Making Work Better: Employment Law & Workplace Challenges

Making Work Better explores employment law, business issues, and workplace challenges through personal narratives and legal commentary. Our employment attorney experts and their guests discuss everything from new laws and human resources challenges to launching a small business or forging a unique career path. As the flagship program of The Prinz Law Firm in Chicago, this podcast will not feature legal advice—just conversations that help us all to make work better, regardless of our role. You might remember Making Work Better as "Tales from Around the Watercooler." We rebranded to better reflect the employment focus of our content. Learn about the firm and its work at https://www.prinz-lawfirm.com.

Ep. 42 – What It Really Takes to Have a Healthy Workplace Culture, with Michelle Aronson 11/14/2025

Ep. 42 – What It Really Takes to Have a Healthy Workplace Culture, with Michelle Aronson Many business leaders think that a healthy workplace culture is important, but they don’t always know what it takes to have one. Some companies may simply restate their values at every annual meeting and call it a day. Others may not know what their culture looks like at all. Improving the health of your workplace isn’t a one-and-done thing—for as long as your company remains open, learning what is and isn’t working must be an ongoing process. Business counselor Kristen Prinz is joined by Michelle Aronson, founder of Culture + Strategy Lab and host of the True Stories at Work podcast, to dive into what it really takes to bring your workplace culture to life. By sharing real scenarios that business clients have navigated, our hosts provide insight into the link between the strength of a company’s culture and its response when something goes wrong. Michelle and Kristen explore: · Whether culture can be measured accurately with quantitative metrics · The responsibilities that both leadership and employees have in creating company culture · The root causes of most culture issues · The link between employee engagement and customer engagement · How our personal biases cloud our ability to assess claims of workplace harassment · What companies with the strongest cultures are doing to invest in their health If you’re aware of problems that exist in your work environment and aren’t sure how to respond—or if you want to learn how to identify problems before they arise—this episode will be well worth the listen. About Michelle Aronson Michelle Aronson is a recovering HR executive, executive coach, and business school professor turned founder of Culture + Strategy Lab. She helps growing companies turn culture into a competitive advantage—using real strategy, not fluff. Michelle once managed both employee and customer experience (a.k.a. half of the CEO’s bonus) and learned firsthand how to uncover the invisible forces shaping culture and driving results. Today, she designs custom, measurable strategies that align leadership, culture, and business outcomes. She also hosts True Stories at Work—a podcast sharing the best leadership stories you’ve never heard, from hilarious to heartbreaking, plus a few workplace confessions. Stay Connected and Learn More Connect with Michelle on Check out /episode/index/show/atwcpodcast/id/39039985

Ep. 41 - Managing Misconduct the Right Way 10/31/2025

Ep. 40 – Navigating Recent Workplace Trends, with Beth Ridley 09/24/2025

Ep. 40 – Navigating Recent Workplace Trends, with Beth Ridley It’s no secret that the American workplace is constantly changing. The last few years alone have witnessed major trends, from “job hugging” and a focus on mental health at work to Gen Z entering the labor force amidst a backlash against DEI initiatives. Such shifts have left business leaders struggling to navigate their new reality in a way that promotes business, inspires employees, and makes us all feel better about our jobs. Business attorney Katie Rinkus welcomes Beth Ridley, a workplace culture consultant and the CEO of Ridley Consulting Group, to dissect these various workplace trends, explaining their effects on businesses and employees alike. Together, they shine a light on how some leaders have responded to new trends—and it’s not always for the better. Often, businesses have “over-rotated,” or dramatically course-corrected in ways that have had toxic effects on company culture. In this episode, Katie and Beth explore: The new focus on productivity as opposed to a “culture of belonging” What a “belonging” looks like and why it’s important at work · Over-rotation vs. a “both/and” long-term sustainable approach to change The underlying factors of the “leadership trust crisis” How workplace trends like “quiet quitting” and “job hugging” affect employee morale Questions that leaders can ask themselves about the impact of their work What it means to prioritize “workplace emotional safety” Generational tension at work and ways to manage it If you’re an employee who feels overwhelmed by the uncertainty of the current climate, Beth and Katie provide a new perspective. If you’re a business leader feeling the same, this episode offers insight on how to sustainably respond to the changes and still reach desired results. Tune in for a few tips on problem-solving, even when you don’t have all the answers. Beth Ridley Beth Ridley is a former corporate executive turned workplace culture consultant, speaker, author, and CEO of Ridley Consulting Group. She helps organizations turn culture into a true competitive advantage. Drawing on 25 years of global leadership and management consulting experience—and expertise in change management and positive psychology—Beth equips HR teams and people managers with practical roadmaps and tools to build resilient, change-ready, high-performing teams without burning people out. A recognized thought leader on leadership and workplace culture, Beth’s insights are featured in national publications, on television, and from stages at events worldwide. Beth holds degrees from the University of Virginia, Tufts University, and Columbia University, and has lived in London, Tokyo, Johannesburg, and Bangkok. She now calls Milwaukee, Wisconsin home, where she lives with her husband and three children. Stay connected and learn more Follow Join Visit Beth’s Read Beth’s article, “” Learn more about Visit /episode/index/show/atwcpodcast/id/38339860

