Most Wanted is a weekly series in which one editor, staffer, or influencer shares their top 30 must-haves or current wish-list items.
Summer is easily the only season that simultaneously excites and disappoints me. The promise is always there: The fun clothes! The easy makeup! The warm weather! But more often than not, I’m reminded that I’m not, in fact, in high school anymore and won’t be on a two-month-long vacation, and I really shouldn’t have taken my glory days for granted.
Biggest negotiation regret: Although not strictly salary, my biggest regret is not negotiating my time and going part-time (80% of full-time would be an average of 40 hours a week rather than 48). I am a believer that time is money, that money can buy you time and that time is one of your most precious resources. At one point in my career, I really hoped to work 60 or 80% of full-time, which would have meant a reduction in salary accordingly. I contacted the department about this and did not receive a reply. I tried again and again and still nothing. I then worked out that 80% meant working two or three less shifts a month but for a lot less pay. I felt awkward about my request, knowing that attitudes towards less than full-time working are not always positive, so I emailed to rescind my request. Within 10 minutes I got a response saying: “Perfect.” That summed up the attitude of some (but not all) of my colleagues, in my opinion. I regret not pushing to work less than full-time as I became burnt out and exhausted, and childcare costs increased as I had to have my child in full-time childcare just in case I had to work certain days. Most disappointingly and importantly, time with my child and for myself was exchanged for a couple of extra thousand pounds a year (if that) after childcare, which to me is not worth it.
If you want to look like you’re part of the established upper crust, Matland encourages you to follow Roman Roy’s lead instead of Tom Wambsgans, which means aim for an effortless look, rather than one that feels contrived. Wambsgans joins the Roy family by dating and marrying the only daughter, Siobhan “Shiv” Roy. He’s portrayed as an outsider from the start, trying way too hard to fit in from the first moment we meet him in episode one. In fact, one of the only things all of the Roy children bond over during the series is criticizing Wambsgans’s fumbling sartorial attempts.
The Roy family and their elite inner circle employ a strict policy of stealth wealth gatekeeping. Interlopers become instant targets for not adhering to the invisible set of sartorial rules the Waystar Royco crew follows.
To start, it’s important to recognise that overthinking often starts with good intentions. If we’re putting a lot of attention on something it’s likely because we care about the outcome. Of course, overthinking can sometimes be fear-based and driven by insecurity but this is often something distinct called rumination, often found in obsessive compulsive disorder. In that case, the thoughts are unwanted and pop up spontaneously, which drives the continuous replay in people’s heads. On the other hand, with overthinking, we choose to bring those thoughts to mind. Often when we overthink, we want to arrive at solutions that will enable progress of some kind, particularly in the workplace. It will also often involve other people — anticipating other people’s perspectives and opinions, whether that’s focusing on the content of a work presentation or what you wear to present it.
