At the beginning of this month, I shared a Mid-Year Reflection exercise, with prompts to pause, reflect, and be intentional about how we move into the second half of the year. I reflected on how my therapist recently encouraged me to think about small wins as WINS and how we get to define what success looks like to us. So for this edition, I'd like to take a moment to share some wins, reflect on what's next, and share how we can do more together to create the conditions for everyone to thrive.

Mid-Year Reflection: 5 Ways to Check in With Yourself from The Dawn Lab

A few years ago, I was running on fumes. I was doing work I loved, but carrying the weight of an entire system on my back. I was leading teams, attending to crises, advocating for equity…and losing track of myself in the process. At some point, I realized that what I needed wasn’t better time management or another wellness webinar. I needed to set some hard boundaries. I needed rest. I needed to remember who I was outside of the grind. And I knew I wasn’t alone.

What I am focused on now is building a movement that shifts the narrative on work culture, changes policy and practice, and helps leaders and organizations connect the dots between individual well-being and structural change, so that their people can thrive, and their mission can too. I consider it a little bit of a rebellion against established norms and ways of doing things, but one that is thoughtful, inclusive, joyful, and intentional.

What the Rebellion Looks Like

As The Dawn Lab moves into the second half of the year, we're continuing to build and grow the movement through:

📰 The Better Boundaries Brief: sharing important data, strategies, and insights on boundaries in the workplace (you're reading it now!)

🎧 Work is Third: A podcast featuring conversations with women and folks from marginalized communities sharing how they prioritize joy, rest, and self-care in a world that tells us that we need to be productive to be valued.

📩 The Joyful Rebellion + The 5-Minute Rebellion: a new newsletter where you get work insights, journal prompts, data, affirmations, and small ways to add rebellion into your day.

🏢The RESET Method: A 90-Day Workplace Transformation Program (this is a downloadable flyer) designed to help organizations build healthier, more inclusive, and joyful workplaces. Powered by research, fresh insights, and a focus on real human connection.

Infographic saying "This week's 5-minute rebellion: set a silly timer" with instructions on how to do it and why it matters.

Data Highlights – Why This Work Matters

🧠 In one analysis, 77% of nonprofit workers reported experiencing burnout at their current job. → Source: 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey

🤯 In another analysis, 66% of workers reported burnout in 2025, but what's shocking is that this number is greater than 80% for 18-34 year-old workers. → Source: Forbes, Job Burnout At 66% In 2025, New Study Shows

📉 While more than half of employees are actively seeking or watching for new opportunities, turnover is preventable; 42% of voluntary leavers say their departure could have been prevented. → Source: Gallup Workplace, 42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable but Often Ignored

Gallup Workplace Infographic showing "The Exit Journey: What Did the Organization Do to Intervene?" in the three months before an employee left a position.

Equity & Inclusion – Who Gets to Thrive at Work?

🌸 Psychological safety, joy, and belonging aren’t “nice to have.” They’re foundational to healthy and thriving workplaces.

⏱ Too often, marginalized voices are left out of decision-making about workplace wellbeing, but are the voices with the heavier burden of expectation around productivity.

🥳 That’s why The Joyful Rebellion and 5-Minute Rebellion exist - to center stories and practices that push back against extractive work culture.

Boundary Highlight – Why RESET?

RESET is my response to what I’ve seen and lived, as an employee and as a leader. It’s a workplace transformation framework rooted in reflection, ethics, strategy, equity, and trust.

It gives leaders tools to build cultures of care and offers employees a real chance to thrive. And it’s one part of a bigger vision for how we do work differently.

A RESET for your workplace looks like:

An organizational audit to uncover gaps and opportunities.
Coaching and training to build the capacity of your leaders, managers, and employees to create change
Strategic support and recommendations
An approach to changing workplace culture that is rooted in evidence and best practices

Quote card from the Center for Creative Leadership that says "When development reaches all employees, individual and collective potential are fused and magnified."

Law & Policy – The Bigger Picture

The Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being makes it clear: Work is a one of the essential domains of wellness.
OSHA, CDC, and others are beginning to center Total Worker Health. Learn more at Total Worker Health: Making the Business Case to understand benefits like lower turnover and higher employee engagement.
But policies don’t mean much without practice. Culture change happens from the inside out—and that’s where my work lives.

Take Action – What Can You Do Today?

✅ Individuals

Try the Center for Creative Leadership's 5-Day Belonging Challenge
Reflect on your own boundaries: What’s working? What’s not?

🏢 Organizations

Use the Joy in Work Toolkit with your team
Host a RESET workshop or book a speaker session (psst... that’s me!)

🌍 Systemic

Advocate for policy changes that support flexible work, mental health coverage, and psychological safety
Use resources like Tips to Encourage Employee Input

Closing Thought

This isn’t just my work, it’s my why. RESET, the podcast, the Brief, the Rebellion… they all exist because I believe we deserve better. We deserve workplaces that see us as whole humans. I’m here to help build them. Let’s do it together.