Ep. 39 – Finding Your Values—and Why They Matter at Work, with Suzy Welch 08/22/2025

Ep. 39 – Finding Your Values—and Why They Matter at Work, with Suzy Welch In this thought-provoking episode, employment and business attorney Kristen Prinz speaks with NYU Stern School of Business professor, bestselling author, and podcast host Suzy Welch to discuss her book Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career. An outgrowth of years of research into human values, Becoming You clarifies what values really are—and what they’re not—and helps readers better understand themselves and what makes them more authentically happy by finding their “area of transcendence.” Our values influence countless aspects of our lives, from the relationships we form with others to how we approach our work. But when our work is out of sync with our values, it can lead not only to personal distress, but to toxic team dynamics, misunderstanding, and all-around negativity. So how does one get back on track? Suzy suggests the difficult task of identifying an overarching purpose, or “area of transcendence.” It isn’t necessarily simple work—in fact, it can be downright intimidating. But by making it easier to identify our values, Suzy’s work aims to give readers the understanding and agency they need to craft a life that truly fulfills them. In this episode, Kristen and Suzy explore: · How Suzy’s career path influenced the creation of the Becoming You methodology · Telling the difference between values and virtues or personality traits · The development of the Values Bridge, Suzy’s test for determining one’s core values · Reasons why we might not be living our values · What it means to live an “A+ life” and why so many people settle for a “B+ life” · How an authentic life impacts team dynamics at work Whether you’re looking to find work that’s aligned with your values, to improve the culture of your workplace, or simply want to live more authentically, Suzy’s book is required reading. Dip your toe into the world of human values by listening to this episode—and take the first step toward positive change. Stay Connected & Learn More: /episode/index/show/atwcpodcast/id/37921840

Ep. 38 – High Rank, High Risk: Harassment in Executive Spaces 07/29/2025

Ep. 37 – Social Media & Workplace Harassment: The Lively-Baldoni Dispute 06/24/2025

Ep. 36 – Employment Law Changes Under Trump: The First 100 Days 05/28/2025

Ep. 35 – Mental Health & Non-Competes in Illinois 05/02/2025

Ep. 34 – Why Did We Join an Amicus Brief Challenging an Executive Order? 04/04/2025

Ep. 33 – Turning Workplace Conflict into Opportunity with Amy M. Gardner 03/26/2025

Ep. 33 – Turning Workplace Conflict into Opportunity with Amy M. Gardner Business attorney Katie Rinkus welcomes Amy M. Gardner to the mic to discuss common ways they see conflict show up in the workplace. Amy is a certified Career and Career Transitions Coach and Team Development and Leadership Consultant and the co-owner of Apochromatik, which offers team and leadership development programs to help organizations resolve conflict and reach their goals. One of the primary causes of conflict in the workplace is a poor culture: there is a lack of vulnerability-based trust that leads people to feel undervalued and unable to speak up or to ask for help. Conflict is also commonly seen in the hiring and onboarding process. Sometimes decisions to hire are rushed, job duties are not what were originally promised, and communication is simply unclear. Because culture issues, lack of communication, and conflict can, as Amy says, “cost money and happiness,” it’s important for organizations to address these issues. Ongoing training—not just for management but for entire teams—can help things run more smoothly no matter the conflict flashpoint, especially when a team is trained on navigating difficult conversations. Join Katie and Amy as they unpack conflict at work and how to best respond to it so that we all can make work better for each other. Amy M. Gardner Amy M. Gardner works with law firms and corporations to reengage teams and help them thrive by utilizing Apochromatik’s proprietary Team Driven Leadership approach to build leadership skills, improve relationships, strengthen emotional intelligence, have difficult conversations, and more. She also works with lawyers to advance or transition in their careers. Her work with teams and lawyers draws on her unique experience as a former Big Law associate, partner at a mid-size Chicago firm, and dean of students at the University of Chicago Law School. She received her MA in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, JD from the University of Chicago, and BA from Luther College, as well as certifications in team and leadership coaching, 1:1 coaching, and various assessments. Her expertise has been featured in media including numerous podcasts, ABA publications, Corporette, Glassdoor, Health, Monster, NBC, and Women’s Running magazine. Connect with Amy at . Stay Connected & Learn More: /episode/index/show/atwcpodcast/id/35875900