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Adam Scott and Tramell Tillman in Severance
While remote work has been a mainstay since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more companies are attempting to mandate that employees return to the office, on a full or part-time basis, including one now-infamous effort from JPMorgan Chase. The company announced that as of March 2025, all employees were required to return to the office five days per week. Their CEO even ditched the policy that allowed employees to work-from-home two days per week.
To mark the occasion, welcome everyone back ( and perhaps twist the knife a bit deeper?) the United State's largest bank unveiled a plan for a massive $3 billion, 2.5 millions square foot tower on New York's famous Park Avenue—which would house 14,000 workers and feature state of the art architecture and technology—in addition to loading up its new corporate headquarters with perks to help employees transition back to office life.
Some of these "perks" were truly great and truly enticing. Others were... questionable, to say the least.
Grace Tallon on LinkedIn even noticed that some of the benefits of working in the JPMorgan Office seemed like they were yanked right out of one of the most popular current TV shows on the planet: Severance.
If you don't know it, Severance is a psychological thriller on Apple TV that doubles as a dark and biting satire of corporate office culture and capitalism. Employees at a mysterious company called Lumon are "severed" — meaning their brains, memories, and personalities are literally split in half. While at work, they are a different person and retain no memories when they leave the office every night. In return for their sacrifice and for hitting key milestones, the employees receive ludicrous rewards like short dance parties with their boss, melon parties with carved watermelons, and handfuls of balloons. Employees are also expected to marvel at bizarre pieces of art that line the hall, featuring stoic images of Lumon's revered (and more than a bit creepy) founders.
Conversely, JPMorgan's new tower boasted 19-restaurants with at-your-desk delivery, an Irish pub, and on-site physical therapy and yoga. But that's not all!
Tallon notes, however, that JPMorgan also tried to entice employees with things like "personalized climate" in rooms and offices, a "signature scent" that wafts through the halls and somehow reinforced the brand, and, get this, even a "corporate art collection" that celebrates the company's history and values. Be more on the nose next time, will you JPMorgan? That's to say nothing of design elements that support worker's circadian rhythms and coffee machines that learn your favorites over time.
"Let’s stop pretending this is about connecting and doing better work," she writes.
Read Tallon's full post below on the striking similarities:
While some folks defended the corporation for doing their best to make employees feel cared for and taken care of, others didn't quite see it that way, especially when they compared it to the perks of WFH life.
"The climate in my own home office is just right. Along with my own coffee, artwork, lighting (window wide open), and other perks and it cost me zero dollars to drive there and I don't have to wear shoes! Way out of touch," wrote Alix Z.
"Those perks sound more like a high-tech museum experience than actual employee benefits. Instead of a 'signature scent,' how about giving employees real reasons to feel good about coming to work?" said Diana Alayon.
Some at-home perk simply can't be beat. Photo credit: Canva
"Working at home perks: My own candle collection, curated to suit my preferences, Coffee and tea on tap, from our favourite brands, Comfortable cushions and blankets to help regulate my temperature at my desk, A variety of lighting options, ranging from warm white lamps to 'the big light', Freedom to work anywhere I want, such as my office desk, sofa, kitchen table or a coffee shop near by, Personalised art with photos of family and pictures we enjoy, Working space decorated to my own specifications, Plenty of spaces nearby for fresh air and dog walks" wrote Eloise Todd in a mic-drop comment.
There are of course benefits to working together in-person with your colleagues. And sure, if you're required to be there, nothing offsets discomfort quite like delicious lunches and free yoga classes. But to take away even the option of occasionally working from home and duct-taping over it with an algorithm that tracks coffee orders and temperature preferences, and filling the halls with strange paintings that move when employees walk by? It kind of loses the thread, and it's exactly the kind of thinking that the creators of Severance are so good at skewering.
