Work's Not Working

We’re told the system works.
That if you speak up, someone will listen.
That HR is there to protect you.
That managers care.
That values written on a wall mean something.

But we’ve lived the reality:
HR protects the company.
Managers are overworked, undertrained, or part of the problem.
And those values? They're often just wallpaper.

We are not naive.
We are not burned out because we didn’t try—we’re burned out because we did.

We showed up. We gave feedback. We followed the process.
And too often, we paid the price for it.

We are the ones who still have to smile in meetings.
Who still show up and get the job done.
Who are navigating toxic power structures, inequity, and performative allyship—while trying to stay employed.

We are not loud by choice.
We are quiet because it’s safer.
Because we have bills to pay. Families to care for. Careers to protect.

But quiet does not mean passive.
We share resources.
We protect each other.
We swap stories in backchannels and DMs.
We build our own playbook for survival.

We don’t follow the handbook.
We write our own.

We know the system wasn’t built for us.
So we built something else.
This community. This space.
A place for real talk, mutual aid, and honest strategies.

We are not here to fix the system from the inside.
We’re here to survive it—and support each other in doing the same.

We hold the job.
We keep our soul.
We are Quiet Rebels.