Life in the Balance

Dr. Agars talks about the challenges and opportunities that confront us at the holidays and discusses paths for maintain harmony and balance with the people we love. 

Dr. Agars is joined by Clinical Psychologist Dr. David Chavez to talk about the process of managing grief. 

Dr. Agars discusses the consequences of internalizing capitalistic values and the pressure that comes with defining our personal value primarily through work, productivity and achievement. Why is this so common and why is it so hard to make priorities of health, relationships, community, and love? We discuss!

Dr. Agars is joined by special guest Heather Carrasco who shares her experiences of finding health and balance among work, family, and life, while managing a chronic illness diagnosed in early adulthood. Heather shares her story and together they discuss the research and realities of workers managing chronic illness. 

Dr. Agars is joined by friend and colleague Dr. Lisa Looney to discuss the experiences of navigating an academic career and being a mom! Dr. Looney is a mom of four and a Professor of Child Development - how did she manage all of that! Join us to hear her story and a discussion of some of the challenges faced by women in academia. 

Saying no is hard - so we needed another show dedicated to figuring it out. Dr. Agars is joined by workaholism expert Dr. Gino Howard as they unpack how to develop the skill of saying no. 

Why do we say yes to jobs and responsibilities that we really don't want to take on? Pressure? Ego? Poor Boundaries? In this episode Dr. Agars talk about the problems with saying yes too much, explores why we do it, and talks about steps to take to learn so say no when we mean it!

In this episode Dr. Agars discusses the trap of solving symptoms instead of the underlying problems. Listen in as he discusses strategies for identifying which problems are really just symptoms of something larger. When we attack the real problem we can make real change.

In this episode Dr. Agars interviews his childhood friend Gary about being a long-time stay-at-home dad. Join us for a fun discussion around how that happened, what made it work, and why he tells everyone he is an executive chef! 

In this episode, Dr. Agars interviews author and aging, work, and retirement expert, Dr. Ken Shultz. What does balance look like in late career and retirement phases of life? How can we be smart about navigating these moments? Dr. Shultz shares his answers! 

In this episode Dr. Agars responds to your questions on a range of work-life matters. Do you feel guilty when you prioritize family over work? Are you a parent looking for tips? Trying to invest in a hobby but can't fit it in?  Let's talk about it!

In this episode Dr. Agars talks about our "working while sick" problem. He shares his own struggles to break away from work when feeling ill, and talks about why this is such a common struggle and the importance of taking steps to change our response when our body is telling us we need a break.

Listen in as special guest and former co-Host Dr. Casey Leier turns the tables on Mark and asks him questions about his own work-life battles and some history about Life in the Balance. 

Leaders are key to helping employees find a healthy integration of work and family. What do CEOs think about work and family balance? The god, the bad, and the better stay single.

Healthy relationships are key to managing the work-life interface. Listen in as we talk with relationship expert Dr. Kelly Campbell.

In this episode we talk about the meaning of rest and discuss how to think about rest strategically and preemptively to avoid burnout and to support healthy work-life balance.

In this episode Dr. Agars talks about how the way we define work-life challenges in our minds can determine whether or not we develop healthy solutions and how we view new ideas. Is the 32-hour work week a threat to productivity or is it a way to lean into more healthy work norms? Framing matters. 

Work-life challenges exist for everyone, but the experiences for women and men are often quite different. In this episode Dr. Agars talks about how gender norms and expectations impact work-life management, including how differences around unpaid work (i.e., household responsibilities) often result in additional work-life burdens for working moms.     

In this episode Dr. Agars talks about the continued prevalence of burnout, warning signs to be looking out for, and learning steps to take to prevent burnout in our own lives. 

In this episode, Dr. Agars interviews new faculty member at CSUSB and expert on workaholism, Dr. Gino Howard. They discuss the dangers of workaholism, the traps that lead into it, and ways to prevent the negative health and well being consequences of being a workaholic. They also discuss the difference between working hard and workaholism - listen in!

In this episode, Dr. Agars talks about finding work-family balance as a parent and answers questions from working parents who are struggling.

In this episode, Dr. Agars discusses the work-family challenges faced by low-wage workers. His discussion highlights the absence of employer supported work-life policies and practices  for low-wage and part-time workers, and reveals the increased challenges created by the limited support, lack of work flexibility, and absence of voice experienced by low-wage and part-time workers.

In this episode, Dr. Agars talks about using the principles of goal setting as a way to help make real and lasting change related to a healthy work-life balance. 

In this episode, Dr. Agars answers listener questions about their own efforts to manage work, family, life, and health.