At Work, Under Pressure

Jessi Beyer
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Management

Solve your workplace pressure point. At Work, Under Pressure is a podcast about the moments when work gets hard – when burnout rises, people get overwhelmed, conflict escalates, and mental health crises sneak into the workplace. Hosted by Jessi Beyer, a SWAT negotiator and licensed mental health professional, we take you behind the scenes of today’s workforce and show you what’s working and what’s not in workplace mental health, straight from the mouths of executives, HR professionals, safety/risk leaders, and corporate wellness experts who are seeing it firsthand. At Work, Under Pressure is for leaders who understand that people problems become operational problems when organizations are not prepared. If that’s you, pull up a chair, whip out a notebook, and settle in for real conversations about building workplaces that are safer, steadier, and better equipped for high-pressure human moments.

  1. 2 days ago

    Ageism, Wisdom, and the Workforce We Cannot Afford to Lose with Dan Pontefract

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! Older workers are often treated as expensive, outdated, or past their prime. Dan Pontefract thinks that is not only wrong, but dangerous. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Dan Pontefract, author of The Future of Work Is Grey, to talk about ageism, older workers, institutional knowledge, multi-generational teams, technology, AI, retirement, and why organizations lose far more than salary expense when they push experienced employees out. Dan shares how being removed from a speaker bureau roster after turning 50 sparked his work on age inclusivity and why companies need to rethink the way they view workers he calls “Rubies,” or older workers with crystallized intelligence, intuition, wisdom, and experience. In this episode, Jessi and Dan discuss: Why older workers are often underestimated, overlooked, or pushed out of the workforceHow organizations lose tacit knowledge, wisdom, and crisis-readiness when they eliminate experienced employeesWhy NASA, Ford, Boeing, and utility companies offer cautionary lessons and wild success stories about age and institutional memoryHow older workers and AI can complement each other instead of competingWhy multi-age teams can outperform age-segregated teamsHow leaders can support aging workers in physical, frontline, and labor-intensive rolesWhy mental health and suicide prevention require leaders to go directly to the people closest to the crisis This episode is for HR leaders, executives, talent professionals, managers, workforce strategists, and anyone responsible for building a workplace that can perform now without sacrificing the wisdom it will need later. Because the future of work is not just young, fast, and digital. The future of work is also grey. CONNECT WITH DAN LinkedInWebsiteThe Future of Work is Grey

  2. 4 days ago

    The Psychological Reality of Buying and Operating a Small Business with Mike Bourgeois

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! Buying a business is not just about the deal. It is about what happens when you walk in on day one and meet the people who already know how the business works. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Mike Bourgeois of Cardinal Heating & Air to talk about military service, search, acquiring a home services business, imposter syndrome, leadership, technician burnout, and why trust matters more than ego when stepping into an established company. Mike shares how his Air Force experience shaped his ability to lead people, why he and his business partner searched for nearly two years before acquiring Cardinal, and what it has been like to lead a 37-year-old HVAC company with an experienced team, strong brand, and deep customer base. In this episode, Jessi and Mike discuss: How Mike’s Air Force background prepared him for business ownership and people leadershipWhy the search process is much harder than LinkedIn gurus make it lookWhat made Cardinal Heating & Air stand out as an acquisition targetHow Mike approached leading a team with more technical HVAC experience than he hadWhy empowering smart people reduces single points of failureHow Cardinal supports technicians by avoiding unsustainable call volume and burnoutWhy Mike would choose a high-trust, lower-performing employee over a high-performing, low-trust one This episode is for searchers, acquisition entrepreneurs, home services leaders, operators, investors, and anyone who wants a more honest look at what happens after the deal closes. Because owning the business does not automatically make you the expert. Sometimes the best thing a new owner can do is listen first. CONNECT WITH MIKE michael@skylinepartners.comLinkedInCardinal Heating & Air

  3. 6 days ago

    Why Clarity Is the Secret Weapon of High-Growth Teams with Sarah Frymire

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! High-growth companies move fast — but without clarity, speed can turn into chaos. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Sarah Frymire of OneSource to talk about scaling a company from 90 to 250 employees, building agile teams, communicating through change, creating clarity, supporting high performers, and why peer support matters more than most employers realize. Sarah shares how OneSource supports technology needs for customers through managed services, cybersecurity, lifecycle management, expense management, and brokerage support. She also explains what it takes to build an HR function inside a hypergrowth environment where processes, people, structure, and technology are constantly changing. In this episode, Jessi and Sarah discuss: Why agility and comfort with change are essential in hypergrowth companiesHow OneSource tries to avoid unnecessary rigidity while still protecting customers and the businessWhy clarity has to come before accountabilityHow new managers can build trust through bi-directional communicationWhy high performers who stop caring are a warning sign, not an employee failureHow workplace frustration, comparison, and moving goalposts affect mental and physical healthWhy trusted peers are often the first line of support before an EAP or therapist This episode is for HR leaders, executives, managers, founders, and anyone trying to scale a company without burying good people under unclear expectations, slow processes, or preventable burnout. Because high performance does not survive on vision alone. It needs clarity, trust, communication, and execution. CONNECT WITH SARAH LinkedInOneSource

