In Episode 120, we explore a topic that is incredibly common, but rarely talked about at work: reproductive loss.

We’re joined by Dr. Katrina Brownell, Assistant Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, who uses an autoethnographic approach to examine her own experiences with pregnancy loss and what happens when organizations lack the language, policies, and support to acknowledge it.

Reproductive loss—including miscarriage, stillbirth, and other forms of pregnancy loss—affects a significant number of people. Yet in many workplaces, silence is the default response. We talk about how silence at work doesn’t mean nothing is happening. It often means employees are carrying more than we can see.

This episode challenges organizations to rethink how they approach grief, privacy, and support, and whether current workplace norms are truly serving employees in their most difficult moments.

You can find Dr. Brownell here: https://management.pamplin.vt.edu/faculty/directory/brownell-katrina.html

You can find her paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gwao.70158

In episode 119 , we dig into a question many of us have experienced firsthand: Why does a stressful day at work make us (and our partners!) devour cookies, takeout, or comfort food.

We’re joined by Dr. Wiston Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, to explore new research on how workplace stressors, specifically illegitimate tasks, shape employees’ eating behaviors after work.

Illegitimate tasks are assignments that fall outside your role or feel demeaning (like being asked to do work that “isn’t your job”). Dr. Rodriguez’s research shows these experiences don’t just impact your mood—they can trigger negative emotions that lead to unhealthy eating behaviors, and those effects don’t stop with you.

We discuss:

* What illegitimate tasks are and why they feel so stressful

* How workplace stress drives emotional eating and poor food choices

* The surprising finding that these eating behaviors spill over to partners and families

* How broader systems—like income, access to food, and work conditions—shape health outcomes

* Why workplace stress doesn’t just affect performance—it affects physical health and long‑term well‑being

* Practical steps managers and organizations can take to reduce harm, from clear communication to supportive workplace culture

This episode highlights how everyday workplace decisions—like how tasks are assigned—can ripple outward into employees’ homes, relationships, and health behaviors.

You can find Dr. Rodriguez here (https://psychology.sdsu.edu/people/wiston-rodriguez/).

You can find the paper here (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41542-025-00247-w).

We are excited to introduce the Healthy Work Graduate Student Research Contest. If you are currently a graduate student (Masters or PhD) engaged in research on the intersection of employment/work and health/wellbeing, please consider submitting your research for consideration for this contest.Winners will be invited onto the podcast to share their research, and will receive a certificate and small gift (a book).The research need not be published, nor does it need to be your thesis or dissertation. But, it does need to be primarily the work of the graduate student. If an advisor or other authors are included in the research, they must approve of your submission to this contest. Applications are due August 16, 2026. Decisions will be made in the following month with episodes to air by January 1, 2027.https://colostate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cUPoJWM55Mfduom