The Emotional Labor Podcast

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 confront the emotional labor he'd been outsourcing to his wife for years. Now he teaches leaders how to show up at home and work without burning out themselves or the people around them.   Connect with Fred: Newsletter: https://www.seatatthetablecoaching.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin/in/frederickvanriper   Upcoming: Fred is currently writing F*ck Productivity: How Doing Less (of What Doesn't Matter) Gets You More (of What Does)*, a book challenging hustle culture and redefining what productivity actually means for leaders, parents, and humans exhausted by the daily grind.

1/1/26 • 65:59

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 and her husband decided that being away for so long from the systems that kept them happy healthy and whole were important enough to return home early. Grateful for the time they spent with their family, they were able to return to a carefully curated quality of life at home. In a culture that romanticizes women's exhaustion, she's doing the radical work of saying, "No, I will not die on the hill of clean beach towels and everyone else's sunscreen." Part of the reason Kelly was able to take such a definitive and distinctive action was because she and her husband had already built systems that distributed the load—organizational, emotional, and operational. They worked with an on-site house manager to create a rhythm of household life that didn't depend solely on her bandwidth or willingness to "hold it all together." From that lived experience came a sharp insight: most families don't need more "help," they need structure, language, and transparency around the invisible work of running a home. Noticing a gaping hole in the marketplace for holistic, human-centered household management, Kelly founded Sage Haus in 2023. The platform brings dignity and design to domestic logistics, transforming the chaos of family coordination into a system of shared accountability. It's part therapy, part workflow, and wholly a revolution in how we think about emotional labor in the modern home. In our conversation, Kelly and I talk about how emotional labor operates as the invisible architecture of every home—how it's both the glue and the grind. Sage Haus offers a framework to make that invisible work visible, delegable, and dare I say, shared. Kelly's approach bridges empathy and efficiency: she blends heart and logistics, showing families how to distribute domestic responsibility without guilt or resentment. It's emotional labor with a project plan—a vision for a household where care is collaborative, not compulsory. 

11/13/25 • 42:42

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 book, Laboring Mothers: Reproducing Women and Work in the Eighteenth Century, explores the cultural origins of the myth that maternal care and paid labor are mutually exclusive. She reveals how Enlightenment-era ideals elevated the domestic role for white, privileged women while rendering poor, enslaved, and working-class mothers invisible—or unworthy. In other words, motherhood was never just a personal role—it was political, racialized, and deeply tied to labor structures. When I asked Dr. Ledoux why we're still here—still talking about "work-life balance," still treating caregiving as if it were weightless—she pointed to our enduring belief in rugged individualism and our failure to interrogate the systems that demand superhuman effort. As she put it: we expect a woman on the tenure track to birth both a baby and a major scholarly work, as if both forms of labor don't demand everything. Dr. Ledoux's scholarship is a gift to anyone grappling with the emotional labor of care, work, and identity. Learn more about Dr. Ledoux and her work: https://ellen.ledoux.us/ Order Laboring Mothers: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5949/

