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Emily Lerner, skillstruck studio

STRUCK BY: No BS

Published 7 months ago • 1 min read

The anthropologist David Graeber coined the term “bullshit jobs” in 2018. He defines them as jobs where those who do them pretend they aren’t as pointless as they are, and he argues that they cause psychological damage to those in them.
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I meet a lot of people, and when I ask them what they do, they usually tell me their very impressive job title. We talk more about their goals, their hopes for their careers, and their frustrations. And eventually we get to what they do all day, and it’s nearly always the same: “I go to meetings and do email.” Sometimes I also hear a variation of: “I manage a team who create documents for senior leadership who don’t read documents.”
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Many of my clients struggle with the cognitive dissonance of a job that once gave them purpose now feeling meaningless. They often don’t understand why they feel stagnant in an environment that was once rewarding financially and intellectually, and is often a huge part of their identity. Making a shift from seeing a job as an identity to seeing a job as a utility can be a huge help to any of you feeling the same. Give me a shout if you want to talk about it.

Emily Lerner, skillstruck studio

⚡️Leadership Coach + Professional Truth Teller 👩🏻‍💻 Recovering tech exec 🔥 People Strategist 📍Silicon Valley skillstruckstudio.com

Read more from Emily Lerner, skillstruck studio

I’ve been noticing that folks in their 40s are quietly retiring out of traditional tech jobs and into something else. I didn't see it as it was first happening - it started with folks who had relocated during the remote work phase of COVID and never really “returned” to work in quite the same way. Then I saw others (like me) taking the stock options they’d accumulated and using those to launch second careers. And now I see a cohort that’s been living through years of “unprecedented” events...

3 months ago • 1 min read

I’d thought I might try something new this year - rather than end the year with a “best of” list, share my workplace Hero and Villain of 2025. Hero: Bank of America In October, Bank of America instituted a minimum hourly wage for U.S. employees of $25 per hour. Since 2017, starting salary for full-time U.S. employees at the bank will have gone up by more than $20,000. BofA also offers what I consider an exceptional benefits package, including 26 weeks of parental leave, a sabbatical program,...

5 months ago • 1 min read

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! While I often focus on the negative or the controversial, this week let’s take a look at what’s happened in the workplace that we can be thankful for. It might be a short list, but hey - what better day than today to count our blessings? The biggest positive trend has to be a focus on programs that impact employee well-being. Companies seem to be listening to their employees and providing benefits and policies that people actually want. We’re seeing...

6 months ago • 1 min read