Interview with Empower Work Founder, Jaime-Alexis Fowler
Have you ever faced a difficult situation at work, but not had anyone you could talk to about it? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. Nearly 85% of Americans don’t have the support they need at critical work moments. Empower Work, the latest addition to our Resources page, is on a mission to change that. Empower Work offers a free, text message-based hotline where workers can reach peer volunteers to get confidential support in times of need. Since many of the users and the peer volunteers are freelancers, we jumped at the chance to chat with Empower Work’s powerhouse founder, Jaime-Alexis Fowler, to understand more about how this important service can help the freelancing community.
What was your path to Empower Work and why did you decide to found this organization?
I often jokingly refer to myself as a recovering academic. Twenty years ago, my dream was to become a professor and combine my passion for understanding big questions with affecting change through teaching. But as I pursued a PhD, I saw the trajectory to impact much farther out than I wanted. I was eager to use my skills in a more immediate way. So, I left my PhD program and pivoted into work in the social change sector, leveraging my writing, communications, and people skills in a new career in marketing.
Throughout my career, I’ve been driven by big challenges that affect people’s health, well-being and economic opportunity. And passionate about healthy, equitable, and inclusive workplaces.
Launching and growing Empower Work is a natural extension of that. I started Empower Work because in a range of conversations I was doing individually I started to see the edge of a huge gap that was exacerbating inequality: 40M Americans at small businesses lack access to support at critical work moments. Without support, workers see a range of negative impacts that affect their emotional and economic wellbeing. I started Empower Work to change that.
What does Empower Work do?
Empower Work is a national nonprofit that builds healthier, more equitable workplaces in three key ways: 1) our text line provides free, confidential support for workers at vulnerable moments 2) our training helps volunteer peer counselors build professional skills in coaching-based workplace support (and we offer it for companies too) and 3) we surface data and stories than can inform larger structural change rooted in worker voice.
Who uses Empower Work? Does Empower Work support freelancers?
We predominantly support those who are less-resourced or less-represented and that includes workers like freelancers or gig workers who are often disassociated from traditional means of support. Over 76% of those who connect identify as women, about 54% identify as a person of color and 54% are in the first 10 years working. Overwhelmingly, people express financial constraint. And it makes sense - our jobs are central to our wellbeing emotionally and economically. When that’s on the line or there’s stress there, it has a ripple effect.
Who are the peer counselors? Are any of them freelancers?
Peer counselors are working professionals who come from all over the U.S. and the world! We have counselors who are coaches, chefs, trainers, UX designers, grocery clerks - it really spans quite a range and definitely freelancers! In fact, many volunteers who are freelancers enjoy the flexibility of volunteering to be able to fit into their schedule. What unites all of our volunteers: a strong value of empathy and desire to help others.
How can freelancers best support each other now?
Such a great question. One of my favorite answers for anyone and I think freelancers too: listen and get curious. We’re so programmed to listen for situations or facts that we often miss the emotions, values, and true needs of those around us. Deeply listening and then getting curious can be a game changer. By getting curious I mean, instead of asking questions to help someone solve something, get curious about what’s at stake for them and why that’s important. For instance, rather than saying to someone who has had a contract fall through, “Wow, that’s really hard, how are you going to fix it/find another client?” maybe “It sounds like you’re really worried about what the loss of this contract might mean for your relationship with this customer. What’s feeling hardest about that?” Asking open ended questions and reflecting with someone can be a gamechanger for them feeling truly heard and supported - and that’s more critical now than ever.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with our community?
We’re in such unprecedented terrain right now. As humans, we’re really not built to handle all of the uncertainty, strain, and information processing that we’re all going through with COVID and the current economic and political turmoil. It’s normal that all of this would be impacting how we’re showing up in life and in our work. It takes a lot of strength to recognize that need and reach out for help. No one should feel alone right now (and that’s one of the reasons Empower Work exists!).
How can we find Empower Work?
For anyone facing a tough situation at work and feeling unsure where to turn, text 510-674-1414 or start a chat at www.empowerwork.org. Free, confidential, immediate support from a trained peer counselor is just a few keystrokes away.
If you would like to help others who may be dealing with a work-related challenge, Empower Work is also accepting new peer volunteers. Sign up for their peer volunteer training here.