6/30/25 • 48:25

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 writes extensively about navigating the workplace, both as a peer and as a leader. One of her key concepts is the idea of "emotional contagion." Positive contagions can create an uplifting atmosphere, where contagious energy drives motivation and teamwork. However, negative contagions—such as low energy, constant complaining, and pervasive dissatisfaction—can drain the workplace of its potential for productivity and enjoyment. Dr. Brancu describes how an emotionally intelligent peer or leader can step in to address negativity by leveraging emotional labor. This involves digging deeper into the root causes of discontent, naming the problem, and setting a clear intention to resolve it. She also emphasizes advocating for individual contributions and fostering trust through the creation of interpersonal operating principles. Her approach underscores the importance of emotional intelligence in transforming workplace dynamics. One particularly valuable resource from our conversation is Dr. Brancu's Yes/No Audit, a fun and insightful free download available on her website. This tool helps us examine why we say "yes" to the wrong things, empowering us to prioritize what truly matters and avoid being sidetracked by obligations that don't serve our goals. It's a practical guide for unlearning unhealthy habits that can keep us stagnant as leaders. Bio: Dr. Mira Brancu is a consulting and coaching psychologist who specializes in women's leadership identity development and building adaptive, high-performing teams. She is also an Associate Professor, author of the Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics and companion workbook, Psychology Today columnist of the series, A New Look at Women's Leadership, and host of The Hard Skills live show and podcast. Her award-winning social impact firm, Towerscope, empowers and elevates women in leadership within disrupted, complex learning and innovation systems.  Website: www.gotowerscope.com Longer bio on website: https://gotowerscope.com/about-ceo Leadership Academy: https://gotowerscope.com/towerscope-leadership-academy Company Social Media Handles: https://www.linkedin.com/company/towerscope/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/towerscope-leadership-academy/ https://www.facebook.com/towerscope Professional Social Media Handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/MiraBrancu https://www.facebook.com/mira.brancu.31/  https://www.instagram.com/MiraBrancu https://bsky.app/profile/mirabrancu.bsky.social The Hard Skills show and podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-skills/id1706366751 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xENmagP4Us&list=PLBRIDM9zFt53CbF8-Y_LiHx_12xdIQpT1 Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics book: https://www.amazon.com/MILLENNIALS-GUIDE-WORKPLACE-POLITICS-Influence/dp/1954374917/ Millennials Workbook for Navigating Workplace Politics: https://www.amazon.com/Millennials-Workbook-Navigating-Workplace-Politics/dp/1954374178 Recent Articles:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-emotional-labor-invisible-work-we-dont-discuss-brancu-xmfpe/?trackingId=2CI7BYaoTmKDCBHSr4RfRA%3D%3D https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-new-look-at-womens-leadership/202411/navigating-invisible-emotional-labor-at-work

2/24/25 • 52:33

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 conversation was rich and thought-provoking. I especially appreciated the way Jourdan unpacked the concept of emotional labor and explored how it operates within the framework of patriarchy. She articulated how patriarchy underpins long-standing beliefs about gender roles and provided historical context to help illuminate its pervasive influence. What's more, she highlighted how patriarchy manifests differently depending on factors such as race, class, gender, culture, age, and sexual orientation. As a licensed social worker and therapist, Jourdan emphasized the importance of regular, honest, and introspective conversations as a foundation for challenging and shifting deeply ingrained beliefs. She shared how her work helps patients look beyond surface-level issues to dig deeper, encouraging curiosity and critical examination of their own narratives. Jourdan's goal is to empower women to reflect more deeply on their challenges and view them through a different lens. One exercise she suggested, which I found both brilliant and practical, is this: If you're upset about something—say, how your spouse handles snack time with the kids—write it down. Detail what the problem is, why it bothers you, and what solution you'd like to see. Then, ask yourself, "Why do I feel this way?" By becoming curious about your emotions and responses, you can gain valuable insights and begin to reframe your perspective. Bio: Jourdan Travers is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Clinical Director at Awake Therapy, a telehealth company that provides online psychotherapy, counseling, and coaching. She also helps curate the popular mental health and wellness website, Therapytips.org, where you can take science-backed assessments such as the Relationship Satisfaction Scale and Marital Satisfaction Test. Ms. Travers received her MSW from The University of Maryland and her B.A. in psychology from California State University Northridge. She has previously worked at Promises Treatment Center and Malibu Vista in Malibu, California, and the Lindner Center of Hope in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ms. Travers takes a holistic approach to mental health treatment, utilizing a variety of methods to help clients move through distressing thoughts, manage overwhelming emotions, improve close relationships, and focus on strengths to achieve long-term results. Click here to book an appointment with Ms. Travers.

