Women at Work

One way to help close the gender earnings gap? Deliberate redundancy at work, according to economic historian Claudia Goldin. Claudia expands on this idea and shares other insights about the U.S. female labor force. Emily and the Amys reflect on the career-family decisions they’ve made (or plan to make) and imagine what it would be like to have a colleague who could fill in for them whenever they...

How can you be confident that quitting your job is a good move for your career? And how do you handle the feelings — guilt, fear, anxiety — that come up? These are questions we’ll all face at some point, so we talk through which factors to consider before making the decision and best practices for giving your notice when it’s time.

Managers are told that when an employee resigns, they should be professional, reassure their team, and wish the person well. But we also know that resignations bring up a lot of feelings: panic, loss, self-doubt. Five managers acknowledge those emotions and share how they’ve learned to cope.

In leading their teams and organizations through a crisis, women have repeatedly stepped up to the plate. We celebrate four of these women and highlight the ways they’ve been resetting priorities, demonstrating resilience and agility, and communicating effectively. Then, leadership coach Muriel Wilkins gives advice for taking care of yourself while taking care of the people you manage.

If you’re looking to upgrade your work life, know that it’s possible, manageable, and worth the effort. Two women reflect on the actions they took that ended up elevating not only their careers but also their all-around satisfaction.

Starting October 11, a new collection of perspectives to learn from, advice to act on, and takeaways that buoy you up.

How can we get better at negotiating? We hear from a butter maker and entrepreneur about a sensitive deal she recently navigated and then use that experience to draw out the principles and practices essential to any negotiation. Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a professor who studies and teaches negotiations, gives advice on achieving our objectives in a deal, no matter the context.

Alice Boyes, a writer and former clinical psychologist, shares the principles and practices that keep her creative and productive, but not busy. She gives Emily and a social worker guidance on where to focus their energy, as well as paring down their (and your) to-dos to what’s feasible? and actually worth doing.

A nurse practitioner joins Amy B and an expert on workplace well-being to discuss different aspects of stress, plus principles and practices for managing it.

Giving feedback is critical to being a good manager, somebody people look up to and not just report to. But very few of us actually like to do it. So how can we get better at this essential skill? Amy G is joined by a school principal to interview a feedback expert.

As more and more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, how do you lead your family through this safer but not coronavirus-free new world? Two parents in Israel — a child psychologist and an infectious disease doctor — describe the approach they’ve been taking with their three kids. Because when only one child is old enough to receive the vaccine, making your way out of lockdown is even more of a...

We get inside the head of a woman whose due date is just days away. She shares with Erica her worries, hopes, and questions about how having a baby will change her career. Erica offers practical advice for managing a new identity and new work-family demands.

Everyday joys can boost our energy and productivity, so long as we’re able to notice and appreciate them. Kevin reflects on the presence of joy in his life and what keeps him from feeling it. Then, leadership development coach Amy Jen Su gives advice for getting into a mindset that primes us to experience joy and function better all around.

Erica and Kevin show snapshots of life for them these days — basically, frantically working when not giving their all to childcare. They discuss how they’re handling the latest challenges working parenthood has thrown at them, highlighting tools and tips that are helping them cope.

Amy Gallo introduces Erica Truxler and Kevin Evers, two HBR editors hosting a series in which they confront the challenges of managing everything and everyone.

Leadership coach Muriel Wilkins has shared her wisdom on our show multiple times. Now you can listen to and grow from it regularly through Muriel’s new podcast, Coaching Real Leaders. The show takes you inside real-life coaching sessions with executives who’ve hit a bump in the road. In this episode, Muriel speaks with a VP who’s been passed over for a promotion and needs help figuring out how to...

We talk through questions from listeners seeking advice on the challenges they’re facing early in their career — from being excluded from meetings to how to be more assertive.

Coming back to work after parental leave, after having a baby during a pandemic, when you and your colleagues are still working remotely — is complicated. Our colleague describes how she’s approaching remote reentry, and we turn to an expert on all things career and motherhood for guidance on handling childcare, boundaries, and professional relationships during this transition.

After a team member of ours faced a serious medical problem, we recognized how little guidance there was for communicating a health crisis or chronic illness. We talk through common decisions, fears, and conversations.

As we wait for company leaders to make good on the anti-racism commitments they made earlier this year, we check in with four Black women about how their work lives have and haven’t changed. Then we talk with an expert who helps us understand how to keep pushing forward and supporting our Black colleagues while we wait for long-overdue change.

Sometimes you want to make a career change, like a big one. We hear from a woman who is in the process of navigating a bold transition. Then we talk with an expert about how to clarify your goals and ask for what you need to make your next move.

With the help of an expert in side gigs, Emily confronts the hobbies, projects, and pursuits that she’s neglected, in hopes of helping herself and others invest in interests outside of a full-time job.

We’re wiped out and finding it tough to stay focused, present, and optimistic. So we decided to revisit conversations that explore how and why we get worn out and that have advice for building ourselves back up.

Three women who’ve lost work because of the pandemic open up about how they’re processing what's happened and finding a way forward

As offices — including HBR’s — carefully reopen after being closed for months because of the pandemic, we describe what it’s like there and discuss the risks and rewards of being back in person.