How to Take an “Adult Gap Year” – and When It’s Not Worth It

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the recent headlines around DEI, the potential implications of these measures, and what actually makes the most effective teams. 00:00 Intro 00:43 Recent headlines around DEI 06:05 Listener email  12:04 Stats around DEI from Morning Brew’s Insights and Analytics team 16:34 Why having a diverse workforce helps your business outcomes 20:04 An example of DEI efforts in the workplace 22:05 What are the the things that make for a truly high performing team? 24:49 Culture fit vs culture add 26:18 The importance of psychological safety 28:25 Google’s study on what makes strong teams 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 Hannah Williams, founder and host of @SalaryTransparentStreet, to talk about the importance of salary transparency, why it’s still such an uncomfortable thing to talk about, and how to negotiate for a higher salary. 00:00 Intro 00:45 Hannah Williams and Salary Transparent Street 01:24 When Hannah first realized she was being underpaid 07:51 The experience of filming Salary Transparent Street 11:06 Why it’s so important to consider being transparent about your salary 15:44 Why HR professionals are in favor of salary transparency  17:41 Negotiation tactics 19:41 On leveraging an outside offer to increase your salary 24:00 Salary guessing game Salary Transparent Street’s Salary Database: https://www.salarytransparentstreet.com/salary-database  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 pros and cons of taking an “adult gap year” (aka sabbatical or “mini-retirement”), why they’re becoming more common, and how to financially plan for one if you want to take one yourself. 00:00 Intro 01:56 Stats on burnout 05:54 Defining “sabbatical” vs “leave of absence” vs “gap year” or “mini retirement” 08:48 Companies providing sabbatical options  15:01 What Kyle and Kaila would do with a 4-week sabbatical 18:36 Harvard Business Review’s study on sabbaticals 20:56 Can you take a break without hurting your career? 22:16 How to take a break if you don’t necessarily have the financial means to 26:39 Tactics Harvard Business Review’s article on sabbaticals. 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 some of the recent news surrounding Meta—from their announcement of cutting 5% of their workforce, to Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments on masculinity in the workplace.  00:00 Intro 00:51 Meta’s recent announcement around firing practices 04:25 Two potential upsides to Meta’s “rank and yank” system 07:07 Issues with stack ranking systems 13:39 What is the ideal performance incentive at work? 17:29 How certain incentives cause “creaming”  20:09 What’s going on with managers? 22:53 Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan clip 32:12 What we can takeaway from Meta’s new policies 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 when and how to make a career pivot, and the questions to ask yourself before starting. 00:00 Intro 01:19 Listener career pivot story submission 05:06 Kaila’s biggest career pivot 07:55 A crucial consideration before making a career change 08:21 Kyle’s career pivots 12:13 The importance of finding what you actually enjoy doing 15:54 A common mistake with networking 20:25 Knowing career narrative 23:12 Embracing the beginner’s mindset 24:13 Listener submissions 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 rise of revenge quitting, what it is, why it’s seemingly on the rise, and their takes on its effectiveness. 00:00 Intro 01:43 Defining what “revenge quitting” is 04:05 Why 2025 will be the year of revenge quitting 09:30 Why the year of revenge quitting might actually be something else 10:37 Why Kaila loves the idea of revenge quitting 16:35 The truth about revenge quitting 17:28 How Kaila and Kyle have quit jobs in their career 22:51 The importance of exhausting your options  26:32 A Reddit story of revenge quitting 27:57 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 the real strategies and steps involved in getting a promotion, from how and when to have the conversation with your boss, to how to get clear for yourself what you really want in the next stage of your career. 00:00 Intro 00:36 Kaila and Kyle’s first promotions 05:38 Kaila and Kyle’s 2025 career goals 07:12 The number one thing you should be doing to set yourself up for success 17:12 More tips for how to get promoted in 2025 19:29 How Kaila and Kyle became directors 23:04 The importance of checking in with your manager frequently 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 Morning Brew’s SVP of People Operations Kate Noel to talk about how to make the most of your year-end performance review—from how to prepare for it to what to expect from it—and what most people forget about this formal evaluation process. 00:00 Intro 00:57 How Morning Brew Inc. handles performance reviews 05:53 The pros and cons of performance reviews 10:18 Advice for one-on-ones  13:48 How to make the most of your performance review 17:56 Talking merit increases 21:10 How biases play out in performance reviews 28:28 What should you do if you don’t get that promotion you were hoping for? 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 companies in the UK and in Japan that have been experimenting with the 4-day work week, what the outcomes have been, and whether or not we can expect to see it implemented in the US. Does the 4-day work week actually solve anything? Is it beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole? 00:00 Intro 01:41 The New York Times report on UK businesses piloting the 4-day workweek 06:46 When a 4-day workweek isn’t a fix 11:29 The Tokyo case study of the 4-day workweek 17:49 Reimagining our current work standards and systems 21:56 What can we do based on the 4-day work week research 26:51 A little holiday surprise 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 topic of employee surveillance, including the recent invasion of privacy lawsuit against Apple, and how it impacts company culture. Do companies have the right to monitor employee behavior? Is employee surveillance the new normal? And what can employees do to fight back? 00:00 Intro 00:28 Apple lawsuit 05:31 Stats from the ABA on employee surveillance in the US 08:10 Is surveilling employees ethical? 17:19 What it means to “look like you’re working” 23:06 How to make your job less “fuzzy” 24:20 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