  4. 7 Aug

    Trust Theory, Psychological Safety, and How To Get Honest Feedback From Your Team with Colleen Kelly

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! Trust is one of the most important forces inside any workplace — but most organizations do not define it, measure it, or teach leaders how to build it. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Colleen Kelly to talk about trust theory, employee surveys, psychological safety, 360 reviews, first-line leadership, conflict, and why trust is one of the strongest predictors of success in teams and organizations. Colleen wrote her master’s thesis on trust theory after realizing that everyone talked about trust, but very few people could explain what it actually meant or how to build it. Her work spans HR, leadership development, public and private sector organizations, and first-line supervisor training deployed to more than 30,000 people around the world. In this episode, Jessi and Colleen discuss: Why trust matters more than many personality traits or team assessmentsHow turnover, bland survey responses, and fear of honesty can signal a trust problemThe difference between confidential and anonymous employee surveysWhy 360 reviews only work well when psychological safety already existsHow high-trust teams turn mistakes into growth opportunities instead of blameWhat new leaders need to learn about communication, conflict, and relationshipsWhy mental health and suicide prevention should matter to leaders from both a human and business perspective This episode is for HR leaders, managers, executives, first-line supervisors, and anyone responsible for building teams where people can speak honestly, grow through feedback, and trust that conflict does not have to become destruction. Because trust is not just a feeling. It is infrastructure. CONNECT WITH COLLEEN LinkedIn

  5. 5 Aug

    People Are the Engine of Every Competitive Advantage with David Alsop

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! What if HR was not just about policies, compliance, hiring, and firing? What if HR could be one of the most powerful drivers of performance, culture, mental health, and human potential inside a company? In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with David Alsop, CHRO of Ultradent and co-author of Making HR Matter: What CEOs Want and How to Deliver It, to talk about HR leadership, brain science, workplace culture, performance, mental health, partnership, and the convergence between profit and people. David shares how growing up around mental health challenges shaped his interest in human development, organizational behavior, and eventually HR. He explains why he moved away from therapy as a career path and into business, where he saw an opportunity to use psychology, brain science, and organizational systems to help people and companies succeed together. In this episode, Jessi and David discuss: How David’s early experiences with mental health challenges shaped his careerWhy he chose marriage, family, and human development instead of traditional psychologyHow an organizational behavior class changed his career directionWhy HR often gets stuck in policies, procedures, and controlWhat it means to move HR beyond complianceWhy people are the engine of every competitive advantageHow leaders can find the convergence point between accountability and engagementWhy HR needs to understand the founder’s vision before trying to transform a companyHow Ultradent built a culture guide, not just policiesWhy HR should focus upstream instead of only investigating and firing downstreamHow purpose, contribution, recognition, and relationships affect mental healthWhy companies can learn from the way religious communities build shared purposeWhat CEOs want from HR and how HR can deliver itHow one mentor helped David transform his influence and communicationWhy HR can matter for business, employees, families, and society This episode is for HR leaders, CEOs, founders, executives, managers, culture builders, and anyone who believes work can be more than a paycheck. Because when HR gets it right, it does not just help the company perform. It helps people go home better. CONNECT WITH DAVID LinkedInDavid's WebsiteMaking HR MatterUltradent Careers

  6. 3 Aug

    Criminal Employees and Why Grit is Mandatory for Small Business Leadership with Mark Fleming

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! Buying a small business sounds exciting. You get to be your own boss. Run the company. Build something. Create wealth. Own your future. But the reality is much messier. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Mark Fleming of Owner Actions to talk about small business acquisition, searchers, SBA financing, people management, employee transitions, operational risk, and what it actually looks like to buy and run small businesses. Mark’s career started in investment management, where he evaluated public and private companies, worked with people after major exits, and developed a deep understanding of what makes businesses valuable. Over time, he and his wife Katie began buying businesses themselves. Then other people started asking for help, and Owner Actions was born. Today, Owner Actions helps people find, finance, acquire, and operate small businesses across industries including trucking, restaurants, retail liquidation, HVAC, water well drilling, portable toilets, edible arrangements, and more. In this episode, Jessi and Mark discuss: How Mark moved from investment management into small business acquisitionWhat Owner Actions does and how it supports searchers and operatorsHow SBA loans can help people buy businesses with relatively low down payments (CORRECTION: manufacturing loan limits are still at $5M - the Senate is still deliberating on the increase to $10M, though the increase passed through the House of Representatives)Why grit may matter more than analysis in small business ownershipWhy MBA-style thinking can sometimes get in the way of operating a real businessWhat makes someone a strong small business leaderWhy negotiation can come down to conviction and not movingHow employees experience the transition when a small business is acquiredWhy telling employees their jobs are safe is not enoughHow new owners can build goodwill with inherited teamsWhy leaders should actually sit down and eat the pizza with employeesHow employee theft and other crises show up in small business ownershipWhy HR risk management matters when SBA loans are personally guaranteedHow Owner Actions centralizes resources across its portfolioWhy finance, digital marketing, insurance, and HR are key back-office priorities This episode is for searchers, acquisition entrepreneurs, investors, small business owners, operators, veterans, MBA students, and anyone considering buying a business instead of starting one from scratch. Because buying a business is not just about closing the deal. It is about what happens on Monday morning after the deal closes. CONNECT WITH MARK LinkedInTikTokOwner Actions