2/10/25 • 57:32

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 does see four areas that are among the more common challenges: experiencing that emotional shift from we– to –me, managing the stress of the entire divorce process. Also, there are myriad financial issues that come up as a divorce is getting underway (it is not un-often that one person knows a heck of a lot more about finances than the other person). And finally, if children are in the mix, she helps parents understand that the children will be OK as long as the parents can show a happy and healthy parting of the ways.  It's a reality that girls are raised into women to notice everything, to be the caregivers, and the caretakers, to be in tune with what's happening in the family at all times. When divorce happens, many women seek to control the narrative when it comes to managing their children, and their children's things, i.e. clothing, personal care, and school supplies… and will ruminate about the what ifs –what if my child doesn't have a ruler? What if my child doesn't have a good costume for the class party? Mardi coaches turning this around, to move the thought needle. And think instead about what is happening rather than fearing what's possible, or whether the fear is truly a legitimate concern. She encourages a 10 minute a day self-care activity. And I'll 10 minutes don't have to be done all at once… Take a couple of minutes to notice the green trees outside your window; five minutes in your desk chair to focus on a positive mantra or a pleasurable upcoming event can turn the tide from anxiety to calm. Also – learning how to say no goes a long way on the road to self-care.  Bio: Mardi Winder-Adams is the go-to divorce coach for high-achieving individuals. She is dedicated to supporting people in taking control of their separation and divorce to reduce the emotional and financial costs of the process. Mardi offers over 20 years of experience helping women and men navigate the challenges of high-conflict, complex, and high-asset divorces. Mardi is an ICF and BCC Executive and Leadership Coach, Certified Divorce Transition and High-Conflict Divorce Coach, and Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in Texas.  She founded Positive Communication Systems, LLC, and hosts the podcast "The D Shift, Redefining Divorce and Beyond" and Real Divorce Talks. Mardi is also a best-selling author, speaker, and trainer. Links:  Website: https://www.divorcecoach4women.com/ Podcast: The D Shift: Redefining Divorce and Beyond LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mardiwinderadams/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcecoach4women/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Divorcecoach4women Facebook personal: https://www.facebook.com/mardi.winderadams

1/28/25 • 47:06

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 shows up in your job description—and she has a lot to say about why this matters. During our conversation, Mary Beth shared a jaw-dropping statistic: caregiving contributes $1.9 trillion to the GDP, but its value remains largely invisible. Why? Because caregiving work itself is so often invisible. And this lack of recognition ripples out into the workplace, especially for women. Mary Beth laid out the stark realities: 79% of new moms are less likely to be hired, and 50% are less likely to be promoted. These numbers are depressing, but they highlight the urgent need for change. What I love about Mary Beth's work is that she's not just pointing out the problems—she's actively designing solutions. One idea we discussed is the concept of a re-onboarding program for employees returning from maternity leave. Think about it: when a woman comes back to work after having a baby, she's stepping into the workplace with a whole new identity. She's not just an employee anymore; she's now a working mom. And while, yes, every mom is a working mom—whether paid or unpaid—the workplace rarely acknowledges this profound transition. Imagine a workplace where her return is supported with a thoughtfully co-created transition plan. It's a plan that acknowledges how much her life has changed while also ensuring that her team is ready to support her success. This kind of approach not only helps her stay engaged on the job but also increases the likelihood she'll stay with the company. Mary Beth's vision for the future of work is one where emotional labor, caregiving, and workplace equity aren't afterthoughts but central to how we design policies and cultures. Our conversation was inspiring, eye-opening, and filled with practical takeaways for anyone looking to support caregivers—at work and beyond. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Here is a link to download a quick quiz on the mental load: Rebalance the Mental Load to Reduce Overwhelm - Are YOU Ready? Mary Beth's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbferrante/

