Good morning, my chronically employed friend. This week in the make work suck less group chat... 👏 One good thing. Women should lead everywhere. Here's looking at Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum for signing universal healthcare into law for their 120 million citizens. And to Virginia Governor, Abigail Spanberger, who in just over 100 days in office, has signed over 1,500 laws including: raising minimum wage to $15, making it illegal for employers to access wage history, wage theft...
9 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning, my chronically employed friend. This week in the make work suck less group chat... 👏 One good thing. Maryland just passed a law guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave! That makes 14 states plus DC... or just under 30% of the country. 📮State of the business. Mr Beast is getting sued (again). Who is Mr Beast? He's the YouTuber known for viral stunts of "generosity" that always feel like exploitation. A former social media lead highlights a farcical work culture...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning to the chronically employed, the chronically applying, and everyone trying to make work suck less. 👏 One good thing. A UK survey shows that, on average, we're only productive for 2 hours 53 minutes out of an 8 hour work day at the office. Use that as your benchmark. 3 hours of productivity? You're doing better than half of the population. Leave it there. Don't kill yourself trying to do the most in a place we know isn't built for it. 📮State of the business. This week, the format...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning to the chronically employed, the chronically applying, and everyone trying to make work suck less. 👏 One good thing. This week I launched a mini-series on Instagram inspired by the worst career advice my clients had received (before coming to me). I'm planning on a great career advice sequel. I'll share the first here: treat every interaction like it will be used against you in a performance review. Now tell me, what's the best career advice you've ever gotten? ❌ The layoffs will...
30 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning to the chronically employed, the chronically applying, and everyone trying to make work suck less. 👏 One good thing. I saw someone post that Threads has ADHD and our current special interest is Artemis. Accurate. It's delightful to watch the glee and hope come out of this moon mission. And did you know how far away the moon actually is from us?!? ⛽ Fuel flexible. Back in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, European governments encouraged energy-saving measures including remote...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Make Work Suck Less New this week from the home office Hey Reader, Before I get into it, if you're in the DC area, and a federal worker facing a career transition (by choice or by force) I'd like to invite you to an event in Georgetown on July 17th. MM LaFleur is hosting a fireside chat with me! We're getting real about the emotional, professional, and practical challenges of leaving government—and how to reframe your public-sector experience into private-sector superpowers. Whether you're...
10 months ago • 2 min read
Make Work Suck Less New this week from the home office Hey Reader, I spent weeks trying to find a card for Michael for Father's Day. Visited all my usual card spots: the coffee shop that sells kitschy cards, the local book store, Whole Foods. Nada. Anyone else exasperated by the ridiculousness of these artifacts that are supposed to celebrate dads? Just me? Did someone forward you this edition of Make Work Suck Less? Subscribe now tools + ties Every single Father's Day card falls into one of...
11 months ago • 2 min read
Make Work Suck Less New this week from the home office Hey Reader, It's been so long since the last time we chatted, I had my baby and she just turned 1! Hmm... What else is new? I went back to work for a hot minute, took a LOA when postpartum hit hard, then returned for real in February. We completed a massive 8-month renovation on our house in March. Traveled for the first time with 2 kids to Puerto Rico in April. And hey, we didn't lose anyone! throwback to PR with the kids Now I'm working...
11 months ago • 2 min read
Make Work Suck Less New this week from the home office Hey Reader, Part of my ongoing fight to stave off burnout is remembering to acknowledge big and small wins. So before we dive into the heavy, and deeply personal stuff, I'd love to share a few really fun wins from last week... 🌶️ We won my husband's work chili cookoff with our "Shaken not stirred" cowboy chili. It's got three types of pork and is both sweet and spicy. This will be our 3rd competitive win with this recipe (though the 2nd...
about 2 years ago • 7 min read