Welcome Wednesday: Did you Miss The Work Check Podcast – Season 2

[Summer_Hogan]

Hi everyone, 

As you have seen over the past couple of months, @Jimmy Seddon, @John Funk and I have been posting articles and discussions about the Work Check Podcast Season 3. If you are like me and started listening to the Work Check podcast in Season 3 and missed Season two, you should check it out! There are some great topics explored and @Christine P. Dela Rosa does a great job moderating the debates!

My favorite episode of Season 2 was Should your manager be responsible for your emotional wellbeing? I thought this was a very insightful debate and it really got me thinking about this question. I agree with @Eli Mishkin that there is no debate here! As he said, "It is not about whether or not your manager should be responsible for your emotional wellbeing because they already are!" I find this true in my relationship with all the managers I have had in my career and I also find this to be true when I was a manager. 

So, if you haven't checked it out, please do! All the links are below for your convenience. Then after you give it a listen please share with everyone what your favorite episode of Season 2 was, why was it your favorite and which side of the debate do you fall on?

Episode Trailer: Season two is coming soon!

Should you really wear pajamas to a Zoom meeting?

Should you only give your coworkers feedback to their face?

Should you add your coworkers on social media?

Should your manager be responsible for your emotional wellbeing?

Should you send that message in a DM or group channel?

Season wrap-up with Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar

Bonus Episode - Should your team move to a four-day workweek?

Have a great rest of the week! 

[Jimmy Seddon]

Thanks for posting this @Summer_Hogan!  It was really great to go back and re-watch some of these episodes again!  My personal favorite was about wearing pajamas to zoom meetings.  Also, my opinion on that hasn't changed.  While I don't wear pajamas, I do wear comfortable clothing which was no different from when I was in the office.

[Summer_Hogan]

Happy to do it @Jimmy Seddon! 

[Amanda Barber]

Couldn't agree more on the comfy clothes, @Jimmy Seddon - I do feel like it's important that I "get dressed for the day" but my attire is definitely athleisure at this point. 

[Christine P. Dela Rosa]

I'm a fan of the episode on whether managers have a responsibility for their team's emotional well-being, too, @Summer_Hogan! It's often something that individuals expect from managers but not all managers are either equipped to do so nor are some even aware of how their team members are doing. So I think a big factor on whether you fall on the debate depends on how open folks are with their managers (which may have to do with psychological safety, connection with a manager, amount of time for 1:1s or catchups, etc). And, it depends on factors from the other direction (whether managers are even set up for success to make an impact on wellbeing and whether that's a priority within their job descriptions). So much of it has to do with expectation.

[Summer_Hogan]

Very good points @Christine P. Dela Rosa! That episode was so interesting to me. Probably the most interesting out of all the episodes in all the seasons! 

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi!

An unfortunate aspect of knowledge work is often people who excel as software engineers reach the end of a career tree, and so get "promoted" to manager/leader roles...yet, often traits that make someone an exceptional engineer do not align with being an exceptional people leader.  This can be unhelpful/frustrating/etc. to both the new leader and the newly led!  Hopefully there is enough self-awareness, training, coaching, and mentoring to support both...and to offer a change if things do not work out in supporting people on teams.

[Summer_Hogan]

Good points @Bill Sheboy! Thanks for chiming in! 

[John Funk]

While I don't wear pajamas to Zoom meetings (or even during the day), I quite frequently am wearing short but maybe a nice shirt so you don't notice.  

[Summer_Hogan]

Good approach @John Funk! Me too! Living in Arizona, the short are a necessity!