Welcome To The Way We Work

Boss, I’m tired.

Boss is me. I am boss. And I am still tired. I think this is all of us right now no matter our relationship to the workplace.

Since I announced this resource, it feels like a million things have happened. My body feels it. My mind feels it. And I know we collectively feel it.

We went from an election that resulted in tremendous activity, a healthcare CEO that was assassinated in NYC, a New Orleans tragedy, sweeping Executive Orders that have detrimental impact on all types of people, DEI commitments rolled back, DEI commitments reinforced, TikTok getting banned and going dark for 12 hours voluntarily, a federal funding freeze and then a thaw, a DC airline tragedy, a Philadelphia airline tragedy, an introduction to performance layoffs, and I know I am missing something.

One of the most profound things I heard the incredible Michelle MiJung Kim say at the Culture Summit many years ago kept ringing in my ears: Your people cannot compartmentalize themselves at work. We are all affected in someway by headlines. We have to stop ignoring this fundamental fact of a new digital age. This isn’t our parents or grandparents or even big siblings’ workplace anymore.

The Way We Work is a resource to address all of us at work. Not just the leaders or the HR Team - but all of us together because I believe that’s the only way we make it better. Siloed conversations are not helping us build strategy or environments that result in us using our time for the better. Time is not an infinite resource. No matter what your title is, this resource will be for you.

What’s in this joint:

• Defining Work

• The Present of Work

• What to expect in this resource

Defining Work

What is work anyway?

I got a theatre degree and I am the first in my immediate family to graduate from college. And then I got a Master’s degree. And then I got into corporate work - the first in my immediate family to even get a title like Director and then VP. Do you know how much I didn’t know? A lot. Let me back up.

My first corporate job I got during college. It was in an office. Now my mom was an Accounts Payable Clerk so I knew what an office was but I hadn’t worked in one. I didn’t know cheat codes to the words “professional,” “protocol,” or even “hierarchy.” I was an Admin Assistant and for me that was the best Work 101 job I ever had. Admins are almost like the silent project managers - people hardly knew we existed until they needed something, meanwhile we get the benefit of watching how it all works. This was invaluable to me as I finally after over 10 years as an Executive Assistant, got plucked into the Talent Acquisition field by my mentor and boss, Beverly Carmichael.

The thing nobody tells you is that there are a lot of people at work who got there in nontraditional paths. Very few HR people majored in HR. There is no real CEO school - it’s either Legal, Tech, Product, Sales or Finance. Sure there are a lot who got fast tracked but I want you to know this as well come together and remember how we got here. We are all human beings who had jobs that informed who we are along the way - some more privileged than others and some who had no idea this is where they’d end up. So many stories but we are all together here now.

This probably the longest section this resource is gonna have but we have to set up what we are gonna be talking about.

Let’s go back to the 1980s. This isn’t arbitrary because currently we have the most represented generations in the workplace we’ve ever had and if we are gonna define who’s at work, let’s start with what it looked like when our Traditionalists/Boomers/Gen X teammates were there.

1980s: The Birth of Digital

What happened?

• Computers entered the chat. PC desktops transformed workplace efficiency and started a trend of digital transformation.

• 1970s had a recession so it was all about money money money. Yuppies - white young urban professionals - were aspirational classes for many. Greed was good.

• The percentage of men in the US workplace was about 77% and white women were paid 64% of what white men were paid.

• White workers dominated the labor force, comprising nearly 80% of the workforce at the beginning of the decade. Black workers constituted about 11-13% of the labor force. Hispanic workers represented a growing segment, accounting for approximately 6-7% of the workforce. Asian Americans made up a small but increasing portion, representing about 1.5-2% of the labor force.

• The average weekly hours were 38.5 hours.

1990s: Internet Goes Boom!

What happened?

• “Welcome! You’ve got mail!” Internet has entered the chat. The ability to digitally connect globally starts a massive transformation of how we work.

• Gen Xers are fully in the workforce bringing with them their desire for disruption, questioning tradition, and desire to connect meaning to work.

• The rate of men in the US workplace was approximately 77% at the beginning of the decade and declined to about 74.8% by the end of the decade. At the beginning of the 1990s, white women earned approximately 71.9% of white men's wages.

• In 1990, White workers comprised approximately 76% of the labor force. Black workers made up about 13% of the labor force. Hispanic workers increased their presence, reaching about 19% by the end of the decade. Asian workers represented a growing segment, constituting around 3-4% of the workforce,

• The average weekly hours were 38-39 hours per week.

2000s: Tech as an Industry

What happened?

• Y2K? Tech really booms and becomes a major player in the US economy. Eight of the ten fastest-growing occupations were computer-related. Manufacturing employment declined by about a third since 1990.

• Shows like “The Office” center work as part of our lives. There’s a huge decline in cubicles and a rise in open-floor office plans along with the entrepreneurial tech start ups.

• The labor force participation rate for men decreased from 74.8% in 2000 to 71.2% in 2010.

• At the beginning of the decade (2000), white women earned approximately 73-76% of what white men earned. By 2010, women's earnings had increased to about 77-82% of men's earnings.

• White workers remained the majority but their share decreased from 71% in 2000 to about 60% by 2024. Hispanic workers saw significant growth, increasing from 12% of the labor force in 2000 to over 16% by 2010. Black workers comprised about 12-13% of the labor force. Asian workers represented a growing segment, increasing from around 4% in 2000 to nearly 7% by 2024.

• At the beginning of the decade (2000-2001), full-time workers averaged about 42.1 hours per week,

2010s: Startups Bring Culture to Work

What happened?

