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Over a decade ago, I was discriminated against at work based on how I dressed. At the time, I often chose to wear ties to work. I was in my mid 20s, living in NYC, and embracing the opportunity to dress in a way that felt authentic to me. I was good at my job and worked with a team of people who loved me. I felt safe. I never guessed that how I dressed would end up costing me a promotion. I was interviewing internally for a new role and after the final round of interviews, my manager asked if I had time to talk. She explained that she was accidentally forwarded an email that included a sentence I will always remember:Im not comfortable introducing our clients to a woman in a tie. What a stupid sentence. My boss (who is also an underrepresented woman in tech) wanted me to have that information in case I wanted to push back or take legal action. I was too furious to want the job anymore, but I was eager to explore legal options, and quickly found my way to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The role of the EEOC The EEOC helped me file an employment discrimination complaint, and, more importantly, they reminded me that my anger was justified and that it held value. While we ultimately didnt pursue the discrimination case beyond the first filing of the complaint and I left the job soon after, taking action gave me back a sense of control during a situation where I had felt powerless. They validated my experience, affirmed my worth, and reminded me that what happened to me was not just wrongit was illegal. I left soon after learning about the email as I had no interest in a company that judged clothing over competence. Following President Trumps executive order last month that mandates federal agencies only recognize two biological genders assigned at birth, the EEOCs has decided to stop processing claims of discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity. It isnt just a policy changeits a significant step backward. For decades, the EEOC has been a critical resource for marginalized workers, offering a path to justice for those who face discrimination simply for being themselves. When I first heard about this decision, it hit me hard. It brought back the same horrible feeling I had years ago when I was denied a promotion for something as trivial as wearing a tie. Now I worry about others who will face similar, and worse, discrimination without that same lifeline. LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face disproportionate levels of workplace discrimination. A 2021 study by the Williams Institute found that nearly half of LGBTQ+ workers have faced discrimination, from lost promotions to outright harassment. The responsibility now falls on companies and leaders And the shift at the EEOC isnt happening in isolation. Its part of a broader pattern of eroding protections for LGBTQ+ folks across the country. When federal agencies like the EEOC are ordered to stop enforcing LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws, it creates a ripple effect. It emboldens bias in workplaces, schools, and communities. It tells employers that they can get away with treating their employees unfairly. And, maybe more importantly, it tells LGBTQ+ individuals that their rightsand their dignityare not guaranteed. We find ourselves in a system failing to protect its most vulnerable. Without federal protections, the responsibility to treat employees fairly falls on companies and their leaders. This starts with clear, enforceable anti-discrimination policies that explicitly include LGBTQ+ protections (and no gendered dress codes!). And the policies cant just exist on paper; they need to be communicated, enforced, and embedded into the company culture. With DEI currently under attack, these protections are more critical than ever. My clothing choices have shifted over the years and, these days, working from home means that I wear sweatpants more often than not. But, when I show up at a speaking engagement in a tie and blazer, I wear them as symbols of resilience and resistance. The EEOC once served as a crucial backstop for people like methose who faced discrimination for how they show up in the world. Without protections for LGBTQ+ people like me, the fight for workplace equity falls even more on people who are willing to stand up. Sometimes we work to end workplace discrimination in big ways, and sometimes in small, stubborn acts of joyful self-expression. Because no one should ever miss out on a promotion over a stupid, but very cute, tie.
