I actually have a pretty chill job as a software engineer and a pretty chill employer. (It’s in Belgium so it doesn’t pay much more than the average office job) I’ve done enough shit jobs to know I’m in a pretty good situation.
But…
I do suffer from stress and the occasional burnout. It’s not that my job is that stressful but I’m just always trying to escape the rat race. I want to side hustle my way out of it to become a full-time indie game developer. I can’t just quit and go all in on it. Indie game development is brutal and the chances of success are very low. Besides I only have enough buffer the survive little over a year.
The doctor prescribed me 2 weeks off for my stress, high blood pressure and pain (recovering from bone fracture) related issues. I get along pretty well with my manager(s) so I’m mostly pretty open about many things when they ask.
But my direct manager sort of seems to question the stress from work part. Him questioning the doctor’s judgment just makes my blood boil, causing me more stress. It makes me feel like quitting but where do I go? Switching jobs will cause me even more stress, longer commute, a bunch of new things to learn, less time for myself.
I just feel trapped in this 40h work week that feels like it’s perfectly designed to keep you into place. Just F it (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