Show Notes
If you ignore AI for the next two years, what happens to your career? Organizational psychologist Dr. Kelly Monahan says you'll be left behind, not by AI itself, but by the people who learned to use it. Kelly spent 15 years researching the future of work at Meta, Upwork, Accenture, and Deloitte, and she joins Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt to break down what's actually happening behind the scenes as companies weigh AI against payroll. In this episode: - Why AI can do about a third of most jobs better than you can — and what to do with that freed-up time - The real skills that matter now: intellectual curiosity, a "learning muscle," and basic statistics literacy - Why older generations are more excited about AI than Gen Z (and what that says about who's actually at risk) - The three-step growth path for using AI in a small business: speed, scale, and scope - Which jobs are safest from automation — hint: it's not the ones sitting behind a computer - The mistakes new entrepreneurs make when they lean on AI too hard, and where a human still has to have the final say Kelly is the bestselling author of Essential and the founder of Beyond the Desk. Her new book, Reclaim the Plot: How Leaders Rewrite the Story When AI Rewrites Work, drops September 29th. Pre-order here - https://www.reclaimtheplotbook.com/ Ways to find Kelly: Website - https://drkellymonahan.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/monahankelly/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-monahan-ph-d-18879413/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@futureofworkisnow Whether you're worried about your job, building a business, or just trying to make sense of the AI noise, this conversation is a grounded, no-BS look at where work is actually headed.
More from The Corporate Burnouts Podcast
After 85 episodes, this is our final one. In Episode 85, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt hash it out, live and unscripted: why The Corporate Burnouts Podcast is ending, what it healed for both of them, and why walking away while you still love something beats staying until it runs its course. This show started as a place to pour out every bit of our corporate trauma and burnout. It became our therapy. Now our lives look completely different, and we want to honor the ending as much as we honored the start. In this episode: Why we're ending the podcast after 85 episodes How this podcast became our therapy Our guests were the real therapists When something stops feeling authentic to your life Putting fun first without dropping the ball on work Your accomplishments are not your identity Realizing we'd tied our identity to being podcasters Leaving the room while people still want you there The boat day that started the conversation Why we never told other people's stories on air A possible Corporate Burnouts Facebook group (vote in the poll!)
You picked a career at 18. Did anyone ask what you wanted your life to look like? In Episode 84, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt dig into why so many people climb the ladder, reach the top and still feel empty. Starting with the college-planning chaos in both of their homes and a viral trend of high achievers walking away from the careers they spent decades building, they unpack why happiness isn't a destination, why midlife feels like a tipping point, and the better questions to ask before (and after) you pick a path. In this episode: Why "what do you want to be when you grow up?" is the wrong question Choosing a career based on the life you want, not just the title Happiness is not a destination Midlife crisis or midlife wake-up call? Reevaluating your career at 25, 30, 35 and 40 The random-Tuesday test Why your job doesn't have to be your passion It's okay to want money (just know the trade-off) Finding your non-negotiables Every career has a cost Future tripping and the "I'll be happy when…" trap Why waiting until retirement to live is a bad plan
Give yourself one task and eight hours, and guess how long it takes? In Episode 83, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt dig into why you're more productive when you're busy, and slower than molasses when your calendar is wide open. From a viral three-jobs story (that may have been satire) to waiting tables in the weeds, they break down Parkinson's Law, momentum and the voice in your head that negotiates "twenty more minutes." Then they share the simple ways they create a "good busy" on purpose, without burning out. In this episode: Parkinson's Law: why work expands to fill the time you give it Momentum and why sitting down kills your whole evening The self-negotiation trap and procrastination Fake deadlines vs. real commitments Scheduling something every couple of hours and time blocking Asking your boss to hold you accountable How deadlines create clarity and cut perfectionism Stacking errands when you work from home Knowing your next three things A free tip: how AI is finding businesses through blog posts
If working from home was such a problem, why did it take until 2026 for anyone to say so? In Episode 82, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt break down the real return-to-office timeline: the 2020 shutdown, the 2021–2022 hot labor market that turned remote work into a hiring perk, the messy 2023 "back to normal" push, and the 2024 layoffs that flipped power back to employers. They get into the theories nobody says out loud, what happens to people hired 100% remote who now live nowhere near an office, and what a commute actually costs once you add it all up. In this episode: A real timeline: 2020 lockdowns to 2026 mandates The real estate and power-and-control theories behind RTO What happens when you're hired fully remote and then told to relocate The hidden cost of commuting: gas, time, clothes and childcare Why "be more productive" isn't a real reason without a system behind it How to negotiate before you comply The stats: 91% of Amazon employees unhappy, 80% of companies losing talent
Burnout isn't just coming for your health. It's coming for your bank account. In Episode 81, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt get honest about what burnout really cost them: late-night retail therapy, Target runs that always hit $200, delivery apps, paying for chores they couldn't face, and bills that didn't get paid until the water got shut off. They break down why burnout spending is really escapism, how financial procrastination sneaks in even when the money is there, and how to stop the financial bleed without shaming yourself. In this episode: Retail therapy and stress spending as burnout coping Grocery delivery, DoorDash and why simple tasks feel impossible Outsourcing chores: healthy choice or avoidance? Financial procrastination and paying bills late Automating your bills to cut the mental load Skipped raises and retirement savings on pause How to do a 60–90 day burnout spending audit Why your career can't be your whole identity