Women at Work

Stress affects everyone, but we all express and experience it differently. Hearing how a nurse practitioner responds to the various stressors of her job reveals how stress works at a fundamental level. Workplace well-being researcher Mandy O’Neill says that we’re more likely to feel stressed when there is an imbalance between the threat we’re facing and the resources we have to prevent damage or danger. When the current threat feels greater than our available resources, we become — understandably — mentally and emotionally strained.

The two of them join Amy B to discuss the constant challenge of managing stress, as well as actions that help control tension and anxiety — or, even better, the stressors themselves.

Guests:

Sarah Rose Lamport is a nurse practitioner.

Olivia (Mandy) O’Neill is an associate professor of management in the George Mason University School of Business and a senior scientist at the university’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.

Resources:

• HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work, by Harvard Business Review
• “To Lead Better Under Stress, Understand Your Three Selves,” by Tony Schwartz et al.
• “5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” by Alice Boyes
• “Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress,” by Emma Seppälä et al.
• “Managing Burnout,” by Women at Work

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We’ve planned a half-day of learning, guidance, and inspiration—all virtual. Here’s the agenda:

1. Executive coach Dorie Clark on working with the ambition you’ve got right now, whether you’re making every effort to get promoted or are taking a break from striving. She’ll help you recognize when it’s best to slow down or ramp up.
2. Organizational psychologist Ruchi Sinha’s latest research findings on trust: how to measure the amount felt between team members, and what to do if it’s imbalanced. Plus, she’ll explain the upsides of switching between different kinds of leadership styles, and she’ll illustrate how to do that.
3. DEI strategist Lily Zheng on the power of data to correct discrimination, design fair processes, and demonstrate a company’s progress toward diversity, equity, and inclusion. They’ll also describe the positive and negative moves companies are making and how to have influence within yours.
4. The Amys on...whatever guidance you and other attendees need related to leading a team, dealing with conflict, negotiating, or something else. Email your question ahead of time to [email protected], or drop it into the chat during the session.

Tickets are $60 for Harvard Business Review subscribers and $75 for everyone else. A ticket will also give you access to a replay of the event recording. Register here.

Interested in buying a bunch of tickets for your team, department, or entire company? Email [email protected] to learn about group discounts.

See you there!

Thinking about starting a small business? Or looking to expand a business you’ve already launched? Entrepreneurs Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson were blindsided by the cash-flow problems and other systemic issues they ran into when trying to scale a new but popular product. They don’t want you to be.

Stacey and Lara share hard-won lessons from starting and running three companies together: first a consultancy, then a manufacturer, and finally a fintech. They reflect on what made their long-term partnership work well and how they manage self-doubt and guilt. They also share tips for networking, hiring and retaining employees, learning the ins and outs of finance, and developing an exit strategy.

Guest experts:

Stacey Abrams is an entrepreneur, politician, and author. She co-wrote Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.

Lara Hodgson is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Now, as well as the co-author of Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.

Resources:

• “The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity in Supporting Female Entrepreneurs,” by Shalini Unnikrishnan and Roy Hanna
• “Black Women Are More Likely to Start a Business than White Men,” by Donna Kelley et al.
• “How to Make Venture Capital Accessible for Black Founders: An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma,” from Cold Call
• “Case Study: A Founder Steps Back from Her Start-Up,” by David R. Dixon
• “The Different Reasons Men and Women Leave Their Successful Startups,” by Rachida Justo

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The hand on the thigh. The creepy come-on. The lingering leer. These are some of the milder forms of sexual harassment that women have been reporting in the wake of the #MeToo outpouring. Other women have made allegations of sexual assault and even rape at the office.

While once such accusations would be met with — at most — a monetary settlement and a non-disclosure agreement, today they are more likely to be publicized and investigated. Some have welcomed this change but are worried it won’t last. Others are worried #MeToo has gone too far already and that perpetrators of harassment aren’t getting a fair chance to defend themselves — or that the movement will spark a backlash that’s ultimately worse for women.

We talk with UC Hastings professor Joan Williams about history and the law, HBR’s Amy Gallo about different ways to say “This is making me uncomfortable,” and Stony Brook University professor Michael Kimmel about how men can be allies.

Our HBR reading list:

Now What? by Joan C. Williams and Suzanne Lebsock

Getting Men to Speak Up by Michael S. Kimmel

How to Talk About Sexual Harassment with Your Coworkers by Amy Gallo

Have Our Attitudes About Sexual Harassment Really Changed? by Sarah Green Carmichael

Training Programs and Reporting Systems Won’t End Sexual Harassment. Promoting More Women Will by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev

The Omissions that Make So Many Sexual Harassment Policies Ineffective by Debbie S. Dougherty

What Works for Women at Work by Joan C. Williams and Rachel Dempsey

Email us: [email protected]

Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.

Starting sometime around our mid-50s, work presents us with a new set of biases. Coworkers assume that older people are tired and uninterested in professional development. Eventually they start asking when you’re going to retire. But experience and maturity can give women an advantage in the workplace.

Amy B. and Amy G. interview aging expert Nancy Morrow-Howell about putting in the effort to stay current, how to assert yourself when you feel overlooked, and what to say when people ask that annoying retirement question. Then, HBR.org editor Maureen Hoch joins the Amys to talk about what growing older has been like for them. They also give advice on leaving a secure job for new opportunities and managing the combined stress of parenting, a demanding career, and menopause.

Our HBR reading list:

• “When No One Retires,” by Paul Irving
• “The Case for Hiring Older Workers,” by Josh Bersin and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
• “Four Ways to Adapt to an Aging Workforce,” by Michael North and Hal Hershfield
• “Generational Differences At Work Are Small. Thinking They’re Big Affects Our Behavior,” by Eden King et al.

Sign up to get the Women at Work monthly newsletter.

Email us: [email protected]

Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.