Mark (Adam Scott) at the infamous dance party scene in Severance. media0.giphy.com
According to Forbes, there are 6 distinct reason companies might push for a return to the office. One, corporate heads believe employees get more "immersed in the company’s values." Two, they think it's easier to monitor whether or not an employee is actually working. Three, to justify the cot of that expensive office space. Four, to foster "spontaneous collaboration." Five, to give new employees a chance to observe and interact with more seasoned worker. and six, to restore a sense of belonging within the company.
But of course, none of these things have anything to do with what people really want: Autonomy. That, in addition to fair pay, some level of flexibility, and good benefits. Perks are nice — even the kind of weird ones — but they can only go so far. It remains to be seen if companies that dictate back-to-the-office edicts are willing to follow through on the things that really matter. Please note how waffle parties did not make that list.
This article originally appeared in February
Old photographs in a box as time passes.
Time capsules are just cool, no matter how you slice them. The term, officially coined at the 1939 New York World's Fair, has been around for centuries. According to Evan Andrews's piece on History.com, "The world’s first planned time capsule debuted in 1876 when New York Magazine publisher Anna Deihm assembled a 'Century Safe' at the U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia."
Exactly 100 years later, it was opened. Andrews shares, "At a ceremony attended by President Gerald Ford, Senator Mike Mansfield said the opening had honored 'the wish of a lady who sought to speak to us from the other side of a 100-year gulf.'"
Just recently, in a small town in Nebraska, a time capsule from half a century ago was unearthed. NBC News writer Maya Eaglin reports, "Treasures from 1975, sealed inside what the World Record Academy once called the 'world’s largest time capsule,' went on display Friday, drawing hundreds of people from across the country to catch a glimpse of relics from the past."
-Nebraska Now www.youtube.com
She adds, "Thousands of letters, pet rocks, artwork, a groovy teal suit and even a yellow Chevy Vega had been preserved inside the capsule—a portal to another era—for half a century."
The letters are still being sorted, though one person, the article relays, was able to find a very special relic he snuck in. "Clark Kolterman, who was there in 1975, put his wedding invitation in the capsule. 'I can’t believe they found it,' he said, surrounded by his children."
This all begs the question: if you were filling a capsule of time of your own (other than, say, your kitchen junk drawer), what would you put in it? Redditors jumped to answer the question “What would you put in your 2025 time capsule?” just a couple of weeks ago.
The replies ranged from thoughtful and serious to downright hilarious. One person joked, "Someone with their phone on speaker, holding it at arm’s length and yelling in the general direction of it." Another, mocking chemicals found in fruits and vegetables, suggested, "Any of the supermarket fruit and veg I buy seems to not ever go off these days. I’m unsure what they now do to them, but I’d be intrigued to know if they remain edible in 50 years' time."
A brown and blue hourglass sits on stones. Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
Though a few took the question to heart and gave earnest suggestions:
A woman in a hot car.
Cars can become unbearably hot in the summer. Even at a seemingly mild 80 degrees outside, the temperature inside can soar to a scorching 109°F within 20 minutes. According to the CDC, in just 40 minutes it can escalate to a blistering 118°F. After an hour, it can peak at a searing 123°F. And that’s just the air temperature; a dark dashboard or seat can reach a staggering 200°F.
"These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, child seat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation (red) which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle," the CDC explained in their report. It can take five to 10 minutes for your car to cool down on a hot day by turning on the air conditioning, which probably means you burn your buttocks and thighs on the hot seat. That’s why Hannah Fry shared an amazing hack on TikTok, demonstrating how to cool your car down in seconds using the laws of thermodynamics.
Fry is Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. She is a mathematician, a best-selling author, an award-winning science host, and the host of numerous popular podcasts and television shows.
@fryrsquared That age-old dilemma of choosing between having a non-sweltering car or baffling a passerby because you look like a fool who doesn't know how to use a door
Fry suggests that instead of turning on the air conditioning, which she claims is “not worth it” because of the time it takes, open one of the windows on the opposite side of the door. Then, rapidly open and close the driver’s side door, so it moves back and forth like a fan.