  7. 31 Jul

    Employee Benefits, Rising Healthcare Costs, and the Business Case for Prevention with Chris Kerwood

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! Employee benefits are not just a recruiting tool. They are one of the places where healthcare costs, prevention, mental health, productivity, employee education, and workplace culture all intersect. In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Chris Kerwood of USI to talk about employee benefits, rising healthcare costs, preventive care, mental health, population health, insurance trends, and what employers need to understand about the real cost of employee well-being. Chris explains why healthcare costs are rising, including delayed care after COVID, increased utilization, pharmaceutical costs, GLP-1s, gene therapies, provider negotiations, hospital margins, and even AI upcoding. He also breaks down why employees need to better understand their own benefits — especially preventive care, which is often covered at 100%. Jessi and Chris also dive into workplace mental health, including the post-COVID rise in mental health concerns, the financial impact of mental health-related productivity loss, the elevated risk in construction and blue-collar industries, and what strong organizations do differently to support their people. In this episode, Jessi and Chris discuss: How Chris’s background as a student athlete shaped his work ethic and careerWhat USI does as a full-service insurance brokerageWhy healthcare costs are rising for employers and employeesHow delayed care after COVID is still affecting claims and utilizationWhy GLP-1s, biosimilars, and gene therapies are reshaping benefits conversationsWhat employees misunderstand about preventive careWhy people should actually read their plan summariesHow AI is affecting healthcare billing and codingWhy employers are exploring high deductible health plans, HMOs, and alternative funding strategiesWhat employers need to understand about mental health as a benefits and productivity issueWhy construction is a high-risk industry for suicide preventionWhat strong organizations do to create connection, purpose, and peer support This episode is for HR leaders, benefits professionals, executives, business owners, brokers, safety leaders, and anyone trying to understand how employee health affects the bottom line. Because benefits are not just about coverage. They are about prevention, access, culture, and whether people can actually get the support they need. CONNECT WITH CHRIS chris.kerwood@usi.comLinkedInUSI

  8. 29 Jul

    Managing Up, Listening Deeply, and Balancing Metrics with Humanity with Jonathan Fedak

    CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE! What happens when HR is grounded in psychology, business strategy, and humanity? In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Jonathan Fedak to talk about industrial-organizational psychology, human resources, workplace culture, managing up, mental health, mergers and acquisitions, and what it means to lead people through the gray areas of work. Jonathan’s background in psychology shaped how he approaches HR today. From testing and selection work with police and fire agencies to compensation, payroll, government, retail, manufacturing, and executive-level HR leadership, he brings a rare combination of analytics, psychology, and people-centered judgment to the workplace. In this episode, Jessi and Jonathan discuss: How industrial-organizational psychology shaped Jonathan’s HR careerWhy words from leaders create psychological contracts with employeesWhat it means to manage upward and advise executives on communicationWhy “good concept, better words” can be one of HR’s most useful toolsThe difference between checking the policy box and understanding the person in front of youWhy great HR requires judgment, flexibility, and contextHow to balance metrics, performance, and humanityWhy culture is built in micro-moments, not just big eventsHow mental health has become more visible in the workplace since COVIDWhy employee mental health affects the bottom line whether leaders want to talk about it or notHow to communicate with employees during mergers, acquisitions, and major transitionsWhy the word “why” can feel threatening during organizational changeWhat Jonathan’s tattoo — “We think we have time” — means in work, life, and leadership This episode is for HR leaders, executives, managers, business owners, and anyone who has ever wondered how to balance business needs with real human lives. Because HR is not just about resources. It is about the humans that make up your workforce. CONNECT WITH JONATHAN LinkedInOregon Corners Florist (his wife's newly acquired flower shop!)

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About

Solve your workplace pressure point. At Work, Under Pressure is a podcast about the moments when work gets hard – when burnout rises, people get overwhelmed, conflict escalates, and mental health crises sneak into the workplace. Hosted by Jessi Beyer, a SWAT negotiator and licensed mental health professional, we take you behind the scenes of today’s workforce and show you what’s working and what’s not in workplace mental health, straight from the mouths of executives, HR professionals, safety/risk leaders, and corporate wellness experts who are seeing it firsthand. At Work, Under Pressure is for leaders who understand that people problems become operational problems when organizations are not prepared. If that’s you, pull up a chair, whip out a notebook, and settle in for real conversations about building workplaces that are safer, steadier, and better equipped for high-pressure human moments.

Information

  • Creator
    Jessi Beyer
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Jessi Beyer
  • Show Website
    At Work, Under Pressure
  • Provider