WTF is Business Casual

Епизоде

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  Part 2: More Viral Workplace Advice, More Opinions 19.08.2026 59мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of WTF is Business Casual?!, Jenny and Sarah are back for part two of their workplace advice reaction series. They're reviewing trending career takes and giving their real perspectives as corporate insiders. From a woman who says everything in corporate is made up (she's not wrong) to Dan Martell's fire-or-hire takes that had them equal parts nodding and horrified, there's a lot to unpack. They get into why feelings are not facts and leaders already know what ...
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  We React to Viral (& worst) Workplace Videos - Part 1 05.08.2026 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of WTF is Business Casual?!, Jenny and Sarah are doing something a little different. Reacting in real time to the viral workplace advice flooding your social media feeds. From the Dan Martells and Gary Vs of the world to random HR "professionals" who've been fired multiple times and somehow think that's a flex, Jenny and Sarah are calling it all out. They get into the corporate communication channel chaos that's quietly destroying everyone's brain, the bereave...
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  What is HR? Myths, Mayhem & the Real Cost of Being in HR 22.07.2026 39мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of WTF is Business Casual?!, Jenny and Sarah pull back the curtain on what HR really does, and rip apart every myth that makes them want to flip a table. Spoiler: it's not party planning, it's not firing people for fun, and it is absolutely not easy. From a termination that had Sarah fearing for her physical safety in a basement, to a manager who sent Jenny in to handle a potentially violent situation and then got mad at her for not doing it fast enough — this...
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  "Soft Skills" is a Terrible Name for the Most Important Skills You Have 01.07.2026 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of WTF is Business Casual?!, Jenny and Sarah get real about why "soft skills" is a garbage term for the most critical thing missing from your workforce right now. Armed with a Harvard Business Review study of 70 million job transitions, they make the case that collaboration, communication, and problem-solving aren't the floor. They're the ceiling raiser. And yet companies keep hiring, promoting, and paying for the wrong thing. Whether you're a small busi...
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  WTF are Peanut Butter Raises?! Why Pay-for-Performance Keeps Getting Smeared 17.06.2026 38мин

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode of WTF is Business Casual?!, Jenny and Sarah talk about the "peanut butter raise" debate that's been making the rounds in HR circles. A recent industry article predicts companies are about to ditch across-the-board raises in favor of rewarding top performers only, and Jenny and Sarah have some thoughts. Spoiler: they don't think it's actually going to happen, and they've got a decade of compensation-cycle scar tissue to back it up. From an executive team...
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  Affordable HR Support for Colorado Small Businesses: The HR Collective 03.06.2026 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail Most small business owners know they need HR support. The problem is figuring out what level of support they actually need. In this episode, Jenny and Sarah pull back the curtain on RiseHR's HR Collective and explain why they created it, who it's designed for, and how it helps Colorado small business owners get expert HR guidance without paying for a full-time HR professional. They discuss the most common HR mistakes they see, why Colorado employment law is especially complex...
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  When Employees Start Making the Rules: How Leaders Should Respond 06.05.2026 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail What happens when employees stop asking and start telling? In this episode, Jenny and Sarah unpack a growing workplace trend they have been seeing with small business owners: employees announcing schedule changes, cutting their hours, demanding remote work, and assuming the answer will be yes. The bigger issue is not employee boldness. It is leadership hesitation. They dig into why so many leaders struggle to respond in the moment, how unclear expectations create bigger probl...
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  The Most Expensive "Free" Lunch in HR History. 22.04.2026 43мин

  Send us Fan Mail A team gets invited to a "free" lunch with a consultant, and it ends up costing the company six months of peace. Jenny and Sarah unpack a "WTF" moment where a simple midday meeting turned into a spiral of written statements, HR investigations, and a team that stopped speaking to each other. It’s a look at how a lack of curiosity and a surplus of ego can turn a minor oversight into a total relationship wrecking ball. Spoiler: When leaders choose "investigation mode" before ask...
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  Gen Z at Work: Lazy, Loud, or the Wake-Up Call Corporate Needed? (Rebroadcast) 08.04.2026 1ч 3мин

