When your values and paycheck don’t match
Sometimes the difference between what you care about and what your workplace demands of you isn't just uncomfortable, it's exhausting.
Many people went into their careers because they wanted to do good in the world. But somewhere along the way, the job became more about hitting business metrics, cutting corners, and watching your work get watered down by executives.
Amy Santee, career strategist and former UX researcher, has spent years helping people navigate this exact tension. After leaving corporate work in 2018 when her own values clashed too hard with the bureaucratic, profit-driven environment, she's become an advocate for helping tech workers understand their power, their rights, and how to make intentional choices about their careers.
The truth is that most of us can't just quit and become full-time birdwatchers (though Amy would probably love that). We have bills, responsibilities, and limited options in a constrained job market. But that doesn't mean you're powerless. It means understanding where the friction is coming from, what you can actually control, and how to make choices that keep you from losing yourself completely.
Here are three insights from from my recent conversation with Amy:
1. Identify the source of friction before you make any decisions
When something feels off at work, most people jump straight to solutions: should I quit? Should I talk to my manager? Should I just suck it up? But Amy's approach starts with research - on yourself.
The tension you're feeling usually traces back to a conflict between your core values and what's happening in your environment. Maybe your company values moving fast and breaking things, but you value thoroughness and care. Maybe leadership prioritizes profit above all else, but you care about equity and accessibility. These aren't just philosophical differences - they create daily friction that compounds over time.
The key is making observations about what specifically is causing the tension. Is it a particular project? A leader's decision-making style? The company's approach to layoffs? Your emotions and physical reactions are data. Anger, in particular, is a useful signal that something you care about is being violated or disrespected.
Once you understand the source, you can make informed decisions about what to do next. Sometimes it's about setting boundaries. Sometimes it's about advocating for change. And sometimes it's recognizing that the gap is too wide and you need to leave. But you can't make that call without first understanding what's actually happening.
2. Working in corporate doesn't make you a sellout - It makes you realistic
There's a toxic narrative that says if you truly cared about your values, you'd reject corporate work entirely. You'd take a pay cut to work for a nonprofit. You'd start your own ethical business. Anything less means you've compromised your integrity.
Amy dismantles this completely. If you're the executive making decisions to gut DEI programs or ignore user harm in favor of engagement metrics, that's one thing. But if you're designing interfaces, conducting research, writing content, or managing a team? You're just trying to make a living in a world with limited options.
We don't get to opt out of needing money. Most of us can't afford to take massive pay cuts or risk financial instability to prove a point about our values. And frankly, that's an unrealistic expectation to place on individual workers who are just trying to survive.
What you can do is make intentional choices within your constraints. Set boundaries about the work you'll do and won't do. Be selective about the companies you join. Use your position to advocate for users and push back on harmful decisions when you can. Support your coworkers. Be vocal about issues that matter to you.
But holding yourself to an impossible standard where any corporate employment equals moral failure? That's just going to burn you out and make you miserable. The system is the problem, not you for existing within it.
3. Tech workers need to stop pretending they're not workers
For decades, people in tech have bought into the idea that they're different from "real" workers. Real workers are in factories or driving delivery trucks. But tech workers? We're creative professionals with specialized skills and six-figure salaries. We're lucky to have such good jobs. We shouldn't complain.
This mindset has been incredibly damaging. It's prevented people from recognizing that they deserve basic things like psychological safety, fair treatment, cost-of-living increases, protection from discrimination, and actual job security. It's allowed companies to treat layoffs as inevitable rather than as choices made by leadership. It's created a culture where people feel guilty for wanting better working conditions because "at least we make good money."
But the moment you exchange your labor for a paycheck, you're a worker. And with over a million people laid off from tech in recent years, it's becoming clear that specialized skills and impressive titles don't protect you from exploitation or poor treatment.
Amy's work focuses on helping tech workers recognize their power. It's not about complaining, it's about understanding that you have rights, that collective action works, and that accepting terrible working conditions because you're "grateful to have a job" only makes things worse for everyone.
You can care about your salary and your working conditions at the same time. You can acknowledge that you have privilege compared to other workers while also demanding better treatment. These things aren't mutually exclusive. They're both necessary for creating sustainable, humane workplaces.
Connect with Amy
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