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E-Commerce
The wellness market is the biggest it has ever been, with a valuation of nearly $2 trillion, according to a McKinsey report. But somehow todays workforce is more burnt-out than ever before. Research by the Boston Consulting Group shows that 48% of workers are exhausted from stress. The reason? Wellness works, but the way we are working doesnt. After spending a decade on Wall Street, I can attest that high stress periods at work are inevitable. Unfortunately, anyone advocating for better stress management often receives an eye roll due to the misconception that it means avoiding stress altogether. When I learned that stress management is not about removing stress but about managing my energy, everything changed. Can stress be good? Stress is a natural response to stimuli thats not innately good or bad. It can actually be positive in a corporate setting because it pushes us to meet a deadline or grow a skill set beyond our comfort zone. Thats why so many of us perform well under pressure. The human stress response, also known as fight-or-flight response, activates adrenaline and cortisol. In moderation, this is helpful for accomplishing defined, urgent tasks. Stress becomes negative when we engage our fight-or-flight response for prolonged periods of time. This leads to an exhausted nervous system and potential career burnout. Once we complete a high-stress assignment, we need to shift into a less taxing energetic state. The key here is to make sure that youre not spending your entire life in a high-stress state. Not all work tasks need to be stressful. Activities like sending low-stakes emails or catching up with co-workers, for example, can actually be enjoyable and even restorative. You need to signal to your body when youve completed a stressful event. This way, you can restore yourself and conserve your energy for the next high pressure stint. Over my career on Wall Street and now as the founder of a corporate wellness consultancy and community called Wall Street Wellness, Ive found that each person moves through three distinctly different but equally important energetic states during the day. By labeling and recognizing them, a person can start to move between them more intentionally. The most demanding energetic state: intentional intensity This is when youre in your peak performance zone. I call this the state of intentional intensity, which is when you mindfully leverage your stress response for optimal performance and productivity in order to complete a time-bound objective. I personally try to only call upon intentional intensity during periods where I have tight time constraints and high stakes. These moments happened multiple times a day when I worked in client-facing roles in investment banking and private equity. But because I was able to repair and recover after I finished my tasks, I avoided burnout throughout the workday. Sprinting through spurts of intentional intensity allows a person to access their most efficient and best work. However, given the toll that stress puts on the nervous system, you should only leverage this state when you really need it. The neutral energetic state: relaxed productivity After completing a high-stress stake, I recommend downshifting into the second defined state of relaxed productivity. You still need to be productive, but you dont need to use 100% of your mental and energetic capacity. Examples of this type of work include preparing materials for a non-urgent meeting, doing systematic analysis work, or any type of task that gets you into a flow state. These lower-intensity types of tasks allow more space to add in restorative elements that bring us joy, whether thats listening to a favorite playlist, stretching to release tension, or taking a coffee break with a favorite co-worker. Ideally, when we become more mindful about what our tasks truly require, we can spend a good portion of our working time in a state of relaxed productivity. I distinctly remember taking inventory of my tasks in finance and being surprised to find that I can make most tasks relaxing through intentionally shifting into this style of work. The least demanding energetic state: restorative time Restorative time is the third energetic state and describes periods where you can fully detach from work tasks. This might look like going to the gym, cooking a nutritious dinner, or spending time with friends and loved ones. Its essential to ensure that youve built in every day, even if it is a five-minute, screen-free walk or a short call with a loved one. Doing this allows for a mental reset, which creates more energy and excitement to return to the work environment. In the same way that having too much intentional intensity can cause burnout, having too few instances of restorative time can have the same effect. How to shift between energetic states Stress management comes from mastering the ability to mindfully transition between these three energetic states. In a work setting, it can be easy to continue staying high intensity, even when you dont need to be there. To transition to another energetic state, its helpful to have a physical or sensory experience that signals to your brain that its time to switch things up. Some people may find it helpful to do some breathwork or even go for a short walk after finishing a stressful deliverable. Other people might have a special playlist for focus time, and another for productivity and rest. The more sign posts you can create for your body that youre changing energetic states, the better. These give your nervous system the clear message that its no longer in danger and can relax and begin recharging. Burnout doesnt come from working hard. It comes from working too long in a more intense state without taking the necessary time to recharge. Remember, the brain is like a muscle. It needs time to rest and repair. Mastering the ability to switch between energetic and stressful states is the key to achieving peak performance and career longevity. This insight was the great unlock in my own career that changed everything. Ultimately, the key to managing burnout isnt reducing stress, its managing your energy.
