Let Go, Choose Your Word & Set Achievable Goals in 2026.

What if you could approach the new year without all the pressure? In this episode, I'm sharing Part 1 of a gentle, science-backed approach to setting intentions that actually work.

Before you listen: 👉 Download your FREE New Year Reset workbook: workmuse.com/bestself

When you sign up, you'll get the complete workbook with all 5 exercises plus a bonus, and email guidance, with flexibility and on your timeline.

In Episode 59, you'll learn:

Day 1: What to Leave Behind

• A powerful camera roll exercise to reflect on the past year
• How to decide what no longer serves you (without judgment)
• How to identify the "rocks in your backpack" to release what's holding you back

Day 2: Choose Your Word of the Year

• Why one word is more powerful than multiple resolutions
• How to choose between words of reflection, change, or connection
• Real examples from my past Word of the Years and those who've joined our reset the past three years 💡

Day 3: Setting Achievable Goals

• The SMARTER framework that actually works
• Why most people fail (they forget the HOW)
• 5 goal-setting mistakes to avoid, and how to break goals into micro-actions

Why this matters: The past year has felt rough—from economic and political uncertainty, to AI disruption and job market challenges. When everything external feels chaotic, the most powerful thing you can do is center yourself internally.

Pro Tip: Save episodes 59 & 60 to work through all five exercises (and the bonus ✨) on your timeline.

Resources:

• FREE Workbook
• Facebook Community
• Connect on LinkedIn

Coming in Part 2: James Clear's habit method, manifestation science, and Ikigai for career purpose.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/59

Send Melissa a Text Message.

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“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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70% of women who took career breaks struggle with decreased confidence when trying to re-enter.

Add in ageism, the motherhood penalty, and AI screening resumes? People are hitting their heads against the wall in this brutal job market.

But what if you could bypass the nail-biting interviews altogether?

Here's job sharing's best-kept secret for career relaunches: Find your partner FIRST. Have them pitch you as a team. Get built-in mentorship as you upskill on the job—like an old-school apprenticeship.

Instead of explaining resume gaps and competing against uninterrupted work histories, you're partnering with someone already valued and trusted. You're offering a high-performing team, not asking for a chance.

In episode 58:

• Why relaunches are harder than ever (ageism + AI HR + motherhood penalty)
• The confidence crisis no one's talking about
• 👩🏽‍💻 5 strategic moves for mothers relaunching or transitioning careers
• 💡 The alternative path: Partner first, bypass interviews, upskill together
• Why this is my absolute favorite way to start job sharing
• 🎉 Series wrap-up: Making sure you're not part of the exodus

Here's the genius: You're likely coming in for a final-round interview with your partner in the room. An all-star employee vouching for you. Faster upskilling than starting solo. A personal cheerleader and built-in mentor.

You're not starting at a disadvantage. Your success is their success.

This wraps our 7-part series. When we started: 212K women left in first 7 months of 2025. ❌ October BLS data: 450,000 have left. 😵 Understanding how to make sure you're not one of them is critical.

Featured Research:

• Fortune analysis on the mother's workforce exodus
• Mom Relaunch
• iRelaunch

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide ✅
• Transitioning or relaunching? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community

Nearly all job sharers create their own arrangements. You can too. Believe you can and put a plan into place.

2026, watch out! It's time to make all our dreams come true—yours and mine.🥂 🥳

Episode Website: workmuse.com/58
Transcript: workmuse.com/58transcript

Send Melissa a Text Message.

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Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

75% of family caregivers are women—and it's daughters carrying the burden. They lose $300,000 on average in lifetime earnings.

This one is deeply personal. My mom came into my care with Alzheimer's overnight during the 2021 snowpocalypse. Nearly five years in, and here's what I've learned: Without accessible eldercare support, your day can turn on a moment's notice. And it's a much harder, colder push than even the motherhood penalty.

Family caregivers provide 21.9 hours of care per week—a second job on top of your full-time job. Alzheimer's caregivers? We provide 1-4 years MORE care than other illnesses, often 5+ years.

There's a Rosalynn Carter quote I think about often: "There are only four kinds of people: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers."

This will touch all of us.

In episode 57:

• The sobering statistics (I check every box)
• Why federal support falls dramatically short
• What employers are doing—and what they're failing at
• 5 strategies sandwich generation caregivers are using to survive
• 💡 How job sharing lets dual caregivers keep Senior/Director/C-Suite jobs
• My truth: How job sharing skills saved me when diagnosis came

Here's what changed everything: You CAN keep your demanding career and care for aging parents—WITH a job share partner to hand over the baton so you can schedule appointments and handle care needs. Built-in flexibility without constant negotiating.

When we started this series: 212K women left. ❌ October data: 450,000. 😵 Eldercare is a significant part of this crisis.

