
Per My Last Email
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.
Latest episodes

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.

May 12, 2025 • 33min
How to Be Happier at Work, with Dr. Laurie Santos
Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale professor and the mind behind The Happiness Lab podcast, shares insights on how to cultivate happiness at work. She discusses the importance of meaningful work and its generational shifts, emphasizing millennials' and Gen Z's differing approaches. Dr. Santos introduces 'job crafting' as a way to align work with personal strengths and passions, while illustrating how time affluence can greatly impact workplace satisfaction. Additionally, she offers tips for working parents to navigate the balance between career and family life.

6 snips
May 5, 2025 • 37min
Why Is AI So Annoying?
The conversation dives deep into the current problems with AI discourse, highlighting skepticism versus recognition of its benefits. Kaila shares three practical use cases for AI, while voicing her concerns about over-reliance. Kyle discusses using AI as a tool that complements rather than replaces human thought. They explore AI's role as a time-saver in managing tasks and meetings, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking amidst technological advancements. Ethical implications and the collaborative nature of AI also earn significant attention.

5 snips
Apr 28, 2025 • 32min
We Made You a Report Card for Your Job – Here’s Why
Discover the transformative concept of rating your own job to enhance workplace satisfaction. The hosts share personal anecdotes about their worst job experiences, inviting reflection on the subjective nature of job fulfillment. Learn about a practical template to assess job offers and employment dynamics. They emphasize the importance of regular self-evaluation every six months to ensure alignment with career goals. Tune in for insights that can empower you to make informed decisions about your career path!