Hi everyone,
Recently, my team was informed unexpectedly that we would be laid off, and we had just one month to secure an internal role. I was leading a team of nine members, and while everyone else managed to secure a new role and get promoted, I was left without an opportunity and was asked to leave the company.
With the current job market, I was genuinely scared about what would happen next and how I would manage my financial responsibilities.
Later, HR offered me a role with a lower designation and salary than my current position. Honestly, I didn’t want to accept it, but given my circumstances and financial commitments, I felt I had no other choice.
It was a difficult decision to make. I had worked hard to reach where I was, and accepting a lower role felt like I was compromising my self-worth. But sometimes, life puts us in situations where survival takes priority over pride.
I’m still trying to process everything and figure out my next steps.

Basically I’m straight outta high school and worked over the summer I’ve had a few jobs prior but they were all normal ish schedules. This new job I have which I work in a factory is 6am-6pm 4 on 4 off, the working conditions are horrendous. If they were paying any less they would have zero people working for them because it’s so dusty you have to wear a respirator for ur entire 12 hr shift, and even that doesn’t fully get rid of all the dust so I end up breathing that shit in. I am the only girl at my job besides my boss who just stays in her office all day, and I’m also the only one under 30. Not to mention the way my shift is cycled is that when everyone is on the weekend I am working. (My Friday is basically their Sunday) so making plans with people is hard because during the 4 days in the week I’m off they are all working/at school and then when they are off I’m working. So I feel pretty isolated and alone. Does anyone have any tips on how to survive being isolated like this when you work? I still do my absolute best to see my friends as much as I can but it’s very hard and I feel really lonely.

I like having days off so I can relax. Sometimes I can hang out with family and friends and have a good time. The problem is: in the back of my mind I am dreading the moment I have to clock in to my stupid job and deal with rude/angry co-workers and supervisors that expect me to do the job of two people. So I can't fully enjoy my days off because I know I'm basically an indentured servant. (I have $10,000 worth of credit card debt.) I wish I could just have money without struggling to get it!

My manager said it again last week. “We’re like a family here.”

I used to nod along. Smile. Feel like I was part of something. Now I just feel nauseous.

Because I’ve learned what that phrase actually means. Family doesn’t mean they’ll support you. It means they expect you to act like they’re your priority. Unpaid overtime is “helping out.” Covering for someone who slacks is “being there for each other.” Saying no is “letting the family down.”

I spent years buying it. Staying late. Skipping lunch. Answering messages on weekends. Not because anyone forced me—because I thought that’s what you do for family.

But family doesn’t give you a “meets expectations” review after two years of killing yourself. Family doesn’t promote the person who does the bare minimum while you’re drowning. Family doesn’t replace you by Friday.

The moment I stopped over-functioning, I became the problem. Not my work. My “attitude.”

I finally get it now. “Family” is just a word they use to get free labor from people who care too much. And the second you stop caring, you’re out.

I still do my job. I just don’t do it like it’s my identity anymore.

Anyone else hear that phrase and immediately feel your stomach drop?

Would you stay in a job that’s affecting your mental health if the money was good?

I’ve been in my new job for around six weeks, and I’m already questioning whether it’s right for me. The job is demanding, there’s a lot to learn, and I feel like I’m expected to know things despite still being new.

The biggest issue is the owner and the working environment. Before I started, my manager warned me that if I was a sensitive person, the place probably wasn’t for me because the owner wasn’t very nice. I didn’t think much of it at the time, as I’ve always considered myself quite tough.

However, the owner regularly makes negative comments about staff in front of others, criticises people’s abilities loudly in the office, and makes people feel incompetent. He’s even made comments about the bookings team being better off making tea because they’re not good at their jobs. He’s also criticised me in front of colleagues, despite me only being there a few weeks. Even staff who’ve worked there for years have warned me about him.

I really wanted this job to work out, but my anxiety is getting worse. I’m on anxiety medication, I’ve started smoking, and I’ve been crying and feeling angry because of work.

Part of me feels I should stick it out, especially if the money is good, but another part of me wonders whether any job is worth feeling like this.

Would you stay and try to tough it out, or start looking for another job after only six weeks? I’d really appreciate honest advice from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.

First of all, to give some context about my job, I work at a photography studio. You might think it sounds like a fancy and artsy job, but not really, it is actually the fast food of photography. We have 15 minutes to take the session, 5 to do “enhancements” (is just putting collages together and putting some pictures in black and white) and then 15 minutes to sell a package. I only gain a maximum of 5 extra dollars if I manage to sell a big package, which rarely happens. Most of the times, the packages sold only either give me 2 dollars or nothing.

