The Emotional Labor Podcast

Zach Watson is a men's coach, Fair Play Facilitator, and former math teacher who helps men better understand emotional labor and take ownership at home. His work focuses on helping men become more emotionally aware, proactive partners—strengthening relationships while reducing the invisible load often carried by women. After the birth of his daughter in 2021, Zach began sharing his experience of f...

Fred  Van Riper  is an executive coach, Fair Play Facilitator (one of only 8 men worldwide), and creator of the Connection Blueprint. He helps leaders interrupt the patterns that cost them their relationships while they're busy being "successful."   A former construction executive, Fred spent years providing financially while his marriage quietly cracked underneath him until he was forced to confr...

When I first came across Kelly Hubbell's viral story —the one where she left the family vacation and the internet lost its collective mind—I nearly stood up and applauded. Here was a woman quietly rebelling against the unpaid, unacknowledged, expected emotional labor of family life. That single decision to pack up and leave wasn't selfish; it was revolutionary. 12 days into a 17 day vacation Kelly...

Laboring Mothers, Then and Now: A Conversation with Dr.  Ellen Ledoux I get Google alerts for the topic of "emotional labor," and one day, a name popped up that stopped me in my tracks: Dr.  Ellen Ledoux . A scholar of 18th-century literature and feminist theory, Dr.  Ledoux 's work powerfully unpacks how historical narratives continue to shape modern understandings of work, gender, and care. Her...

I first discovered Dr. Mira Brancu's work through her November 2024 essay in  Psychology Today ,  where she explored the weight of emotional labor in the workplace and offered strategies to help women and marginalized employees navigate these challenges. Her clients are high-performing women seeking practical tools for building and leading high-performing teams. Dr. Brancu is a psychologist who wr...

I first came across the work of Jourdan Travers through a Forbes article written by Mark Travers, her spouse. The article caught my attention because the title included one of my favorite phrases: "invisible load." When I reached out to Mark, I learned that he and Jourdan collaborate on their writing projects, and as luck would have it, Jourdan graciously agreed to join us on our podcast. Our conv...

I've been a big fan of  Mardi Winder-Adams work for a long while. She speaks and writes the impact of divorce on high achieving women, and how to work through all the challenges that entails.  We had a wonderful conversation. As a divorce coach there's always some type of challenge, obstacle, or overarching concern about how to move forward through the process of becoming a divorced person. She do...

I was introduced to Mary Beth Ferrante through a colleague in the professional organizing industry, and I'm so glad to have had this conversation with her. Mary Beth is the founder of Wrk360, a mom of two, a daughter of aging parents, and an entrepreneur with a deep passion for reimagining the workplace. She's an expert on the intersection of unpaid care work and paid work—the kind of work that sh...

I learned about the good work of Dr.  Sarah   McKay  from her Linked In post on cognitive labor and the household/women's work. Since I tend to focus on the brain's Executive Functions to help us understand what it actually takes to do the work of household management, I couldn't resist an opportunity to connect with Dr.  McKay .  Sara McKay  is an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist, author...

It is not often that I meet someone, living a very full personal and professional life, and who has figured out how to spread around the weight of emotional labor. But after speaking with my guest, Patricia De Fonte, I walked away from that conversation thinking that, wow, here's a role model for delegating, dialoguing, and anticipating what's coming up.  Patricia De Fonte is the brains and heart...

Dr. Loleen Berdahl and Dr. Christie Schultz Since its inception, the Emotional Labor podcast has delved deep into the mental load of emotional labor as it exists within the home. Our guests have included authors and researchers whose work intersects with the many invisible layers of emotional labor at home. In this episode, we are thrilled to discuss a fascinating series of articles published on C...

Dr. Susan  Landers  retired from her work as a neonatologist – a career that spanned 34 years. But alas, although "retired" Dr. Susan found, "I just could not sit still." Sharing compelling stories from her medical practice with her book club members, as she shouldered the heavy load of raising a family, her cohort encouraged her Susan to write about her experiences. As such, Susan went from birth...

David Smith is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University.  Carey Business School. I came across his name when I read a review for his second book, Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace  (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020).    What I find remarkable and special about David, was learning about his "why." When I asked how he came to understand the...

