S7E25 Who Are You Without Your Job Title?
Fri Jan 30 2026
From the moment we enter the education system, we’re sorted into lanes- science kid, commerce kid, arts kid. Soon after, those lanes turn into job titles. Banker. Engineer. Marketer. Manager.But what happens when the role disappears? When layoffs hit, when AI reshapes work, when burnout creeps in, or when the identity you carried for years no longer fits?In this episode of Small Talk: Work, Play, Build- Subha and Hasita unpack the uneasy truth many of us are sitting with: how deeply our sense of self is tied to work, and why learning to decentre our job title might be the most important career skill of the next decade.This is a conversation about career fluidity, loyalty, burnout, sabbaticals, parallel identities, and the courage it takes to ask a hard question: who am I beyond what I do?00:00 Highlights01:33 Why career identity feels so fixed04:50 Education, labels, and early narrowing07:40 Losing old identities and adopting new ones10:30 Layoffs, AI, and roles disappearing14:00 Long hours, 9-9-6 culture, and lack of real choice18:05 Loyalty, pressure, and parallel identities23:50 Burnout, boundaries, and learning to disconnect33:20 Decentring work without throwing it away41:28 Read | Watch | Listen--------------------Small Talk: Work, Play, Build is the latest season of Small Talk. As a business podcast in its fifth year of production now, we look forward to having many conversations with you on what it means to live a life that feels true to each of us, both at work and outside of it. 📅 New episodes every fortnight📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smalltalk_wpb🌐 Website: https://www.smalltalkpod.com📩 Media enquiries: smalltalkpod.wpb@gmail.comCopyright © Rainkraft Creative Solutions (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. No segment of this episode or its accessories may be reproduced for commercial use without explicit written permission from the creators.Small Talk: Work, Play, Build Subha Chandrasekaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhachandrasekaran/) Hasita Krishna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasita/) ---------------------If you made it this far, thank you for being such an ardent supporter! Please send us a DM on Instagram to claim your Small Talk goodie. :)
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From the moment we enter the education system, we’re sorted into lanes- science kid, commerce kid, arts kid. Soon after, those lanes turn into job titles. Banker. Engineer. Marketer. Manager.But what happens when the role disappears? When layoffs hit, when AI reshapes work, when burnout creeps in, or when the identity you carried for years no longer fits?In this episode of Small Talk: Work, Play, Build- Subha and Hasita unpack the uneasy truth many of us are sitting with: how deeply our sense of self is tied to work, and why learning to decentre our job title might be the most important career skill of the next decade.This is a conversation about career fluidity, loyalty, burnout, sabbaticals, parallel identities, and the courage it takes to ask a hard question: who am I beyond what I do?00:00 Highlights01:33 Why career identity feels so fixed04:50 Education, labels, and early narrowing07:40 Losing old identities and adopting new ones10:30 Layoffs, AI, and roles disappearing14:00 Long hours, 9-9-6 culture, and lack of real choice18:05 Loyalty, pressure, and parallel identities23:50 Burnout, boundaries, and learning to disconnect33:20 Decentring work without throwing it away41:28 Read | Watch | Listen--------------------Small Talk: Work, Play, Build is the latest season of Small Talk. As a business podcast in its fifth year of production now, we look forward to having many conversations with you on what it means to live a life that feels true to each of us, both at work and outside of it. 📅 New episodes every fortnight📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smalltalk_wpb🌐 Website: https://www.smalltalkpod.com📩 Media enquiries: smalltalkpod.wpb@gmail.comCopyright © Rainkraft Creative Solutions (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. No segment of this episode or its accessories may be reproduced for commercial use without explicit written permission from the creators.Small Talk: Work, Play, Build Subha Chandrasekaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhachandrasekaran/) Hasita Krishna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasita/) ---------------------If you made it this far, thank you for being such an ardent supporter! Please send us a DM on Instagram to claim your Small Talk goodie. :)