Innovators & Disruptors: Aparna Rae: We’re Sick at Work – and Why This Matters

Apr 15

Kristine Michie - PlayFull Podcast Interview - Aparna Rae

Innovators & Disruptors: Aparna Rae: We’re Sick at Work – and Why This Matters

In this episode, Kristine Michie talks with Aparna Rae to unpack systems shaping modern work—and why people feel exhausted and disillusioned. From the language of “joy” being co-opted by institutions to normalized burnout, she challenges the idea that workplace dysfunction is accidental.

She reframes work as more than a place for earning and productivity, calling it a training ground where people are conditioned to accept surveillance, hierarchy, and authoritarian dynamics. Through critique and lived experience, she exposes contradictions within philanthropy, leadership, and “progressive” spaces that fail to bring justice.

She also offers a path—rooted not in nostalgia, but in the courage to reimagine something better. Through collective action and a new relationship to labor, she invites listeners to see joy not as decoration, but as evidence of justice taking root.

Key Takeaways:

Treating seriousness as the only form of professionalism strips work of humanity and makes justice work harder to sustain.
“Joy” is often used as branding by institutions that fail to deliver material change, especially around wages and benefits.
Nostalgia for a “better past” often reflects privilege, overlooking harm experienced by marginalized groups.
Workplaces condition people to accept authoritarianism, surveillance, and class hierarchy.
Transforming work is essential to protecting democracy, as people cannot practice freedom in society if they are denied it at work.
Real change requires collective organizing, boundary-setting, and letting go of the belief that progress comes without personal cost.
Burnout is not a badge of honor, but a signal that systems are broken.
Joy is not superficial; it is a practice tied to building a more just and livable future.

"Nothing changes unless we're willing to change our relationship to work. And we have to stop being proud of how tired we are, how burnt out we are." — Aparna Rae

"I would say the real practice of joy is re being able to reimagine a future and taking actions to actually make that a reality." — Aparna Rae

"The invitation is to be honest with yourself. The invitation is to think about what's possible, not just for you, but for everybody else that's on this planet." — Aparna Rae

Episode References:

Circle Back Club – https://circleback.club
We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite - https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-have-never-been-woke-the-cultural-contradictions-of-a-new-elite-musa-al-gharbi/34b76557eb96d043
What Your Comfort Costs Us: How Women of Color Reimagine Leadership to Transform Workplace Culture - https://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Comfort-Costs-Leadership/dp/B0D9JFX13W

More About Aparna Rae:

Aparna Rae is a leader and advocate focused on advancing equity and transforming workplace culture. With experience across philanthropy, nonprofits, and tech, her work sits at the intersection of social impact and organizational change.

As host of Circle Back Club, she worked with over 60 organizations to shift more than $300 million in grantmaking toward BIPOC-led and Global South organizations. She has also contributed to the tech sector as a product lead and advisor, including developing India’s first online teacher education platform, Firki.

Aparna co-founded Future for Us, supporting 20,000 women of color across multiple cities, and has led initiatives that resulted in millions in pay increases for frontline workers. She continues to advise mission-driven organizations and advocate for more equitable systems of work.

Connect with Aparna Rae:

Website: https://www.aparnarae.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/appyrae

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparnarae/

Connect with Kristine:

Website: https://www.impactfullinc.co m/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impactfull_inc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristine-breese-michie/

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