Episodit
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This weekâs letter writers are looking to change their relationships to work. One is wondering if itâs time to leave UX all together and monetize a hobby instead. The other is a budding thought leaderâŠwho gets the ick whenever they say âthought leader.â Sara and Jen have brought out all their best questions and resources to help these folks get unstuck and plan their next career moveâwithout ignoring the human being at the center.
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Donât feel like an expert? Share anyway.Check out the new book Present Yourself from Women Talk DesignHone your Spiky Point of ViewJoin the Managerâs Playbook May cohortGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Our letter writers today are really going through itâpublic undermining, misogyny, gaslighting, intense micromanagement. So how can you speak up or push back when your manager is making you miserable? And what if it feels pointless to even try? Sara and Jen jump in with tools for holding difficult, but healthy, conversations with your managerâand also how to avoid letting bad managers suck up all the space in your life.
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Identify your needs with BICEPSRead Alicia Ostarelloâs essay on healing from burnout
Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com. -
Todayâs episode is all about job titlesâand all the weird feelings that come with them. Our first letter writer enjoys their work and is paid well, but feels like theyâve been leveled lower than their peers. Another is considering a âdemotionâ to manage burnout, but is worried about taking a long-term hit in their career. Theyâre turning to Sara and Jen to help them get unstuckâwithout racing back onto the corporate ladder.
Links:
Identify your needs with BICEPSGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Todayâs letter writers are working to make change in their organizationsâŠbut theyâre running into all kinds of roadblocks. One wants their discipline to get more respect, but feels ignored and outnumbered. The other is pushing their company to hire more inclusively than âpeople we already knowââand hitting a brick wall. Theyâre both frustrated and exhausted. Listen in as Sara and Jen help them decide how to move forwardâwithout burning out or burning bridges.
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On moral injury: Employees Are Sick of Being Asked to Make Moral CompromisesSign up for Power Shift (registration ends 2/6)Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Career transitions are always hard, but todayâs letter writers are having an especially tough time deciding what their next move should be. Oneâs finding that their field of choice isnât all itâs cracked up to be. Anotherâs struggling to know how to position a harmful past experience in a way that doesnât count them out of future opportunities. Both are feeling really stuckâand looking for help from Sara and Jen to decide whatâs next for them, and how to get there.
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Sign up for Power Shift (register by 12/31 to save $150)Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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âPrioritize better,â âlead more,â âbe more assertive.â In todayâs episode, Sara and Jen take on questions from listeners who are deep in the midst of corporate gaslighting and help them understand their feelings, assess their options, and find a way forwardâwithout just working harder.
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Read Saraâs article: Hey Designers, Theyâre Gaslighting YouCheck out âGaslighterâ by The ChicksIs Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?The Moral Injury Project at Syracuse University Jenâs Luddite book rec: Blood in the MachineJoin us for Reclaim Your PowerGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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âTransparencyâ sounds like a good thingâŠbut is it always? When should you share personal info with your boss? What if you know a layoff is coming? This week, Jen and Sara look at tough situations about disclosing informationâand help two listeners with very different scenarios decide whether spilling the tea is the right thing to do, or if itâll cause more harm than good.
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Explore the depths of WaterTokEpisode 8: Why you gotta be so rude?The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (USA)The Equality Act of 2010 (England, Scotland, Wales)Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com
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What do you do when your burnout doesnât just feel like exhaustion, but more like disillusionmentâand maybe even cynicism? In todayâs episode, Sara and Jen tackle questions from listeners who are struggling to keep afloat amid job search burnout, career malaise, and the kinds of communication breakdowns that leave us questioning, well, everything.
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Layoffs.fyi is tracking aggregate numbers of tech industry layoffs.According to Techcrunch, weâre probably past the worst of it.You donât have to love networking, but you probably need to make peace with it. Jennifer Kimâs guide can help.
Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com. -
Managers being paid less than their ICs, punitive raise structures, cryptic pay bandsâŠthis weekâs submitters are really going through it. But how do you start the compensation conversation when information is hard to come by? And what do you do when youâre told that thereâs no way youâll get a raiseâjust accept being paid less than your peers forever? This week, Sara and Jen tackle questions of pay inequity, when itâs time to fight, and when it might be time to move on.
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Curious what other people in the field are making? Take a look at the Global UX Compensation Database!For Equal Pay Day, Survey Monkey polled users on their beliefs about pay equity. It found that âmen and younger Americans are the most likely to incorrectly believe that genders are paid equally for similar jobs.âJoin Rachel de Jong for Own Your Impact with StrengthsFinderGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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For many of us, our work identity and sense of self have become tied in a big knot. When your job has become your identity, it's easy to get stuck. How do you know when itâs time to stay and fight for change, or move onto something new? This week, Sara and Jen work through dilemmas from folks looking for a way forwardâwithout losing themselves in the process.
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If Books Could Kill: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From VenusJoin The Courageous Leadership ProgramGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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It shouldnât be this hard to find a job that pays you well, fulfills you, and keeps your values intact. But when disillusionment and burnout strike, it can be hard to deal with workplace tradeoffs. Is the answer simply to strike out on your own?
Navigating uncertainty, building your identity outside of work, and juggling passion projects: this week, Sara and Jen tackle dilemmas from folks looking for ways to align work with their valuesâwithout going broke.
