Episode 11. Stigmatized social identities & unwritten rules in the workplace with Dr. Anna Kallschmidt
Episode Description
Our workplaces have rules that nobody wrote down. Norms about how to communicate, how to navigate conflict, how to ask for things, how to signal competence – and they're largely invisible to the people who grew up with them. For workers navigating a class shift, or who are neurodivergent, these unwritten rules aren't just invisible. They're a persistent source of confusion, frustration, and penalty.
In this episode, Hannah talks with Dr. Anna Kallschmidt – IO psychologist, consultant, and author of the book Unwritten Rules of Work – about social class and neurodivergence as stigmatized and overlooked workplace identities, the hidden curriculum of professional life, and why the stakes of getting this wrong are getting higher in the age of AI.
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Music: “Feel Good (Instrumental Version)” by PØW via Epidemic Sound
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Find Dr. Kallschmidt (and her book, The Unwritten Rules of Work: Social Class and Neurodivergent Identities) at https://drkallschmidt.com/
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Notes and References
Note: Hannah mistakenly said "the Herzberg model” when mentioning dimensions of culture. The framework she was referring to is Geert Hofstede's dimensions of national culture.
Hofstede, G. (1983). National cultures in four dimensions: A research-based theory of cultural differences among nations. International Studies of Management & Organization, 13(1/2), 46–74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40396953
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Note: the term "hidden curriculum" was coined by sociologist Philip W. Jackson in this 1968 work, originally in reference to schools; Dr. Kallschmidt's work and research applies the concept to workplace settings.
Jackson, P. W. (1968). Life in classrooms. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Things mentioned while discussing AI:
Cheng, M., Lee, C., Khadpe, P., Yu, S., Han, D., & Jurafsky, D. (2026). Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence. Science, 391(6792), eaec8352. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aec8352
Dastin, J. (2018, October 10). Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight/amazon-scraps-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women-idUSKCN1MK08G