12/14/24 • 47:25

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, speaker and director of Think Brain's suite of online professional training programs in brain health and applied neuroscience. In our illuminating discussion, Dr. McKay found herself on the cutting edge of research on the gender gap around women's health. Young female scientists become older female scientists and these Gen X researchers are leading research labs, and incorporating "sex" as a biological variable, and Sarah McKay is in the thick of discussing women's brain health.  One of my big take-aways from our conversation was around the nature/nurture narrative. Women operate on two levels: biological/hormonal and gender experience. As pregnancy shapes and sculpts the gender experience, so too does whether or not you live in an egalitarian family, environment, or country. Research shows that when women live in countries where equality is a given [Scandinavia, for example], women's brain health is on par with their male counterparts. In more unequal countries [e.g.,Afghanistan], women's brain health is compromised.  Dr. McKay also talked about her personal journey in marriage and motherhood. With a kind and understand spouse, the language of "how can we make this work?" became a staple in their relationship.  Dr. Sarah McKay is the author of two books: Baby Brain: The surprising neuroscience of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains and change our minds (for the better) and The Women's Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health Hormones and Happiness. And you can learn more about her good work here: https://drsarahmckay.com/. 

11/17/24 • 54:54

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 behind De Fonte Law PC, where "Estate Planning With Heart®" isn't just a tagline—it's the ethos of the practice.  Listen in on our conversation and you'll hear how Patricia practices the principles of work and home equality in all of her affairs.  My favorite example … many years ago Patricia read an article on the work of the household, prompting a new narrative in her in own home. Rather than asking her sons and husband to "help" her with the chores, she reframed and said that the "house needs help." To function properly, the house needs help to the laundry done, toilets scrubbed, etc. So 'help the house' is now my rally cry to GSD!! {get stuff/sh*t done!}   At her law firm she institutes planned time off from clients, shortened work days, and scheduling boundaries. With an LL.M in Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Administration and a JD from Golden Gate University, plus a BA in Communication from Santa Clara University, Patricia's academic credentials are just the beginning. Eight years ago, she set out to create a law firm where happiness is a priority—for her, her team, and most importantly, her clients. And it's working! Patricia has not only contributed a chapter to a Wealth Counsel book, but she's also been named a Super Lawyer multiple times and even snagged the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics. When Patricia's involved, you know you're in good hands! patricia@defontelaw.com www.defontelaw.com 415-735-6959

9/9/24 • 40:38

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 Canada's University Affairs website, authored by Loleen Berdahl and Christie Schultz. Loleen Berdahl is an award-winning university instructor, the executive director of the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina), and a professor and former head of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Christie Schultz is the dean of the Centre for Continuing Education and an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. Loleen and Christie examine how the mental load of emotional labor manifests in the academic workplace and higher education institutions. Their research highlights that this weight disproportionately falls on the shoulders of women and diverse faculty members. In our conversation, we explored various facets of care management and the ethics of care when students present emotional and mental health challenges to faculty. We discussed how DEI committee work and campus decolonization activism often rely on faculty support, and how students tend to see their female professors as 'safe' providers of care and support, driven by societal stereotypes. Our discussion ranged from applying care ethics in the academy, identifying challenges and solutions, understanding institutional support, and envisioning the future of care in academia. We concluded with a thought-provoking question: What would happen if we centered care in all aspects of life? The full series of articles is available on the University Affairs website for those interested in delving deeper into this crucial topic. https://universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/the-skills-agenda/leading-with-care-emotional-labour-and-academic-leadership/ https://universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/the-skills-agenda/the-skills-of-care-navigating-emotional-labour-in-academia/ https://universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/the-skills-agenda/acknowledging-the-emotional-labour-of-academic-work/

7/4/24 • 55:15

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 birthing babies to birthing a book, and in 2021, So Many Babies: My Life Balancing a Busy Medical Career and Motherhood. was born.  I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Susan  – smart, thoughtful, and reflective, she shared the evolution of how she came to understand how she grew a successful career, stayed married, and raised 3 children. She describes her journey through the decades.  Dr.Susan's husband, Phillip, a practicing physician in his own right (Pediatrics) did a lot around the house when the kids were young but Susan recognized that she was carrying the bulk of the physical work and the mental load of emotional labor. She said it took her 10 years to figure out how to ask for help because before asking for help she was growing resentful of all that was on her plate, and Philip did not intuitively know how to partner with her in the household. And so she had to learn to identify the need and ask for help. The second decade of marriage was all about helping Philip learn to listen, instead of wanting to fix things. Which brought the couple to a new and more sustainable way to communicate.   In this, her fourth decade of marriage and just a few years out of a fulfilling career, Dr. Susan Love speaks to women in the struggle to find their footing amidst a culture that expects women to do all the work. To that end, aside from her book, Dr Landers offers cool, and very accessible Ebooks – free to download – resources for parents – to discover real conversations about, and real hacks for, finding that footing, and feel steady on solid ground. 

