on Child Care - https://www.ffyf.org/resources/2022/06/over-half-of-families-are-spending-more-than-20--on-child-care/
• How Child Care Disruptions Hurt Parents of Color Most - https://www.americanprogress.org/article/child-care-disruptions-hurt-parents-color/
• U.S. Child Care Crisis Is Holding Back The Workforce - https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariaflynn/2023/11/02/us-child-care-crisis-is-holding-back-the-workforce/
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the labor force that is “Employed - With a job, not at work, Childcare problems” - https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU02096055
• $122 Billion: The Growing, Annual Cost of the Infant-Toddler Child Care Crisis - https://strongnation.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/1598/05d917e2-9618-4648-a0ee-1b35d17e2a4d.pdf?1674854626&inline;%20filename=%22$122%20Billion:%20The%20Growing,%20Annual%20Cost%20of%20the%20Infant-Toddler%20Child%20Care%20Crisis.pdf%22
• UPS Expands Emergency Day Care After Pilot Program Cuts Turnover - https://www.hrdive.com/news/ups-emergency-day-care-pilot-program-cut-turnover/697205/
• Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens Joins UPS CEO Carol B. Tomé at the 2023 UPS Impact Summit - https://about.ups.com/us/en/newsroom/press-releases/our-strategy/2023-ups-impact-summit.html
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

How much do you know about menopause? Though it’s as natural as puberty and affects almost everyone with a uterus, this life stage has long been a taboo subject in polite society. In recent years, though, the conversation has gotten a lot louder. 

Dr. Jen Gunter has been a leader in this conversation as an obstetrician and gynecologist with more than three decades of experience. Dr. Jen is the author of multiple bestsellers and a popular blog, and the host of the Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter podcast. In our conversation, Dr. Jen and I dig into the myths and symptoms of menopause and how this transition affects women in the workplace.

Learn more about this critical transition and its impacts in the workplace, including: 

• Why we are only recently starting to talk about this stage of life;
• Some misconceptions debunked by the facts about menopause;
• The complicated history of menopausal hormone therapy; 
• How changes in the workplace could improve this sometimes chaotic experience.

Related Links:

• The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Dr. Jen Gunter - https://bookshop.org/book/9780806540665
• Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation by Dr. Jen Gunter - https://bookshop.org/book/9780806540689
• The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina: Separating the Myth from the Medicine by Dr. Jen Gunter - https://bookshop.org/book/9780806539317
• The Vajenda, Dr. Jen’s blog - https://vajenda.substack.com/
• Jensplaining with Dr. Jen Gunter - https://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/program/jensplaining
• The 2024 Deloitte Women @ Work Report - https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/collections/2024/deloitte-women-at-work-2024-a-global-outlook.pdf?dl=1
• Episode 469, Surprising Trends Impacting Women at Work - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode469
• Episode 414, New Rights for Pregnant Workers - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode414
• Dr. Jen on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drjengunter
• Dr. Jen on X - https://twitter.com/DrJenGunter
• Dr. Jen on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrJGunter/
• Take Action with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/
• Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/emiliearies

What would change if you decentered your career from your identity? Decentering your work from your identity might seem a counterintuitive topic for a podcast about career development, but burnout and disillusionment are running rampant these days, so it’s not too surprising this concept is getting a lot of airtime. 

Our work should be important and provide us with purpose, but it shouldn’t become the only important and purposeful part of who we are. Taking the spotlight off the career part of your identity gives you space and permission to respect the role of work in your life without requiring you to relinquish every part of yourself to your job. In this episode, I outline three considerations to help you realize this shift.

Consider a more balanced alternative to living for your job:

• How community involvement contributes to who you are and will be;
• Why passive rest and renewal don’t cut it, and what to try instead;
• Why you need to get real about the divide between your work identity and the rest of your life.

Related Links:

• Episode 456, How Connection Can Cure What Ails Us - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode456
• Mondo, “Tips To Keep Your Job From Becoming Your Identity” - https://mondo.com/insights/tips-to-keep-your-job-from-becoming-your-identity/
• “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career,” by Herminia Ibarras - https://herminiaibarra.com/working-identity-book/
• The Ezra Klein Show, “Tired? Distracted? Burned Out? Listen to This” with Gloria Mark - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-gloria-mark.html
• “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity” by Gloria Mark - https://bookshop.org/p/books/attention-span-finding-focus-and-fighting-distraction-gloria-mark/18423478?ean=9781335449412
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

How can you support the young adult in your life as they embark on the first steps of their career? Gen Z is coming of age in a strange new world, and that can make it tricky to figure out how to help them. My guest on this episode, Beth Hendler-Grunt, founded Next Great Step to help ease this transition. Using approaches grounded in psychology and her own background in sales, Beth and her team support thousands of young adults (and their parents!) to gain confidence in their skills and land their first jobs out of school.