Featured Research & Organizations that Support Caregivers:

• National Alliance for Caregiving statistics
• Hilarity for Charity
  Parenting Aging Parents
  Caring Across Generations

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide
• Sandwich generation ? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community

One gender is not more suited to provide care than another—it's about damn time we unsocialize that.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/57
Transcript: workmuse.com/57transcript

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

Mothers earn 15% less per child under 5. They're 6x less likely to be recommended for hire. And 8.2x less likely to be promoted.

This isn't about capability—it's about the "maternal wall" bias that assumes mothers can't possibly be both good mothers and good employees.

What if there was a way to bypass this penalty entirely—to keep your demanding career, maintain your promotion trajectory, and still be present for your kids?

In this episode, I'm exposing why the motherhood penalty persists despite decades of progress—and sharing my personal story of how job sharing let me avoid it completely.

In episode 56:

• The real cost: $300,000+ in lifetime earnings lost
• Why the penalty hits hardest during crucial early career years
• The "ideal worker" model that was never built for mothers
• 👩🏽‍💻 3 things mothers can do to combat the penalty (document your value!)
• 📈 4 things employers must do (anti-bias training + salary transparency)
• 💡 How job sharing bypasses the penalty in 5 specific ways
• 💵 My personal story: How I kept my 24/7 media job without downshifting—and it ignited my career

Here's what most people don't understand: Job sharing isn't working part-time in a reduced role. It's restructuring a full-time position to fit your life. And 70%+ of job share teams are promoted together—often faster than solo workers.

Featured Research:

• TIME: "How to Address the Crisis for Working Moms"
• McKinsey Report: "Women in the Workplace"
• National Alliance for Caregiving

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide
• Facing the motherhood penalty? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community

The motherhood penalty costs women enormously. But you don't have to accept it. Job sharing showed me another way—and it's available to you too.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/56
Transcript: workmuse.com/56transcript

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

76% of workers are more stressed than two years ago. 50% of working women report deteriorating mental health.

And here's what should make you furious: The #1 cause of burnout isn't personal issues—it's unmanageable workloads.

What if everything your employer is offering—the wellness stipends, the meditation apps, the mental health days—is treating symptoms while ignoring the disease?

Three-quarters are saying "thanks, but no thanks."

In this episode, I'm calling out why workers say their employer's mental health resources aren't helping—and showing you why job sharing is mental health infrastructure, not just another flexible work option.

In episode 55:

• Why women are driving 70% of all mental health leaves
• The data employers don't want to face about their "solutions"
• What Fair Play is—and why job sharing is like the work version that flows into your home
• 3 things employers should actually do (hint: protect time for deep work)
• 5 ways job sharing fundamentally supports mental health (hint: 4 consecutive days off every week)
• 💡 Why 96% of job sharers report the flexibility they need vs.~70% for other flexible work practices
• My truth: I never felt burnout while job sharing. Never.

Here's what blew my mind: Job sharing doesn't just change how you work—it organically changes how you parent and partner at home. You learn to give up control, trust your partner's way, and share the mental load without fighting about it.

Featured Research:

• McKinsey: 76% of workers more stressed than 2 years ago
• Deloitte: 50% of working women report higher stress
• Lyra Health: 65% say employer mental health resources don't help
• The Job Share Project: 96% report work-life balance flexibility

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide
• Feeling the burnout? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community

If you're barely holding it together right now—this episode is for you. Real solutions, not band-aids.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/55
Transcript: workmuse.com/55transcript

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

The average full-time daycare now costs $15,000+ per child annually. For families with two kids, that's more than rent or mortgage in most states.

And here's what's breaking my heart: Women who built businesses from the ground up are returning to corporate jobs just to afford childcare—keeping their businesses as side hustles. Entrepreneurs forced to pause their dreams because the math doesn't work.

What if there was a way to cut childcare costs by 40% while keeping your full-time career trajectory—benefits, promotions, and all?

In this episode, I'm exposing the childcare funding cliff that's forcing impossible choices—and showing you how job sharing makes care affordable while accelerating your career.

In episode 54:

• Why the $24 billion federal funding cliff changed everything in September 2024
• The heartbreaking math: when earning $90K means taking home barely more than childcare costs
• 📊 How 6-month childcare waitlists are making it impossible to return to work
• 👩🏽‍💻 3 things employers can do (on-site care = 7.4x higher retention!)
• 📈 3 strategic moves for working mothers facing impossible childcare costs
• 💡 How job sharers cut childcare costs by 40%—only needing 3 days of care
• 💵 The promotion math: When your job share gets a 20% raise, here's what happens to your take-home

Here's the thing: You're not just working part-time for less money. You're in a full-time position with full benefits, and 70%+ of job share teams are promoted together. Let me run those numbers for you.

