EP 474: Making Non-Obvious Choices at Work with Samhita Mukhopadhyay
Jun 13, 2024
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Feminist writer and editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay discusses navigating work challenges in the 21st-century economy. Topics include the margin of maneuverability, labor rights, feedback in the workplace, making non-obvious choices, and creating a utopian work environment.
Samhita Mukhopadhyay explores margins of maneuverability in navigating the modern economy.
The importance of embracing feedback to awaken potential and navigate uncertainties in the workplace.
Deep dives
Exploring the Kobayashi Maru Simulation
The Kobayashi Maru is a no-win scenario used to test Starfleet cadets. In this simulation, cadets must decide whether to attempt a rescue, knowing it will lead to inevitable attack. The simulation challenges ethical standards and highlights impossible choices faced by Starfleet officers. Captain Kirk's solution to reprogram the simulation raises questions about creativity versus reacting within constraints.
Margins of Maneuverability in the 21st Century Economy
Samita Mukhopadhyay's book discusses margins of maneuverability in the modern economy. It addresses the struggle with systemic issues and challenges the narrative of individual success in work. The book explores the tension between collective action and individual success, advocating for non-obvious choices and situational contexts. It emphasizes the importance of experimenting within constraints and rethinking traditional workplace structures.
The Role of Feedback and Learning from Constraints
Samita emphasizes the importance of generative feedback in management. She creates a space for employee grievances while maintaining a balance. Feedback is seen as a tool to awaken potential and navigate uncertainties. Learning to embrace feedback allows for experimentation and discovering new potentials even within constraints.
Embracing Margins of Maneuverability in the Workplace
Samita envisions a workplace where local feminism thrives, focusing on community, care, and rethinking notions of success. She advocates for workplaces that honor individual needs and embrace experimentation. The dream workplace is described as a place where employees can show up authentically, integrating personal responsibilities seamlessly.
For justice-minded people, navigating the world of work in the 21st-century economy can feel... impossible. A real no-win scenario. There's a constant tension between what's good for the communities we inhabit and what's good (and necessary) for us as individuals. But it's in this tension that we find a "margin of maneuverability"—a source of hope, possibility, and creativity.
That's the theme of a new book called The Myth of Making It by Samhita Mukhopadhyay, a feminist writer and editor, and the former executive editor of Teen Vogue. I sat down with Samhita to talk about the book and explore our margins of maneuverability.
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