12/6/23 • 56:49

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 need for gender equity in the paid workplace, Dr. David told me the story about his, and his wife's 1987 graduation from the Naval Academy – both leaving the institution with the same degrees and embarking on parallel careers. It didn't take him long to understand that where he had unlimited and easy access to career advancement resources, his wife was given no such access and was forced to find her way in order to advance her career. Consequently his doctoral research in Sociology examined dual-career families which led to his first book, along with co-author, Dr. Brad Johnson, Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women.   David's work today focuses on gender equity within organizations and how all gender equity begins in the home. His research shows that men who worked from home during the pandemic enjoyed the benefits of connecting with their family life in deeper and meaningful ways. To maintain that connection from the office – they "leave loudly" for their family obligations – walking out the front door, and announcing to bosses and co-workers that they have to run their kids to soccer practice or be with them at the dentist. Men "leaving loudly" has given rise to women doing the same – rather than heading out the backdoor hoping no one will notice that you have a dental appointment with your child – dads' deepening relationships at home make it okay, and safer, for women to do the same thing. It was this conversation, and so much more, that made me feel more positive than I have about reaching gender equity at home which David believes can be realized within the next generation, so long as the paid workplace can provide employees with the flexibility to show-up authentic humans with family responsibilities despite and in spite, of their gender.  Find out more about David here: Website: workplaceallies.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgsmithphd/

11/17/23 • 55:53

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 professional life in accounting and IT – working hard to be successful as her male counterparts without at first recognizing that her male counterparts were actually doing only half the work, considering it that is was unlikely that successful men were also responsible for the management of the home, or so-called, 'women's work.' Like nearly all women, Gifty was raised to believe that if she wanted it 'all' she had to be willing to do it all. And then she burned out.    And now, Gifty Enright is a speaker, author, communicator, and coach – working specifically with mothers in their roles as professionals in the paid workplace, and moms in the unpaid workplace (home). She has so much to say about the importance of making visible the work of the household, instructing her clients and their spouses to list all the jobs they perform at home, and then compare and share the lists with each other. Her clients come to her feeling like failures, that they are stagnating professionally, losing ground to their male counterparts and losing confidence along the way. For Gifty – mothers are the center of gravity – they hold the world together and need a hell of a lot more support – and boundaries – to go out and contribute to the world on their terms. At home, this means establishing a baseline for "good enough," partnering with the other adult in the household, and giving the children opportunities to contribute to the management of the home – because "even a 2-year-old can drag her pajamas to the laundry room." 

10/18/23 • 58:01

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,' to which Joanna responds, 'But we shouldn't have to."  She gave me a new way of thinking about the parent who 'does it all' – more as the 'default parent' – the person is who carrying the weight of household management and labor. She describes how she and her family regularly negotiate and renegotiate the terms of household. Daily conversations affirm and confirm the ideology and values of their home. I just love this model.  She has worked in digital publishing for more than a decade, having served as executive editor of The Good Men Project and senior editor of YourTango, where she currently serves as Managing Editor of the well-respected Experts Program.  A graduate of UCLA's Gender Studies department, she brings a critical eye to the editing and creation of highly-shareable digital content. She is best known for her viral parenting content, which is proudly feminist, anti-racist and progressive. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Boston Globe newspapers and in publications such as Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Yahoo, The Huffington Post, Time, Bright Magazine, Kveller, and Vox. She also writes a weekly Substack, Zooming Out. ​She is also a lead author of Confronting Conspiracy Theories and Organized Bigotry at Home: A Guide For Parents & Caregivers published in partnership with The Western States Center. Her upcoming book, Talk To Your Boys: 27 Crucial Conversations To Have With Boyrs Today and How to Start Having Them, will be available in 2025 via Workman Publishing, co-authored with Christopher Pepper.

