Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors

Dawn Andrews & Elsa Barbi
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Society & Culture

Hosted by best friends Dawn and Elsa, the podcast blends decades of experience across very different industries. Dawn spent 25 years as an employment lawyer investigating workplace drama from the inside out. Elsa built a long career in the beauty industry as a brand educator, with a few TV cameos along the way. Together, they’re unapologetic extroverts who meet new people everywhere—and always want to know how they got their jobs, what they love about them, what they can’t stand, and what really goes on behind closed doors. Equal parts informative and titillating, Workplace Confessions serves up all the tea while honoring the incredible, complicated, often messy work people are doing across industries and across the map.

  1. 6d ago

    Meet a High School Math Teacher

    You think you know what teachers do all day until you hear what happens after the bell rings, after the emails pile up, and after the policies change without anyone asking the people in the room.  This week on Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors, we’re joined by an anonymous high school math teacher with 18 years in California public schools, and she tells the truth about why relationships matter more than worksheets and why the emotional load of the job follows you home.   We dig into the gap between what teachers can control inside their classrooms and what gets decided outside of them. She shares what she wishes every parent would do today. We also talk about “accountability” as the missing ingredient and how those patterns show up later in the workplace. Then we get real about the post-COVID classroom, safety drills, and the rise in student mental health needs.  If you care about education, parenting, school safety, or the future workforce, this one will stick with you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can hear these behind-closed-doors stories. Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    47 min

  2. May 22

    Meet_a_Color_Expert

    Your hair color is not just “light or dark” or “warm or cool.” It is a full system, and when it is wrong, you can feel it in your mirror, your closet, and your confidence. This week, we sit down with Renee Taglia, a Master Hair Colorist & Educator and Certified Color Analyst, to talk about why personal color analysis is more than a trend and how a true, customized palette can change the way you get ready every day. We get practical about the process. Renee explains how she combines image consulting with cosmetology so hair color stops being “correction” and starts being enhancement, plus how she navigates the tricky moment when someone brings an inspirational photo that will not flatter them. We also dig into the messy side of the industry. Finally, we talk about color psychology and how shades can hold memory, comfort, and even grief, which is why a color consultation can turn unexpectedly emotional. Subscribe for more behind-closed-doors work stories, share this with a friend who is stuck in “nothing to wear,” and leave a review if you want more conversations like this. What is one color you love but never feel great wearing? Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    36 min

  3. May 15

    Meet a Courtroom Insider

    Court is one of those workplaces everyone thinks they understands until you talk to someone who has actually sat inside it for 20 years. Our anonymous guest takes us from her early detour into teaching to a long career in the courthouse, including 18 years in the courtroom and a newer leadership role supervising data entry and phone intake. Along the way, we get specific about the work. We also dig into how the justice system changes over time. We talk about courtroom realities like negotiated plea deals, the role of probation recommendations, and how judge discretion shows up in bail and sentencing decisions. If you like real workplace stories with practical insight, subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who loves the truth behind “official” narratives. What part of the courthouse would you want to see from the inside? Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    37 min

  4. May 8

    Meet the Author of 'The Myth of the Fearless Leader'

    Fear shows up in every career, even when your title says “leader.” We sit down with Dr. Tonya Jackman Hampton, Ph.D. PCC, an organizational development practitioner, executive coach, and former chief human resources officer whose career runs from early teen jobs to building ethics programs, shaping workplace culture, and leading change inside major organizations. Her story is full of real turning points: mentorship that redirects her into HR, a merger that triggers a layoff while she’s pregnant, and the hard-earned confidence that comes from learning how to land on your feet again and again. The heart of the conversation comes from her book, 'The Myth of the Fearless Leader,' and the research behind it. She explains how her doctoral dissertation explored leaders’ relationship with fear, and how her own breast cancer journey pushed the work from theory into something urgently practical. You’ll hear her EASE fear transformation method (Engage, Explore, Execute) as a clear alternative to fight, flight, or freeze, with ideas you can apply to personal decisions, team dynamics, and organizational transformation. If you care about leadership development, change management, HR credibility, coaching standards, and building healthier workplace relationships, this one gives you language and tools you can use right away. Subscribe, rate, and share, then send us your take: where are you feeling fear at work right now, and what would “execute” look like for you? Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    40 min