Links:
Schedule a strategy session with Sara or JenGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Ever dealt with someone demanding that you find them a new job? Or have a friend and colleague go cold and ghost you the moment you get laid off? What about getting berated and then iced out by the head of your org?
Other peopleâs unkind, over-the-top, and just plain rude behavior can make you question everythingâeven yourself. So how do you find a path forward? Thatâs what Sara and Jen tackle in this weekâs episode.
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Post-pandemic incivility on the riseMeet your shadow selfNonviolent communication and the âFour Ds of DisconnectionâGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com
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Dehumanizing hiring processes, swoop-and-poop bosses, and maybe the biggest question of all: does my design work even matter if I donât care about propping up capitalism? This week, Sara and Jen answer dilemmas about pushing back against exploitative requests, working around a faux-inclusive boss, and managing disillusionment with design. And through it all, a theme emerges: How do you handle the tension between two conflicting truths?
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The 2023 Content Design and UX writing survey results Sara worked on Ask a Manager: Should you do free work as part of a job interview?How to use âjob craftingâ to make your work more meaningfulGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com
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Canceled 1:1s, unrecognized accomplishments, meetings that drag on for eternityâŠoh my. When you have a conflict with your manager, it can feel incredibly risky to speak up. But having the courage to broach a difficult topic can be the first step toward real change. In this episode, Sara and Jen talk self-advocacy: how to identify your needs, outline desired outcomesâand actually START the conversation!
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Read up on how the Wage Gap Shortchanges MothersCan you believe working moms get 58 cents for every dollar dads earn?Check out this study from Gender Action PortalMore on how work from home is increasing bias against working mothersRequired reading: Women in the Workplace 2022 study by McKinsey & Company and Lean InHow do you create a culture of psychological safety? Learn from Amy Edmonsonâs Ted Talk and Alla Weinbergâs book A Culture of Safety. (Psstâyou can download the book for free!)Go get that COIN (Context, Observations, Impact, and Next Steps, that is)Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Layoffs are on a lot of peopleâs brains right nowâbut the challenges and complicated feelings arenât limited to those who were laid off. In a bit of a companion to last weekâs episode, Sara and Jen help listeners work through how to move on after others have lost their jobs, how to find your footing if your role has changed in a post-layoff reorg, and how to be present and supportive to loved ones who are struggling when your own work is going well.
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Identify your needs with BICEPSWeâre SURE you deserve to ask for what you need at workLetâs all âsit in the shitâ with Samira RajabiGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com
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From the surprise notice, to the advance tipoff, to the not-even-one-year-in-your-role dissolution, layoffs take many forms. But hardly any of us give ourselves the space to grieve the loss before we throw ourselves back into the job search. This week, Sara and Jen discuss how to be kind to yourself after a layoff, build a sustainable action plan even in a tough job market, and avoid sinking into panic mode along the way.
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Tracking tech layoffs with layoffs.fyi We â€ïž a feelings wheelIs it just grief, or is it institutional betrayal? (CW for sexual assault)Got a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com.
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Boundary-trampling coworkers. Absentee HR reps. And a whole lot of weird boss behaviors. This week, Sara and Jen help listeners make sense of toxic, abusive, and otherwise harmful situationsâso they can process their feelings, get the support they need, and take meaningful action.
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âGrey rockingâ â how to bore a toxic narcissist out of your lifeGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at
PMLEshow.com
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What do you do when your needs arenât being met or your boundaries are getting trampled? On todayâs episode, Jen and Sara walk listeners through ways to advocate for yourself at workâwithout justifying your existence, begging for your boundaries to be respected, or feeling like a failure if it doesnât work.
Youâll come away with a few scripts you can try in your own workplaceâand our very sincere permission to drop some of those balls you keep juggling.
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Textio: âThe truth about bias in performance feedbackâPaloma Medinaâs BICEPS modelSet Boundaries, Find PeaceThe Book of BoundariesGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com.
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You deserve an equitable, actionable, and thoughtful performance review. So how do you move forward when you getâŠsomething else entirely?
Thatâs what weâre tackling in our very first episode. Listen in as Jen and Sara coach people through big dilemmasâand even bigger feelingsâabout the wild and weird world of performance reviews. Youâll leave with new tools to help you rebound after unfair or unexpected feedbackâŠor at least some good stories for the group chat.
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Common cognitive distortions at workThe 40 Best Questions to Ask in an InterviewGot a work situation eating away at you? Send it to us! Submit your dilemma at PMLEshow.com.
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Introducing Per My Last Emailâcoming April 13
How can I get my boss to advocate for me and have my back? Should I disclose my disability? Why canât I juggle all of this work? Work raises a lot of questionsâand too many of them get stuck in our heads, rattling around until we feel overwhelmed and unqualified.
No more. Join hosts Sara Wachter-Boettcher and Jen Dionisio for this brand-new podcast designed to help you work through all the big feelings and confusing situations that come up at work.
Each episode, theyâll share real-life dilemmas listeners are struggling withâfrom how to respond to passive-aggressive emails to what to do when your boss gives you truly terrible feedback. Then theyâll share the tools they use in their coaching sessions to help listeners get through whatever work throws their way.
Per My Last Email starts April 13âso subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. Because work gets weird. Sara and Jen canât wait to help you get through it.
Submit a dilemma to the show
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Theme music: â(Iâm A) Modern Womanâ by Maria T
Producer: Emily Duncan
Created by: Active Voice