Why Office Politics Can Actually Be a Good Thing

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the ins and outs of office politics, what it REALLY is, and how to improve on your office politicking skills in order to advance your career.  00:00 Intro 03:09 The two buckets of office politics 07:48 Can you opt out of office politics? 10:24 Advice for groups who face more biases in the workplace 12:57 MIT study on promotions based on potential 15:07 Kaila and Kyle’s personal experience with office politics 20:34 Office politics for remote employees 23:02 Using meetings to build buy-in  26:41 Asking for a promotion 29:19 Game: How Would You Respond? Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and how to artificially generate it when you find yourself lacking motivation.  00:00 Intro 00:51 Intrinsic motivation vs extrinsic motivation 03:08 Kyle’s intrinsic motivation vs Kaila’s extrinsic motivation 08:56 How Kaila hacks her motivation 14:52 Research-backed strategies for increasing motivation 19:24 Self-Determination Theory 21:50 Manufacturing competition 27:19 Two more tactics for hacking extrinsic motivation 32:52 Adam Grant’s study on radiologists  Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dive into some conversation-sparking Reddit “Am I the A******?” submissions, and give their candid opinions on each. From whether or not you should share details of your personal life with your coworkers, to the ethics of applying for the same job as a friend, Kaila and Kyle bring some strong opinions.  00:00 Intro 00:53 Scenario #1 - Retirement Gift 05:14 Scenario #2 - Applying for the Same Job as Your Friend 10:00 Scenario #3 - Keeping Personal Life Private at Work 18:25 Scenario #4 - Not Working Hard Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle talk about their biggest work fails, a different way to think about failure beyond simply as a “learning opportunity,” and share tactics on how to best move through and recover from failures in both work and career. 00:00 Intro 00:40 Kaila’s biggest work failure 04:20 Kyle’s biggest work failure 09:34 The problem with “I don’t fail, I either win or I learn.” 17:46 An NIH study on career failure among nurses 21:05 How to change your perception of “failure” 22:33 The importance of “getting ahead of it” 24:28 “post traumatic growth” 29:01 Tactics Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss what having high agency at work really means, the problems having high agency poses in certain contexts, and how to cultivate more of it in order to help your career.  00:00 Intro 01:20 Defining what having “high agency” is  06:52 The elements of high agency 10:34 An important point about having agency 14:17 An important element of truly effective high agency 15:03 A time when Kaila demonstrated high agency in her career 17:46 A time when Kyle demonstrated high agency in his career 21:32 A debate on the merits of disagreeableness  30:22 Research on the “internal locus of control”  31:43 Tactics for developing more agency Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the viral Steve Madden interview and debate whether CEOs and corporations should be expressing their political views, as well as how to navigate politics in the workplace. 00:00 Intro 01:24 Steve Madden’s viral Cutting Room Floor interview 06:26 Lulu Cheng Meservey on “going direct” as a business leader 07:29 Stats on how different generations feel about companies voicing their political beliefs 09:53 Ben & Jerry’s vs. Target 15:07 Brian Armstrong’s “mission-driven company” blog post 21:31 How should you as an employee react to your CEO’s public political statements? 27:23 Should you share your own political beliefs at work? 35:49 Kaila’s work rant Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dive into the problems with being a “people pleaser”, and how to balance being agreeable enough while also being effective and impactful at work. Plus, Kaila introduces The Workplace People Pleasing Matrix.  00:00 Intro 00:44 Defining what “people pleasing” actually is 01:55 Why the term “people pleaser” is inflammatory 06:09 Stats on agreeableness and income 07:53 The Workplace People Pleasing Matrix 17:12 The importance of knowing when to be agreeable 19:28 The categories of people pleasers  28:38 Advice for getting into the Zone of Efficacy on the People Pleasing Matrix Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss work stress and whether we’ve been thinking about it in the wrong way. There’s clearly such a thing as too much stress, but what about too little? And is there an ideal amount of stress we should be aiming for in order to be most successful at our jobs? 00:00 Intro 00:24 APA stats on stress and anxiety 02:53 Kaila’s relationship with work-related stress 06:57 Stats on workplace mental health 09:58 The Eustress Curve and how to rethink our relationship with stress 13:26 Findings by Hans Selye, the “Father of Stress” 15:47 A tip for turning negative stress into productive stress 23:00 Investing in recovery 24:54 What works for Kyle when it comes to managing work stress 30:28 Bonus segment Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss common career tropes and debate whether or not the sayings hold up. Is HR really not your friend? Are your connections more important than your skills? Listen and find out. 00:00 Intro 00:36 Career myth #1 - “No one knows what they’re doing.” 07:35 Career myth #2 - “HR is not your friend.” 12:51 Career myth #3 - “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know.” 19:11 Career myth #4 - “Follow your passion, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” 27:33 Career myth #5 - “You should do the responsibilities before you get the promotion.” Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle are joined by Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, Dr. Laurie Santos, to talk about the small ways you can find more meaning in your job, and the adjustments that help increase our happiness and well being at work.  00:00 Intro 00:44 Dr. Laurie Santos Intro 01:47 How much does your work factor into your overall happiness? 03:33 Dr. Santos’ take on the difference between how millennials and how Gen Z approach work 07:50 “Job crafting” 09:33 Remote vs in-office 12:30 How office perks impact happiness 14:46 How we can alter our relationship with time to increase our happiness 18:09 How “job crafting” is different from toxic positivity 22:47 The “GI Joe Fallacy” 25:50 Advice for working parents  30:05 Dr. Laurie Santos’s personal happiness habits Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:   @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices