We’re suckers for end-of-year recaps. As much as we’d love to do a deep-dive into the most random celebrity couples of 2022 (Minka Kelly and the lead singer of Imagine Dragons… huh?), our specialty is work. There were a lot of milestone moments that happened this year in the world of work—from Kim Kardashian’s infamous advice for women in business (yes, that was this year) to the TikTok birth of quiet quitting, and all of the other “quiet [insert here]” trends. Shall we go on a lil’ trip down memory lane? Introducing: our year in review for corporate America.
January
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is found guilty of criminal fraud.
Glossier lays off one-third of their team (a.k.a. 80 employees)—a sneak peek of the layoffs to come for the rest of the year.
Minnie Mouse gets a pantsuit makeover by Stella McCartney for Disneyland Paris’ 30th anniversary.
Chicago-based pop culture The A.V. Club tells their employees to relocate to L.A. or get fired.
The job interview celebrates its 100th birthday (that’s why it’s desperate for a makeover).
The Virginia Library is trending on Twitter. Why? Because of their innovative desk for working parents.
The Wordle craze takes over.
The Great Resignation gets many iterations: The Great Reshuffle, The Great Regret, The Great Remorse, The Great Disengagement and more.
February
Peloton’s stocks go downhill thanks to two TV cameos of characters suffering from heart attacks on the stationary bike. This was only the beginning for the company…
We are feeling the effects of inflation—from our coffee and takeout salad to the designer bags we’re lusting after.
Skills-based hiring is on the rise (because we don’t need a 4-year college degree to get a job).
The Wing, the women-focused coworking space with a controversial past, attempts its comeback with a new CEO, Jennifer Cho.
Levi’s president Jennifer Sey quits and walks away from a $1 million severance package so she could tweet freely.
Current and former members of the women’s national soccer team score equal pay—and win a $24 million dollar settlement with U.S. Soccer.
Severance, the new Black Mirror-esque show about the dark side of work-life balance, debuts on Apple TV+.
March
We launch Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace on International Women’s Day.
Gallup releases a survey about what women in America want for their next job: better pay and benefits, greater work-life balance, the ability to do what they love and an inclusive and diverse organization are the top answers.
LinkedIn adds 13 new ways to describe a career gap.
We’re starting to talk about burnout—and its paralyzing effects—more widely.
Turns out, there’s not just a glass ceiling but a glass cliff for women in corporate America.
Equal Pay Day has us questioning what true equity looks like—and it’s not just about the money anymore. It’s also about paid leave (parental, sick, menstrual, bereavement, mental health), fertility benefits, work-life balance, flexible hours, opportunities for growth, the ability to do work that is meaningful to them and so much more.
The U.S. House passes the CROWN Act which bans race-based hair discrimination.
Lizzo announces her new shapewear line Yitty.
Business Insider publishes an exposé on Glossier’s toxic work culture.
In an interview with Variety, Kim Kardashian gives her infamous advice for women in business: “Get your f*cking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
April
A pilot program for the 4-day work week begins in the U.S.
Etsy sellers go on strike over an increase in transaction fees.
The Wing’s controversial co-founder, Audrey Gelman, announces her new business venture: cottagecore store owner.
We’re questioning whether or not cover letters are dead. TL;DR: They are.
Companies are trying *literally everything* to get us to come back to the office: pizza parties, ping pong tables, concierge services and even booze.
Speaking of offices, we’re daydreaming about offices that aren’t so “office-y” What do we have in mind? Affordable, quality child care. No perfume. Pets in the office on Fridays. Fresh air. Designated areas where you can take Zoom calls that are acoustically quiet. Shall we go on?
Microsoft discovers a third productivity peak in our work day: between 9 and 10 p.m.
Candidates are ghosting prospective employers, giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Thanks to the pandemic, the office friendship is dead, apparently.
The anti-work, “I don’t dream of labor” movement gains traction, led by Gen Z.
May
After 8 years, Emily Weiss steps down as CEO of Glossier, and Kyle Leahy, the chief commercial officer, is named the new CEO.
Bite Beauty shuts down after a decade in business.
Netflix lays off 150 employees after a major subscriber loss.
Insider information about Apple and TikTok’s toxic work culture hits the newswire.
Wells Fargo faces backlash over their fake job interviews in an effort to increase diversity efforts. They interviewed Black and women candidates after the position was already filled.
We imagine a world where managers no longer exist a.k.a. an office “holacracy,” not a hierarchy.
Slack is named as the new hot spot for job opportunities. Sorry, LinkedIn.
Kim Kardashian is named The Chief Taste Consultant for Beyond Meat.
June
Sheryl Sandberg leaves Meta after 14 years.
The world’s largest 4-day workweek trial begins in the U.K.
Revlon files for bankruptcy.
