

Per My Last Email
Morning Brew
Is it okay to ask your coworker how much they make? Is Gen Z set up for failure in the workplace? Should you really bring your whole self to work? Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew's resident career experts Kaila and Kyle—whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit, and startup sectors—debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 21, 2025 • 38min
The 4 Types of Jobs Everyone Should Experience at Least Once
Discover the four essential job types that can shape your career. The hosts delve into the balance of prestige versus personal fulfillment while working for prestigious brands. They highlight the growth opportunities in challenging roles, especially in startups. The significance of agency in the workplace is explored, emphasizing the need for supportive environments. Plus, don't miss Kaila's hilarious work fail of the week!

Jul 14, 2025 • 38min
Why Office Politics Can Actually Be a Good Thing
In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the ins and outs of office politics, what it REALLY is, and how to improve on your office politicking skills in order to advance your career.
00:00 Intro
03:09 The two buckets of office politics
07:48 Can you opt out of office politics?
10:24 Advice for groups who face more biases in the workplace
12:57 MIT study on promotions based on potential
15:07 Kaila and Kyle’s personal experience with office politics
20:34 Office politics for remote employees
23:02 Using meetings to build buy-in
26:41 Asking for a promotion
29:19 Game: How Would You Respond?
Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/
Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:
@PerMYLastEmailShow
Follow Per My Last Email
Instagram: @permylastemailshow
TikTok: @permylastemailshow
Twitter: @permylast_email
Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to permylastemail@morningbrew.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 7, 2025 • 38min
How to Motivate Yourself – Even When You’re Burned Out
Discover the intriguing world of motivation as intrinsic and extrinsic drives take center stage. Kaila and Kyle share their personal experiences with these motivators, revealing how external validation can fall short in the long run. The duo explores research-backed strategies to boost motivation, including the power of healthy competition. They also tackle how to challenge yourself during tough times and harness urgency to break goals into manageable tasks. Tune in for practical hacks that can reignite your drive and elevate your work life!

4 snips
Jun 30, 2025 • 29min
Am I the A-Hole? Coworker Gifts, Applying for the Same Job As Your Friend, and More
Dive into the ethical dilemmas of workplace dynamics! Explore the intricacies of giving retirement gifts and the social obligations tied to them. The debate heats up over applying for the same job as a friend—should you go for it? Discover the challenges of keeping personal life private at work, especially with remote setups. Plus, learn why pretending to be busy can backfire on your career. Tune in for strong opinions and insightful advice!

5 snips
Jun 23, 2025 • 37min
How to Handle Failure Like a Pro
In this episode, Kaila and Kyle talk about their biggest work fails, a different way to think about failure beyond simply as a “learning opportunity,” and share tactics on how to best move through and recover from failures in both work and career.
00:00 Intro
00:40 Kaila’s biggest work failure
04:20 Kyle’s biggest work failure
09:34 The problem with “I don’t fail, I either win or I learn.”
17:46 An NIH study on career failure among nurses
21:05 How to change your perception of “failure”
22:33 The importance of “getting ahead of it”
24:28 “post traumatic growth”
29:01 Tactics
Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/
Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:
@PerMYLastEmailShow
Follow Per My Last Email
Instagram: @permylastemailshow
TikTok: @permylastemailshow
Twitter: @permylast_email
Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to permylastemail@morningbrew.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 16, 2025 • 38min
Why “High Agency” Might Be the Secret to Growing Your Career
In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss what having high agency at work really means, the problems having high agency poses in certain contexts, and how to cultivate more of it in order to help your career.
00:00 Intro
01:20 Defining what having “high agency” is
06:52 The elements of high agency
10:34 An important point about having agency
14:17 An important element of truly effective high agency
15:03 A time when Kaila demonstrated high agency in her career
17:46 A time when Kyle demonstrated high agency in his career
21:32 A debate on the merits of disagreeableness
30:22 Research on the “internal locus of control”
31:43 Tactics for developing more agency
Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/
Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:
@PerMYLastEmailShow
Follow Per My Last Email
Instagram: @permylastemailshow
TikTok: @permylastemailshow
Twitter: @permylast_email
Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to permylastemail@morningbrew.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 9, 2025 • 40min
On Steve Madden’s Viral Interview and Politics in the Workplace
In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the viral Steve Madden interview and debate whether CEOs and corporations should be expressing their political views, as well as how to navigate politics in the workplace.
00:00 Intro
01:24 Steve Madden’s viral Cutting Room Floor interview
06:26 Lulu Cheng Meservey on “going direct” as a business leader
07:29 Stats on how different generations feel about companies voicing their political beliefs
09:53 Ben & Jerry’s vs. Target
15:07 Brian Armstrong’s “mission-driven company” blog post
21:31 How should you as an employee react to your CEO’s public political statements?
27:23 Should you share your own political beliefs at work?
35:49 Kaila’s work rant
Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/
Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:
@PerMYLastEmailShow
Follow Per My Last Email
Instagram: @permylastemailshow
TikTok: @permylastemailshow
Twitter: @permylast_email
Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to permylastemail@morningbrew.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 snips
Jun 2, 2025 • 39min
Is People Pleasing Holding Your Career Back?
Explore the impacts of people-pleasing on your career. Discover how putting others' needs first can lead to stagnation and the 'niceness tax' on earnings. Delve into The Workplace People Pleasing Matrix, which categorizes behaviors and highlights the balance between agreeability and effectiveness. Learn about the importance of setting boundaries, embracing radical candor, and engaging in difficult conversations. This insightful discussion encourages listeners to navigate their own people-pleasing tendencies towards a more authentic professional approach.

14 snips
May 26, 2025 • 34min
Everything You Know About Work Stress is Wrong
The hosts dive into the intriguing dynamics of work-related stress, questioning if too little stress can be just as harmful as too much. They introduce the Eustress Curve, illustrating how the right balance of stress can enhance productivity. With insights from stress expert Hans Selye, they share effective techniques for transforming negative stress into a productive force. Their conversation emphasizes the necessity of investing in recovery and managing expectations, all while navigating the complexities of workplace mental health.

May 19, 2025 • 35min
Busting Myths About the Most Common Career Cliches
Kaila and Kyle tackle popular career myths with a fresh perspective. They question if no one really knows what they're doing and explore the tricky relationship between HR and employees. Is networking truly more valuable than skills? They dissect the balance between connections and expertise. Plus, the duo critiques the idea that simply following your passion guarantees happiness at work. With humor and insight, they promote a more realistic view of career success.