I wanted to share a bit about my job history, and how I came about my thoughts and opinions on equitable and accessible workspaces. I’ve had 23 jobs, (25, if you count the two businesses that I started). In my younger years, I had a bit of a nomadic spirit, and I enjoyed moving around to different cities and states- I’ve lived and worked in five different states from Pittsburgh, PA to Portland, OR. There were some jobs I left in pursuit of greener pastures, but I left most due to awkward, toxic, or bad environments. I've left jobs because I didn’t feel safe, I left a couple because they were dead-ends. I left others because I was demotivated by a lack of connection, and I was bored. I left my last job because I didn’t like the way they treated people- specifically, the way they treated female employees. Being viewed as less qualified, or less capable, due to gender, sexuality, skin color, or any other discriminatory reason is dehumanizing, isolating, and ignorant. I'm a highly empathic person, which means I'm sensitive to intense, unpredictable emotional outbursts, and having a boss who's neutral and even-keeled is essential- it's also tragically uncommon.

I’m not complaining about my work experience though, not at all, in fact, I’m mostly grateful for everything that I've been through. Although it was harrowing, soul-sucking, and absolutely eviscerating to my self esteem - I made it through, and as it turns out, I’m good at learning in reverse. Once my emotional wounds healed, I was left with unique knowledge that I couldn’t have come across in any other way. I learned how to authentically motivate others by watching unskilled managers demotivate employees by neglecting to give credit where credit is due, stifling their talent, or not challenging them to grow. I learned how to maximize productivity by watching managers impede progress by hovering, micromanaging, and not trusting their employees enough to grant them autonomy over their own job performance. I learned that offering employees a fair, balanced, and honest, professional experience is important because treating people with disrespect will always come back to you. I’ve seen employees retaliate against companies that didn’t treat them well – I’ve known of business reputations to tank simply because of a few bad managers. In the most extreme cases, I’ve seen expensive lawsuits filed, and I’ve seen businesses close because they were unable to hire.

I once had a job that was so traumatizing that I spent days reporting all of their myriad code violations to the applicable state and federal departments. I knew nothing would come of the reporting, but I also knew that records would be established with all of those departments, and in that, I knew they weren’t entirely getting away with treating employees as awfully as they did. I’m aware that my behavior was petty, but in my defense, I was in rough shape, my mental health was in a perilous state. I was, quite literally, at my personal worst. All of the reports I filed were honest, and evidence was submitted in each instance, so my actions were justified. Still, it felt petty, none the less. I learned some valuable lessons from the experience, though. For one, I learned a lot about building codes and office regulations on state and federal levels. I also learned that, above all else- above money, above extravagant benefits, bonuses, and incentives, most people just want to be treated with dignity and respect. They want to believe their employer values them, views them as an asset, and, that the work they do matters- it makes them feel safe and secure in their employment, and enables their loyalty to grow. I’ve known people who stayed at underpaying jobs, even when offered a higher salary elsewhere, simply because they liked their boss. Money alone doesn’t make for a successful, fulfilling career. We spend about a third of our adult lives working, it should be at a place where we feel we make a difference, even if it’s just a temporary job. Good employees, who understand they’re value, will leave bad jobs because they understand their mental health and self-respect are more valuable than money.