The Confessions

"I have been mentally checked out of my job for two years but I am too afraid of the financial uncertainty to leave. Every day I give about forty percent of what I am capable of. My employer thinks I am performing well. I know what I could actually do if I cared."

"I have told my employer I cannot work weekends for family reasons for three years. My family reasons are that I simply do not want to work weekends. There is no specific commitment. I have just never wanted to say that plainly."

"I have been sending my CV out for eight months and have not told my partner. They think my career is settled and I am content. I am neither. I do not know how to explain the restlessness without worrying them."

"I interviewed someone for a position I knew had already been filled internally. HR required us to go through a process. I sat across from someone who had clearly prepared extensively and answered every question brilliantly. I shook their hand at the end and said we would be in touch."

"I have been faking confidence in meetings for eleven years. Every presentation, every strategy session, every time I speak with authority I am terrified inside. Nobody knows. I am considered a natural leader. I am the best actor in the building."

"I once made a significant error that cost my company a major contract. I managed to shift the narrative so that the blame landed on my team rather than on me. They never found out. I received a formal apology from my manager on their behalf. I said thank you."

"I took credit for a piece of work my junior colleague produced almost entirely on her own. My manager praised me in front of the whole team. She was in the room. I said nothing to correct it. She left the company three months later and I have always wondered if that moment contributed."

"I told a job candidate that the company culture was excellent and the team was supportive. Neither was true. I needed to fill the role urgently. They lasted four months. I knew within weeks they were miserable. I said nothing and let them work it out themselves."

"I reported a colleague for something I knew was an exaggeration because I felt threatened by how quickly they were progressing. They were put on a performance plan. They eventually left. I got the promotion. I have not had a peaceful night since."

"I have been at my company for nine years and genuinely do not know what I contribute. I turn up, I participate, I produce work. But I could not honestly tell you what the organisation would lose if I left tomorrow. That thought keeps me awake."