• Welcome aboard, Millennials! This generation brings an increase in the desire for work-life balance. 24% of employed persons did some work from home in 2010 and increases during that decade.

• Start up culture booms! Kegs, pet-friendly offices, free food, green-friendly office environments, mental health and education stipends, tech competitive comp all on the rise with the tech boom. HR starts making the shift to “Talent” or “People.”

• Male labor force participation continued to fall, reaching 69% by January 2020.

• By 2019, white women's earnings increased to about 82% of white men's earnings.

• White workers remained the majority but their share decreased, comprising 76.5% of the workforce by 2023. Hispanic or Latino workers represented 18.8% of the workforce by 2023. Black workers made up 12.8% of the workforce by 2023. Asian workers accounted for 6.9% of the workforce by 2023.

• The average work hours in the US workplace showed some fluctuation but generally remained around 34-35 hours per week.

2020s: The Unknown of Now

What happened?

• “You’re on Mute” and “BLM!” Global pandemic changes the way we work. 71% of workers whose jobs could be done from home were working remotely all or most of the time due to the pandemic. Video conferencing booms!

• Larger emphasis on social justice and purpose driven work due to the Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z in the workplace. Black Lives Matter, intersectional wage gaps, climate change, and mental health all become important to workers at work.

• The labor force participation rate for men is 67.9%.

• In 2023, white women working full-time earned 83 cents for every dollar earned by white men.

• White workers: 76.5% of the labor force. Hispanic or Latino workers: 18.8%. Black or African American workers: 12.8%. Asian workers: 6.9%.

• In 2022, full-time employees worked an average of 41 hours per week

This is a lot of data but this helps us understand all of our work environments as we think about how we all work together. Are you in the work place now? What would you want to add to these stats? I want to hear from you! Shoot me a note with your additions.

The first two people get a gift card to Bookshop.org because honestly, we need to read more.

The Present of Work

Everyone talks a lot about the future of work but I don’t think we are on the same page about the present of work. What does it look like?

Are you pissed at work? It’s ok to acknowledge it. Work is a lot right now for many people for many reasons including layoffs, uncertainty, leadership not being transparent, change management, lack of promotion…the list goes on. What should you do about it?

• Venting - in general it’s helpful to let it out in safe spaces and places so you can release these feelings and they don’t eat you up. Don’t let it consume you though. Like break up emails/texts - maybe write it out and don’t click send. Certainly don’t vent with people in positions of power at work. Work is a community and not a family. You can go to HR/People for resources like mental health or meditation apps that can support you. If this is a violation like harassment or anything egregious, check this article out at Vice for when to go to HR/People.

• Identify the source - These questions from the Harvard Business Review might help:

  • What triggered my anger?

  • What feelings are underneath my anger? Perhaps fear or powerlessness?

  • What do I need to be okay right now?

  • What longer-term outcome would make me feel better?

  • What steps can I take towards that outcome? 

  • For each of those steps, what do I risk and what do I gain?

• Make decisions - Are you mad enough to leave? Can you make a plan if so instead of reacting immediately without a plan? Be strategic. Don’t let the social media influencers fool you into thinking a safety net will magically appear. It might. And it might not. So make a decision and follow through on how you will take care of you in this situation.

Big work headlines from January 2025:

• The number of job openings decreased to 7.6 million on the last business day of December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in their monthly jobs report

• Employee engagement has fallen to a 10-year low, with only 31% of employees engaged and 17% actively disengaged

• About 75% of workers were required to be in the office a certain number of days per week or month as of October 2024, up from 63% in February 2023

• As of January 29, 2025, approximately 5,200 employees have been laid off across 19 tech companies in 2025

• Future importance: Despite challenges, building representative, fair, and inclusive workforces remains critical for future-ready companies

• The job market still sucks. Why? U.S. Workers Are Done Job Hopping from the Wall Street Journal (paywall but talk to your library for access). That means fewer people are leaving so less hiring. Add that with the rate of jobs being added and we have a problem.

What to expect in this resource

I’m excited to feature my good friends and experts in this People and Workplace spaces to give us all some information on how to work better. This will include:

• Compliance 101

• Learning and Development for all

• Strategically undervalued leaders and their real stories

• If I’m in the office, how do I make it work for me?

• How can I be a real ally even if I don’t have a big title?

• What talent acquisition professionals want you to know

• Real recruiting stories from real people

• …and more that will help all of us!

Happy Black History Month!

Black history is everyone’s history. Point. Blank. Period.

As consultants of all things equity, part of Equity Activation’s pillars are community and culture. So we can’t have y’all out there just quoting the same Martin Luther King, Jr speeches. We encourage you to go deeper even than slavery. Because slavery is not Black History. That’s world history. How Black people overcame slavery is Black history. So here are a few resources to dig deep into overcoming for Black History Month:

• Everyone who knows me, knows how hard I go for Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson and the movie inspired by the book, Origin. So watch the movie and read the book. Here’s sweet 15 minute behind the scenes look at the making of the movie thanks to Array.

• Reconstruction: The Big Lie (podcast) - Listen Civics in this country is dying by the day and it’s literally the blueprint to how we got here. We talk a lot about the end of slavery and Juneteenth (though there is a threat to not acknowledge or observe this officially this anymore) but what happened after really? One of the most progressive time periods for America and something changed.

• Did you know The Great Migration lasted 60 years? Black families leaving the South to go West, Midwest, and North East for better opportunities lasted longer than most peoples’ lives. You can find out more by watching the docuseries, Great Migrations: People on The Move on PBS (donate to them if you can) hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

We are all on a journey to how to make work better together. Is there something you want to know more about or a problem you are navigating? Shoot me a note and let me know what problems you want to solve where you are. We got this.