Honest conversations about the psychology of modern work culture
The first time I said my salary out loud, I felt like I had broken an unspoken rule — one that was never meant to protect me. The morning of the tech conference, I sat in my hotel room revising my slides about industry trends. My practiced talking points about cloud architecture felt hollow against …
The moment I knew everything was theater came during a Tuesday afternoon meeting. I sat across from my manager, watching him perform the carefully choreographed routine of corporate concern — the furrowed brow, the strategic nodding, the pen poised above his notepad. I had just finished describing how our team was crumbling under impossible deadlines …
What I saw as financial security, my children view as outdated thinking. “Traditional retirement planning is dead,” Brandon says, shutting his laptop after scrolling through another article about digital nomads. Across the table, Allie sips her coffee. “The idea of working at one company for decades just to retire with a pension? That world doesn’t …
“Amazing women’s intuition at work here. I love how you just sense these things.” My jaw clenches before I can stop it. I grip my presentation clicker tighter, forcing a polite smile. “Actually, it’s called predictive modeling.” The words come out too sharp, or maybe just sharp enough. I click to the next slide, but …
The cruelest trick corporate America ever pulled was convincing us that ‘unlimited’ actually meant ‘less.’ Jenna used to light up when she talked about wine. Every few months, she’d return from European vineyards with stories of her favorite merlot and a bottle to share with our team. On those afternoons, our sterile conference room transformed …
Sarah cornered me in the break room, coffee in hand, desperation in her eyes. “Just five minutes?” I already knew where this was going. Another mentoring request. Another coffee chat. Another hour I didn’t have. For years, I had been the go-to person for every woman struggling with workplace politics, impostor syndrome, and career roadblocks. …
