Author: Mara Ellison
-
Why I Struggle With Being Interrupted All Day and Still Expected to Focus
I used to think focus was a habit. Now it feels like a luxury I’m never given. There was a time when I could settle into a task and feel the kind of quiet…
-
What It’s Like When You’re Always Cleaning Up Other People’s Mistakes
At first it felt helpful. Then it started feeling like my real job was erasing evidence. I didn’t notice it at first because it arrived disguised as competence. I could spot issues quickly. I…
-
Why I Stay Quiet During Gender Conversations at Work
I don’t stay quiet because I don’t care — I stay quiet because speaking feels like stepping onto shifting ground. For as long as I can remember, workplace meetings were places to share ideas,…
-
What It’s Like When Gender Policies Change Faster Than People Can Adjust
It didn’t feel abrupt in the moment, but in hindsight, everything sped up quietly. In the beginning, pronouns and gender language appeared in isolated moments — a Slack update, an email signature, a brief…
-
Why I Feel Guilty for Feeling Confused About Gender Identity at Work
There’s a quiet shame in having to hold respect and confusion in the same breath. I didn’t expect to feel guilty about confusion. Before gender identity became an explicit part of workplace language, confusion…
-
What Happens When Inclusivity Feels Mandatory Instead of Natural
The shift wasn’t about values — it was about how carefully I started choosing my words. I don’t remember the exact moment inclusivity stopped feeling organic at work. It wasn’t announced. No one said,…
-
How Low-Level Stress at Work Became My Normal State
It’s not the big crises that wear you down. It’s the quiet, everyday tension that never fully leaves. When I think back to my earliest professional days, there were moments of stress — deadlines,…
-
Why I’m Still Tired No Matter How Much I Sleep After Work
Sleep should feel restorative. Instead I wake with a faint residue of work still clinging to me. I used to believe that sleep reset the day — that rest was a clear line between…
-
What It Feels Like to Be Good at a Job That’s Slowly Breaking You
Being competent felt reassuring at first. Then it started feeling like the thing that kept me trapped. When people say “you’re good at your job,” it usually lands as a compliment — something that…
-
How Workplace Gender Conversations Made Me Second-Guess Everything I Say
It wasn’t one conversation. It was the accumulation of them. I didn’t notice it happening at first. There was no single meeting or announcement that changed how I spoke. It was gradual, layered, almost…