Screw the Hierarchy

If we look at the word "responsibility," we see it literally means ability to respond. That ability to respond to situations that serve or don't serve us is where our power lies. And if we take 100% radical responsibility for that power, we more clearly see our choices where we once had tunnel vision, focused on the injustice and the grief. In this episode, I talk about what it means to take radic...

What does justice mean, even for those whose abuse falls under illegal discrimination? The authors of Rights on Trial took a deep dive into the wide variety of outcomes for plaintiffs and defendants in discrimination cases — and how the legal system is rigged to keep hierarchies at work intact. If you've been abused at work related to COVID-19 and would like to share your story anonymously, email...

If we took passive approaches to our careers and lives, we'd look at job postings and see what we fit into. But if we took assertive approaches, we'd ask ourselves what we want to accomplish in life, where we want to be, what we want work to look like for us, and what first step we can take to get there. In her book Reinvention Roadmap, author Liz Ryan calls this step "getting altitude" — and it's...

How do we re-train our brains to process an attack? What root belief systems and thoughts can we shift to deflect mean comments? Emotional Intelligence Specialist and Founder of Positive EQ Kirsti Gwynn reveals the inner work we can do to not internalize others' projections. http://www.positiveeq.com Kirsti leads the Unlocking Inner Strength: 3 Practices to Build Emotional Resilience mini-course i...

Toxic employers pile manipulation onto manipulation. If they allow abuse to happen, they say they're against it but then vilify the target as soon as they know the details of the complaint. And they know courts will eat up this common and awful tactic. It's a disgusting way of getting rid of liability. If you've been abused at work related to COVID-19 and would like to share your story anonymously...

When Dollar General marketing planning analyst Daniel Stone questioned the needs of frontline workers amid COVID-19, he found a target on his back. His speaking up ultimately led to his firing, but Daniel continues to mobilize workers to fight for their basic fundamental rights to dignity. In this episode, Daniel shares his story and his views on the cultural shift that's happening across the nati...

When one demographic occupies the majority of power positions in the U.S. workforce, abuse of power through "othering people" becomes a tactic for retaining that power. In this episode, I talked about the culture of abuse of power with Dr. Tonisha Pinckney. Dr. Toni shares her experiences at work as a Black woman and her views on how race, gender, and other ways of "othering" play out in a hierarc...

One way of healing from workplace abuse is advocating for what we value. Advocacy around the Dignity At Work Act (http://www. DignityAtWorkAct.org), workers' rights in general, and any issue that fires you up around abuse of power helps us heal from it. Legislation isn't about eradicating an issue (though that would be nice). I mean, murder still happens. It's about moving the needle on our work c...

Self-care isn't just about bubble baths and massages. So what exactly is it, and why is it so important? Expert Ellen Rondina guides us through what it REALLY is and why we need it. Take her self-care assessment to see where you stand with self-care: http://www.ellenrondina.com/ Find out more with her free e-book: https://www.amazon.com/SELF-CARE-REVOLUTION-Sustainable-Resilience-Professionals-ebo...

Dignity At Work Act author, president of the National Workplace Bullying Coalition, and university professor Jerry Carbo has spent years researching workplace abuse and what laws abroad help protect worker dignity. On this episode, Jerry shares insights into what his vast experience taught him and how he's bringing that knowledge to fight for psychological safety for workers. Advocates in more tha...

Amazon higher-ups fired Staten Island warehouse supervisor Chris Smalls after he spoke up about lack of protections for workers amid COVID-19. According to Smalls, higher-ups required all workers to report to work without PPE or take unpaid sick leave — leaving them to choose between a paycheck and their health. Infected workers risked infecting others, and healthy workers risked getting infected...

Termination for wearing personal protective equipment in hallways. Lip service about protections in grocery stores. Lack of paid family leave, sick leave, or hazard pay. These tactics are just some of the ways employers ignore the well-being of their front-line workers amid the global pandemic. The sad part is that these views were always there. They're not simply exposed on a grand scale that's c...

