The author celebrates graduating from George Washington University with a Master of Professional Studies in Publishing.It was almost the end of the day when I got the email from HR. They’d finished their investigation. The words were cold, clipped, and final: the rating would be upheld. I stared at the screen, feeling the weight of that first-ever mark against my stellar, decade-long career. I didn’t cry or yell. I just sat there in stunned silence, trying to figure out how I went from a very strong performer to “mostly effective” in the span of three months.The very next morning, seconds after I logged in, I got a ping from my boss. She wanted to discuss my training of another department. She knew. One of the complaints I filed with HR was the unreasonable ask my boss made of me to train another department. And she needed me to know that she knew, the moment I logged in, that nothing would be done, and my concerns weren’t taken seriously. She was revelling in my defeat.