{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Velvet Cubicle","home_page_url":"https://velvetcubicle.com","description":"Velvet Cubicle","author":{"name":"Velvet Cubicle"},"items":[{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/moths-mason-jars-and-the-secret-lives-of-our-coworkers","html_content":"

It usually happens over lunch, or during the fifteen minutes before a meeting when everyone's waiting for the last person to find the Zoom link - a coworker mentions their hobby, almost offhand, and the file drawer in yo...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/moths-mason-jars-and-the-secret-lives-of-our-coworkers","title":"Moths, Mason Jars and the Secret Lives of Our Coworkers","summary":"It usually happens over lunch, or during the fifteen minutes before a meeting when everyone's waiting for the last person to find the Zoom link - a coworker mentions their hobby, almost offhand, and the file drawer in yo...","date_modified":"2026-07-30T13:12:43Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/field-notes-from-the-annual-company-picnic","html_content":"

Mark from Security arrived at the pavilion at 5:30 this morning. Nobody asked him to do this.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/field-notes-from-the-annual-company-picnic","title":"Field Notes from the Annual Company Picnic","summary":"Mark from Security arrived at the pavilion at 5:30 this morning. Nobody asked him to do this.","date_modified":"2026-07-17T15:30:27Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/scattered-showers-may-lead-to-widespread-irritability","html_content":"

There's a workplace factor that never appears in employee engagement surveys but exerts an outsized influence on the workday - and not in some vague, hand-wavy way, but in a very specific, visceral, why-is-everyone-irrit...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/scattered-showers-may-lead-to-widespread-irritability","title":"Scattered Showers May Lead to Widespread Irritability","summary":"There's a workplace factor that never appears in employee engagement surveys but exerts an outsized influence on the workday - and not in some vague, hand-wavy way, but in a very specific, visceral, why-is-everyone-irrit...","date_modified":"2026-06-16T13:16:53Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/reserved-coveted-and-contested-decoding-the-office-parking-lot","html_content":"

The stuff that happens on the acres of asphalt before anyone reaches the front door of your office building is, in many ways, a fascinating microcosm of how your company operates. Who parks where, who gets to park there,...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/reserved-coveted-and-contested-decoding-the-office-parking-lot","title":"Reserved, Coveted and Contested: Decoding the Office Parking Lot","summary":"The stuff that happens on the acres of asphalt before anyone reaches the front door of your office building is, in many ways, a fascinating microcosm of how your company operates. Who parks where, who gets to park there,...","date_modified":"2026-05-16T15:44:38Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-keyboard-tells-all-you-can-hear-it-from-here","html_content":"

You don't need a personality assessment, a Myers-Briggs debrief, or a team-building session with color-coded cards to understand the people you work with. You just need to pay attention to how they type.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-keyboard-tells-all-you-can-hear-it-from-here","title":"The Keyboard Tells All. You Can Hear it From Here. ","summary":"You don't need a personality assessment, a Myers-Briggs debrief, or a team-building session with color-coded cards to understand the people you work with. You just need to pay attention to how they type.","date_modified":"2026-05-01T12:22:14Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-culture-committee-that-killed-culture","html_content":"

There's a particular moment in organizational life that I've come to recognize with the same familiarity I usually reserve for bad weather or a Monday calendar full of scheduled “sync-ups”: the moment leadership decides ...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-culture-committee-that-killed-culture","title":"The Culture Committee That Killed Culture","summary":"There's a particular moment in organizational life that I've come to recognize with the same familiarity I usually reserve for bad weather or a Monday calendar full of scheduled “sync-ups”: the moment leadership decides ...","date_modified":"2026-04-16T15:38:48Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-reply-all-hero-we-deserve","html_content":"

You know the email chain I'm talking about: it’s the one sitting in your inbox that has 47 replies, a subject line that reads \"Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Parking Lot Update - PLEASE READ,\" and approximately 31 people on it who ...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-reply-all-hero-we-deserve","title":"The Reply-All Hero We Deserve","summary":"You know the email chain I'm talking about: it’s the one sitting in your inbox that has 47 replies, a subject line that reads \"Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Parking Lot Update - PLEASE READ,\" and approximately 31 people on it who ...","date_modified":"2026-04-01T17:08:08Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/icebreakers-weapons-of-mass-discomfort","html_content":"

There's a special kind of dread that settles over a room when someone, usually from HR, announces, \"Let's start with a quick icebreaker!\" The collective groan may be silent, but it’s unmistakable.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/icebreakers-weapons-of-mass-discomfort","title":"Icebreakers: Weapons of Mass Discomfort","summary":"There's a special kind of dread that settles over a room when someone, usually from HR, announces, \"Let's start with a quick icebreaker!\" The collective groan may be silent, but it’s unmistakable.","date_modified":"2026-03-06T14:59:04Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/office-supply-drama-a-tragedy-in-three-acts","html_content":"