"I've always been driven by the idea that life is a state of mind. That's not to say that we don't have forces within us or that act upon us that can make life challenging. The idea is that, despite our circumstances, we always have the power to at the very least change our mind, change our perspective. When it comes down to it, we are the ones manufacturing our reality. Just like the choices that...

At-will employment means you're at the will of your employer. So your employer doesn't need just cause — or any cause at all — to terminate you so long as they don't discriminate against you. That's a pitiful foundation of rights for employees (meaning almost none). Find out what two Massachusetts legislators are doing to change the status quo and which single state already banned at-will employme...

Children's book author Chad Hunter wrote Zack & the Zombie – No Bulliez Pleaze! as a way to open up the conversation about bullying with kids in a safe way. Find out what motivated him to write this book that led to his inspiring journey of sharing his message in his bullying-prevention, pro-empathy program “No Bulliez Pleaze!,” presented to more than 6,000 students and faculty in the Midwest. Cha...

While the COVID-19 outbreak shows a dire need for worker support, it exposes a need that's been there all along. Global crises aren't the only types of crises that shake up our lives. Personal and family crises can put us in critical situations that require more support. Find out what support through proposed legislation (and some passed, but no more than 22 percent of the nation on any given bill...

The legal system is a game that favors employers over employees. Listen to four major ways in which there's a huge asymmetry of power that give plaintiffs far less control and less support from their attorneys compared to employers. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide to recovery steps at dignitytogether.org/targets and a signup for daily boosts through your inbox at the same...

What do your values have to do with whether or not you'll keep your job at a company? I sat down with Janice White, blogger and founder of The Empowered Employee, to go over Cynthia Shapiro's book Corporate Confidential. In her book, Shapiro reveals insights about what your employer won't tell you about how they really feel about you, what can kill your career, and how to become indispensable. Jan...

Legal representation is crucial for winning a legal case. But what happens when your race both affects your ability to search for a lawyer and lawyers' implicit bias in who they select as clients? In this episode, I dive into two major factors that influence the ability of people of color to obtain legal representation. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide to recovery steps at...

Favoritism. Sabotage. Removal of responsibilities. It all happened to a superstar sales manager at a major corporation. Listen to how she overcame the depression, her mindset now, and advice she has for targets of workplace abuse. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide to recovery steps at dignitytogether.org/targets and a signup for daily boosts through your inbox at the same pl...

How can you go from taking on other people's problems through worry and control — that doesn't solve anything — to detaching, taking on our own problems and only our own problems? In this episode, I talk with fellow workplace abuse expert Ms. Camay about detachment and how to stop trying to change things we can't, accept outcomes, and give ourselves the ok to enjoy life despite our unsolved proble...

How does an employee go from noticing bias or discrimination and reporting it to having their entire character and competence brought into question publicly? In this episode, I talk about how the conflict between employee and employer escalates based on the asymmetry of power, which re-enforces the social hierarchies based on demographics. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide t...

Alright, so I'm a COMPLETE Survivor junkie, and this season brings together past Survivor winners from the past 39 seasons for Winners At War. I've been hoping to see this setup happen for a while. In this episode, I look at the demographics of the first 39 seasons and how what happens reinforces our perceptions of social power. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide to recovery...

The legal system re-inscribes the very hierarchies discrimination law was designed to attack, according to the mind-blowing book Rights on Trial. No social change. Not much correcting discriminatory behavior at work. Simply more bias through the stereotyping that created the discrimination in the first place. In this episode, I talk about seven ways the legal system re-discriminates, leaving not m...

I spoke with Sarah Michelle, the CEO of HoneyMAP and creator of the Successful(ish) podcast, about ending identity crisis and redefining success. Find out how she discovered imposter syndrome, how we can work through disqualifiers that lead us to imposter syndrome, and how we take control of the narratives in our heads. If you feel like you need more help, I have a free guide to recovery steps at...