I’m working from home today because I have a plumber coming, and I’ve already received three “Are you online?” messages from my VP. The lack of trust is staggering. The second I’m not physically visible in my cubicle, they assume I’m at the beach. It makes me want to quit and find a remote-first shop just to escape the attendance-based management style. Is face time still the most important metric in 2026??

I’m curious—what evidence are you seeing that men are experiencing reverse discrimination? In financial services, it still seems like most senior leadership positions are held by men. I’m at a conference and overheard a conversation at the next table.

Be honest: how much does company prestige still matter to you? Early on it felt huge, but the older I get, the more I care about the day-to-day experience. Has prestige become less important to you over time?

While travlng for work, I got sick & had to miss a planned excursion. Later, at dinner, I was eating bread because my stomach was still upset. A coworker joked in front of the group that maybe I had drank too much. The comment bothered me because it wasn’t true, & it felt dismissive. This isn’t the first time this person has made teasing comments, but this one felt different because I was clearly not feeling well. How have you handled coworkers whose humor comes at someone else’s expense?

I overheard a conversation I wasn’t supposed to hear, and now I’m convinced my entire department is about to be nuked. I can't ask them about it without admitting I eavesdropped, but the not knowing is driving me insane. Do I start applying for jobs now? There’s probably no way to bring this up without letting them know I was someplace I wasn’t really supposed to be.