Hailey Bieber launches her very own skincare brand Rhode. And we add it to the list of the million other celebrity beauty brands that launched this year.
OTT job applications (complete with baked goods, glitter and paper maché) are on the rise, thanks to TikTok. Turns out, you’re fine with just a basic Canva template.
Gen Z is feeling the office FOMO. That face-to-face connection and opportunities for networking simply can’t be replicated in the comfort of your couch.
Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Content creators speak out about creator burnout. There’s the ever-changing algorithm, keeping up with emerging platforms (TikTok only started blowing up in 2019/2020), new trends that come and go in the span of a week and the pressure to adapt your content to stay relevant.
Roe v Wade is overturned, ending the constitutional right to abortion. Dozens of companies like Citigroup, Match Group, Salesforce, Starbucks, Target and more add abortion travel costs to their employee benefits.
July
Kate Bush’s 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” makes a comeback, thanks to Stranger Things.
A “chief candy officer” job—with a $100K salary—goes viral.
“Slacksplaining” has officially entered our vocabulary.
The student summer internship looks a lot different this year. The bosses are working from home, and the interns are at the office… unsupervised.
BeReal takes off—just as Instagram is entering its flop era. Convenient timing, no?
Beyoncé releases Renaissance and suddenly, all is well in the world.
The digital nomad, work-from-anywhere lifestyle gains popularity.
Rumblings of a looming recession begin.
Mass layoffs in tech ramp up over the next few months. Those affected are Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Cisco, Roku, Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Zillow, Shopify, Netflix, Oracle, Robinhood, Linktree, Peloton, Apple, Snap and many more.
August
The modern quiet quitting revolution (we know, this isn’t a new concept, just a new name) begins on TikTok. Millions of people are inspired to do the bare minimum at work.
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee gets canceled and it makes us wonder why there’s not more women hosting late-night TV shows (that don’t get canceled after a few seasons).
We’re starting a petition to ban forced fun at work. Because we don’t get paid enough to go bowling with Gary and the rest of the accounting team outside of office hours.
Scotland becomes the first country in the world to make period products free for everyone.
Serena Williams announces her retirement from tennis.
Lisa LaFlamme, a Canadian journalist who was the chief anchor and senior editor of CTV National News, the country’s most-watched national news program, makes headlines about her unexpected firing. And it sparks a wave of appreciation for gray hair.
The prime minister of Finland Sanna Marin causes a political scandal for *gasp* partying with friends. Her capability to run a country was called into question because she has fun. Sexist much?
September
Gap lays off 500 corporate employees.
The founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, gives away the company to fight climate change. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children transfer the ownership of their $3B company to a trust fund and nonprofit organization, where $100M a year will be used to protect the planet. Warren Buffett, are you writing this down?
Business cards are canceled too.
The trailer for The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey drops.
LinkedIn is no longer just a networking app—it’s a place for honest conversation. Wanna post about your breakup? Troubles with the kids? It’s all fair game.
Recording, ranking and tracking employee’s productivity is on the rise.
The death of Mahsa Amini starts a global uprising against the morality police in Iran.
October
We relaunched Girlboss Radio, our hit podcast, with a brand new host and a renewed mission.
Netflix’s biopic about Marilyn Monroe, Blonde, gets ridiculed for its negligent representation of the late actress.
A Netherlands court decides that it’s illegal to ask employers to turn on their webcams.
Savage x Fenty Activewear changes our athleisure game for the better.
A lot of opinion pieces are published about what emojis are ok and not ok to use on Slack with your colleagues. The “hostile” thumbs up emoji? Absolutely not.
Moonlighting—a.k.a. working a second job outside normal business hours—sparks debate. Should it be illegal?
Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion—and the app has not been the same since.
November
Taylor Swift fans start a war with Ticketmaster over the botched presale of her The Eras Tour. The case goes to the Supreme Court and some fans sue the ticketing giant.
New York City hires a “director of rodent migration” a.k.a. a “blood-thirsty rat czar.” Starting salary? $120K.
The stay-at-home girlfriend lifestyle has its moment in the spotlight on TikTok.
“Bleisure” is the new hot type of travel: business and leisure in one. Thanks, remote work!
The Big Apple also enacts their much-anticipated pay transparency law which requires all companies with four or more employees to post the minimum and maximum salary on the job advertisement.
The old (horny) Tumblr makes a comeback.
We wonder why paid menstrual leave and paid menopause leave still aren’t a standard thing in corporate America.
Elizabeth Holmes is sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for fraud.
December
Business Insider publishes an exposé about mega-influencer Arielle Charnas’ lifestyle brand Something Navy—and it’s a hot mess.
Nepotism babies are in the spotlight and the hot seat.
Greta Thunberg ends the year on a bang by flawlessly taking down Andrew Tate on Twitter.
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