A year ago today I quit my job of 13 years at a law firm. I was fed up with the way I was being treated, written up for petty mistakes, passed over for promotions and denied raises. I stuck it out over fear of not finding another job, losing insurance and lack of will. The breaking point for me came during Covid after 7 months working from home. Management decided I had to start going back into the office (I'm IT Admin/Help Desk) to support a handful of attorneys who preferred working in the office instead of being at home. This was never more than 12 lawyers out of 200 employees and the remainder still worked from home. The IT staff were 7 people and no one else had to do this nor was it a rotation where everyone shared the load.
This went on from Jan 21-Oct 21 when it was time for reviews. My review was good, I was given a bonus but denied a raise for 2022. The firm still had not returned to the office and it was decided that when the time came, they would give 2 months notice to everyone. By Thanksgiving, this quickly turned into “we wont return to the office before March” yet I was still doing 3 days a week. My commute is 1;30 minutes and during the winter few people were in the office so I was basically on the 63rd floor of a building by myself. This does things to you mentally and it was taking a toll on me.
My family was not supportive, but I had a long talk with my wife and she could see my condition was getting bad and she understood. I turned in my 2 weeks notice so my last day was Dec 30th. I had no job lined up and decided to do Gig work, driving and such plus my wife does work. I wasnt even afraid anymore. The firm gave me a $500 Amazon card as a parting gift which came in pretty handy, but no offer was made to keep me.
After having an amazing “Summer of George” where I learned to bartend and worked at a pool, my wife hinted that its time to get back to real work. It did take a while but after screening thru tons of crap emails from Southeast Asian/Indian recruiters, I got a real offer for a job. I interviewed and was hired on the spot. A few weeks later I was transferred to a department where I manage the IT area and have my own office. I've had more info and responsibility thrown at me in 3 months than I had in 10 years. And I'm 10 minutes from home.
Just wanted to share a good story on this sub.