It usually starts on Sunday afternoon. You’re trying to enjoy your weekend, but a familiar dread begins to creep in—an overwhelming, feeling you just can’t shake.

That’s the ‘Sunday Scaries’—the anxiety many people feel as the weekend winds down and the workweek looms. It’s a real and common experience, often tied to stress about deadlines, meetings, or difficult dynamics at work.

Some days it hits you like a wave. Other days it creeps in slowly. But it’s there: the anxiety, the dread, and the exhaustion from a job that you hate. If you’ve ever thought, “My job is destroying my mental health and I don’t know what to do,” you’re not alone. At Empower Work, we hear from people every day who are struggling—not just with heavy workloads or toxic managers—but with the toll it’s taking on their well-being. And many feel stuck, afraid, or unsure of what the next step could be.

Losing your job can feel like the floor has dropped out from under you. Whether you saw it coming or it happened suddenly, getting fired is overwhelming. There’s the financial pressure and emotional weight, and there can also be a sense of shame or fear about what’s next.

Whether it's rumors of layoffs, a change in leadership, or a gut feeling you can’t shake, the fear of losing your job can be incredibly stressful. It can make it hard to focus, impact your confidence, and create a constant sense of anxiety about the future. While you can’t always control what happens at work, you can take steps to protect yourself, prepare for the future, and regain a sense of agency.

Is your job search stretching on? Are you scrolling job boards late into the night, putting in hundreds of applications still having no luck? Have you been ghosted by employers, overlooked when you thought you nailed the interview, or passed over for reasons that make no sense? 

Long job searches can be exhausting and downright demoralizing. But if this is where you are right now, you’re not alone. 

If you’re a coach, you know how powerful it is to help people grow, solve problems, and take meaningful action. But did you know that you could use your coaching skills to support vulnerable workers—and sharpen your own knowledge in the process? 

Empower Work provides support through a free, confidential text line for people experiencing work challenges, and the text line is staffed by volunteer peer counselors with skills like yours. And we could use your help! 

Have you thought about a career in coaching, social work, or counseling? Transitioning into a helping profession can be a meaningful and fulfilling path, but making the leap can also feel daunting.

Becoming a volunteer peer counselor with Empower Work is an excellent way to experience what this type of work feels like, and to better understand whether you’d like to pursue it full time. 

For many Americans, going to work after the 2024 election and moving forward into a new administration can feel challenging. For many, feeling the political and social tension has been difficult, and may even feel impossible at times. If you’re feeling a sense of dread at work following the election and moving forward into a new administration, know that this is a normal reaction.

Feeling stressed out at work? Stress is a common issue in the workplace and in other areas of life—sometimes, it’s unavoidable. The question is, has your stress become so prolonged that it’s taken over your life? If that’s the case, you may actually be experiencing burnout. You may be wondering, what’s the difference between stress and burnout? This blog will explain the difference.

Do you love your day-to-day tasks at work, but the pay is too low? You’re not alone. Maybe you enjoy your job and your coworkers, but it just isn’t enough to keep you around for much longer. This can feel overwhelming and leave you feeling confused about what to do next. It’s important to consider all of your options and to put yourself first in this situation. This blog will show you five next steps you can take if you love your job but hate your paycheck.

Whether you have a job, are between jobs, or lost your job, it’s normal and very common to want to reevaluate your career path. The thought of redirecting the entire trajectory of your career can seem completely overwhelming, and there are many reasons as to why people even begin to reevaluate their careers. Before taking the plunge or making any decision, remember to take a deep breath, consider all your options, and ask yourself the hard questions.

Unfortunately, we’re seeing many unstable workplaces in the new year—holiday unemployment, job changes, layoffs, and downsizing are all common and current workplace challenges. If you’re in this boat, or you’re feeling anxious about these rocky times in the workforce, you aren’t alone. With several layoffs occurring—especially across tech, media, finance, and retail—in 2023 and the beginning of 2024, it’s normal to feel anxious. 

A transition period between jobs is a challenging moment to navigate. Whether you’ve quit your job, been fired, or are going through other job changes, unemployment can be difficult. There are many things you can do during this period to stay motivated and find your next best steps.

Setbacks and rejection in the job search process are common issues for people looking for jobs. It can be challenging to keep the momentum of a job search going when dealing with rejections, long and daunting interview timelines, bad interviews, or unresponsive employers. So, how do you handle setbacks in the job search like a pro?

Interviewing for a job is a two-way street. Flipping the script on the interviewer can be intimidating, but it’s essential to finding the right job for you. This blog provides 5 questions to ask an interviewer to find the job, boss, and company that values you.

Unfortunately, stress is a common workplace experience and can be caused by many different variables. Feeling stressed out at work can lead to other challenging emotions—burnout, poor mental and physical well-being, disengagement, and resentment towards your work. Stress may not only negatively affect your work, but can also trickle down to your personal life. 

Workplace bullying is a common issue we see through our text line. Bullying at work is abuse, discrimination, and an act of violence—it affects people’s livelihoods and people can even lose their jobs. In every workplace bullying situation, there is always a target and a bully.  In this blog, we list 5 types of workplace bullies.

Laurie Scop, a social worker and a member of the Board of Directors at the National Workplace Bullying Coalition (NWBC), shares a unique and informed perspective of bullying in the workplace and how to combat the crisis. Laurie oversees the Target Resources Committee at the NWBC. 

Employees experience a range of feelings before, during and after layoffs. From the first whispers of a possible layoff,  employees can feel turned around and afraid. The not knowing and painstaking waiting can be unbearable. It’s important to understand and acknowledge your emotions and the effects of layoffs and how to address them.

When you’re assigned a heavier workload without fair acknowledgments or pay, you may feel burned out, unmotivated, undervalued, and frustrated. You’re going above and beyond your job title, but you aren’t being acknowledged or rewarded for it.