I’m reaching out because I’m really struggling with my job and need some advice. I’m a copywriter at a company where I handle senior managerial tasks without any salary increase. The irony is that my boss and the teams in the US and Canada all work remotely, but I’m stuck in an office that feels like a prison.
Here’s the situation:
- I come into the office every day from 10 AM to 7 PM, sitting alone in a cubicle, staring at my screen. The office is an hour away from my home, which means a lot of unpaid commute time.
- The office has glass walls, constant small talk, a perpetually occupied kitchen, and bathrooms right next to it, so I can’t even use the restroom in peace. No sunlight, no nature. So suffocative for a creative.
- Despite the fact that the boss and teams in other regions work remotely, I’m not (and the local team here) aren't allowed to work from home. When I requested remote work, my boss said he can’t make exceptions, citing the high cost of office space in his area, while conveniently ignoring the fact that our office is free because it’s owned by a shareholder in my country. The hypocrisy is infuriating.
- We don’t have an HR department, and the marketing department, which I manage on my own, has no manager other than the boss, who is too busy to deal with these issues.
- I’ve already discussed my need for remote work and a new contract with the boss, but he’s ghosted me. Meanwhile, the company has hired a new marketing consultant and a freelance designer, which just highlights how undervalued and squeezed I feel. I'm expected to post, create content plans, ideate, handle the freelancer, come up with copy and strategies, and basically manage all social media of the company.
- I’m severely underpaid. Despite having a master’s degree and 9 years of experience in the field, and considering taxes and fuel costs, I’m only earning $300 more than I did in a previous role where I had less experience and no master’s degree. It feels like I’m being exploited as cheap labor, even though the boss himself is from my country but chose to immigrate to the states.
- Boss won’t let me promote my freelance services on social media or post anything that reveals my location since I’m the face of the company online. He’s afraid of being associated with our “third-world” country, as his startup and clients have a prejudiced view of where we’re based.
I’m also in the process of launching my own writing agency and have a good-paying freelance client, but that project is ending soon. I can't even promote my own agency online since I'm prohibited from doing it. The only way out, as I see it, is by quitting.
The stability of the income is nice, even though I’m underpaid. But I can’t handle the office life anymore. Should I just quit and live on a budget until I launch my agency? Is this job a lost cause? Should I cut ties now and focus on my own business and well-being? Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you handle it?!