9/6/23 • 57:42

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 gender equity at home as a career coach for working moms. Sara comes to her knowledge of household equity through experience – living with her spouse and children and having what sounds like substantive conversations about the shared work load. Her coaching practice is inclusive in that couples are coached in her program called, "Home Work," where wives and husbands discuss individual and shared values, where individual strengths and how those strengths contribute to a shared system toward household equity. 

8/9/23 • 49:49

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 driving positive change in her community. Her new leadership book, "A Powerful Culture Starts with You" was rated as the #1 New Release in Workplace Culture and Best Seller in Business Coaching. I met Dr. Sharzad this past year thought a mutual business networking group. Within moments into our first conversation, I knew I had made a really good friend because she thinks deeply about many things and seeks to make the world around her better. As an author, speaker, consultant, and coach, Sharzad turns her lens on corporate culture. Taking a deep dive to assess the culture of the workplace – vertically and horizontally – she makes important recommendations for the C-Suite execs to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her services create engaging cultures where employees give their all and decide to stay with the company, ultimatly positively impacting the company's brand and bottom line. Sharzad and I talked about how companies can create a meaningful hybrid workplace to honor employees with families (read: women) by first understanding company values, and then showing the value of meaningful engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion, followed by  the implementation of strategies, policies, processes, and procedures that enjoin a more cohesive paid workplace. Company website: www.strategymeetsperformance.com Book website: www.apowerfulculture.com Buy her book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Culture-Starts-You-Cultivate/dp/B09ZC1P3BQ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1684815496&sr=8-1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahrzadnooravi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.shahrzadnooravi/

7/19/23 • 41:37

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, and, her new endeavor on Linked In, Let's Talk Live, focusing on monetizing unpaid labor, which is brilliant.   We had a wonderful conversation about the ways in which culture and society sets up expectations of what it means to be female at home, especially what it means to be a mom. For so long, Kelly, experienced and felt "mom, guilt" if she didn't meet these expectations. She shared the story about how, one day, her "body stopped" when she was 36 years old. She just had her third child (and third high-risk pregnancy), and the weight of managing a household, caring for two small children, and the pressure she experienced from her boss to get back up and out, flattened her for weeks. Mom guilt steeped through, and she felt like a failure. She said, "everybody loves you when you do things for them, but when you're not able, guilt becomes stronger and deeper."  Kelly pulled herself through the abyss… And as a result, her goal in life is to empower working mothers. One of the reasons I think her Linked In, Let's Talk Live, with a focus on monetizing unpaid labor, which is brilliant is because it pulls back the curtain on the value of the unpaid labor at home, I just love this idea so much. 

7/5/23 • 59:57

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 to do all the work household management (aka –'women's work'). Sari expands the definition of emotional labor by adding the invisible concepts of empathy  - and -- spending time on enhancing the quality of the relationship and the value these bring to the household and to paid workplace. In fact we spoke at length about how to make visible myriad invisible tasks of household management, and then elevate those tasks to expose their value. Sari also described several ways to bring value to all the work women do to keep those around them comfortable, happy, and safe: Practice awareness (Oh! This is emotional labor!) List all the tasks and chores that are not pleasurable and allow for the consequence of not doing them Don't delegate what is critical and lean away from the need for control Concentrate on making the work of emotional labor VERY visible Make a decision to not carry resentment She also recently announced the re-release and updated print of her classic ADHD Book, Journeys Through ADDulthood Discover a New Sense of Identity and Meaning While Living with Attention Deficit Disorder. Please click here to be notified when the book is released and to save a spot on for the Journeys Through ADDulthood FREE Webinar. I just loved my conversation with Sari and I hope you do too!  

