Brené and Barrett on the Great Awkward

What It Covers

Brené Brown and Barrett Guillen discuss returning to physical workplaces after pandemic remote work, addressing challenges around hybrid models, employee belonging, mental health crisis, grief, and navigating awkward transitions with intentional communication strategies.

Key Questions Answered

• •Remote Work Equity: Remote work created unexpected belonging benefits for distributed employees who previously felt excluded from headquarters culture. Organizations should conduct intentional surveys asking employees their ideal work scenarios and pilot arrangements with three-month and six-month feedback checkpoints before finalizing policies.
• •New Worker Onboarding: Recent graduates and new hires who started remotely face unique challenges learning unspoken organizational rules and culture without physical presence. Leaders must create explicit guidelines, assign dedicated support people, and recognize that spotting struggle through video calls requires different skills than in-person observation.
• •Creative Work Limitations: Strategic planning and creative content development suffer remotely compared to in-person collaboration. Eight-hour strategic sessions prove feasible in person but unsustainable on video calls beyond ninety minutes. Organizations requiring innovation should prioritize physical time together for these specific high-value activities rather than blanket policies.
• •FFT Framework Application: Apply Fucking First Times strategies to workplace returns by normalizing awkwardness, providing perspective that no one has done pandemic returns before, and reality-checking expectations. Create explicit guidelines covering acceptable questions, physical contact protocols, and organization-wide approved opt-outs for any uncomfortable interactions.