The Corporate Burnouts Podcast

Give yourself one task and eight hours, and guess how long it takes? In Episode 83, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt dig into why you're more productive when you're busy, and slower than molasses when your calendar is wide open. From a viral three-jobs story (that may have been satire) to waiting tables in the weeds, they break down Parkinson's Law, momentum and the voice in your head that neg...

If working from home was such a problem, why did it take until 2026 for anyone to say so? In Episode 82, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt break down the real return-to-office timeline: the 2020 shutdown, the 2021–2022 hot labor market that turned remote work into a hiring perk, the messy 2023 "back to normal" push, and the 2024 layoffs that flipped power back to employers. They get into the theo...

Burnout isn't just coming for your health. It's coming for your bank account. In Episode 81, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt get honest about what burnout really cost them: late-night retail therapy, Target runs that always hit $200, delivery apps, paying for chores they couldn't face, and bills that didn't get paid until the water got shut off. They break down why burnout spending is rea...

One 30-minute conversation blew up an entire business plan this week — and it started with a ChatGPT prompt at 11 p.m. Mandy and Mandy talk honestly about playing small: staying quiet in meetings when you have the better idea, undercharging because you're "still new," waiting for someone else to tell you you're ready. Mandy Alt shares the $750 website that kicked off her marketin...

Bre K is back, the "Vanilla Ice of business" returns to talk systems, scaling, and why most side hustles don't make it past year five. We dig into what actually causes businesses to implode (hint: it's not lack of hustle, it's lack of structure), why you should hire before you feel ready, and why betting on yourself is non-negotiable even when your own people are scared for y...

Mandy Alt is racing toward a November 30th launch for her passion-project app — and it's the perfect excuse to talk about turning a side hustle into a full-time business. The Mandys break down the real signs you're ready to quit your job, how to calculate the income you actually need (hint: it's not just your take-home goal), and the gut-check question that tells you whether you want a...

You clock out. You leave the office. You shut the laptop. But did you actually leave work behind? In this episode of The Corporate Burnouts , Mandy Holt and Mandy Alt talk about what happens when work starts changing the person you are at home. Maybe you’re more irritable. You have less patience. You’re mentally somewhere else. Your family knows not to bother you after a bad day, or the people you...

Shannon Shores, social worker turned entrepreneur, business owner, and consultant, joins us to torch the myth that career success has to look like one straight line up a corporate ladder. Shannon's path has taken her from clinical social work to founding and selling a nationwide STD-testing company, into executive roles, and back out again — and she's here to explain why that kind of movem...

In this episode of  The Corporate Burnouts , Mandy Holt and Mandy Alt unpack something they both realized about themselves: they're really bad at being "off." What starts as a conversation about vacations, "girl dinner," and Sunday routines quickly turns into a much bigger discussion about why so many of us feel guilty when we're not being productive. Why do we turn eve...

Most people who are miserable at work aren't overworked, they're just confused. No clear expectations. No idea what "doing a good job" even looks like. Sound familiar? This week Mandy and Mandy open up about a scratch-cake baking fail (turns out unclear instructions aren't just a workplace problem) before diving into a conversation with career clarity expert Lynnae Brown. Lynnae helps people figur...

The Great Gen Z Soft Skills Debate: Who's Really to Blame? Mandy Holt and Mandy Alt are back with a conversation that got a little too real. It starts with a story about a teenage road trip speed trap crackdown and spirals into a full breakdown of why Gen Z is entering the workforce without the soft skills managers say they need — and who actually dropped the ball. The Mandys dig into the mill...

Two Mandys, Two Shit-Your-Pants Stories, and the Brain Chemistry of Being Mortified This week the Mandys are diving into the most embarrassing, cringe-inducing moments of their corporate careers — and yes, that includes bathroom disasters, hair emergencies, and getting caught up in an office dating scandal. Mandy Alt kicks things off with a Louisville road trip flashback (RIP to the Waze app that...

