In this Q&A, peer counselor Abby Swerin shares her experience volunteering with Empower Work and how it’s helped her through a transitional period in her life. 

This Q&A with an Empower Work peer counselor shares the unique perspective of one of our inspiring volunteers who started her Empower Work experience as a texter. Laura Combs works in direct service for a nonprofit and has a background in retail and food service.

Emilie, a volunteer at Empower Work, shares her story about her experience as a peer counselor and why she decided to volunteer. Emilie works in the media industry as a journalist and editor. Having been in difficult situations at work herself, Emilie wanted to learn the ways in which you can support people in similar situations.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our volunteers at Empower Work have been supporting workers who reach out with worries of health & safety, the stress of going back to in-office environments, and existing work challenges. We have listed the top 3 ways that our peer counselors have supported workers during COVID-19.

“There are many reasons to volunteer. Perhaps you want to give back to the community, had a positive experience with Empower Work, or are interested in this field of work. Maybe you are interested in the organization, want to find a good way to use your time, or want to develop yourself in a certain area. I think these are all valid reasons to volunteer. If you are interested, I would say go for it! It is worth it. I believe this is a noble way to impact someone’s life, as well as develop yourself in new ways.”

I know first-hand that having someone in your corner can make navigating tough work situations feel much less isolating and overwhelming. I see Empower Work’s mission as a key component to making workplaces more equitable by providing free, accessible, judgement-free support to people regardless of background or industry.

Volunteering can be a powerful way to give back and gain new skills. Val Sanders, Empower Work’s Director of Training and Volunteers chatted with Keya T., one of Empower Work’s master peer counselors, about how she’s grown personally and professionally since she began helping people on the Empower Work text line.

What a Peer Counselor has to say about their experience with Empower Work: While in a role researching tools and apps to improve interpersonal relationships in the workplace, I discovered Empower Work and was immediately drawn to their peer counselor training program. My initial interest in volunteering was to help others through tough experiences at work via active listening and empathy.

Their top learnings that have benefitted me as both a volunteer, and a professional:

• Avoid heaping on “advice”  

• Be empathetic and make it about them, not you!

• Compose open-ended, thoughtful questions that empower the texter to build their solution

• Use the resources provided, no matter how long you have been a peer counselor

• Identify what is really bothering the texter and ensure you identify their ideal outcome

• Get to know peer counselors and support staff, they are an inspiring group of people!

In addition to supporting texters, my experience with Empower Work helped me down a path of self-discovery, expanding my self worth beyond my job. This journey also helped me forgive, laugh, and move on from a toxic work relationship—freeing me from the unhealthy impact this can impose.

Chris, one of our incredible volunteers, has generously chosen to share their story about reaching out to Empower Work as a texter. In this post they explore what the outcome was, and how it has changed they way they think about work.

Their issue: “I had just started a new job in a new industry and basically did a really bad job negotiating. I didn’t realize how much it was bothering me until a couple of months in. I feel like I struggle with salary a lot in several directions. Money should not be the way that people are valued. But also, in the world today, salary unfortunately represents the way your work is valued. I was struggling with feeling like my work wasn’t valued or respected.”