"Professor Says the Workplace Is the Fifth Leading Cause of Death in the U.S."
"Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies"
"78% of Employees in Tech Report Experiencing Unfair Behavior or Treatment"

These are just a few recent headlines about the American workplace. From microaggressions and gaslighting to being groped by customers to HR teams that retaliate against employees for reporting issues, there’s no shortage of toxic and unacceptable behavior.

The headlines paint a bleak picture. And prompt a critical question: “now what?”

At Empower Work, we’ve seen that people have incredible ability to navigate complex situations if they have trained, informed support to talk through what they know of themselves, their employer, their boss, the players involved. Our text line provides a non-judgemental space to think through the implications, and if needed, get connected to additional resources from reporting tools to legal referrals.

That’s why we’re here. Workplaces challenges are universal. Support to navigate them should be too.

Shannon Lubetich’s story about Snap highlights not just problems with culture and diversity, but the lack of resources available for employees. People face myriad toxic workplace situations across a broad spectrum including, but by no means limited to, bullying, microaggressions, power imbalances, harassment, unethical practices, gaslighting, and discrimination, to name a small subset. These situations are so prevalent, employees will almost certainly face at least one, if not a combination, while they’re in the workforce. What’s not certain is whether they’ll get the support they need to address these situations as they arise. Empower Work is here to provide that workplace support.

Last week, I noticed this popular Forbes video and article making the rounds on LinkedIn. It had accumulated nearly two thousand likes and donned a compelling title: ‘4 Ways to Manage a Difficult Boss.’ But there’s inherent risk in oversimplified recommendations. Issues in the workplace are rarely black and white, and context matters.

Those important details can help shape decisions and next steps. When it comes to challenges in the workplace — whether it’s a conflict with a manager, toxic work environment, or job transition — people need the space to reflect on their situation.

Empower Work provides this space. Anyone facing a work issue can reach out via text and be connected with a trained peer counselor within minutes. Rather than give advice, our goal is to help people reflect — and ultimately find a next step that feels right for them.

Every day, across every workplace in America, people face challenges that don’t necessarily fall into a legal category. Instead, they fall into a vast gray area where solutions are rarely black and white. Empower Work is a new resource that fills this gap by putting employees first. We provide free, anonymous, and immediate support for people facing non-legal work issues. Our approach is rooted in inquiry and empathy. We provide the space to talk about your experience and work toward an outcome that feels right to you. Our goal is for people to leave the conversation feeling empowered with the tools and support they need to move forward.