The Lonely Office

Just be yourself, they say. But not that self. In a culture that preaches authenticity one day and cancels you the next, how do you know how much of your personality and selfhood to reveal in a professional setting? Inspired by the true story of “Bill”, who struggles to socialize at work, we talk about the risks and rewards of bringing your full self to work—and whether the whole concept is a carryover from a bygone era.

With artificial intelligence becoming more intelligent by the hour, who will lose their jobs first? Where will they go? And is this a case for universal basic income? On this episode, joined by comedian and writer Azhar Usman, we follow the rapid rise of AI to its professional, social, and ethical conclusions.

Are the younger generations really coddled and entitled, or is this just a classic case of “OK Boomer”? When it comes to workplace attitudes, there’s a clear generational divide, especially in the case of “Allie” and “Randy” (protecting their anonymity!) who inspired today’s story.  In this episode, we’re joined by beloved guest Leah Ova to unpack these stereotypes—and how remote work might be making everything worse.

Unlimited vacation is often lauded as a workplace perk, but who does it actually benefit? On this episode, we’re joined by marketer and content creator Leah Ova to discuss why employers might be incentivized to adopt unlimited PTO policies—and why employees might be getting the short end of the stick.

After working overtime, “Mo” expected a nice work perk, but received branded snacks instead. Their anonymously-shared story prompted us to ask the question(s): What should be the reward of a job well done? A sense of purpose? A round of applause? A box of pretzels? This week, we’re joined by comedian Azhar Usman and content creator Leah Ova to debate the full spectrum of how we might feel about our work—from meaningful to meaningless.

Pregnancy, disabilities, age—when it comes to sharing sensitive personal information in a professional setting, where do we draw the line? On this episode, we dive into the true story of an HR professional named Diana, a pregnant new hire, and one boss with a big mouth. We’re joined by motherhood content creator Leah Ova to discuss the reasons why expecting women in the workplace may or may not want to disclose their pregnancy during the interview process.

Is ChatGPT a powerful tool to augment our work, or is it a weapon of capitalism on the verge of taking our jobs? In this episode, we discuss an anonymous story shared by  “Megan”, a PR professional whose excellent writing skills are secretly attributed to AI. We’re joined by startup advisor Rusty Rueff this week to debate the merit of AI tools like ChatGPT from all sides—from their innumerable benefits to unintended consequences.

A horror story for the remote work era: going through endless rounds of interviews, wondering whether you’ve wasted your time. On this episode, we dive into a real 11-round-interview incident endured by one candidate named “Mike”. We’ll debate the risks and merits of a lengthy interview process, getting caught in the crosshairs of a company’s misaligned objectives, and whether it’s all a sign to get out of the corporate matrix. We’re also joined by special guest Azhar Usman, comedian and writer on the Hulu show, Ramy.