Honest conversations about the psychology of modern work culture
Brandon’s fork stopped mid-air, his pasta forgotten. His face, usually so animated, had gone completely still. “What do you mean there’s no inheritance?” he asked, voice low, deliberate. The night had started as a celebration. A nice dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant, my upcoming retirement, his job promotion. Light conversation, nothing serious. Then he …
“Do you have children? Are you planning to have any soon?” The interviewer’s voice was casual, like she was asking about my preferred programming language. My pulse quickened. That was the third interview that week where my reproductive plans had somehow become relevant to system architecture. Each time, the question was wrapped in friendliness, tucked …
My midlife crisis arrived without much drama. No sports car, no drastic career shift. Just a slow-burning restlessness that turned everything into a question. Was I fulfilled? Did my life align with what I valued? Would I regret the choices I hadn’t made? My friends were asking the same things. We met for coffee, traded …
In 15 days, my office will collect my badge, disable my login credentials, and distribute the obligatory retirement cake. After 27 years climbing the technical ladder to become a Technical Architect Director, I’m walking away at 52 — decades before the traditional retirement age. My calendar, once packed with system deployments and architecture reviews, will …
Janelle was in free fall. Her long-term boyfriend left without warning, and she unraveled fast — panicked texts, endless loops of what-ifs, forgotten meals. I brought over tea and a notepad. We made a plan. It was less about feelings and more about function. Who to avoid. What to say. Where to put the grief …
Diane had a way of making even a casual coffee meeting feel like a battlefield strategy session. The espresso machine hissed behind us as she dissected my latest career mistake. I’d shown empathy to a struggling team member, offered flexibility when she was going through a divorce. “Never expose yourself like that,” Diane said, stirring …
