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Cold and flu season has arrived, and Jenny and Sarah have officially reached their breaking point. This week, they break down the circus of people dragging themselves into the office sick, logging onto Zoom while sweating through a fever, or insisting it’s “just allergies” in the middle of December.

From vomiting kids to adults powering through meetings mid-retch, this episode gets blunt about how unhinged workplace culture has become around “pushing through.” The hosts explain why showing up sick isn’t brave, why it’s often selfish, and why everyone else is tired of catching your germs.

This week’s chaos includes:

• A car ride that felt like a biohazard event
• A client who tried to finish a Zoom call while actively throwing up
• Kids who refuse to drink water and are confused when their throat hurts
• Adults claiming “winter allergies” while running a fever
• Jenny’s emergency plan for vomiting during a video call (step one: slam laptop shut)
• How France sees working sick as selfish while the U.S. calls it dedication
• The badge-of-honor culture that keeps people working when they should be in bed
• The germ gauntlet of parenting small children
• People with paid sick leave who refuse to take it
• A reminder that potluck food handled by children should be illegal

Jenny and Sarah say it plainly:
If you're too sick to be in the office, you're too sick to “just check email.”

Take the day.
Drink some water.
Stop distributing your germs like confetti.

Key takeaways:

1. Your company can replace you faster than it can fix your immune system.
2. Rest is essential, not optional.
3. No one is impressed when you show up sick.
4. Closing your laptop immediately removes you from a Teams call. Use that information wisely.

Listen in for an unfiltered breakdown of why sick-at-work culture makes no sense, why boundaries matter, and why rest is part of being a functioning adult human.

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Welcome back to WTF is Business Casual, where HR consultants Jenny Levy and Sarah Bursten roast, rant, and reality-check the weird stuff that somehow passes for “normal” in the workplace.

This week we’re calling out all the things people still think are fine at work, but absolutely aren’t.

From awkward hugs to speakerphone oversharers, cubicles that look like dorm rooms, and the office “Happy Birthday” song no one actually enjoys, Jenny and Sarah break down what’s WTF-acceptable and what’ll get you side-eyed by HR.

WTF Moments & Hot Takes:

• Hugging at work. Friendly or lawsuit waiting to happen? (Hint: keep your hands to yourself.)
• Cubicle clutter. Your desk isn’t a daycare or a personal museum.
• Being BFFs with your boss. How “we’re just friends” turns into “why did HR call me in?”
• Reply All crimes. Stop hitting that button, Sally. Just. Stop.
• Forced birthday singing. Why workplace celebrations feel more like hostage situations.
• Speakerphone culture. If we can hear your conversation, it’s already gone too far.
• The unspoken workplace rules. The stuff you’ll never find in an employee handbook (but should).

Jenny and Sarah also unpack how corporate culture has shifted from “we dealt with it” to “I’m reporting you,” and why that might be both progress and a buzzkill.

Because let’s be honest. We can’t have nice things anymore.

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Gen Z has officially entered the chat and corporate America isn’t ready.

Jenny and Sarah rip into the chaos (and low-key brilliance) of the newest generation in the workplace. Are they entitled job hoppers with no soft skills… or the only ones brave enough to call BS on burnout culture?

Spoiler: it’s complicated — and very, very human.

They unpack everything from Gen Z’s allergy to fake leadership to why they’ll quit faster than you can say “circle back.” Plus, the hosts drag every generation (including their own) through the mud for good measure.

You’ll get:

• The truth about Gen Z’s “bad attitude” and why it’s actually a boundary
• How pandemic schooling and parenting styles rewired workplace expectations
• Real talk on feedback, flexibility, and why managers need to grow up too
• The tension between “just do your job” and “I need meaning in my job”
• A mirror moment for HR pros who keep trying to lead with policies instead of people

Because every generation swears the next one’s the problem, but maybe Gen Z’s just the first one bold enough to say the quiet part out loud.

Hit play.
Laugh a little, cringe a lot, and maybe rethink how you talk about “kids these days.”