“The reason why it works is that when you open and close the door, especially if you do it quickly, the door, as it's moving outwards, it sweeps out all of the air that's in its way, creating this sort of area of low pressure that you get here,” Fry said. “And then that sets up something called bulk flow, which is where all of the hot, sweaty, horrible air inside the car is drawn outwards.”
A man sweating in his car.via Canva/Photos
Fry’s super practical approach to a problem everyone deals with blew many people’s minds in the comments. “If I ever catch someone in real life doing this, I’m gonna know they’ve watched this exact video,” a commenter wrote. “I will give it a go, but while opening and closing the door, scream, ‘Be gone, heat demons! BE GONE!’” another added. “Going to remember this the next time my partner farts in the car,” someone joked.
The fact that the inside air temperature in a car and the outside temperature are often drastically different, especially in the summer, serves as a crucial reminder to dog owners everywhere to never leave their pet unattended in a parked car. "Most dog owners know that you can’t leave a pet in a hot car," the American Kennel Club writes. "Temperatures can rise to dangerous levels in just minutes, putting your dog at risk of heatstroke. But what if you open a window a little bit? Does that make it safe to leave your dog in the car? The answer is simple. You should never leave a dog alone in the car, even with the windows cracked. In some states, it’s even illegal."
The following video by The Dodo explains why leaving a dog in a hot car can be deadly, even when it doesn’t feel that hot outside.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
"Either way you've been there before."
We talk a lot about the awkwardness of having that inevitable “birds and the bees” talk with our kiddos, but there’s another conversation topic bound to be even more anxiety inducing: what happens after we die.
It’s a difficult question for parents to answer, since not even we really know what happens after we pass on. Those who subscribe to a religious belief connected to an afterlife might have perhaps an easier time initially, but even then, there are bound to be very complex follow-up questions that aren’t so easy to navigate…especially in a way that kids can understand without getting overwhelmed. Because let’s face it, it’s an overwhelming topic no matter what age you are.
A mother consoling her grieving children. Photo credit: Canva
And yet, a mom named Penny offered to share how she has the “death talk" with her young ones, and it’s actually pretty darn solid.
Because every bit of it is great, we’re just putting the whole thing down below:
“When my kids would say ‘Mommy, where do you go after you die?’ I would tell them, ‘I think you probably just go to wherever you were before you were born.’ And they’d ask me ‘Where is that?’ and I’d say ‘I don’t know. I don’t remember. It might be a place, it might be nothing. Either way, you’ve been there before. Because before you were here if you were somewhere else you were OK. And if you were nowhere that was OK, too. So if you die and you go somewhere else, you’ll be OK. But if you die and it’s nothing you’ve been in nothing before and it was OK. It’ll be OK then, too.’”
Tearing up? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
“Okay but why did this make me cry,” one person wrote. Others noted how these were equally wise words for adults who might be dealing with their own death anxiety.
“Are you sure this is an answer for kids? Because I think you just cured my fear of death as a 35 yo,” one person quipped.
Another echoed, “as an adult who panics about there being nothing after death…this brought me bittersweet comfort. That my deepest fear could be true, but to take a different perspective on it.”
Penny’s words echo that of poet and Epicurean philosopher Lucretius, who viewed death as simply a return to the non-existent state we were in before birth. If one doesn't fear the time before their birth, they shouldn't fear the time after their death, he argued.
In his book On the Nature of Things, Lucretius wrote:
“Consider the time before we were born: we felt no distress when the Carthaginians were attacking Rome on every side; and the whole world was shaken by the frightening tumult of that war… and in the same way in the future, when we shall no longer exist, and the final breaking up occurs for the body and spirit from which we are now compounded into a single unit, nothing whatever will be able to happen to us, or produce any sensation — not even if the the earth should collapse in to the sea, or the sea explode in the sky…”
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Beautifully written, but we can easily see how Penny’s “Either way, you’ve been there before” version is a little easier to comprehend for kids and adults alike.