  5. May 1

    Meet a Mortgage Industry Expert Turned Entrepreneur

    Mortgage is supposed to feel like math, paperwork, and a few signatures. What happens when it also feels like a daily test of character?  We sit down with an anonymous mortgage expert whose working life runs from a paper route at 13 to two decades in the mortgage and real estate world. He breaks down what he’s building right now: a call center-based revenue engine for a regional bank that targets homeowners with strong home equity but crushing high interest debt.   We also talk about what it feels like to “start over” later in life, and how to earn trust when borrowers assume there’s always a catch. Then we go behind closed doors on the subprime era. He shares the wild workplace stories, how incentives warped behavior, and why the industry’s public image changed so fast after the crash.  Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    42 min

  6. Apr 24

    Meet a GenX Expert Turned Author

    Someone finally said the quiet part out loud: burnout can make you do weird things, like faking an emergency on Zoom just to escape a meeting.  This week, we’re joined by La'Tonya ("LT") Rease Miles, author of "Smart Girl," adjunct faculty at Santa Clara University, and co-founder of non-profit My Tribe Media. She brings the kind of honesty we love: funny, sharp, and a little too relatable. We talk through her nonlinear career journey, from washing dogs in a Virginia pet grooming shop to earning a PhD at UCLA, building programs for first-generation college students, and eventually stepping away from higher ed administration when the “this isn’t sustainable” feeling became impossible to ignore.  We also dig into the real founder experience: uneven income, endless planning, and the myth that success happens overnight, especially for women founders and founders of color.  Subscribe, rate, and share Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors, then tell us what moment hit you hardest and why. Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    39 min

  7. Apr 17

    Meet a Chief Drama Slayer

    Workplace investigations are supposed to reveal the truth, but most companies accidentally design a process that breeds silence, fear, and repeat drama. We’re joined by Patti Perez, a former employment lawyer turned HR leader and third-party investigator who has conducted thousands of workplace investigations and now trains the next generation to do the work with rigor and humanity. From quid pro quo harassment to messy breakups that spill into the office, Patti explains what these cases really look like when the door closes and the interviews begin. Subscribe, share this with a manager or HR friend, and leave a review with your take: what makes you trust a workplace investigation process enough to speak up? Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    42 min

  8. Apr 10

    Meet a Bartender Turned Dominatrix

    A bartender gets pneumonia, misses work, and the message lands hard: you can give everything to a job and still be treated as disposable. That turning point sends our guest, Lady Ruby Rebel, in an unexpected direction, toward a second career as a professional dominatrix.  Ruby breaks down what people get wrong about her profession, especially the assumption that domination involves sex. She explains the real job: training, vetting, clear rules, and the constant responsibility of keeping sessions safe.  We talk through how she sets the terms of an engagement, what “total transparency” looks like, and why crossing a boundary ends the session immediately. Her story about a wealthy, famous client trying to change the rules mid-session is a masterclass in enforcing limits when power and entitlement show up in the room. Subscribe, rate, and share Workplace Confessions Behind Closed Doors, and if Ruby’s story hit home, leave a review and tell us: what’s one boundary you’re setting this week? Send us Fan Mail Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

    40 min
See All (23)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Hosted by best friends Dawn and Elsa, the podcast blends decades of experience across very different industries. Dawn spent 25 years as an employment lawyer investigating workplace drama from the inside out. Elsa built a long career in the beauty industry as a brand educator, with a few TV cameos along the way. Together, they’re unapologetic extroverts who meet new people everywhere—and always want to know how they got their jobs, what they love about them, what they can’t stand, and what really goes on behind closed doors. Equal parts informative and titillating, Workplace Confessions serves up all the tea while honoring the incredible, complicated, often messy work people are doing across industries and across the map.

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