Introducing Index: Marker’s New Publication About All Things Work
An exploration of the office, work culture, identity, bias, navigating your career—and more
Dear Readers,
At Marker, we’ve chronicled the professional whiplash of the past year. Some people’s careers have soared throughout the pandemic, while others have lost their jobs or businesses. Some started companies or fundraised for the first time, while others struggled to balance working from home while running a homeschool, dealing with mental health issues, or coping with the death of a loved one or co-worker. Some pushed back against institutional racism in their industries as others were awoken to their own biases. We are now at the edge of returning to a new version of normalcy that will look very different from how we left it.
After a year of careers detours, the Marker team believes it’s never been more important to devote an entire publication to the topic of work. Which is why today we’re thrilled to debut Medium’s newest publication, Index, singularly committed to creating a home for the voices, experiences, and real people behind jobs and careers of all kinds. Led by Marker senior editors Jean-Luc Bouchard and Gloria Oh, Index will explore the most pressing issues surrounding modern work. From personal pivots and fundraising plights to the future of the office, from navigating Silicon Valley and corporate America to workplace racism and sexism, Index will be a place for CEOs, entrepreneurs, managers, gig workers, entry-level employees, or anyone who has a work experience worthy of sharing.
Index will be a home for the lived work experience, a place to diffuse lessons and learnings, candid moments of triumph or failure, missives for change or cathartic humor. Today, you can read about how entrepreneur Rachel Greenberg dealt with sexism on Wall Street, how the pandemic has pushed venture capitalist and self-described introvert Hunter Walk to redefine his interpersonal habits, and the fascinating and rich history of “the disgruntled worker” by historian L.D. Burnett. Finally, we’re excited to debut a new columnist, The Only Black Guy In the Office, a regular voice at our sister publication Level, who will offer unfiltered commentary on news related to corporate America and diversity in the white-collar workplace. As Bouchard writes in their introduction to Index: “Forging a career and finding meaningful, substantive work are, at best, complicated endeavors.”
None of us know yet what shape the office or emerging Zoom towns might take. Once we’re all vaccinated, though, one thing is for certain: If our career paths were unpredictable before, they will continue to take turns we never imagined. Whether you’ve been writing on Medium for years, have published only a couple times, or have always aspired to write here, we invite you to share your own lived work experiences. Please follow Index on Medium, tell your colleagues, and submit the stories the working world needs to hear.
Thanks,
Editor-in-Chief, Marker
