The Hard at Work Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of Hard at Work, Ellen sits down with disability advocate and workplace equity champion Greer Procich to talk about what it really means to build inclusive, accessible workplaces—from the inside out. Greer shares her personal journey navigating chronic illness, invisible disability, and burnout in spaces that often expect 100% from employees without offering the support to make that possible.
Together, they dig into what managers should be doing to support their teams, why performance reviews often fail, and how accessibility benefits everyone—not just people with disabilities. If you’ve ever felt unsupported, unseen, or exhausted by the grind of work culture, this one’s for you.

What do you do when your boss has no idea what you actually do—and still piles on unrealistic expectations? And what if a coworker tells you to smile more in meetings? In this episode, we tackle two real workplace dilemmas: how to manage up when leadership lacks strategy, and how to push back against subtle (but damaging) workplace sexism. Featuring listener-submitted questions, real-world scripts, and boundary-setting advice to keep you from burning out.

What if the systems meant to help people are actually making things worse? In this episode, Dr. Crystal Hall, co-author of Anti-Racist by Design, breaks down how behavioral science often ignores systemic racism—and how we can fix it. We talk about what workplaces, policymakers, and everyday people can do differently to avoid performative equity and actually make change stick.

If your workplace is disrespecting your time and energy, it’s not just annoying — it’s unsustainable. In this solo episode, Ellen answers a listener’s question about what to do when your coworker isn’t doing their job and your boss won’t intervene. Then, she dives into the burnout culture that makes boundary-setting feel impossible, and gives you the tools to start doing it anyway. From spacing out meetings to turning off notifications, this is your permission slip to protect your time, your energy, and yourself.

What does it really mean to lead in a trauma-informed way? In this episode, Ellen talks with Dr. Kyle Elliott about how trauma shows up at work, how most workplaces could be better at supporting people through it, and what ethical, compassionate leadership can look like instead. We dive into emotional labor, boundaries at work, and the quiet harm caused by overworking culture — and why it’s time to lead like everyone’s been through something (because they have).

Welcome to the Hard at Work podcast — where we say the quiet part out loud about today's workplaces. I'm your host, Ellen Whitlock Baker, a leadership coach, speaker, and 20-year survivor of everything from toxic jobs to leadership burnout. In this very first episode, I share why I created Hard at Work: to challenge outdated workplace norms, explore how the system fails so many of us, and help you advocate for yourself without guilt or burnout. You'll hear a bit of my story, why work nearly broke me, and how we can start making change — for ourselves and each other. If you’ve ever been called "too much" or felt like the problem is you (spoiler: it’s not), you're in the right place.

Learn more about the upcoming Hard at Work podcast, where your host Ellen Whitlock Baker and her guests discuss how to manage in a workplace that wasn't made for most of us. In this podcast, we say the quiet part out loud with the aim to make it feel more normal to recognize outdated norms that are truly holding us back, and how we can set boundaries to avoid getting burned out...and avoid burning out our teams.

How burnout shows up when success is fueled by old wounds

What if the hardest part of being “hard at work” isn’t your workload — it’s everything underneath it? In this episode, Dr. Merary Simeon joins Ellen Whitlock Baker to talk about the invisible drivers that fuel ambition: old messages, past pain, and the pressure to prove you’re “enough.” Merary shares the moment she realized her success was being powered by survival mode — and why burnout often shows up when your body finally refuses to keep carrying what your mind has normalized.

Merary walks us through H.E.R.A.C.T., her framework for doing the work beneath the work: Healing, Elevating your mindset, Respect, Achieving confidence, and Transformation. Together, Ellen and Merary unpack why so many of us want to skip the healing step (because it’s personal, messy, and confronting) — and why it’s also the most freeing. They talk about grief, guilt, perfectionism, microaggressions, and the way “constant availability” gets confused with effectiveness… until it becomes burnout in disguise.

They also zoom out to what needs to change inside workplaces — not just inside individuals — including the power of sponsorship, sharing power, and building real relationships across difference. If you’ve ever felt trapped by a job, haunted by what work has taken from you, or stuck in a loop of trying harder while feeling worse, this conversation offers a grounded path forward — and one unforgettable reframe: forgiveness is the hidden reset button.

Tags: Dr. Merary Simeon, Hard at Work Podcast, The Work Beneath the Work, HER ACT Framework, Multicultural Women in Power, Executive Leadership, Inner Work, Burnout Recovery, Healing at Work, Leadership Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Career Transformation, Sponsorship vs Mentorship, Professional Growth, Overcoming Adversity, Work-Life Integration, Women of Color in Leadership, Code AM, Forgiveness as a Reset, Holistic Leadership, Ending Constant Availability, Sharing Power

Chapters:

00:00 – The Work Beneath the Work Dr. Merary introduces the concept of inner healing and doing the "invisible" work required to show up strong in the professional world.

04:00 – Recognizing and Resetting from Burnout A candid discussion on how burnout manifests physically and the importance of being intentional about resetting over and over again.

06:05 – The HER ACT Framework Breaking down the five pillars of Dr. Merary’s research-based framework: Healing, Elevating, Respect, Achieving confidence, and Transformation.

08:10 – Why You Can’t Skip the Healing Step Exploring why healing is the most difficult but freeing stage, and how it provides the clarity needed to regain personal integrity.

17:05 – Reclaiming Power and Prioritizing Family Dr. Merary shares her personal journey of choosing her family over the trap of "constant availability".

