Essays and articles about workplace dysfunction, the scapegoat economy, and what happens when you refuse to stay silent
How to spot toxic workplaces before they damage your mental health and professional growth After surviving multiple layoffs and working across startups, government contractors, and Fortune 100 companies as a designer, I’ve learned that the most dangerous workplaces often present themselves as dream opportunities.
Living day by day on unemployment is awkward and frequently dull. After three months of one unemployment stint, my world had shrunk to the size of an Aldi parking lot. The Aisle of Shame — that center section filled with random seasonal items and kitchen gadgets you didn’t know you needed — had become my daily entertainment. I’d wander past inflatable pool toys and camping chairs, pretending I had somewhere to use them.
I am a strong advocate for people getting therapy as a way to learn about themselves. I have done it for years, but not every therapist will be able to work with you.
I studied photography when I was in college. The dirty smelly analog kind, the kind when you’re in a darkroom for hours on sunny days developing film and then printing the same image over and over, dodging and burning with homemade cardboard tools until the smell of those chemicals made me dizzy. I learned about storytelling and the rule of thirds too, but for me I learned all that in smelly darkrooms.
It’s very strange talking now about the pre-pandemic job interview process in the DC area. Most of the time, you were on the phone with a recruiter first. Once you passed the recruiter screening, you had another phone call, this time usually with the company’s hiring manager. Only after at least two phone calls, you would be scheduled for an in-person interview. It’s this way because the traffic was, and still is, a nightmare. Video calls at that time were very rare..
Every weekend, I (still) get the Washington Post and I save the Second Glance puzzles for my husband. If you’re not familiar, those are the photo puzzles where you have to guess the 12 edits in the second photo. Most of the time, he gets 10 or 11, then gives it to me to finish. Most of the time, I can spot the last ones pretty quickly. Everyone needs someone else’s perspective sometimes to see better.