Strip It Down: The Soundtrack to My Existential Corporate Dread
I'd like, if I may, to share a few thoughts, worries, concerns with you, dear void.
(Originally posted to Substack on March 18th, 2025)
I work in a pretty corporate IT job. Whenever I work in any kind of IT job, we are always considered the weirdos, the basement dwellers, the red-headed step-children of any organization. I understand that may sound paranoid or exaggerated, but in the case of my current job that is more accurate than ever. My company’s IT department is literally put in a totally separate building. It feels so othering. So separate.
The Cafeteria for my company is in the other building, and any time I walk into the cafeteria, I see each department sticks to themselves. People in each department are very homogeneous and when I walk in alone, quickly in between my back-to-back meetings, I stick out like a sore thumb. Some people that I see in there when I go in to pick up my lunch, are still sitting there an hour and a half later when I sneak over to get coffee.
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I look at my IT department and you know what I see? Maybe a few more men than women? Maybe… But also groups of men, women, and who knows maybe a few gentlethems (I don’t know if we do or don’t because I live in the South and I don’t want to put anyone into a hard situation unless I get the vibe), from all around the world. From Mexico, Panama, Iran, Turkey, India, Korea, Vietnam, China, Ghana, etc. People with many different perspectives. People from very different socio-economic backgrounds and generations.
I tend to gravitate towards two different tables, if I have the time to sit in the cafe and eat, and not at my desk before the next meeting begins. One table sits 2 Gen Xers and one Gen Zer black men and me, a whiteMillenial cis-bisexual woman. On of the men, Frederick (Prime) as I like to call him. tells me about growing up in the wards in the 1980s, joining the army and then becoming a nuclear bomb squad member. The other Gen Xer, Frederick (Squared), and I chat about Star Trek, new and old. Semi reminds me of a less racist version of my dad. And then there is the 24 year old that chats to me about video games and I tell him tips and tricks and history of Houston, since he is originally Ghanan and from Boston.
If I don’t sit with that group, then I sit with a woman in her early 50’s who’s husband died 8 years ago and left her to raise their 2 teenaged boys; a Korean-American woman in her early to mid 40’s who lives with her British boyfriend, their young son, her Korean mother, and her two boys from a previous marriage; and an Indian woman, about my age, who grew up rich in India and she and her husband (as well as her in-laws) are raising their 4 year old fraternal twins.
I love and respect all of my coworkers and it brings me great joy to discuss their experiences with them. Because of this is, they are able to wrangle me into participate in the company Halloween festivities, you know, like all Fortune Whatever companies do.
Then I look at my coworkers from the other building, and almost nobody knows us or tries to get to know us. Everyone there seems to love country music, the Astros, and the Rodeo… I could care less about those things. Every Corporate function includes a cornhole tournament and beer. One Christmas, we were all given cowboy hats… We work with construction and utilities companies across the country… So I sort of understand but…Cowboy hats? Is that a good waste of money?
And then… there is the CEO… The first town hall that I attended, the CEO (Let’s call him…Clint), who is also a Gen Xer, said several things derogatory about Technology and Complianed about IT… Understandable as almost nobody likes us and sees us as weird and a cost center, but it was a little harsh. Then he said that he could run the whole company off of a Big Chief tablet. (Ngl, I had to look that one up.)
No, sir… No you could not. Definitely not now, but for sure, not then either. At the time, the business consisted of about 50 companies and the stock traded at about $80 per share. So again I say, No, sir…
Know what that showed me? A lack of understanding in tech for sure… but also his total ignorance and mentality towards his employees. He walks into the room, always pissed off looking in his cowboy hat, Miami Vice like suit and Cavender’s boots. (Sir, you make at least $8 million per year on stocks alone. I only checked one year, but that pissed me off enough to not check again.) All of his kids work at the company. His cousin runs one of our smaller companies… He is technically a nepo baby and then has the gall to say that no one is working hard enough. But out of all that, I just ignore him and his lack of self-awareness and laugh it off as harmless…
I have worked here for 5 years now. Why you may ask? Because I don’t mind my coworkers most of the time, I ignore the doofs and I have tried to find other jobs but I always get calls back on fully in office jobs for lower pay…. Which what I make, both of my parents who were in IT for years, think that I am making too little…
Until — -
This last town hall meeting… Guess what he said and did?
Did he give us all raises? Nope… He praised Elon Musk, he said Canada should be our 51st state, and that all borders (except Canada, gee…, I wonder why?) should be closed.
At the beginning of the Town Hall, there was hold music that was country music. Ok, that’s pretty standard. But then a song by Luke Bryan played, called Strip It Down. That has become a big ole fucking red flag to me. The lyrics if you don’t know are of a man (creepily I might add) trying to convince his wife to have sex with him in not very subtle language. Why?!? I don’t understand….
Then he basically rambled on about politics for about an hour (and potentially committed an HR violation).
Is anybody out there experiencing something like this? I feel insane…
Man, if I get an email that says, “List 5 things that you did this week” I will respond with a response that will probably get me fired…maybe?
Can someone come and collect their Gen X bald white dad?
