Author: Mara Ellison
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Why I Can’t Relax in a Workplace That’s Always Trying to Bond
The closer the culture tries to pull us, the more guarded I notice myself becoming. I didn’t always feel tense around workplace bonding. Early on, it felt occasional and optional—something that happened naturally when…
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How Workload Creep Became the New Normal
It didn’t start with overwhelm. It started with one extra ask that didn’t feel like too much — and then another, and another, until “too much” became invisible. I remember the moment before it…
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Why I Started Faking Confidence Just to Be Taken Seriously
There was a point when confidence stopped being an expression of certainty and became a performance I felt obligated to put on. I didn’t choose to fake confidence all at once. It started as…
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What It Feels Like When You’re Trusted With Everything Except Decisions
Being entrusted with tasks that matter, but never with the authority to shape what “good” even means. I didn’t notice when it first started — the subtle distinction between being trusted with work and…
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How Recognition Culture Made Me Feel Invisible
The more recognition became formalized, the harder it was to tell if anyone actually noticed the work. I remember when recognition felt incidental. A comment in passing. A quiet acknowledgment after something went well.…
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How Praise Started Feeling Like a Setup
There was a moment when praise stopped feeling like acknowledgment and started feeling like a quiet pressure I couldn’t name. The first time someone praised my work, I remember that fuzzy warmth of relief…
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Why I Dread Being Asked to Take Initiative
It wasn’t fear of responsibility. It was fear of what taking initiative always ended up meaning. I never thought I’d say this out loud, but the simple phrase “Can you take initiative on this?”…
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What It’s Like When You Always Feel Behind at Work
Not visibly failing. Not clearly succeeding. Just permanently catching up to something no one has named. I don’t remember a single moment when I fell behind. There was no missed deadline that started it,…
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Why I Feel Pressure to Share My Identity at Work
It wasn’t a request exactly—more a quiet expectation that hovered in the background. I don’t remember the first time I felt it. There was no single moment where someone asked me to explain who…
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How Social Justice Language Started Replacing Real Feedback
Somewhere along the way, feedback stopped being about my work and started being about my alignment. I remember when feedback felt concrete. It wasn’t always comfortable, but it was legible. You could point to…