What do you do when your job prevents you from doing what feels right? In this episode Robin sits down with Tess Gittleman, MA, LMFT and corporate therapist to explore systemic dysfunction, burnout, values and their worst memory that they never saw coming.

Together, they discuss the often invisible emotional infrastructure of organizations: how unchecked emotional labor impacts performance, why misalignment between personal and organizational values fuels burnout, and what leaders get wrong about conflict, communication, and “work-life balance.”

Tess shares a deeply unsettling worst professional memory involving an ethical double bind early in her career—one that still surfaces years later—and unpacks why some professional experiences are supposed to feel unresolved. The conversation expands beyond therapy into leadership, corporate culture, neurodiversity, and the emotional economics of work.

Key topics discussed:

• Emotional economics: the real cost of disengagement, burnout, and unresolved conflict

• Why rupture isn’t the problem—failure to repair is

• The myth of “work-life balance” and what to aim for instead

• Values conflicts at work and how they quietly erode well-being

• Navigating ethical gray areas, shame, and radical acceptance

• Neurodiversity, generational differences, and building inclusive emotional systems

• Why “radical candor” often fails without trust and skill

• How leaders can build communication agreements and emotional infrastructure without a big budget

Key takeaways:

• You can’t avoid conflict—but you can learn how to repair it

• Values misalignment doesn’t mean failure, but it does require honest reflection

• Sustainable work isn’t about perfection or balance—it’s about continual recalibration

• Feeling discomfort or shame can be a signal, not a flaw

• Every day at work is a data point for what you can tolerate, change, or leave

This episode is for leaders, managers, and professionals who want to do meaningful work without sacrificing their mental health—and who are grappling with the uncomfortable truth that sometimes there is no perfect answer, only the most livable one.

From “Hunger Games” Interviews to People-First Leadership with Jon Beck, VP of People at ButcherBox

In this episode of My Worst Memory: A Workplace Safe Space Podcast, host Robin Cohen (Founder of Happier Office) talks with Jon Beck, VP of People at ButcherBox, about one of the most infamous hiring processes of his career — and the leadership lessons it sparked.

What starts as a “Hunger Games–style” interview story quickly unfolds into a conversation every executive should hear: how candidate experience shapes brand reputation, why values-based leadership is non-negotiable, and how people strategy directly drives business performance.

Together, Robin and Jon explore:

• Why candidate experience is as important as customer experience for your brand.

• How values-based hiring creates long-term ROI and retention.

• The case for authenticity and vulnerability as executive leadership traits.

• Onboarding as a strategic lever for productivity and cultural alignment.

• Why investing in benefits, flexibility, and people-first practices is not a cost center but a competitive advantage.

Whether you’re scaling a startup or leading an established enterprise, this conversation challenges you to rethink how hiring and culture directly impact growth.

• Every interview is a brand moment. Poor processes turn top talent away.

• Culture is strategy. Values alignment beats technical skills for long-term performance.

• Onboarding is leadership. First 90 days define engagement and retention.

• Authenticity scales. Vulnerable leaders build trust and unlock stronger teams.

• People investment fuels growth. Benefits and flexibility create loyalty that compounds.

If you’re leading through growth, restructuring, or cultural transformation — this episode will change the way you think about people strategy.

Layoffs delivered with a side of pizza? Sales leader and DEI advocate Jevic Muteba joins Robin to unpack one of the most bizarre workplace stories—and the leadership lessons that followed. They talk layoff survivor guilt, emotional EQ, and how real culture is built in community, not conference rooms.