Why are humans finding it more difficult to work with others?

I think declining neurology due to higher levels of biomechanical collapse are at the heart of it

I was watching this Tiktok video (link) by Arkansasblonde today and she says something like:

“I would rather be a prostitute than go back to work for corporate again. I think that the psychological damage would probably be equivalent.”

And it made me think of something that I haven’t really talked much about here, but it’s another side to this stuff that has completely changed my way of thinking.

You see…. more and more humans are more and more biomechanically collapsed. And that has a very pronounced neurological effect.

Which is something I learned first hand the past decade and I want to explain it more today… because I have a feeling it may shed some light on things you all have went through.

I started my career as a happy corporate guy

I was a fresh grad in 1999 and began working for a strategy consultancy in Boston. It was an exciting time and the company was full of young people around my age.

I loved coming to the office and got along with pretty much everyone.

So much so that I often organized extracurricular events after work or on weekends.

I was pretty healthy neurologically… and so I can’t really remember ever engaging in any true ‘politics’ at that time.

Although there were definitely politics in the office between others… I just wasn’t really exposed to it.

I remember there was this one guy that was a bit more senior to me and was a bit collapsed. And he was often talking pretty negatively about others… and so I didn’t like the vibe he created.

But I got along with him fine and so he was never a problem for me… though he was a problem for some others.

This continued like this throughout my 20’s.

me at one point in 2017 when I wasn’t feeling well

As I collapsed more, I had a harder time in offices

In my thirties I seemed to be getting worse at the whole politics thing. Or at least that is what it felt like.

And it coincided with more and more tightness in my back, neck and jaw.

But the dentist drilling my teeth flatter in 2014 was the real kicker. All of a sudden i just lost the ability to read others.

And my ability to manage others dropped off a cliff. I just couldn’t build good relationships and rather felt (and was probably perceived as being) pretty ‘weak’ by my colleagues.

This experience taught me over time that I had no business managing others in an office-type setting in this state. Because it turned into a relative disaster pretty quickly.

So I had to pull myself out of a couple of pretty senior level positions during those years I was going in circles… because I’d often just succumb to the politics.

I didn’t have the ability to develop the right relationships with the key people to avoid being screwed. Whereas when I was younger and neurologically healthier I developed these relationships effortlessly.

At the time I thought I was just working in more ‘political’ companies… but later I realized it wasn’t the companies as much as it was me.

The offices ‘seemed’ more political because I had gotten worse at relationships.

I see a similar pattern in many others these days

What I have described above is more just my own experience, but I’ve had plenty of time to observe and listen to others these past ten years. And I recognize a very distinct pattern.

Lots of people are feeling less and less comfortable in today’s work cultures. Especially if it is a ‘corporate’ culture.

And one key reason for that is in my view… people these days are just far more damaged neurologically than they were 40 years ago when my parents were working.

And when people are more damaged neurologically they tend to have more negative thoughts and actions.

For example when I was more damaged…. i interpeted others’ actions far more negatively than i do now. And so I’d respond in kind with my own set of negative actions, which would then lead to a spiralling relationship.

Also, I think when you’re neurologically impaired you are more likely to want to find comfort in a group or clique.

Which is part of why I think lots of such cliques are formed in most modern offices. They help people find comfort in a stressful environment.

When I was more damaged I was a classic case of this. I was always looking for who I could have ‘on my side’ in the office in case there were disagreements.

Whereas when I was healthier.. I didn’t feel the need to join such cliques as I generally viewed them to be a waste of my time. I just wanted to get my job done.

Our work systems today do not account for the decline in human neurology

One thing that I concluded is that the normal management structures used by larger companies just doesn’t suit this neurological decline that we’ve seen in places like the US today.

Too many collapsed people will simply hate working in that environment.

Cliques will form and certain individuals will be left out and isolated.

Life for these isolated individuals will not be pleasant in the office. As they will be reminded on a daily basis by the others that they are not really liked, nor welcome.

Did things like this happen 50 years ago too? Of course. To some extent it is human nature.

But I have a feeling if you talked to older folks that are in their 70’s and above… you will find that the experience and memories that they describe to you will not be nearly as influenced by negative politics as you will find today.

Rather the work cultures back then were healthier because the people were healthier.

I created new systems to counteract this

Something happened in 2020 that completely changed how I work forever…. it was COVID.

Many companies, mine included, moved to remote working.

In 2021 I contracted for a startup company that was created as a remote-first company with team members spread out all over the world… and so we needed to develop systems that relied a lot less on in-person interactions.

It was at this time that I developed my ‘Beast method’, which is something I talk about in my other Substack, Tech Beast. And I use this method to run Reviv.

In essence the principles are:

• Everything we do is a task in the project management software, Clickup.

• There are no meetings, all work is done asynchronously.

• We do not invest in culture or relationships (most folks have never even seen the faces of most of their colleagues)

• Everyone is paid for the work that they complete, which is easily trackable through their tasks. And so there are no fixed salaries.

And it works amazing.

We probably have the healthiest work culture I have ever been apart of in my entire career. Why?

Because the system is almost completely immune to human relationships.

If you need someone to help you… you just tag them in Clickup, and the process is such that they need to help you.

You don’t need to know them, you don’t need to kiss their ass, etc..

You see… I developed this system BECAUSE of what I went through this past decade with my yo-yoing neurology.

I’d unintentionally learned (through my own difficulties) how to create a work culture that thrives even when most humans these days are damaged.

Closing thoughts

I now see a situation out there in which I think most people are not really happy with the work cultures they are in at their company.

This is because they are somewhat neurologically damaged and so are the people around them.

So everyone is fighting silent political wars in their offices… thinking that certain co-workers are ‘bad’ people.

When the real culprit is more likely the fact that both they and their colleagues have skulls that have slightly collapsed on their brains and has them in constant ‘fight or flight’.

And so they fight because flight means quitting and not earning a salary to provide for their families.

These ‘fights’ end up creating nasty relationships and office cultures that make it unpleasant for everyone.

In a way I think humanity is at a crossroads. Either we need to:

Option 1) improve everyone’s neurology by conquering these biomechanics (think of what offices must have been like back in the 1960’s with lots of smiling and happy people).

or Option 2) Create systems like my ‘Beast method’ that account for this crappy neurology and instead replaces relationships with good, tight process.

As for me… I am hedging and doing both at the same time.

At Reviv not only do we use the ‘Beast Method’ but using the Reviv mouthguard is mandatory for everyone!

Hahahahahaha