Featured Research:

• U.S. Department of Labor Analysis on childcare costs
• SHRM Report: Employers with on-site care have 7.4x higher retention
• TIME Magazine: "Why So Many Women Are Quitting the Workforce"

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide
• Share your childcare struggles 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community

This episode resonates deeply with so many in my audience. Share it with a friend facing the same concerns—they'll see a path forward they might not have considered.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/54
Transcript: workmuse.com/54transcript

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

Didn't think the Tradwife Movement would make its way to U.S. workplaces? It's here. Here's what we can do about it.

Half of Americans want a return to traditional gender roles. But here's the breakdown that should worry you: 60% of men vs. 40% of women. That's a 20-point gender gap—and it's affecting your workplace whether you realize it or not.

What if the tradwife trend isn't just TikTok noise—what if it's quietly undermining your career advancement, normalizing sexism at work, and making "mom guilt" even worse?

In this episode, I'm unpacking how cultural shifts toward traditional gender roles are pushing women out of the workforce—and why job sharing is one of the most powerful tools to fight back with real equity at work AND home.

In episode 53:

• The polling data that reveals the gender divide (Gen Z gap: 19 points!)
• Why the tradwife movement is gaining traction—and the 5 forces driving it
• 4 major ways this cultural shift is affecting your workplace right now
• 👩🏽‍💻 3 things employers can do to combat these shifts and keep women in leadership
• 📈 3 strategic moves for working mothers navigating cultural pressure
• 💡 The secret hidden benefit of job sharing: organic gender equality at home (without fighting about it)
• My personal story of how job sharing with a 6-month-old changed everything—including my marriage dynamics

Here's what blew my mind: When you job share at work, you start applying the practice everywhere—trusting your partner to parent their way, giving up control, sharing the mental load. It happens naturally, without the friction.

Could job sharing be the secret weapon to render the Tradwife Movement impotent?

Featured Research:

• Most Men Want a Return to Traditional Gender Roles, but Women Aren't So Sure, The 19th*(September 2025)
• McKinsey "Women in the Workplace" Report
• "American Women Are Leaving the Work Force. Why?" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times
• Eve Rodsky's "Fair Play" framework

Resources:

• FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide
• What are your thoughts? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn or leave a voice memo
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community: Job Share, Live Life + Slay Work

As a feminist and gender equity champion, this episode is personal. The world feels unstable right now, but understanding how cultural shifts affect us means we can meet the challenge while elevating women in the workplace.

Episode Website: workmuse.com/53
Transcript:

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌

212,000 women left the workforce in the first 7 months of 2025. That's not a typo—that's a crisis.

And here's the kicker: White men with "care privilege" are the ones making RTO decisions that are pushing mothers out.

What if the flexibility you fought for during the pandemic is being ripped away—and taking your career with it? In this series premiere, I'm exposing why return-to-office mandates jumped 85% in just six months—and how job sharing offers a solution that actually works, even if your employer is demanding 5 days in-office.

In episode 52:

• Why 212K women left and what it means for YOUR economic security
• The 7 challenges driving this exodus (we'll tackle all of them in this series)
• 📊 The data employers are ignoring about RTO and retention
• 🥴 The impossible trade-off mothers face: career progression OR family time
• 👩🏽‍💻 3 things employers can do to stop the bleeding of female talent
• 📈 3 strategic moves for working mothers navigating RTO mandates
• 💡 Why job sharing works even with full-time in-office requirements
• 💵 How much 3 days of commuting vs. 5 really saves you

Here's the thing: The vast majority of job sharers create their own arrangements—you don't have to wait for permission. And over 70% of job share teams are promoted together. 👈 Read that again.

We can't afford to wait. With job sharing, you don't have to. You create your own path—with a partner, not AI.

Featured Research:

• "Why So Many Women Are Quitting the Workforce" by Alana Semuels, TIME
• "Burned Out at Work? Find Someone to Split Your Job 50-50 With You" by Alana Semuels, TIME
• "American Women Are Leaving the Work Force. Why?" by Jessica Grose, The New York Times
• "How to Address the Crisis for Working Moms" in TIME
• KPMG Working Parents Survey (February 2025)
• The Flex Index Fortune 500 data

Resources:

• Grab your FREE Guide to Job Sharing 👉 workmuse.com/guide ✅
• What are your thoughts? 🤔 DM me on LinkedIn or leave me a voice memo
• Join Work Muse Facebook Community: Job Share, Live Life + Slay Work ✅

Send Melissa a Text Message.

RATE, REVIEW & FOLLOW ON APPLE PODCASTS

Thank you for supporting my bootstrapped social good business and mission!

“I love Melissa and Jobshare Revolution.” <– If that sounds like you, please consider leaving me a 5⭐ rating and review! Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate 5⭐ , and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. This helps me support more people—just like you—to find true work-life balance. 🙌🙌