If you ignore AI for the next two years, what happens to your career? Organizational psychologist Dr. Kelly Monahan says you'll be left behind, not by AI itself, but by the people who learned to use it. Kelly spent 15 years researching the future of work at Meta, Upwork, Accenture, and Deloitte, and she joins Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt to break down what's actually happening behind the scene...

Corporate taught us more than we realized and not all of it was bad. This week Mandy and Mandy break down the skills they took from corporate America that actually made them better parents, partners, and business owners: having hard conversations, asking better questions, and mastering the art of small talk. They also get honest about the habits they're still trying to unlearn like guilt over...

What would you actually do if you woke up tomorrow with all your skills, experience, and wisdom, but zero network, zero reputation, and zero job or clients? That's the question driving this week's episode of The Corporate Burnouts. The Mandys get into it: the soft skills that outlast any job title, why your career path is probably circumstance, not intention, and what it really means to re...

Why High-Achieving Women Get Stuck — and How to Break Free | Ep. 68 with Ali Carson If you've ever felt stuck in your career, burned out from chasing the wrong version of success, or like you're getting in your own way, this episode is for you. We're joined by Ali Carson, MBA, ACC, Gallup certified strengths coach, brain-based coach, two-time #1 international bestselling author, and fo...

Ever felt like you've "tricked" everyone into thinking you belong? Yeah, us too. In Episode 67, both Mandys get real about imposter syndrome: what it actually feels like, why it hits hardest when you're leveling up, and why the goal was never to get rid of it. From Mandy Holt sitting in a boardroom at a multi-billion dollar company thinking "I have done it, I have screwed my...

You are not a victim of your corporate life and this episode is your wake-up call. In Episode 66, both Mandys get real about one of the most uncomfortable truths in burnout recovery: personal responsibility . After 65 episodes of unpacking toxic workplaces, bad bosses, and burnout, they're turning the mirror around on themselves and on you. They dig into why so many of us stay stuck in jobs we...

Confused about health insurance after leaving corporate? You're not alone. In this episode, we sit down with Rachel Zimmerman, an independent employee benefits broker with 15+ years of experience helping small businesses and individuals navigate the world of health insurance. Whether you're leaving a 9-to-5, starting a business, or just trying to make sense of the marketplace, this episode...

We'll be honest, one of us procrastinated on her own podcast class about podcasting. And that's exactly how this episode happened. This week, the Mandys get real about procrastination: why we do it, why we can't seem to stop, and the tips and tricks we're actually putting into practice. No judgment. We're both works in progress. We get into: Why procrastination isn't lazine...

Whether you're the boss or the employee, giving and receiving feedback is one of the hardest parts of any workplace, and nobody teaches you how to do it. This week, the Mandys break down a real-life corporate nightmare: a manager who calls out his entire team on a weekly group call, gets called out himself for it, and completely falls apart. From there, the conversation goes deep on what actua...

We've talked about burnout a lot. But this week, we brought in someone who can explain why it's happening in your body — at a biological level. International bestselling author and physiotherapist Jessica Maguire joins the Mandys to break down the nervous system science behind burnout, and honestly? Everything finally makes sense. This episode covers: What the vagus nerve actually is and w...

Layoffs are happening. Are you ready? This week, Mandy & Mandy get into one of the most important, and most overlooked, conversations in your career: how to negotiate your severance package. Most people sign whatever is handed to them in that emotionally charged moment. Turns out? That's exactly what they're counting on. We break down: Why you should never sign your severance package o...

Are corporate politics holding you back or are you just not playing the game yet? In this episode of The Corporate Burnouts, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt break down one of the most misunderstoodskills in career growth, navigating corporate politics. Forget the toxic stereotype. This conversation reframes workplace politics as a practical tool for getting promoted, earning raises, and unlocking opportu...

Is company loyalty secretly costing you your career? In this episode of The Corporate Burnouts, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt unpack one of the biggest myths in corporate America, that staying loyal to one company is always the smart move. After decades in corporate careers, the Mandys get real about how the workplace has changed: layoffs, restructuring, shifting leadership, and a loyalty that was neve...