Even in this era of remote work and the concept we now take as gospel that “everyone can work with just a laptop and a wifi connection,” people still need, want, and covet pens, paper calendars, and in/out baskets to put...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/office-supply-drama-a-tragedy-in-three-acts","title":"Office Supply Drama: A Tragedy in Three Acts","summary":"Even in this era of remote work and the concept we now take as gospel that “everyone can work with just a laptop and a wifi connection,” people still need, want, and covet pens, paper calendars, and in/out baskets to put...","date_modified":"2026-01-21T13:00:00Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-two-week-notice","html_content":"

Here's some fun workplace fiction: the two-week notice is a sacred, unbreakable rule.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-two-week-notice","title":"The Two-Week Notice","summary":"Here's some fun workplace fiction: the two-week notice is a sacred, unbreakable rule.","date_modified":"2025-12-30T15:08:43Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/when-the-hard-conversations-cant-wait-meet-real-talk","html_content":"

Imagine you're the GM at a restaurant and tension is building between your teams. The servers are convinced the hosts are playing favorites when seating customers – filling up certain servers’ stations with the high tipp...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/when-the-hard-conversations-cant-wait-meet-real-talk","title":"When the Hard Conversations Can't Wait: Meet Real Talk","summary":"Imagine you're the GM at a restaurant and tension is building between your teams. The servers are convinced the hosts are playing favorites when seating customers – filling up certain servers’ stations with the high tipp...","date_modified":"2025-12-10T21:50:55Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-annual-we-should-do-a-volunteer-event-debate","html_content":"

It happens every year, right around the time someone hangs the first strand of garland in the breakroom.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-annual-we-should-do-a-volunteer-event-debate","title":"The Annual 'We Should Do a Company Volunteer Event!' Debate","summary":"It happens every year, right around the time someone hangs the first strand of garland in the breakroom.","date_modified":"2025-12-02T19:08:30Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/employee-of-the-month-awards-when-good-intentions-lead-to-bad-re","html_content":"

There it is again. The announcement, the plaque, the awkward applause in the break room while everyone wonders if they're supposed to stop what they're doing and clap harder.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/employee-of-the-month-awards-when-good-intentions-lead-to-bad-re","title":"Employee of the Month Awards: When Good Intentions Turn Bad ","summary":"There it is again. The announcement, the plaque, the awkward applause in the break room while everyone wonders if they're supposed to stop what they're doing and clap harder.","date_modified":"2025-11-19T16:26:34Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/difficult-coworker-types-the-constantly-stressed-coworker","html_content":"

You know the type.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/difficult-coworker-types-the-constantly-stressed-coworker","title":"Difficult Coworker Types: The Constantly Stressed Coworker","summary":"You know the type.","date_modified":"2025-11-10T15:30:44Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-quiet-sociology-of-the-office-potluck","html_content":"

It’s almost time for the most glorious season at the office - Potluck Season. With Thanksgiving and the end-of-year holidays approaching, the sign-up sheet will materialize any minute now, like a Mariah Carey whistle not...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-quiet-sociology-of-the-office-potluck","title":"The Quiet Sociology of the Office Potluck","summary":"It’s almost time for the most glorious season at the office - Potluck Season. With Thanksgiving and the end-of-year holidays approaching, the sign-up sheet will materialize any minute now, like a Mariah Carey whistle not...","date_modified":"2025-11-06T16:04:02Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/mandatory-fun-how-to-set-boundaries-at-work","html_content":"

There’s a special kind of dread that descends when the Outlook calendar invite reads “Team Fun Day!! (Mandatory).” You can sense what’s going to happen because you’ve previously had to put up with the foolishness - matc...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/mandatory-fun-how-to-set-boundaries-at-work","title":"Mandatory Fun? How to Set Boundaries at Work. ","summary":"There’s a special kind of dread that descends when the Outlook calendar invite reads “Team Fun Day!! (Mandatory).” You can sense what’s going to happen because you’ve previously had to put up with the foolishness - matc...","date_modified":"2025-10-24T15:45:08Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-lunch-run","html_content":"

Lunch is the realest thing about any office; we all require sustenance and the way in which we consume our consumables often says a lot about our workplace. Lunch exposes numerous truths about how our organizations value...

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/the-lunch-run","title":"Let's Do Lunch: Your Workplace Culture Barometer","summary":"Lunch is the realest thing about any office; we all require sustenance and the way in which we consume our consumables often says a lot about our workplace. Lunch exposes numerous truths about how our organizations value...","date_modified":"2025-10-22T15:00:00Z"},{"id":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/badges-gone-bad","html_content":"

The office badge seems harmless enough. They make security happy, help new hires learn names, and, in theory, signal belonging. But sometimes? They’re just plastic proof that someone in leadership got bored in a meeting.

","url":"https://velvetcubicle.com/velvet-cubicle-blog-1/f/badges-gone-bad","title":"Work Badges Gone Bad","summary":"The office badge seems harmless enough. They make security happy, help new hires learn names, and, in theory, signal belonging. But sometimes? They’re just plastic proof that someone in leadership got bored in a meeting.","date_modified":"2025-10-21T17:10:30Z"}]}