Editor’s note: This article was originally published on April 20, 2023 and was updated on February 23, 2024.
Eight years ago, John Stegner moved to New York City and landed a dream job with a large book publisher. After only eight months, Stegner was fired.
“My supervisor had a very strict understanding of what an office worker was supposed to do. That meant never being more than five minutes late unless there was a train excuse. I was not allowed to have a single typo in an email and that was impossible for me.”