Get your groove back, stronger and wiser.
A “difficult” work experience is much more than just that. It can knock you off course even if you’re great at your job. Move forward with the right support for the whole of it.
“People aren’t taught to talk about work or deal with issues. This was more grounding than anything I’d done before. It really helped me make sense of things and move forward.”
Explore fit with a private chat.
Your privacy always comes first. Anything you share stays strictly confidential, never recorded or shared without your explicit consent. And we don’t work with employers.
Subarna reads every form personally and will be in touch to set up your intro call. In the meantime, if someone you know could use this, feel free to pass it on.
“When something happens at work we always come back to ‘what could I have done differently’. This helps you understand what you’re up against and how to navigate it vs. fixating on what you could have done.”
“It was wonderfully affirmative. It made me feel confident, optimistic, and less of a victim. Understanding the emotional side of practical things and the complexity of issues was very grounding.”
You can be great at your job and still be stumped by it. The hardest part may be making sense of it, even as it erodes your confidence, focus, sleep and long-term health.
“Am I overreacting, or under-responding?”
“Why does this feel so bad?”
“What next?”
“How did I get here?”
The dynamics are complex: power, incentives, culture, personal history, behavioral patterns, biology. And no one’s taught us how to handle it.
We tend to white-knuckle it alone, but that only makes it worse. It requires care even if it feels normal, even if it’s behind you, even if you’re too busy to think about it. The effects can ripple through your career and life.
people dread going to work
SHRM, 2019
have had a toxic boss at some point in their career
Harris Poll, 2023
in toxic workplaces report harm to their mental health, versus 15% elsewhere
American Psychological Association, 2023
more likely: how much more often women experience toxic work culture
MIT Sloan, 2023
“I understood practical issues much better, and saw different paths out of the same situation. It gave me real clarity.”
“Having other people’s experiences to draw on helped so much. I snapped out of the shame that was weighing me down. Hearing how people picked themselves up was really inspiring.”
It’s hard to know where to turn. Friends and family help, to a point. Workshops and courses offer hope, but real progress takes a journey, and people you can trust. Therapy and coaching can help, but the balance between rigor and real life is elusive.
So people have to sift through what feels real but goes nowhere, what’s slick but surface-level, and what’s inspiring but fleeting. They spend precious time patching the puzzle together, one piece at a time: a label, a mindset shift, a breathing technique.
Meanwhile, core issues persist, and a wealth of research and lived experience never reaches people in a way that fits their lives and moves them forward.
Surviving the Workplace Jungle is built around what people with “difficult” work experiences actually need: clarity, a steadier body and mind, renewed confidence, and practical strategies, skills and tactics.
Our bespoke journey and frameworks apply workplace research, psychology, behavioral science, neuroscience and biology to your here and now. So you don’t have to cobble it together from here, there and everywhere.
It’s strengthened by a small group of professionals. Research shows this format (when expertly matched and facilitated) can offer benefits even beyond one-on-one support. But it’s rare, as it’s hard to run.
15 minutes/week.
Engage deeply, or scale back as needed.
Professionals matched to you.
Transformative support, frequent breakthroughs and occasional laughs.
Nothing is recorded or shared. No employer is involved.
Each participant helps us better understand an issue that’s been sadly neglected so far. Your participation shapes support for thousands like you going ahead.
A vocabulary for difficult behavior. Understanding what’s what: patterns, trends and effects.
Stress and your nervous system, plus an arsenal of techniques for grounding, steadier emotions, clearer thinking and better sleep.
Building self-respect and confidence, holding your ground tactfully. Trusting your read on things, without losing sight of complexity and nuance.
Reading complex, sensitive landscapes: stakeholders, options and trade-offs. Strategic intuition and tactics for real-life situations.
They reinforce one another. It’s hard to decide well while dysregulated, hard to regulate while blaming yourself, and hard to act strategically without a clear view of the system around you.
“It wasn’t just positive psychology. It was peaceful, and yet it moved me forward in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It helped me actually understand my imposter syndrome — not just ‘keep pushing’ — and it was informed and action-oriented.”