Category:
E-Commerce
If we dont have Free Speech, then we just dont have a Free Country. Its as simple as that. President Donald Trump said in one of his campaign statements where he previewed how his administration would protect free expression. On January 20, the first day of his new term in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship (Free Speech EO). The order largely restates existing law, which prohibits the federal government from engaging in unconstitutional censorship, but as a statement of policy it could theoretically increase protections for legal speech and reduce the number of circumstances in which the federal government seeks the suppression of viewpoints it dislikes. But, not long after President Trump signed this order, he and his administration began to violate it. In the few weeks since President Trump took office, the administration has already taken multiple actions to censor or chill speech it dislikes online and off. It has also taken action to undermine tools of free expression even though they align with its stated foreign policy objectives of defeating authoritarianism. To wit: On January 20, the same day as the Free Speech EO, President Trump issued an executive order entitled Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid. Anodyne though it may sound, it is having a broad and deep impact on free expression globally. As our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) pointed out, the United States has long funded programs that support technologies that enhance privacy, fight censorship, and support internet freedomand this order is directly undermining those programs. Other global free expression advocates, those that track internet shutdowns and attempts by authoritarian governments to suppress the speech of dissidents living abroad, are also impacted. This order undermines free expression globally, as well as the stated goals of the administration. It is a gift to our adversaries, particularly China and Russia. Two days after President Trump issued the Free Speech EO, on January 22, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reinstated complaints against broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC over their coverage of the 2024 election. The complaints alleged that fact-checking of Presidential debates, news interviews with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and her appearance on Saturday Night Live before the election, as well as other election-related coverage, were biased and violated the broadcasters public interest obligations.The previous FCC chair had already dismissed the complaints as contrary to the First Amendment, because it is not the FCCs, nor any government officials, role to control the speech or editorial decisions of journalists or adjudicate bias. That power, in the governments hands, smacks of authoritarianism.Unfortunately, the FCCs actions appear to have been the start of a trend of investigating news organizations. In just the ensuing few weeks, it has opened investigations into NPR and PBS, alleging they are all of a sudden breaking sponsorship rules, and into KCBS in San Francisco for reporting on the location of ICE officers. Even if these investigations are ultimately closed without action, the mere fact of opening themand the implicit threat to the news stations license to operatecan have the effect of deterring the press from news coverage that the administration dislikes. On January 27, seven days after the Free Speech EO, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo entitled Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs. The memo purported to order a pause in all federally funded programs pending a review of those programs for their alignment with the Trump administration’s priorities, including ensuring that no funding goes toward advancing Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies. This order is a blatant attempt to force government grantees to cease engaging in speech that the current administration dislikes, including speech about the benefits of diversity in education or in employee pools, speech about climate change, and speech related to LGBTQ issues. The First Amendment does not permit the government to discriminate against grantees because it does not like some of the viewpoints they espouse. Indeed, those groups that are challenging the constitutionality of the order argued as much in their complaint, and have won an injunction blocking its implementation. The administration has also issued multiple executive orders seeking to enforce its position that there are only two genders and that diversity and equity goals are unlawful to implement in schools. Among other things, these orders prohibit people from having gender markers that differ from the sex they were assigned at birth on their federal identification documents, including passports. They also seek to excise teaching about historical discrimination, including about slavery, from K-12 curricula. Under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism, President Trump has threatened to remove non-citizen college students who protested Israels war in Gaza. In a Fact Sheet that accompanied an Executive Order issued on January 29, Trump said, ominously, To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: Come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses. Removing non-citizens on account of their speech or their sympathies cannot be squared with a commitment to free speech or with the First Amendment. The administration is also circulating lists of banned words for staff of government agenciesprohibiting basic free expression of the many American citizens who work as researchers or government employeesand directly censoring he display of pictures of women and people of color and disfavored words including diversity and integrity. In response the NSA is deleting websites and internal network content containing any of the banned words and the NSF is scouring research grants for any reference or use of the words. The Defense Department is also reportedly restricting access to books on topics from immigration to psychology and more in its school system that serves military families. If banning words and books arent a speech restriction, its unclear what would be. In each case, administration officials are moving in ways that directly contradict President Trumps own executive order and their own stated goals of upholding a Free Speech agenda, attempting to use government power not just to promote their own views but to actively punish (and silence) those who disagree. These are just a few examples of the censorship efforts the new Trump administration has embarked on. There are likely many more examples in the growing pile of actions the administration has taken and more in those they will soon implement, including an announced plan to dismantle the Department of Education, the federal agency responsible for ensuring all students in this country have access to education. The fact is that candidate-Trump was right. If we dont have free speech, we dont have a free country. An administration truly committed to the First Amendment would stand up and defend everyones speech rights, especially those of the people who express disagreement with it. But that time-honored principle is utterly incompatible with this administration’s actions undermining constitutionally protected freedoms here in the United States and around the world. This administration, while it might tout its devotion to free expression with empty words, is doing profound damage to free expression with its actions. This story originally appeared on the Center for Democracy and Technology’s website and is republished here with permission.
Category:
E-Commerce
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