Alright, so Corporate America is really into “company culture” these days. But honestly? All those Friday drinks and team-building days might just be hiding a not-so-great trend. It’s something that’s actually making your workplace less fun and maybe even messing with your career.

Okay, let’s talk about something that’s been a bit of a puzzle in America for a while now. You might remember about four years ago, the US and the whole world saw a crazy spike in unemployment – the most intense ever recorded. In today’s fast-moving news, that feels like ancient history. But what hasn’t gone away is what that period left behind.

Just 30 years ago, it wasn’t weird at all for employees to think they’d spend their whole career with just one company. Nowadays? You’re considered a bit silly if you don’t change jobs every couple of years. And there’s this growing idea that it’s even silly to have a regular job at all.

Back before the year 2000, if you wanted a predictable career where you could make a lot of money, you generally needed a nice suit and an important-looking business card. Your main options were Finance, Medicine, Law, or maybe reaching senior company management if you were lucky.

So, picture this: the end of the Second World War rolls around, and BAM! You see a huge jump in folks having babies all over the world. This created the biggest generation ever, fittingly called the Baby Boomers.

Hey there, traveler! You ever notice how some incredibly rich folks go out of their way to act like they’re just regular Joes? It’s kinda strange, right? Well, turns out it’s super important to them that you think they are. So much so, that some are shelling out millions of dollars every year to PR agencies just to spread this message: “Yep, I’m just a regular person, drive a regular car, eat at regular restaurants, live in a regular home.”

So, you’ve got the biggest trade hub in the massive spaceship game EVE Online. Think of it as the downtown Manhattan of that virtual universe. And then you’ve got, well, actual downtown Manhattan, the biggest trade hub in our real world.

Let’s talk about what went down in 2008. It was a pretty wild ride for the economy. The whole housing market falling apart kicked off one financial crisis after another. For a while there, it felt like the news just kept getting worse, and folks were really worried the country was headed for a long, tough recession.