"Layoffs are unfortunately a time where unions really show why they're important."  Zach posts about Workers Comp to Instagram, follow him to find out about their next event.  Ian -- Zach's co-creator for Workers Comp -- tells his story in E11, here. 

"The media landscape is changing." Yeah, Ian already knows that. 

Janice Brathwaite -- the president and founder of Workplace Transformations -- talks about her work with corporate culture. She's got a few things to say about the dreaded Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), how it's being misused, and what you should do if you're faced with one. TLDL (too long, didn't listen): Do. Not. Sign. Anything. 

Years later, Chuck still asks himself why he was so loyal to his job. 

Pam and Amy discuss the jobs report(s), how much AI is fucking things up for us, a listener's struggle to find work, and the curse of pumpkin spice season.  Articles referenced: AI is quietly reshaping the way we talk The job market is hell Employers added nearly a million fewer jobs  Episodes referenced: S2 E5: Tech Career Coach S1 E31: Design Manager  

"We knew bad things were going to happen in Philadelphia." She saw it coming, but it was still a blow when Dawn lost her dream job. 

Michael went in with a "healthy dose of skepticism" under the Biden adminstration though he believed the work was valuable. Then came the November election and DOGE. 

Canned gets a little career coaching.

Anne had a job that not many women did at the time. ”It was a constant battle being accepted,” she says ...a battle she did not end up winning.

Christian’s job was literally to make federal government processes more effective or, you know, efficient. Then DOGE came along.

Christine was not shy about telling off The Man for making tech support worse. The database mentioned? theceodatabase.com. Our heroine has been hit with several cease and desist notices, so by the time this goes live, it may or may not be online. We'll take that as her doing the right thing. 

Amy and Pam ask the important questions like... How do you fuck up being a mermaid? 

Pam gets the axe from her copywriting job, says eff that noise, and...  starts a podcast? What? Featuring CANNED's behind the scene enabler and producer, Amy Guth as this week's guest host. 

Amber wasn't even on company time. She was literally off the clock. And she got the axe anyway.  Also, hey, here's that Antiwork Reddit Sub we mention at the intro. Fun fact, my former project manager is the one who turned me on to Antiwork. I miss him every day, working with him was great. When your project manager is an antiwork guy, you know you're on the right team. 

Dylan is going to make it through this year if it kills him. 

Jez Stewart from Prospect (a union that represents 157,000 workers in the UK) takes us through what a union does and why we want to be part of one. 

Rebecca Weaver, founder and CEO of HRuprise, talks us through the structural pitfalls of HR, why it's broken, and we can do to protect ourselves. 

Delia was fired twice in one year, and that sucked ... a lot. Also, we have the chance to learn what's different about getting canned here in these United States vs. north of the border in Canada. 

Your paycheck has dematerialized, what the hell are you supposed to do now?  Meet Anita Gray, a financial planner and owner at Promenade Wealth, who helps us understand how to prepare for getting canned and what to do with our money if -- when -- we get the axe.   A quick disclaimer (and we do this in the audio, too) -- don't take this as investment advice. For these interludes, our guests are folks who may not have been canned themselves, but can provide insights on various aspects of getting canned. Considering legal action? Listen to Interlude 2: Some Legal Advice. Having trouble dealing with the Big Feelings after getting the axe? Try Interlude 1: We get a little therapy. Just want to WTF after hearing some of these stories. So do we! Here's Interlude 3: Uncanned! where producer Amy and I do just that.    

Settle in, friends, for Ben's wild tale of bad behavior, mistaken identity, and things literally falling apart. Producer Amy and I were both so confounded by this story that there's a bonus segment where the two of us settle in for some serious WTF time.