The program helps you identify what matters most and chart an arc of progress toward your true north, with a strategy that’s right for you. Milestones along this arc vary from person to person, and even from week to week. For past participants, they have included:
Understanding fully what you’re facing, without endless self-blame or second-guessing what you experienced
Feeling grounded and less consumed by the situation
Trusting your perceptions and feeling confident again
Thinking clearly, focusing and making sound decisions
Preparing for a difficult conversation
Proactive measures to minimize friction
Protecting your reputation and credit
Spotting red flags and preparing for them
Deciding which limits to set, at work and beyond, to protect your energy, and how
Deciding which conversation to have next, with whom, and how
Staying in a job without letting it consume you
Leaving with greater intention and preparation
Understanding the past so it stops weighing on the present, or repeating itself
Preparing for the future with foresight and confidence
You’re a self-respecting, strategic professional anticipating, navigating or recovering from a “difficult” work experience.
You want to show up for yourself before things reach a crisis. And if they have, you want to learn, recover and build yourself up for the future.
You value depth over quick fixes: strong reserves, sharp instincts and versatile skills for work’s inevitable curveballs, not inspiration that fades quickly.
You value effectiveness and efficiency: support that’s comprehensive and evidence-informed, yet focused and finite.
You understand how hard but helpful it is to find honest conversations with thoughtful and responsible professionals navigating complex situations.
“It wasn’t just positive psychology. It was peaceful, and yet it moved me forward in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It helped me actually understand my imposter syndrome — not just ‘keep pushing’ — and it was informed and action-oriented.”
“The discussion was real, transparent, but safe — no pressure to perform, network, or mentor. The exercises, the facilitation, the group’s perspectives all made it even better.”
I’m a builder, fascinated by how people overcome life’s challenges and thrive. I’ve seen the “right” support change lives, in my own setbacks and through the healthcare and behavioral health solutions I’ve helped build. Yet it remains elusive, despite dedicated practitioners and abundant research. I’m bootstrapping Tonik to change this, with specialized support built from the ground up, around real needs, with rigor.
Work has long been my great love. Across several careers and four continents, I’ve seen and experienced how talented people who pull off impossible wins can be stumped by “difficult” work experiences. The dynamics are complex, the toll is serious, and quality support is woefully scarce. So Tonik’s first program is about work: Surviving the Workplace Jungle.
If this might help you, reach out, and pass it on to others who might need it.
Warmly,
Subarna(subarna@hellotonik.com)
Research shows that small, carefully matched and expertly facilitated groups can help more than working through things alone, and sometimes even more than one-on-one support. In a group, the building blocks of resilience compound: diverse perspectives, patterns you might have missed, and the relief of feeling understood, supported and less alone.
Past participants have included product and design professionals, health tech executives, healthcare practitioners, tech and marketing professionals, and lawyers, among others.
“Real and honest but safe. There was no pressure to perform, network or mentor. I got to connect with high-achieving peers I’d never meet otherwise.”
Something else on your mind? Bring it to your intro call.
No. It’s for a wide range of difficult situations, from confusing or draining dynamics to overtly harmful behavior. Many people join because they’re unsure what’s happening. You’ll develop a clearer vocabulary and perspective without forcing your experience into a label.
That’s completely fine, and very common. We can talk it through on your intro call and see whether the program is a good fit.
Yes, of course. Closure, learning from it, recovering your confidence and being better prepared next time are all meaningful goals.
The program won’t make that decision for you. It will help you assess the situation, clarify your priorities, weigh realistic options and build a strategy with intention.
No. It isn’t psychotherapy, medical care or medical advice, and it doesn’t replace licensed treatment. What it is: an expertly facilitated, research-backed, richly curated program of education, skill-building and peer support for complex issues. That kind of help can be life-changing, and is often missing even when clinical care is in place.
Yes. The program can complement other support, though it doesn’t replace clinical care or professional services you need.
You choose. You’ll never be pushed beyond your comfort level, and you can take part without sharing identifying details. Many people are surprised by how much they get from simply listening and reflecting.
About 15 minutes to read the week’s content, 90 minutes for the virtual session, and as much or as little time as you like for the exercises. The more you put in, the more you get out, and you can scale back during demanding weeks.
They’re easy for us to run, but not enough for you. Real progress needs a layered journey where each week builds on the last. Our format takes far more work to run, but it’s the support you need and deserve.
Nothing is recorded. Tonik never shares anything with third parties, and all information is treated as strictly confidential and anonymized, even internally. Tonik doesn’t work with or contact employers, and every participant agrees to protect one another’s privacy.
Subarna reviews every form personally. A short intro conversation follows so you can both explore fit.
The next cohort starts in October.
Explore FitWe’ll reach out when the next cohort opens.
Know someone who’s struggling at work? Pass this on.