Circle Back Club Podcast By Aparna Rae & Lars Gallien cover art

Circle Back Club

Circle Back Club

By: Aparna Rae & Lars Gallien
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Your BS detector isn't broken — corporate culture just trained you to ignore it. Circle Back Club is the podcast for anyone who has ever suspected the problem isn’t us. Aparna and Lars name what's broken at work, back it up with receipts, and build real power with workers who are done performing. No productivity hacks. No personal brand advice. Just honest analysis and a community ready to change the status quo. New episodes weekly.Aparna Rae & Lars Gallien Economics
Episodes
  • Psychosocial Hazards

    Psychosocial Hazards
    Apr 16 2026

    We’ve rebranded workplace depression as "burnout" and personal failure, but the data shows the harm is actually by design.

    IN THIS EPISODE

    Aparna and Lars are joined by organizational psychologist Dr. Nicole DeKay to go where most U.S. workplace conversations are afraid to go: Psychosocial Hazards. While countries like Australia and New Zealand legally regulate things like "intrusive surveillance," "overload," and "poor change management," the U.S. remains a global outlier in worker neglect. We break down the "Vitality Curve" - a Jack Welch-era relic that forces managers to fire 10% of their team regardless of performance - and why PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans) have become a gaslighting tool to document layoffs. This isn’t about needing more "grit" or a better gratitude journal; it’s about naming the systemic conditions that cause measurable physical and psychological harm.

    THE QUESTION WE'RE SITTING WITH

    If the U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, why do we have fewer legal protections against workplace trauma than almost any of our global peers?

    TAKE THIS WITH YOU

    • Identify the Hazard: Review the 17 global psychosocial hazards (like low job control or high emotional labor) and identify which one is currently triggering your body’s stress response.
    • Question the PIP: If you or a colleague are put on a PIP out of nowhere, recognize it for what it often is—a liability-driven documentation tool—and prioritize your exit strategy over your "performance."
    • Break the Isolation: Talk to one trusted coworker about a specific work condition that feels untenable; breaking the "hyper-isolation" of the U.S. workplace is the first step toward collective power.

    RESOURCES MENTIONED

    • Labor Rights Index — WageIndicator Foundation - https://wageindicator.org/work/labour-law/index/
    • Humanalysts — Dr. Nicole DeKay’s platform for democratizing employee data - https://www.humanalysts.com/
    • The Vitality Curve — The controversial "rank and yank" management practice popularized by GE - https://www.business.com/articles/the-end-of-rank-and-yank-management-practices-revisited/

    CONNECT WITH US

    Visit us at https://www.circleback.club/

    Nicole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolejdekay/

    Aparna on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aparnarae; aparnarae.com

    Lars on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-gallien; http://larsgallien.com/

    Want to bring this conversation into your organization? Aparna and Lars speak at HR conferences, Fortune 1000 ERGs, and philanthropic foundations. pod@circleback.club
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    52 mins
  • The Ideal Worker

