Lean On, Not Just Lean In: What Princeton Research Reveals About Workplace Burnout with Karen Tay

Karen Tay built a peer-support program for women navigating workplace bullying and burnout, ran it through Princeton research, and found something a lot of managers don't expect: the problem usually isn't a lack of effort. It's a lack of support.

In this Leading Through Change encore, Karen and Lori unpack what Karen's Princeton-backed research found about workplace adversity, why women in the senior-manager to senior-director range are most likely to drop out of the workforce, and what actually helps.

• Why "lean on" (a support system) matters more than "lean in" (individual effort) — a framing Karen developed with her Princeton research partner

• How workplace bullying shows up differently across the US and Asia, and why hierarchy — not just gender — shapes who's vulnerable

• The three long-term impacts of workplace bullying: practical, relational, and identity/dignity

• The "burnout trap": why working harder often backfires, and what to do instead

• What "workplace first aid" looks like, and how organizations can build peer support networks

Karen Tay spent the first six years of her career serving the Singapore government before moving into tech, startups, and consulting in Silicon Valley. She is now CEO of Threshold Allies and founder of Inherent, helping women navigate critical moments in their careers.

• 00:00 — Cold open: why this encore episode matters now

• 00:54 — Karen's path from Singapore government to founding Threshold Allies and Inherent

• 02:25 — Key findings from the Princeton white paper on workplace bullying

• 07:02 — Why "lean on" beats "lean in": building a real support system

• 09:22 — How workplace bullying differs for women vs. men, across the US and Asia

• 12:21 — The most surprising data insights from the research

• 14:20 — Long-term impacts: practical, relational, and identity/dignity

• 26:15 — The burnout trap, and why "try harder" backfires

• 28:19 — Policies and strategies that actually prevent workplace bullying

• 31:12 — What "workplace first aid" is and how to build it

• 32:44 — Where to find Karen Tay

• 33:49 — Closing message: you are not alone

Website: inherentjourney.org | Email: karen@threshold-allies.com | Instagram: @ktay.coaching | LinkedIn: Karen Tay

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Lori Adams-Brown, Host & Executive Producer

A World of Difference Podcast