Why has work become so hard to navigate?

Rather than predicting the future, this report analyzes present-day signals already shaping organizational life, including:

1. Rising cognitive and emotional load without corresponding support 
2. Persistent contradictions in roles, expectations, and incentives 
3. Adaptation demands that quietly exceed human capacity 
4. Performance cultures that look functional but feel misaligned 
5. A widening gap between organizational pace and human sense-making 
6. How adaptation becomes a trap that keeps people and systems stuck

This report is written for:

• Leaders sensing that something is off but struggling to name it 
• Practitioners working inside change, culture, or transformation roles 
• Organizations noticing rising friction, fatigue, or disengagement despite good intentions
   

If you are looking for tools, this report may frustrate you.
If you are looking for clarity, it will likely resonate.

The Workplace Absurdities Report sits alongside ongoing investigations, essays, and the book in progress, RECLAIM: Finding Your Bearings in a Contradictory Workplace (working subtitle).  Together, this work examines why modern work has become harder to orient inside, and why capable people are not failing even when systems feel increasingly brittle.