I’ve been thinking a lot about my career trajectory lately and all the rules they told us about work.

You know the ones:

Get to work before your boss, but don’t leave until after.
Never say no to an opportunity.
Climb the ladder. Stick it out. Look grateful.

It’s been a privilege to work at top tech companies over the last 9 years, but even with all that access and growth, I’ve found myself asking:

What even is “work” anymore?

Who made up these corporate rules, and why are we still following them?

So let’s call this season what it is:

Career Theory, Episode 1: The Aesthetic Era.

📹 For my visual learners—yes, the video version of this post is live HERE.

Is it still about purpose—or just looking productive online?

Between Pinterest-perfect desk setups, color-coded Notion dashboards, iced matcha at 9:03 a.m., and “I don’t dream of labor” TikToks…👀 It’s hard to tell what work is actually supposed to give in 2025.

So today, I’m unpacking a simple but loaded question:

What is work?

And who decided what it should look like?

🪵 Part 1: When Work Was Just Survival

Before job titles and team off-sites, there was survival.

You hunted. You farmed. You traded. That was the work.

And no one was asking “What’s my 5-year plan?” when their job was literally catching dinner. According to a quick Google deep-dive, the word “career” didn’t even show up until the 1500s.

So if you’re feeling confused about yours, maybe that’s not a failure. Maybe it’s just evolution.

🏢 Part 2: When Work Became Identity

Then came the Industrial Revolution—factories, punch clocks, 40-hour workweeks. Work became structured. Rigid. Measurable. Post-WWII, men were in suits. Women were in secretarial pools—until they weren’t.

For many of us, especially Black women and people of color, just getting in the room was the work. This is where our parents’ mindset came from:

Pick a path. Climb the ladder. Stay loyal.
You didn’t just do the job. You were the job.

“I’m a banker.”

“I’m a teacher.”

“I’m a lawyer.”

Work wasn’t about joy. It was about pride. Status. Security. A pension.Loyalty was currency. You got in. You stayed.

🎀 Part 3: When Work Became an Aesthetic

Then came the mid-2010s—and suddenly, work got… cute, REAL cute. We swapped cubicles for coworking spaces. We weren’t just project managers—we were Tech Baddies in Balance.

It was the soft life era. Remote work. Wellness stipends. Color-coded everything. Careers became content. Productivity became branding. I started working in tech during this time: Free breakfast, lunch, dinner. Kombucha on tap. Nap pods. Bring-your-dog-to-work days. Meditation apps. The works.

On paper? A dream job.

But under the surface? The work was still the work.We didn’t kill hustle culture. We just rebranded it—with pastel fonts and oat milk.

🤔 So… What Is Work Now?

In 2025, the definition of work is… blurry. For some, it’s about survival. For others, identity. For many, it’s just a way to pay rent with a little dignity left over.

We have people building empires.

We have people quietly quitting.

We have people trying to figure out if they even want to work at all.

And all of it?

Is still work.

Maybe the better question isn’t what do you do?

But why are you doing it?

✨ This & Yap

So let me ask you:

Is your corporate job giving purpose, paycheck, or Pinterest board?

Drop your thoughts in the comments.

T.

Is working in corporate just an aesthetic now?