Uncover tools to help the young adult in your life through the modern job search process, including:

• How to understand the unique challenges this generation faces in today’s job market;
• Modulate your expectations to balance patience, support, and trust;
• Understand the inextricable link between sales and the job search;
• And how to support a young adult whose career goals seem bound to fail.

Related Links:

• Learn more about Beth’s work - https://nextgreatstep.com/
• Connect with Beth on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethhendlergrunt/
• Connect with Beth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/next_great_step/    
• The Next Great Step: The Parents' Guide to Launching Your New Grad into a Career - https://nextgreatstep.com/book/
• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Johnathan Haidt - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-anxious-generation-how-the-great-rewiring-of-childhood-is-causing-an-epidemic-of-mental-illness-jonathan-haidt/20144236?ean=9780593655030
• The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children by Shefali Tsabary - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-conscious-parent-transforming-ourselves-empowering-our-children-shefali-tsabary/6995894
• Episode 106, Supporting Your Partner’s Career Conundrums - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode106
• HIRED: my Job Search Accelerator - https://www.bossedup.org/gethired
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

How do you deal with a mistake or criticism at work? If you find yourself starting to spiral into anxiety, overthinking everything you’ve ever done that might have caused the current situation, you’re far from alone. We’re all human, and, unfortunately, that means when we screw up or receive less than glowing feedback at work, we have a tendency to take it personally. 

In this episode, I explore how we can move away from shame in these situations and shore up our self-worth so that we can resiliently and proactively deal with our mistakes in ways that empower positive change and set us up to be stronger in the future—both in and beyond our careers.

Try these tricks for taking the personal out of professional missteps:

• How to make sure you’re telling yourself the actual, objective story;
• Why it’s essential to name, rather than negate, whatever you’re feeling;
• How to use that unfortunate situation to plan your confident comeback.

Related Links:

• Episode 323, How To Lead With Emotional Intelligence - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode323 book, “Permission to Feel” - https://marcbrackett.com/permission-to-feel/
• Episode 467, How To Handle Negative Reactions When You Speak Up - https://www.bossedup.com/podcast/episode467
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• “Bossed Up: A Grown Woman’s Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together” by Emilie Aries - https://www.bossedup.org/book
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

Do you struggle with imposter syndrome, limiting beliefs, or self-sabotage? How can you rewire your subconscious to start seeing actual progress on your goals? 

Thais Gibson is a PhD-holding counselor, researcher, and the founder of the Personal Development School. She has answers to why so many of us find that our resolutions prove ineffective and our goals remain unmet despite our best efforts. This leading expert in attachment therapy shares her deep knowledge of how our brains form connections and pathways and how understanding why we self-sabotage can help us stop.

Thais delves deep into the neuroscience behind why we struggle to achieve our goals:

• How the conscious and subconscious minds interact and who’s in charge;
• The scientific explanation behind self-sabotage;
• The interplay between identity, beliefs, and our conscious goals;
• Your action plan for creating new neural pathways that will help you thrive.

Related Links:

• Thais’s website - https://university.personaldevelopmentschool.com/
• Watch Thais’s daily YouTube videos - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHQ4lSaKRap5HyrpitrTOhQ/videos
• Follow Thais on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thepersonaldevelopmentschool/?hl=en
• Level Up: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/
• Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/emiliearies

Where do you draw the line between work and play when it comes to office friendships? It’s hard to make friends as adults, so it’s no wonder we get excited when we discover a coworker we genuinely click with. 

Lots of research supports the benefits of workplace friendships. These relationships are key to job success, and employees with work friends are more likely to get engaged and innovate, be more productive, and genuinely enjoy their time. Most of us know that making friends at work also comes with unique challenges, and keeping those potential pitfalls in mind can help you build deeper friendships that last while also keeping your career on track. In this episode, I cover some issues that could crop up and explore how we can navigate them as we nurture those cherished office friendships.

Check out these helpful tips for making the most of your workplace friendships:

• Two tips to keep your work friendships working;
• The research on the shifting power dynamics of being friends with your boss;
• How to maintain your integrity and your friendships as a leader, for the sake of your team, your organization, and your career.

