WTF is Business Casual
Buckle up for real HR stories that'll make you laugh, cringe, and thank your lucky stars you're not that guy.
WTF is Business Casual is the HR podcast where two seasoned consultants—Sarah Bursten and Jenny Lavey, co-founders of RiseHR—dish on wild workplace fails, toxic bosses, employee drama, and leadership gone wrong. With 35+ years of combined experience in HR, leadership development, and people management, they offer surprisingly useful advice wrapped in real talk and hilarious storytelling.
If you’re an HR professional, small business owner, people manager, or just someone who’s survived office politics, this show is for you.
Subscribe to WTF is Business Casual—because work is weird, leadership is messy, and people always be peopling.
Hosted by Sarah Bursten & Jenny Lavey | RiseHR
www.risehumanresources.com
WTF is Business Casual
Sick at Work: Why You Showing Up Is Everyone’s Worst Nightmare
Cold and flu season has arrived, and Jenny and Sarah have officially reached their breaking point. This week, they break down the circus of people dragging themselves into the office sick, logging onto Zoom while sweating through a fever, or insisting it’s “just allergies” in the middle of December.
From vomiting kids to adults powering through meetings mid-retch, this episode gets blunt about how unhinged workplace culture has become around “pushing through.” The hosts explain why showing up sick isn’t brave, why it’s often selfish, and why everyone else is tired of catching your germs.
This week’s chaos includes:
- A car ride that felt like a biohazard event
- A client who tried to finish a Zoom call while actively throwing up
- Kids who refuse to drink water and are confused when their throat hurts
- Adults claiming “winter allergies” while running a fever
- Jenny’s emergency plan for vomiting during a video call (step one: slam laptop shut)
- How France sees working sick as selfish while the U.S. calls it dedication
- The badge-of-honor culture that keeps people working when they should be in bed
- The germ gauntlet of parenting small children
- People with paid sick leave who refuse to take it
- A reminder that potluck food handled by children should be illegal
Jenny and Sarah say it plainly:
If you're too sick to be in the office, you're too sick to “just check email.”
Take the day.
Drink some water.
Stop distributing your germs like confetti.
Key takeaways:
- Your company can replace you faster than it can fix your immune system.
- Rest is essential, not optional.
- No one is impressed when you show up sick.
- Closing your laptop immediately removes you from a Teams call. Use that information wisely.
Listen in for an unfiltered breakdown of why sick-at-work culture makes no sense, why boundaries matter, and why rest is part of being a functioning adult human.
