How to Adapt at Work Without Drowning (with Craig Mattson)

One of my guest's interview subjects took a fully remote marketing job and spent her first weeks scanning her new coworkers' faces on Zoom, trying to find any signal for what actually mattered at that company. She'd read a coworker's email and think, that has to be sarcasm. Then she'd get on camera with them and realize, oh my gosh, they were dead serious. That's what adapting to the modern workplace looks like now: equal parts wave and bewilderment. Craig Mattson, an organizational researcher and communication professor, spent years interviewing rising professionals about exactly this, and the metaphors he landed on (a wave of digital overwhelm, and the life raft you build to survive it) are why we're talking today. Craig is a professor at Calvin University and the author of "Digital Overwhelm," built from dozens of conversations with Gen Z and millennial professionals navigating the intensities of the early 2020s workplace. He and I dig into what remote work quietly steals from us (facial cues, tone, trust) and what it sometimes hands back (safety, control, fewer unwanted approaches), plus why personality and home life shape how well any of us cope when the tech breaks down, which it always does. We also tackle the question I know a lot of you are sitting with right now: if my job doesn't feel meaningful, should I quit? Craig's answer isn't a yes or no. It's four different postures people take toward meaningless-feeling work, and by the end you'll know which one you're in, and what to do about it. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzx6rGKTfjE In this episode Why remote work strips away the nonverbal cues that used to tell you what's actually going on at your job The four different ways people find meaning at work, and why "should I quit?" doesn't have one right answer How the digital-era "wave" of overwhelm hit every generation differently, from Gen X to Gen Z Why some personalities cope better with tech breakdowns than others, and how to borrow their calm What Craig's interviews revealed about remote work as an unexpected safety net for some women dealing with workplace harassment Dana's "cup of water in an ocean" reframe for anyone who feels like their work doesn't matter Timestamps (00:01) Welcome and guest intro: meet Craig Mattson, organizational researcher and author of Digital Overwhelm (01:30) Why Dana started Phoenix and Flame: the fire, the ashes, and the rebirth (02:59) The wave and the life raft: Craig's metaphors for digital-era work (07:10) The Zoom call where every email sounded like sarcasm until she saw their faces (14:02) Remote work, harassment, and the surprising safety of controlling your own camera angle (18:41) Why personality and temperament shape how well people cope with tech breakdowns (20:34) The mom who ran client calls with her kids pulling at her kneecaps (29:43) "If my job doesn't feel meaningful, should I quit?" (29:46) The four postures toward work: world-changers, therapists, thespians, and skeptics (35:44) Dana's "cup of water in an ocean" reframe (36:39) Where to find Craig and his book, Digital Overwhelm About Craig Mattson Craig Mattson is an organizational researcher and professor at Calvin University in the field of communication. His research centers on the vocational experience of rising professionals, particularly Gen Z and millennials, and the intensities and pressures of the American workplace across generations. He is the author of "Digital Overwhelm," built from interviews with dozens of rising working professionals about coping with digital-era work. Connect with him on LinkedIn, or read his writing at The Mode Switch. Favorite quotes "All our models are wrong and some of them are useful." —Craig Mattson "We have to become mindful of how our tools are shaping our work experience, and sometimes distorting our work experience." —Craig Mattson "It's possible that you can find a posture towards your work that's sustainable, even if your job does feel kind of empty." —Craig Mattson Resources mentioned "Digital Overwhelm," Craig's book, built from interviews with rising professionals about coping with digital-era work pressures Craig Mattson on LinkedIn The Mode Switch, Craig's blog Related episodes Signs of a Mismatched Career and How to Make a Change: more on Craig's exact question, should I quit if my job feels meaningless? Why Neurodiversity is Important in the Workplace: another look at what today's workplace owes every kind of employee. How Your Survival Brain is Sabotaging Your Happiness: pairs with Craig's take on coping with modern-day overwhelm. Subscribe & connect If this episode gave you something to sit with, follow Phoenix and Flame so you never miss an episode: all apps in one place, or jump straight to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube. And if it moved you, leave a review; it's the easiest way to help another listener find the show. Learn more about Phoenix and Flame, connect with Dana, and listen to more episodes here. Curious where your own boundaries stand? Take my free Work Boundaries Quiz: danaskaggs.com/quiz