    The Ideal Worker
    Apr 9 2026
    We’re all exhausted trying to meet a standard of perfection that wasn't even designed for human beings.IN THIS EPISODEAparna and Lars are joined by organizational consultant Valarie Williams to dismantle the "Ideal Worker" myth. A set of persistent corporate beliefs that the perfect employee has no life, no caregiving responsibilities, and zero physical or mental health needs. We dive into the "Anxious Achiever" phenomenon, the rise of zero-employee startup goals in Silicon Valley, and why the tech industry treats 2-hour shuttle commutes as on-the-job time. This conversation goes beyond work-life balance to interrogate of how capitalism is modeling the "ideal" after a robot and what happens to our humanity when we try to compete with an algorithm.THE QUESTION WE'RE SITTING WITHIf the "Ideal Worker" is increasingly modeled after a robot, what parts of your humanity are you being asked to delete to stay competitive?TAKE THIS WITH YOUAudit the Ideal: This week, ask a trusted coworker: "Who do you think is the 'ideal worker' in this department, and does that person actually look like anyone we know in real life?"Identify Your "Enough": Reflect on your own "personal alignment" - be honest about the transaction of work so you can stop letting the company define your entire identity.Take the Heels Off: Identify one "uncomfortable shoe" in your work life - a performative habit or a rigid norm - and consciously choose to swap it for something that actually fits your needs.RESOURCES MENTIONEDThe Anxious Achiever — Maura Aarons-Mele https://hbr.org/2023/03/how-high-achievers-overcome-their-anxiety"Joan Acker" — Sociologist whose 1990 work defined the gendered "Ideal Worker" norm https://gendersociety.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/remembering-joan-acker/Targeted Universalism — A policy framework for designing strategies to help specific marginalized groups reach a universal goal https://belonging.berkeley.edu/targeted-universalism"Good Employee Attributes Key Traits" - https://www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/good-employee-attributes-key-traits-and-characteristics-of-a-great-employee "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations”, Joan Acker http://gas.sagepub.com/content/4/2/139.shortMelania Trump & Robot video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-NjEku-zE4The Guardian - Gen Z males twice as likely as baby boomers to believe wives should obey husbands - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/05/gen-z-men-baby-boomers-wives-should-obey-husbands?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherOrganizational culture and the individuals' discretionary behaviors at work: a cross-cultural analysis https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10291069/#s6CONNECT WITH USVisit us at https://www.circleback.club/ Valerie Williams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamsvalerie1/ Aparna on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aparnarae; aparnarae.com Lars on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-gallien; https://www.larsgallien.com/Want to bring this conversation into your organization? Aparna and Lars speak at HR conferences, Fortune 1000 ERGs, and philanthropic foundations. pod@circleback.clubNew episodes every week. Follow Circle Back Club so you never miss one.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • The Social Contract

    The Social Contract
    Apr 2 2026

    We all sign a contract letter when we enter the office, but most of the rules are never actually written down.

    Explore the hidden unwritten rules of the office with Aparna, Lars, and Leilani Lewis. We break down the "psychological contracts" that demand your silence and performative loyalty. Learn how to reclaim your dignity and rebuild collective power at work.

    IN THIS EPISODE Aparna and Lars are joined by arts leader and organization transformation practitioner Leilani Lewis to break down the implicit behaviors and unwritten rules that govern our lives as white-collar workers. We dig into the "psychological contracts" we navigate every day—from who takes the notes in meetings to why your boss might think taking a full lunch break is a sign of disloyalty. It’s a conversation about pulling ourselves out of individual survival mode and recognizing that silence isn't just a habit; it’s a corrosive social contract we have the power to change. We’re looking at what happens when we stop seeing our coworkers as competition and start building a collective sense of dignity instead.

    THE QUESTION WE'RE SITTING WITH Is the unwritten "contract" you've made with your organization actually protecting you, or is it just demanding your silence?

    TAKE THIS WITH YOU

    • Audit the "Implicit": This week, identify one behavior you engage in at work solely because of an unwritten expectation— like note-taking —and notice the impact it has on your energy.
    • Talk About the Norms: Get curious with a trusted colleague and ask them directly, "Do you see me as competition?" to start breaking the cycle of atomized performance.
    • Prioritize Work Friendship: Make a conscious effort to be a friend to someone at work today; having even one close friend in the trenches is directly correlated to better long-term health and mental wellbeing.

    RESOURCES MENTIONED

    • "A New Optimization Opportunity" - An email exchange between "Eric F" and "Brenda" widely circulated on Reddit regarding lunch break optics. - https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/comments/1rgaa0w/are_we/
    • Sam Altman & OpenAI - Discussion regarding the ethical standards and energy consumption of AI models. - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/23/sam-altman-openai-energy-use-datacenters
    • Leilani Lewis - Award-winning arts leader, writer, and seasoned DEI practitioner. - https://www.leilanilewis.com/

    CONNECT WITH US

    Circle Back Club https://www.circleback.club/

    Aparna on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aparnarae

    Lars on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-gallien

    Want to bring this conversation into your organization? Aparna and Lars speak at HR conferences, Fortune 1000 ERGs, and philanthropic foundations. pod@circleback.club

    New episodes every week. Follow Circle Back Club so you never miss one.
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    58 mins
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