IF I were still working, I wouldn’t still be working. Just sayin’. It was swirling down the drain when I retired in 2011. I can’t imagine what it would be like now. Major aerospace/defense contractor company.
The pit of the abyss was when the OSHA vaccine mandate was in play. This was on the heels of the 2020 riots, election, and a general open season in anyone who wasn't pro-CDC. Thankfully my employer (I'm a Shepard...) was very reasonable. That didn't stop the potential for fellow employees to be jackwagons about masking etc.
After the OSHA mandate was struck down, a funny thing happened...focus returned on delivering shareholder value and beating the competition. It also helped that virtually everyone who self-disclosed that they took the shots, got sick with covid...the soft hostility to the unvaxxed disappeared.
Today, the enemy is inflation and the downturn. While some wokey elements remain, HR is back to making the workplace hospitable and ensuring compensation is up to snuff. And while some FReepers may disagree, one small benefit of some of these HR changes is that I don't hear (as much) about guys making passes or creepy comments about female coworkers. I'd be in favor of women kicking such guys in the nutz, but I'm a frontier corporate justice kinda guy.
I can work from home and also come to the office (I prefer the latter but enjoy the former). The Great Resignation has required leaders to dig deep, to explain the value proposition to employees....that makes us better leaders. On top of all that, there are so many interesting things in the marketplace and exciting yet cautionary elements like generative AI and ways to make customers happy, that being "in the game" has never been better.
There is always stupid stuff at work. But the excitement in being a capitalist and employed in America today is better than any drink or drug.