I'm in a really amateurish company with no direction. No HR department. We do whatever the CEO wants. They give you random jobs not part of your job description. They remove you from certain job duties that you enjoy on a whim without telling you directly. They don't allow for co-workers to socialize. Don't even want talking. If you're talking, they'll even go as far as firing you for it. We're underpaid while the company makes profits. If someone is leaving, no goodbyes, no farewells, half the team don't even know someone has left. No communication. No company culture. We just go there to do our jobs like robots. There is no positive company morale, many people quit by being burned out or having their mental health drained. Company's always looking for new hires and wonders why.
I've wanted to leave for a while. The only things holding me back is I'd prefer to have some security by having a new job locked up first. But even if that happens, I dread the feeling of not seeing my friends/co-workers. I'm in a new city so they are my only friends here. They're miserable too but have to stay for their own reasons. We'll obviously keep in touch if I leave…but things change when you're not seeing each other five days a week EVERY week and the occasional weekend. You eventually lose touch. Doesn't help that we don't live close to each other either. One of our friends quit a month ago and while we still chat in our group chat pretty much everyday, you can sense some distance forming.
I know I should take care of myself first and quit for my sake. But potentially losing those friends and just our daily interactions where we can bitch about work is also something that could also affect me. I'm an introvert by nature; but I need human connection too. I had no friends during the pandemic and I was fine for the most part, but I needed SOME friends who I could meet and hang out with which I have now. So I'm really conflicted on what to do.