Work. Shouldnt. Suck.

Co-hosts Tim Cynova and Lauren Ruffin explore stories, strategies, and approaches to make work not suck. During conversations with guests, they unpack workplace assumptions and “conventional wisdom” to reimagine what thriving futures can look like... for everyone. They dive into the messy intersection of how workplace policies, practices, programs, and language can be racist, oppressive, and perpetuate harm. By asking, “How might we co-create places that center equity, inclusion, and justice?” they sketch out practical approaches for how people can re-imagine this work in their organizations. Whether this be in discussing grieving in the workplace, sharing leadership and power, crafting hybrid or fully distributed workplaces that don’t turn homes into toxic workplaces, their conversations are timely and topical. They connect current events to approaches for recruitment and hiring; recognition and engagement; building psychologically safe environments; how to help teams engage in healthy conflict; creating alignment, accountability, and transparency across teams and organizations; and so much more.

ABOUT THE CO-HOSTS Tim Cynova (SPHR) is Principal of Work. Shouldn’t. Suck., a management consulting firm specializing in HR and human-centered organizational design. Whether it's through shared leadership explorations or alternative workplace arrangements, re-imagining recruitment and hiring processes to center equity and inclusion or decolonizing workplaces policies, practices, and programs, WSS is focused on helping companies co-create places where everyone can thrive. Tim is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a trained mediator. He serves on the faculty of Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity (Banff, Canada) and The New School (New York City) teaching courses in People-Centric Organizational Design and Strategic HR. In August 2021, he concluded a 12-year tenure leading Fractured Atlas, a non-profit technology company and the largest association of independent artists in the U.S., where he served in both the COO and Co-CEO roles (part of a four-person, shared, non-hierarchical leadership team), and was deeply involved in its work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization since they made this commitment in 2013. Earlier in his career, Tim was the Executive Director of The Parsons Dance Company and of High 5 Tickets to the Arts in New York City, had a memorable stint with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was a one-time classical trombonist, musicologist, and for five years in his youth he delivered newspapers for the Evansville, Indiana Courier-Press. Also, during a particularly slow summer, he bicycled 3,902 miles across the United States. Lauren Ruffin is a thinker, designer, & leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems & organizations. She's into exploring how we can leverage new technologies to combat racial and economic injustice. As part of this work, she frequently participates in conversations on circular economies, social impact financing, solidarity movements, and innovative, non-extractive financing mechanisms. Lauren is a co-founder of CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). Lauren is currently the interim Chief Marketing Officer of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focuses on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was Co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. She has served on the governing board of Black Girls Code and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science...