Ingrid Jansen is a friend, colleague, and gifted entrepreneur based in London. Ingrid co-founded, with her pal Lesley Spellman,  The De-Clutter Hub , an online membership platform for cluttered folks needing the support to make their way from chaos to clarity. The two women host a podcast with 1.5 million downloads, and they host a FaceBook group with 18 thousand members. It goes without saying th...

Back when she was starting her family, Gifty   Enright  wished she had in her tool-kit, the language of Emotional Labor. Granted, she may have avoided a lot of grief and despair, but then again, we would have never known her  gift  for putting to words the feelings she had when she Just. Burned. Out., and as described in her book,  The Octopus On A Treadmill .  Gifty  has spent a good chuck of her...

Joanna Schroeder is a force. She's at the forefront of the spreading the word about raising non-sexist, non-racist sons, and so I can't wait to read her latest book , Talk to Your Boys: 27 Crucial Conversations to Have With Your Tweens and Teen Sons  due early 2025.  Joanna is also a writer, editor and feminist media critic. She was raised by a feminist and knows well the phrase, 'We can do it all...

It's not often I read an article with the words "gender equity" embedded in the title. I had not finished reading  Sara   Madera 's article,  Why Achieving Gender Equity at Home is Still Tougher That At Work  when I started my email to  Sara  inviting her to the Emotional Labor podcast.  And I'm so glad that I did.  Aside from being an insightful writer, Sara   Madera  brings her understanding of...

Dr. Shahrzad Nooravi is a business psychologist, Master Certified Coach (MCC) and Founder and CEO of Strategy Meets Performance, a business consulting firm that partners with leaders of mid-sized to Fortune 500 organizations to help them create engaging, innovative, and productive cultures. Dr. Nooravi has been named "Trailblazer of the Year," "Citizen of the Year," and "A Voice to Listen to" for...

Kelly Ryan Bailey is our guest this week and I'm excited to introduce her to our Emotional Labor podcast community. An entrepreneur, speaker, advisor, investor, spouse, and… mama of 3 – Kelly is one smart woman who has parlayed her life experience with major burn-out at the tender age of 36 – into viable business entities. From her  SkillsBaby.com  platform, Kelly offers workshops, global retreats...

I started my organizing business two months after my university job layoff. An academic at heart, I devoured a lot books to help me learn my new craft. And it was with great excitement and glee when I can across Sari Solden 's, Women with Attention Deficit Disorder. Page after page of important insight and analysis of how the mental load of emotional labor lands on the ADD females typically raised...

Maureen Nolan is an 'attention coach' who is using the book, Emotional Labor: Why A Woman's Work is Never Done and What To Do About It with her clients seeking the ability to focus, and improve awareness about relationships. A specialist in working with people with executive function challenges, Maureen works with her clients through the lens of the client's past traumas to help identify attachmen...

Megan Hauser is a force. She's a researcher, educator, mother, wife, and gender justice advocate. A doctoral candidate in Education and Research at Lehigh University, Megan is doing interesting work, specializing in time-use and investigating the disproportionality of female-identifying teachers to female-identifying administrators in the U.S. public school system, and the gendered division of lab...

Lisa Levey's book, The Libra Solution is a 2012 exploration of thoughts and ideas we continue to examine to this day - namely, strategies and solutions for household equity. Lisa is a recognized expert in the fields of women's leadership, diversity, and work-life integration. She lives with her husband and two sons in the Boston area. Her work is very inclusive of men, referring to her husband, as...

Judith Kolberg is my long time friend and colleague, and, as of 2 years ago, my brilliant collaborator as well.   The Emotional Labor book would not be what it is without Judith's talents – as an editor and writer, and as a listener. Our work together on the book was delightful and fun, and Judith's sense of humor shows up on many pages.    Our podcast conversation covers  a range of topics – how...

Aashi Arora , founder of iRise Executive Coaching, is a successful and smart business coach. She's got an interesting niche – working with healthcare professionals in  leadership development, career transitions, and emotional intelligence. She's also a life coach for executive level professional women. We had a great conversation about how she works with her clients through their  "wheel of life,"...