22:11 – Building Multicultural Women in Leadership Strategies for closing the pay gap and moving more women of color into executive positions through the "Code AM" framework.

29:30 – The Power of Connection and Community The importance of finding "truth-tellers," mentors, and good friends to ensure you don't isolate yourself during hard times.

35:45 – Sponsorship: Sharing Your Power How leaders can proactively expand their networks and use their influence to create seats at the table for others

Show Notes:

• Book: H.E.R.A.C.T. by Dr. Merary Simeon.

• Podcast: What Rules!? (Co-hosted by Dr. Merary Simeon, Alisa Manjarrez, and Courtney Copelin).

• Website: Merarysimeon.com

• LinkedIn: Dr. Merary Simeon

• Instagram: @MerarySimeon

How people-pleasers stop outsourcing their decisions and reconnect with their inner knowing

For anyone who has ever hit every goal and received all the praise yet still felt profoundly miserable, this episode offers a roadmap out of the "A-student" trap. Host Ellen Whitlock Baker is joined by Lauree Ostrofsky—coach, business and marketing consultant, and two-time author—to explore what happens when high achievers realize their current career no longer fits. Ellen and Lauree dig into the classic people-pleaser trap: being valued for one set of skills while the work that lights you up gets sidelined—and how that disconnect can keep you stuck longer than you want to admit.

Lauree shares the reinvention lessons she’s seen in her most successful clients, including: “find the linchpin.” She and Ellen talk about the small, crucial people and moments that bolt your next chapter into place (even when you don’t have a perfect plan), how gratitude helps you notice new doors, and why change doesn’t have to be a brutal, hustle-y leap off a cliff. If you’re burned out on overthinking and constantly needing a second opinion, you’ll love Lauree’s take on building self-trust and making decisions without outsourcing your confidence.

• The "Linchpin" Strategy: Lauree breaks down how to identify the small, crucial moments and people that anchor a new chapter, just like a linchpin holds parts of a car together. By practicing gratitude for past "linchpins," listeners can open themselves up to noticing the new doors and connections appearing in their current lives.

• Building Self-Trust: A look at how to stop "outsourcing confidence" and overthinking every move. Lauree shares a challenge from her own coach that forced her to send proposals without a second opinion, highlighting how ingrained the need for permission can be.

• Fear with Compassion: Lauree explains the origin of her mantra, "I’m scared, but I’m doing it anyway." This philosophy was born from a life-altering brain tumor diagnosis at age 28, which forced her to redefine what was truly scary versus what was merely uncomfortable.

• The "First Day of School" Approach: Instead of "muscling through" fear, Lauree suggests treating your inner anxious self like a child on their first day of school—offering snacks, comfort, and kind words to move gently over the start line.

• Certainty in the Chaos: From keeping a puzzle in her office to finding "soft" ways to pivot, Lauree emphasizes that reinvention doesn't have to be a "hustle-y" leap off a cliff. It can be a series of kind, intentional shifts that prioritize personal happiness over corporate praise.

If you're looking for a smarter way to pivot without losing your sense of self in the process, this conversation provides the permission and the tools to begin.

Tags: Career Reinvention, Overcoming Burnout, Self-Trust, People Pleasing, Women in Business, Professional Coaching, Mindset Shift, Career Change, Overcoming Fear, Personal Development, A-Student Syndrome, Intuition at Work, Life Transitions, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Work-Life Balance, Self-Compassion, Pivot, Career Growth

Show Notes:

• Simply Leap by Lauree Ostrofsky
• I'm Scared, But I'm Doing It Anyway by Lauree Ostrofsky
• The Science of Stuck and Align Your Mind by Britt Frank
• Learn more about Lauree’s membership program

Connect with Lauree:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

In this high-energy episode, host Ellen Whitlock Baker welcomes licensed neuropsychotherapist Britt Frank, author of The Science of Stuck and Align Your Mind, for a fast, practical tour of how your brain actually works—and how to get it working for you at work and at home. Britt explains that anxiety isn’t all bad; it’s the brain’s check-engine light, an alarm that asks for investigation rather than suppression.

Britt shares how we can convert overwhelm into forward motion using micro-yeses, comically tiny steps (think: shoes by the door, one sentence on the page) that slip past the brain’s change-resistance and build momentum over time.

The conversation distinguishes feelings (physiological signals like tightness or a racing heart) from emotions (feelings plus the story we add), and offers a quick self-audit to test whether your story is true before you spiral.

Britt also brings her signature parts work approach: treat your mind like a team, retrain the “inner critic” into a useful coach, and send unhelpful parts to the metaphorical green room until it’s their scene.

For leaders, Britt delivers a provocative reframe—managers aren’t therapists—and recommends replacing over-empathy (which lights up shared pain) with curiosity (which activates problem-solving), while designing conditions where humans can still be human.

Ellen and Britt also unpack why brains resist change (they’re wired for survival, not optimization), why insight alone can keep us “insightfully stuck,” and how to ask a better question: What am I willing to do today?

Listeners dealing with burnout, perimenopause shifts, career pivots, or post-pandemic malaise will leave with a brain-smart playbook for momentum: respect alarms, pick one micro-yes, use curiosity to de-charge tough moments, and align work with clear roles and lived values.

Keywords: Britt Frank, The Science of Stuck, Align Your Mind, neuropsychotherapist, micro-yeses, workplace culture, burnout recovery, anxiety tools, parts work, shadow work, leadership, curiosity vs empathy, role clarity, behavior change, emotional regulation, feelings vs emotions