I got randomly laid off right before Thanksgiving because the company I work for wanted to take my role “in a different direction.” They were kind enough to allow me 3 months to find another job before my last day. I tried to keep a brave face and push forward, but I’d given up 6 years of my life to this place. Getting pushed aside like this is taking a severe toll on my mental health.
The job responsibilities are hard and aren’t letting up. On top of that, I’m working two other part time jobs to keep income flowing bc the search for a full time gig hasn’t yielded any fruit yet. All the hours I’m working, plus job searching and interviewing has made me a shell of myself. I’m a strong employee but now I can’t even muster up the bare minimum with only two weeks left of me being on the job.
My boss called today about my mistakes and told me he doesn’t want things to end badly for me because I’m checked out. I tried to explain why my performance isn’t what it should be and he said straight up, “No excuse you give me for screwing up is going to make sense because I know this isn’t like you. The problem with being a good employee is you can’t slack off and get away with it later.” That really shook me up. I cried on the phone about it. He told me he’d start working on transitioning my responsibilities in a week.
I used to think that work ethic was the key to success. That if I had enough grit, I could win. This whole situation made me realize that trying hard is overrated. The game is rigged in favor of the selfish and shiesty. I wish I’d learned that sooner.