6/21/23 • 52:42

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 attachment styles, attention styles, and how in adulthood we mimick the people who were important in our lives which if trauma-based doesn't typically work for a happy and emotionally healthy adulthood. And we had an interesting conversation about all of it. Shorty after we spoke, Maureen shared this: Harvard Gazette   https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/counting-invisible-work-in-household-division-of-labor/ Maureen can be reached at: https://maureennolan.net/  

5/2/23 • 42:32

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 labor. She knows the weight of emotional labor. We had such an interesting conversation about her research; Megan adds to the canon of emotional labor as she describes how being "future oriented" – thus shifting the boundaries of women's lives. In a world that likes to tell women how to spend their time, Megan believes women deserve to create their own boundaries. She is committed to engaging in research and dialogue that views women's time through an intersectional lens. Megan can be reached at: https://meganlhauser.com/  

5/2/23 • 36:14

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 a "manbassador' for modeling the good work of care equity, prioritizing time for self/each other. To Reach Lisa: https://librasolutioncoaching.com/ - a great site with links to The Libra Solution, and other resources including on of Lisa' favorite articles, 6 Strategies for Co-Parenting Before Divorce   Lisa would also like you to know that she provides complimentary consultations for couples interested in coaching.  

5/2/23 • 41:22

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 executive function skills show up in 'doing' emotional labor, the invisible work of sequencing, how self-care happens with left over time, and we also talk about our collaboration and the benefits of working with a writing and book coach.   Judith founded the Atlanta-based professional organizing company, FileHeads Professional Organizers in 1989. She is credited with launching an entire field of professional organizing specifically dedicated to addressing the needs of individuals who are challenged by chronic disorganization. She founded the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, the precursor to the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). Her innovative organizing methods are described in four commercially successful books. Judith's depth of experience and humorous delivery has made her a popular international speaker worldwide on various organization/disorganization issues. Respected by her peers as an industry thought-leader, she is the recipient of the organizing industry's highest awards and has been honored with the creation of the Judith Kolberg Award. Judith is a former President of the GA chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers; an emeritus member of NAPO, and a member of the ICD.   A native of Levittown, New York, Judith is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton with a degree in Sociology. She currently lives in Atlanta, where she takes care of her mom, sees clients and is a book coach helping authors write and publish their books.   You can reach Judith here: https://www.judithkolberg.com/  

5/2/23 • 43:36

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," and to discover ways helps her clients professionally, and personally, show up for themselves.   You can reach Aashi at: https://www.iriseexecutivecoaching.com/

5/2/23 • 38:01

Tiffany Blassingame is my good friend and colleague, and a contributor to my book on emotional labor. She's also a thought-leader, education, school administrator, mom to a high scholar and athlete, and all around decent human being. As a productivity expert and professional organizer, Tiffany founded the National Association of Black Professional Organizers. Tiffany is a nationally recognized expert on the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and spoke about, among other things, how emotional labor shows up in households of color. She adds to the narrative of this body work work and definition when she asks, "what parts of me are being put aside, in order to shoulder the weight of emotional labor. Tiffany started Simple Organization to provide organizing and productivity strategies to help others develop a more organized approach to home, work, and school.  As a divorced parent of a teenage son and a school administrator, she understands the delicate balance between raising children, progressing toward personal goals, working in your career, and being a good steward to others and to yourself. It sometimes feels impossible to keep it all together!  Tiffany is a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) as well as a founding member of the National Association of Black Professional Organizers (NABPO) where she serves as the Director of Inclusion and Belonging.  She is also a professional organizer with Ebony & Orderly, a collaboration of 6 Black professional organizers in Atlanta. She speaks frequently on the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice on various platforms. Tiffany is also the Founding Head of School of The Ferguson School, a progressive Christian school in Decatur, GA. You can reach Tiffany at: https://tiffanyblass.wordpress.com/    

5/2/23 • 55:38