The corporate girlies are not okay

• On TikTok, corporate girlies document their 9 to 5 grinds, from outfits to work set-ups.
• But recent high-profile layoffs have some rethinking the value of romanticizing corporate life.
• That's led corporate girlies to rethink how they define themselves by work, and who they are as workers.

Lianna Smeltzer grew up thinking becoming a "corporate girlie" was the path to success.

Over the last few years, however, the 26-year-old has soured on Corporate America, and it's thrown her whole understanding of success into a tailspin. Most recently, the wave of layoffs sweeping through tech revealed a hard truth about how companies treat their employees, she said.

"All these people at Amazon, Google, even smaller firms who found out that they no longer worked for the company, because they were either locked out of their email, they received an email saying, here's the conditions, you're fired basically, or you're laid off," she said. 

In January, Smeltzer said she quit her job as a project manager at a consulting firm. Broadly, it just didn't sit right with her that "all of those people who put countless amounts of extra hours and effort and prioritized their job over their wellbeing and life" were abruptly shut out of the corporate world. As she ponders her next move, Smeltzer said she's drawn to the concept of "slow living," and is considering a few new projects.

A "corporate girlie," at her core, is all about romanticizing — and, if it's on TikTok, perhaps monetizing — the aesthetic of clocking in for steady work. It looks like waking up early for a "5-to-9" side hustle before starting a 9-to-5, making the perfect green juice and putting together the perfect outfit. It means documenting for your social media following the way the sun streams through your window onto your spotless standing desk — and then wrapping up your day with the perfect balance of reading, meditation, and a meal-prepped dinner. And people are watching: #corporategirlies has 149.3 million views on TikTok.

It's an idealistic lifestyle, one that evokes zillennials's version of the American dream. Corporate girlies often have the stability of a high-paying, flexible job with benefits and perks. They're also creating visibility for a new generation rising through the ranks of the corporate world, where  just 26% of executives are women. If the optimistic and poised corporate girlie was Gen Z's answer to the stop-at-nothing-girlboss, her layoff is spawning the next iteration of the workforce characterized by skepticism of how steady corporate actually is, and a focus on autonomy and mental health. For some, it's a painful reckoning that's all part of Gen Z re-imagining the role work should play in their lives.

Self-described corporate girlie Elizabeth Raman-Grubbs — who stressed her views are hers, and not her employer's — said the very "glamorized" aesthetic of the lifestyle on social media has shifted as layoffs swept the industries where corporate girlies dwell, like tech and other professional services. Someone who might previously post a day-in-the-life of a corporate girlie at work might now be sharing a get-ready-with-me to get laid off, Raman-Grubbs said.

"It shifted a lot from that point of view, and taking care of your mental health and your wellness outside of your job has become a bigger priority for a lot of people," she said. 

'I think we're lying to women about what they can accomplish in a way that we don't lie to men'

Part of Sidney Morss's job as a content creator who satirizes work life is vibe checking what's happening in Corporate America. Last year it was all about worker empowerment through the Great Resignation. Now, the 29-year-old said, the general corporate tenor is fear.

"We're all afraid about the future of industry and what's happening to everybody's jobs. Everybody's afraid of a recession, which I always think is such a funny word, because it doesn't really matter," Morss said. "What matters is your experience of the economy you're living in and it's not good — whether or not we label it recession."

As a result, the theme of her content right now is fear and wealth inequality, she said. It's not a new or novel concept: For decades, working women have been grappling with the concept of having it all, and trying to find joy in the balance. Today, Morss said, corporate girlies harken back to that tradition — and the harsh truth that workers often come up against, which is that work will never love them back, and companies can ax them in a moment.  

"I think we're lying to women about what they can accomplish in a way that we don't lie to men," she said. "And so of course we're getting upset about that."

Smeltzer, the former project manager, agrees, saying she's begun to recognize more undertones of "toxic positivity" in the concept of the corporate girlie. It's society once again pushing that "corporate is success," and it "romanticizes conditions in which most people get burnt out." 

Bailey Harris, a 25-year-old who was laid off from her role in recruiting at a Big Tech company, doesn't see herself returning to a corporate girlie lifestyle, either. The only case where she could imagine going back to the 9-5 grind was if it was a startup, where she could make a significant impact and own a piece of the company. 

A big part of people's identities, especially in the US, are tied to their work, Harris said. But as some corporate girlies get laid off, Harris' advice is to realize that wherever they were, they made an impact — and they'll do that again.

"Recognize that you are so much more than whatever company it was that you were working at," she said.

That may be the guiding principle for the next iteration of the corporate girlie. Even the thing that was supposed to be the most stable isn't, and even its biggest adherents are learning that the hard way.

Harris is getting into the side hustle business; she's flipping houses, dog walking for Rover, and helping other people craft resumés. Knowing that her income comes down to just her actions, and not a company's, is a lot more motivating and fulfilling for her. Smeltzer is considering restarting her podcast, and looking to get into user generated content. 

But Raman-Grubbs is still bullish on corporate girlies. 

"Yeah, sometimes the corporate girl is not okay, but we will be okay," she said. "That's important, too — people are resilient and if you're intentional about your time, you will be okay."