Related Links:

• Episode 329, Female Friendships: Why We Need Them and How to Keep Them - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode329
• Episode 458, Establishing Your Personal and Professional Network in a New City - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode458
• Stuff Mom Never Told You Episode 105, Can We Be Friends? - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-mom-never-told-you-21123631/episode/can-we-be-friends-30231271/
• That Moment When One Friend Is Promoted—And The Other Is Not, Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2020/07/01/that-moment-when-one-friend-is-promoted-and-the-other-is-not/
• Does Organizational Cronyism Lead to Lower Employee Performance?, Frontiers in Psychology - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7566910/
• Cronyism and Nepotism Are Bad for Everyone: The Research Evidence, Cambridge University - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/industrial-and-organizational-psychology/article/abs/cronyism-and-nepotism-are-bad-for-everyone-the-research-evidence/7EED4D042812470B60D0312008DBA438
• Workplace Friendships: the Double-Edged Sword, London School of Economics - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2023/02/13/workplace-friendships-the-double-edged-sword/
• What to Do When You Become Your Friend’s Boss, Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/2020/09/what-to-do-when-you-become-your-friends-boss
• Friends Without Benefits: Understanding the Dark Sides of Workplace Friendship, Academy of Management Review - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julianna-Pillemer/publication/323220675_Friends_Without_Benefits_Understanding_the_Dark_Sides_of_Workplace_Friendship/links/5b79f5cb4585151fd121920c/Friends-Without-Benefits-Understanding-the-Dark-Sides-of-Workplace-Friendship.pdf
• The Limits To Workplace Friendship: Managerialist HRM and Bystander Behaviour In the Context of Workplace Bullying, APA Psych Net - https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-09564-005
• Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective, Review of General Psychology - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.100
• Are Workplace Friendships a Mixed Blessing? Exploring Tradeoffs of Multiplex Relationships and their Associations with Job Performance, Personnel Psychology - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/peps.12109
• Social Undermining in the Workplace, Academy of Management Journal - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257307370_Social_Undermining_in_the_Workplace
• Crossing The Line: Boundaries of Workplace Humour and Fun, Employee Relations - https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01425450910991749/full/html?casa_token=CIojz70WmukAAAAA:3I1KGNeHRpiD8ugwn0KmCazvPn3zWPniNAUtGyOp_2F4xkU83TE-1u0c8-c3XKM63LealAcq7FBud5toouq88q6U2ehi3_m_iVitDbj1wZ0yDlbP0UD3
• Why work friendships are critical for long-term happiness, CNBC - https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/13/why-work-friendships-are-critical-for-long-term-happiness.html
• Should You Be Friends With Your Boss?, Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliawuench/2021/09/06/should-you-be-friends-with-your-boss/
• The Increasing Importance of a Best Friend at Work - https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397058/increasing-importance-best-friend-work.aspx
• From BFF to Your Boss, ResumeLab - https://resumelab.com/career-advice/from-friend-to-boss
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

How do you ensure you get what you need when you’re called to work in the nonprofit sector? Working for a nonprofit differs in many ways from the corporate world, but there’s no reason your passion and your dream career trajectory can’t go hand in hand. In this episode, I share my conversation with Jenny Mitchell, the chief visionary officer of Chavender, an organization that coaches mid-level to senior executives—particularly women who work in nonprofits—to help them build leadership skills. 

Find out what women need to know to navigate the nonprofit sector with ease:

• The differences between the nonprofit and corporate worlds;
• Why the likeability factor can be even trickier to navigate for women leaders in this area;
• How to balance the martyr mindset to set a good example and prevent burnout as a manager;
• Why celebrating achievements is a vital step in staying focused and hopeful in the nonprofit realm.

Related Links:

• Jenny’s book, Embracing Ambition: Empowering Women to Step Out, Be Seen, & Lead - https://www.amazon.ca/Embracing-Ambition-Empowering-Women-Step/dp/1958870110/ref=sr_1_1
• Explore Chevander’s good work - https://chavender.com/
• Listen to Jenny’s Podcast The Underdog Leadership Podcast - https://chavender.com/underdog-leadership-podcast/
• “More Women Work in Nonprofits. So Why Do Men End Up Leading Them?” on HBR - https://hbr.org/2024/04/more-women-work-in-nonprofits-so-why-do-men-end-up-leading-them
• Bossed Up Ep 421: The Top Struggles of High Achievers - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode421
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Book me to speak: www.emiliearies.com
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/
• Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/emiliearies

How do you motivate yourself to start your job search? There are a lot of Bossed Up episodes about the job search process, but they all assume that you’ve already gotten started—and that can be the hardest part!