Obviously, with a complex subject like this, there will be several layers of conversations to be had and feelings to process. After all, no one has all the answers…and that can be scary. But wisdom like this can certainly help navigate through that murky terrain. Several folks are calling for Penny to make this into a children’s book, so who knows? Maybe parents will soon have it as a little companion when they have the Grim Reaper chat with their littles. Or to come back to for themselves.
If not, they can always go back to her very thoughtful video.
The Internet can be a wonderful place. Here's proof.
For all its faults, the Internet—TikTok especially—has a magical way of inspiring connections that otherwise would never have happened.
This was certainly the case for Rachel Ruff Cuyler and a Utah-based indie band named Poolhouse that randomly came across her feed one day. Neither Cuyler nor the members of Poolhouse could have guessed that a few tweaks offered by Cuyler would end up making a viral hit…or a fast friendship.
“There’s a song that came across my algorithm yesterday,, and all I want to do is fix it,” Cuyler said with a beaming smile in the TikTok video that set this whole story off.
Rachel Ruff Cuyler explaining how she would "fix" Poolhouse' song to make it the next "Teenage Dirtbag." @rachelruffcuyler/TikTok
The song in question, “Could Be Love,” had “all the pieces” of a mega-hit, Cuyler noted. It even had the potential to become the next “Teenage Dirtbag” (strong praise, Cuyler, strong praise). The only issue was all those great pieces were “in the wrong place.”
Getting delightfully enthusiastic, Cuyler suggested three things. One, that the chorus be made into the first verse, in addition to being the chorus. Two, that the current first chorus be made into the second verse. When the song gets to the chorus, it should be punched up “the same way they did in the Pepper Ann theme song.” Millennials felt that in their core.
In case you’re unfamiliar, here’s that bop:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Lastly, Cuyler said that the sound needed to be “fuller” overall, and proposed adding more call and response bits as well as more harmonies. But you don’t have to imagine any of this, cause she cut a version herself, which you can hear (and witness Cuyler rocking out to joyously) at about 1 minute and 23 seconds into the clip:
In a lovely act of fate, Cuyler’s video ended up going viral, with millions of people, including bona fide hitmakers like Muni Long, wholeheartedly agreeing with her take. This in turn, helped the video make its way back to Poolhouse.
Rather than taking any offense, Poolhouse members were taken aback by Cuyler's positivity, and incorporated her notes to create “Could Be Love - Rachel’s Version.” They even invited Cuyler from her home in Atlanta out to Utah to be in the music video.
Cuyler, of course, said yes. And as the freshly made chorus begins to play, she jumps into frame and rocks out with her new buds, which you can see below:
Sure enough, “Could Be Love - Rachel’s Version” became a hit. But perhaps even more importantly, it gave people a much needed restoration in their faith for humanity.
“What a time to be alive! The internet was made for moments like this.”
“Proof that AI can never truly replace human art, because AI would never know we needed the Pepper Ann Treatment.”
“I love how both parties understand the concept of constructive criticism. Like the band says she didn't just say ‘your song is bad,’ she actually gives them a proper criticism, telling them which parts that could be fixed and better. At the same time, the band have their eyes wide to see that she's genuinely trying to help them instead of just bashing them. In a better world, this should be the norm.”
“This is a beautiful illustration of what constructive criticism actually looks like and the importance of framing your argument in a such a way that the people you are trying to reach don't take offense and immediately tune you out. The result of being open to listening to ideas from outside your circle of trust are not always this amazing, but more times than not, you will come away with a new idea.”
“Awesome story. This is what the internet was created for connection and inspiration. More of this please.”
Never underestimate the power of sharing your authentic enthusiasm. You never know what wonderful collaborations, adventures, and memories it might be inviting in.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Stay tuned with all things Poolhouse and Rachel Ruff Cuyler via the link below
Poolhouse: IG, TikTok, Spotify
Rachel Ruff Cuyler: TikTok