  Send us Fan Mail Rebroadcast: It’s graduation season, and we’re dusting off one of our all-time fan favorites! Whether you’re tossing your cap, building a team, or guiding the next generation, this episode is essential listening for navigating the transition from campus to career. ______ Gen Z has officially entered the chat and corporate America isn’t ready. Jenny and Sarah rip into the chaos (and low-key brilliance) of the newest generation in the workplace. Are they entitled job hoppers wi...
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  What "Lack of Initiative" Means (And Why Employees Get It Wrong) 25.03.2026 35мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah break down one of the most misunderstood workplace complaints: “You lack initiative.” But what does that actually mean? Because to employees, it often sounds like: Work more. Stay later. Do extra. Don’t get paid for it. And to leaders, it usually means something completely different. This episode unpacks the gap between those two interpretations—and why it’s creating frustration on both sides. Using simple, real-world scenarios, they show the differ...
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  Productivity at All Costs? The Workplace Obsession With “More With Less” 11.03.2026 33мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah follow a strange rabbit hole that started with a podcast about the history of meth. Yes, really. The episode explored how stimulants were once used to push soldiers, pilots, and workers to stay awake longer and produce more. And it sparked a bigger question: why has the workplace always been obsessed with squeezing more productivity out of humans? More with less. Work harder. Sleep less. Grind. Sound familiar? What’s inside this episode: [03:30] The...
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  WTF Workplace Moments: AI Fails, Paycheck Glitches & Career-Limiting Questions 25.02.2026 40мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah lean into the weird. They kick it off with an AI interview note-taker that accidentally sent a candidate the hiring team’s unfiltered commentary about other applicants. Yes, really. Including the not-so-flattering parts. It’s a cautionary tale about AI tools, privacy, and why you should absolutely lock down your settings. They also get into: Employees being “forgotten” but still collecting paychecksWhy keeping money you know you shouldn’t have...
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  Small Business HR Mistakes That Will Cost You: Employee Classification, PTO Policies & Intern Rules 11.02.2026 47мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah tackle the HR landmines small businesses step on all the time. They break down three compliance issues that quietly turn into very loud, very expensive problems: employee misclassification, messy PTO policies, and unpaid interns who legally aren’t interns. First: employee misclassification. Paying someone a salary does not make them exempt. Titles don’t matter. Good intentions don’t matter. If someone should’ve been earning overtime and wasn’t, the ...
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  Cussing at Work: Where “Authentic” Meets “HR Nightmare” 28.01.2026 42мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah tackle a topic that somehow manages to be both extremely relatable and extremely lawsuit-y: swearing at work. It starts with a law update that made both of them do a double take. Turns out, “letting an F-word fly” at work is no longer just a culture question. In some cases, it is a legal one. And in 2024 and 2025, the courts made that line a lot thinner than it used to be. What’s inside this episode: [05:32] Why swearing can make you seem more...
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  The Workplace Is Tired: The Darker Side Of Modern Work 14.01.2026 54мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah start the year by doing what they do best: collecting a pile of workplace nonsense from the internet and asking the uncomfortable question. Why are we still building work like people are machines? They bounce through everything from four-day workweek studies to open offices, from job hunting on dating apps to LinkedIn slowly becoming Facebook with certificates. Somewhere in the middle, they land on the real issue: work keeps taking more, and nobody ...
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  Interviewing? Maybe Leave Your Mom at Home. (Rebroadcast) 01.01.2026 1ч

  Send us Fan Mail Rebroadcast: We’re bringing back one of our favorite episodes as hiring ramps up in the new year—and it’s just as relevant now as ever! In this laugh-and-learn episode, Jenny and Sarah take you inside the beautiful mess of modern recruiting. From jaw-dropping candidate missteps to the surprising rise of parental involvement in job applications (yes, it’s happening), they break down what’s really going on behind the interview screen. With plenty of humor and hard-earned HR wis...
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  Performance Reviews Are Broken (Part 2): Why Development Planning Keeps Missing the Point 17.12.2025 40мин

  Send us Fan Mail Development planning is the most ignored, and most misunderstood, part of performance management. In this episode of WTF is Business Casual, HR consultants Jenny Levy and Sarah Burston break down why development planning deserves its own lane and why bundling it into performance reviews quietly wrecks employee growth, engagement, and retention. This is Part Two of their performance management series, focused on the forward-looking side of work. What’s inside this episode: Why...
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  Performance Reviews Are Broken (Part 1): The Messy Reality of Workplace Evaluation 03.12.2025 53мин

  Send us Fan Mail This week, Jenny and Sarah drag the workplace ritual everyone hates: performance reviews. They open with a simple truth HR has known forever. Nobody likes them, nobody trusts them, and nobody thinks they actually work. Managers dread writing them. Employees dread reading them. Yet here we are, still clinging to a system that feels older than a fax machine. And yes, they get into the cultural shift that has managers terrified to say anything direct, the rise of “triggered” res...
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  Sick at Work: Why You Showing Up Is Everyone’s Worst Nightmare 19.11.2025 44мин

  Send us Fan Mail Cold and flu season has arrived, and Jenny and Sarah have officially reached their breaking point. This week, they break down the circus of people dragging themselves into the office sick, logging onto Zoom while sweating through a fever, or insisting it’s “just allergies” in the middle of December. From vomiting kids to adults powering through meetings mid-retch, this episode gets blunt about how unhinged workplace culture has become around “pushing through.” The hosts expla...
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  Please Stop Hugging Me (and Other Workplace Crimes) 29.10.2025 45мин

  Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to WTF is Business Casual, where HR consultants Jenny Levy and Sarah Bursten roast, rant, and reality-check the weird stuff that somehow passes for “normal” in the workplace. This week we’re calling out all the things people still think are fine at work, but absolutely aren’t. From awkward hugs to speakerphone oversharers, cubicles that look like dorm rooms, and the office “Happy Birthday” song no one actually enjoys, Jenny and Sarah break down what’s WTF-accepta...