A while back I worked for a testing lab (during Covid). I had early morning and late nights. My commute to work was 20 minutes but averaged 3 hours home. I drove through dangerous condition including a major un-plowed highway after a big snow storm.
I eventually began to have serious joint and muscle pain with serious exhaustion. Thinking it was muscular, I had a note and approval from my boss to leave for Physical Therapy.
I managed to identify the symptoms and correlate to a recent fishing trip and was officially diagnosed with Lyme's Disease. I caught it early enough to completely treat it, but over an extended time.
After a note and correspondence with my boss, I was given the OK from my boss. I'd still go in, but would be allowed to leave about an hour early to beat the bad traffic.
I'd sit in traffic in legitimate fear for my life. I was suffering from the muscle and joint pains and struggled to stay awake. It was so bad that my wife was needed to help me get off the floor.
My boss was talking about my job security at one point. Well, the day after Covid restrictions were dropped by our state, the company laid off 4,000 employees out of ~10,000.
I was called into my boss' office and was let go for 'Time Theft'. I never left or did anything not approved. I worked closely with Security. I shared an office with the Head of Security. She was young and a textbook example of a boot licker.
I don't think it is related, but she was super into astrology. She admitted she believed in it heavily.
They denied me unemployment when I was too sick to work. I filed a claim with state unemployment, sent them every email, sent them the company handbook, etc.
The state had an investigator call me on 3 occasions. Turns out the emails themselves absolved me, but they didn't even have the offense they fired me in the handbook. I managed to get my unemployment back paid.
All this started when I got sick. I was so sick I could not go outside from ~June to ~October. It messed me up mentally. I took some time off, got married, had my honeymoon, and did some minor traveling to see old friends.
I am now pretty much unhirable. I have a STEM degree and I can't even get a call back. I was told I was too experienced about 2 weeks ago.
I had an opportunity to take a job that was similar and with the government. I had an absolutely incredible reference. They interviewed me for two positions. Both were bait and switch and the interviewed positions were not the advertised positions.
I was offered one of the positions which would pay less than half my previous wage. I'd be on-call 24/7 within a huge jurisdiction and NO Benefits!
Well, I sit here filling out hundreds of applications but I imagine the gap in my resume disqualifies me.
Moral of the story. Don't get sick.