Issue #27: The Jets Effect on Your Career

September 23, 2025

💌 From the Editor’s Desk

WARNING: Rant Incoming!

Welcome back to Work In Progmess, where optimism renews every week and dies by Monday night.

Yesterday the New York Jets did what they do best: invent new ways to lose. They are now 0–3, and my Mondays are officially ruined for the third week in a row. By Friday I will be optimistic again. By Monday night I will be crushed again. And by Tuesday morning I will be questioning my life choices again.

It got me thinking. If the Jets can ruin my week on a loop, maybe their cycle is not that different from what we deal with at work. The emotional highs, the hopeful illusions, the crushing disappointments... all followed by renewed optimism that this time will be different.

Which brings us to… The Career Jets Effects.

— The Mess

THE CAREER JETS EFFECTS

The New Project Jets Effect
Every kickoff feels like this time it will be different. By Week 3, you are already googling “how to fake enthusiasm on Zoom.”
The Promotion Jets Effect
You get the new title, new office, new parking spot. By Monday you realize nothing else actually changed, except now people ask you to approve expense reports.
The Networking Jets Effect
You leave coffee chats convinced this connection will change your life. Weeks later, you realize you were just background noise for their oat milk latte.
The Training Jets Effect
The leadership seminar feels transformative in the room. Three days later, the only thing you remember is the free branded pen.
The Performance Review Jets Effect
You brace yourself for glory. Instead, you get “meets expectations,” which is corporate for “congrats, you are beige paint.”
The Big Idea Jets Effect
You pitch your genius idea. Execs nod thoughtfully. Six months later, they announce it as their own — slightly worse.
The New Hire Jets Effect
The rookie teammate looks like a savior on Day 1. By Day 30, they are sending calendar invites labeled “quick sync” that last 90 minutes.
The Tech Upgrade Jets Effect
The new platform promises efficiency. After rollout, it takes three logins, two MFA texts, and a goat sacrifice just to access your files.
The All-Hands Jets Effect
The email says, “Exciting Updates.” You join, only to hear vague jargon about “synergies” and “momentum” followed by zero actual answers.
The Sunday Scaries Jets Effect
By Friday you are free. By Sunday night you are bargaining with yourself like a Jets fan: “Maybe this week will be different.” Spoiler: it will not.

📢 Rant With Us

We know you have your own “Jets Effects” at work. That project that crashed. That meeting that wasted your life. That tech tool that promised efficiency and delivered chaos.

So here’s the challenge: send us your best rant. Funny, painful, cathartic. All are welcome.

We will pick a winner, and they will receive a free copy of The Business of You. Because if anyone deserves clarity, it’s the person who can turn frustration into comedy.

Hit reply and let it all out.

📩Until Next Time…

Forward this to someone whose work optimism dies every Monday. Then remind them: the season is long, and your story is not finished yet.

— The Progmess Editorial Team

P.S. Plot twist: Could it be that the NFL wants to make certain fans bitter? Our bitter end imagines NFL script writers planning out week 3 of the NFL season.

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