Layoffs are rising, AI is being blamed, but the data doesn’t agree. Challenger reports the highest October cuts since 2003 with AI as the #2 reason, while Yale’s 33-month BLS analysis finds no real disruption in high-AI-exposure jobs. We break down the confusion, the “AI layoff boomerang,” and why companies still struggle to get actual ROI from AI.
Hosts:
Matt Sunbulli
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/
https://www.firstdraft.vc
Aaron Calafato
Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast
Leah Ova
Follow Leah on TikTok
Editorial:
Matt Sunbulli
Brooks Borden
Ken Wendt
Senior Audio Engineer:
Ken Wendt
Research:
Matt Sunbulli
Zaid Safe
Aaron Calafato
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19:16
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19:16
Job Seekers and the 9-9-6 Culture: How China’s Work Ethos Returned to Silicon Valley
A new trend is spreading through Silicon Valley’s AI startups as job seekers are being sold “hard mode” as a badge of honor. What began as a protest against overwork in China has quietly become a recruitment pitch in America, with some companies normalizing 80-hour weeks as proof of passion and purpose. In this episode, Aaron, Matt, and Leah unpack the rise of the 9-9-6 culture, the strange mix of ideology and ambition driving it, and whether burnout has become the new benchmark for success. Because if working nonstop is the future of innovation, who’s really winning?
Hosts:
Matt Sunbulli
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/
https://www.firstdraft.vc
Aaron Calafato
Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast
Leah Ova
Follow Leah on TikTok
Editorial:
Matt Sunbulli
Brooks Borden
Ken Wendt
Senior Audio Engineer:
Ken Wendt
Research:
Matt Sunbulli
Zaid Safe
Aaron Calafato
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23:23
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23:23
Forget the Job Hunt and Start a Company
Job searches are dragging on longer than ever with endless applications, ghosted interviews. Maybe it’s time to stop waiting for someone to hire you… and start hiring yourself.
This week, TLO cohost and serial entrepreneur Matt Sunbulli shares the mindset and the literal script for turning frustration into a startup idea. We talk about why job hunts have become endurance tests, the rise of accidental entrepreneurs, and what it really takes to make the leap from job seeker to founder.
Hosts:
Matt Sunbulli
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/
https://www.firstdraft.vc
Aaron Calafato
Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast
Leah Ova
Follow Leah on TikTok
Editorial:
Matt Sunbulli
Brooks Borden
Ken Wendt
Senior Audio Engineer:
Ken Wendt
Research:
Matt Sunbulli
Zaid Safe
Aaron Calafato
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26:19
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26:19
AT&T CEO’s Viral Memo Sparks Debate on Workplace Loyalty
In a recent memo AT&T's CEO declared the company had “shifted away” from employment elements rooted in loyalty. Chief Correspondent at Business Insider, Aki Ito, breaks down how the employment contract has collapsed and what “strategic loyalty” looks like when the relationship becomes purely transactional.
*Read Aki Ito's article about The Future of Loyalty
Hosts:
Matt Sunbulli
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/
https://www.firstdraft.vc
Aaron Calafato
Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast
Leah Ova
Follow Leah on TikTok
Editorial:
Matt Sunbulli
Brooks Borden
Ken Wendt
Senior Audio Engineer:
Ken Wendt
Research:
Matt Sunbulli
Zaid Safe
Aaron Calafato
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26:28
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26:28
We’re All Using AI — So Why Are We Still Whispering About It?
Everyone’s using AI. in therapy, at work, even at the doctor’s office. Yet, we still avoid talking about it. AI has become the invisible collaborator behind so much of modern life, but it remains taboo to mention at work and in most public settings. In this episode, we explore the culture lag between private use and public admission and ask: when will saying “I used AI for that” sound as normal as “I used Google”?
Hosts:
Matt Sunbulli
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/
https://www.firstdraft.vc
Aaron Calafato
Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast
Leah Ova
Follow Leah on TikTok
Editorial:
Matt Sunbulli
Brooks Borden
Ken Wendt
Senior Audio Engineer:
Ken Wendt
Research:
Matt Sunbulli
Zaid Safe
Aaron Calafato
Welcome to The Lonely Office, an award-winning podcast about making sense of the increasingly blurry line between work and life, brought to you by Glassdoor. We tackle real workplace stories from anonymous firsthand accounts—job ghosting, the truth behind unlimited PTO, nightmare bosses—and share insider advice on layoffs, severance, negotiations, and career moves. From candidates vaping in interviews to employees fired over free speech, we cover the wild reality of modern jobs. Whether you’re growing your career or simply a jobseeker hunting for an edge, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
TLO is hosted by Matt Sunbulli (serial tech entrepreneur, Founder @ Fishbowl and First Draft AI), Aaron Calafato (Storyteller, Narrative Designer & Content Strategist), and Leah Ova (content creator and advertising executive), with special appearances from industry thought leaders and economists.