When your current job no longer fulfills you, the first step is always to turn your analysis paralysis into forward momentum. In this episode, I share some tips to spark that motivation and get your job search rolling full steam ahead.

Explore these strategies when you’ve put off getting started in your job search:

• Why you need to get clear on your vision and values first;
• How to create a realistic and attainable action plan;
• How to build your own unstoppable inertia.

Related Links:

• Episode 2, When is it time to quit? - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode02
• Episode 453, Prioritizing Your Job Search While Holding Down a Full-Time Job - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode453
• Episode 455, How to Create a Sustainable Job Search Schedule When You’re Unemployed - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode455
• The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin - https://gretchenrubin.com/books/the-four-tendencies/
• Working Identity, Updated Edition, With a New Preface: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career - https://bookshop.org/p/books/working-identity-updated-edition-with-a-new-preface-unconventional-strategies-for-reinventing-your-career-revised-herminia-ibarra/19691624?ean=9781647825560
• The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work by Teresa M. Amabile and Steve J. Kramer - https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=40692
• HIRED: my Job Search Accelerator - https://www.bossedup.org/gethired
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

How do you create a practical plan for taking a career break? We talk a lot on this podcast about high achievers, burnout, and work/life balance because we’re driven professionals striving to live our most fulfilling lives while also leveling up our careers. Chances are, the thought of taking a lengthy break from work has crossed your mind, but you might have been as skeptical as I was until I spoke with Laura Nguyen.

The author of Career Break Compass, Laura is an executive coach who transitioned from a high-performance, high-stress marketing career to guiding high-achievers like herself in planning and pursuing career breaks that let them come back better than ever. She shares what brought her to this field and her four-step framework for making the most of your time off.

Uncover her strategic process for making a career break a reality, including:

• How to strike a balance between career advancement and rest;
• The time off options available to American workers;
• Building a logical framework to guide your career break;
• How intentional time off can create holistic and long-lasting shifts in your career and life.

Related Links:

• Laura’s book, Career Break Compass: Navigating Your Path to a Balanced Life Through Intentional Time Off - https://www.lauranguyen.co/career-break-compass
• Learn more about Laura’s work - https://www.lauranguyen.co
• Connect with Laura on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauran546/
• Episode 136, Is Job-Sharing the Secret to True Work/Life Balance - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode136   
• Episode 456, How Connection Can Cure What Ails Us - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode456
• A Better Balance, workers’ legal advocacy organization - https://www.abetterbalance.org/
• The Effects of Decision Fatigue on Judicial Behavior - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-and-courts/article/abs/effects-of-decision-fatigue-on-judicial-behavior-a-study-of-arkansas-traffic-court-outcomes/8B7EB8735C10F7730FB402D6F2E80D70
• Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr. Stuart Brown - https://bookshop.org/p/books/play-how-it-shapes-the-brain-opens-the-imagination-and-invigorates-the-soul-stuart-brown/577397
• Take my LinkedIn course, Managing Career Burnout - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/managing-career-burnout/today-s-burnout-work-culture
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

Caregivers: when’s the last time you didn’t feel stressed out? In August, the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory, titled “Parents Under Pressure,” that identified parental mental health as an urgent public health issue. Nearly half of parent participants in the surveys confirm that “their stress is completely overwhelming.” 

The wellbeing of these adults is worrisome on its own, and research also shows a strong correlation between poor mental health in parents and poor physical and mental health in children. In other words: this public health issue impacts multiple generations and, by extension, our entire country. In this episode, I take a closer look at the advisory and what workplaces should be doing to mitigate this national crisis.

Discover what the research says and what your workplace should be doing about it:

• Seven unavoidable causes of parental stress;
• The overt connection between parental mental health and talent retention;
• Specific steps organizations can take to help improve the wellbeing of employees who are also parents or caregivers.

Related Links:

• U.S. Public Health Service “Parents Under Pressure Advisory” - https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/parents-under-pressure.pdf
• Episode 468, “Disrupting Elder Care: We Need to Talk More About Working Daughters” - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode468
• Episode 434, “The Economic Imperative of Affordable Childcare” - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode434
• Episode 472, “How We Get Over Overwork to Build a Better Life” - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode472
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/