Anyways, the company is so cheap with their workers that most of the time I’m working on my own, with my manager working in a completely different studio. I am part time, but thanks to the lack of workers I work most days from 10 to 7, and in between sessions there is A LOT of dead space since right now business is kind of slow. They expect us to always be doing something, they even give us these papers in which we have to fill out what we are doing each hour. If we don’t have sessions, we have to search for sessions by annoying people passing by to take pictures, or do spam calls about future events to draw in possible clients. We are not even suppose to sit down, they expect us to stand up all day. But after working daily here I have started to not do anything on these dead spaces like I’m supposed to, I even sit down and play on my phone sometimes. I feel kind of guilty about it, but I am also being treated as a full-time employee with zero of the full-time benefits, and this job is taking all of my days away as well. When I have a session I go all in, take all the pictures I need and try to sell packages. It is just during these moments of nothing where I just stop. Am I wrong? There is no going up on this job, and for me, it is just a temporary job while I search for something else. Something actually full-time.

Reposting here as apparently it is a better fit.

I was told I would be put forward for promotion.

I was assured it would be happening very soon.

I was content.

I have now been told it is at least 6 months away. Somehow this has completely knocked me for six. I have no idea why, but suddenly it all seems a bit shit. Work seems to be taking me for granted. I've had enough. Maybe it is time to jump ship. Maybe I should just suck it up.

For context I will say that I am currently employed but after almost 5 years with the company and feeling burnt out, looking for a new opportunity.

I started applying to jobs back in August strictly using Linkedin which led to 2 interviews at a company in August but did not proceed.

I have applied to 61 jobs through Linkedin and just recently started using HiringCafe within the last few days and have applied to 11 jobs that were posted within the last week.

Up until this point I have been running my resume through Claude to give me tailored resumes for each job posting I apply to. Given I still have my full time job, was wondering if I need to switch to just a single base resume and use that to apply to more jobs and increase my volume?

I am mainly looking for Product Manager or Product Owner roles but have also looked at Program Manager roles.

I am quitting this bitchass job im severely underpaid meanwhile they are offering 50% more of what I earn to freshersssss. i don't need this fuckass job to explain my worthh

​I just started a new job at a chip manufacturing factory. The entire job consists of one thing: picking up bags of chips and packing them into cardboard boxes, from 8 AM to 4 PM. 48 hours a week of absolute repetition.

​It has only been two days, and it feels like psychological torture. My brain is completely starved of any stimulation. To make things worse, management has a strict no headphones policy, so I am trapped in total silence with the deafening hum of the machinery and my own thoughts driving me insane.

​People keep telling me, "You'll get used to it," but honestly, the thought of getting "used" to this feels like accepting slow mental death.

​How do people survive this kind of mindless, repetitive labor without losing their minds? Any advice for getting through the first month or two while keeping my sanity intact?

I'm new to this job and I am very terrified of making a mistake. I work as a pharmacy associate VA so I'd be taking calls from doctors offices and patients. Just started my first week and I am already tired. The good news is I am handling better calls with doctors offices now than before but somehow cannot wrap my head around how can I be contacting patients without fear. Now I don't know if I should continue with this job. Mentally I am exhausted and I was wondering if its okay for me to just conitnue just to pay bills. Mind you this is my first job. Should I continue for the sake of gaining money while being mentally exhausted? Is that how life should be? Everyone's insights are welcome. Please help me if this is how life after college is.

found out four separate coworkers reported me upwards and spun a ton of lies in the reports. over completely minuscule things. i basically wasn’t believed, just reprimanded.

i’ve been applying externally and waiting to hear back from a few companies - planning on just walking away and grey rocking until then.

extremely disappointed and stressed though. some i legit thought were my friends but this was a completely unexpected 180. never trusting anyone at work again.

how would you feel? :/

My entire Instagram feed is full of reels about people who quit their 9-5 corporate jobs to become minimum-wage baristas, and now they're happy. And everyone in the comments is cheering them on. It seems to be a whole trend on my feed, and everyone seems to be all for it.

Now, good for them and all, but how are they making ends meet? How are they paying rent? How are they saving money for a rainy day, let alone retirement?

I absolutely hate my job, I hate what I do, i hate my coworkers and I hate the whole idea of the position itself. But it's what allows me to stay afloat financially.

When I was job hunting between jobs, I spent three months working for minimum wage at a bookstore, and I loved every minute of it. The problem was the anxiety I felt every time I got paid and realized I couldn't afford to live on that salary.

So how can people choose the path these creators are promoting and present it as if it's some kind of guarantee of a better life? I genuinely don't understand all the cheering in the comments, because I know I wouldn't be able to make a living that way.

So I'm just wondering about this trend. Obviously, the algorithm is showing me these videos because I hate my job. But I just don't get it.

Follow your destiny, stay with your wife she loves you and you love her why on earth would you take a new job and leave something you’ve built your life around? you sacrificed everything for your old job. Keep it I heard that the new company is only hiring NEW EMPLOYEES only. The boss is picky because her work has integrity and the whole company is her dream come true. When Employees make decisions to leave the company for a better job with more people, well here at BeReal, we support our employees to the fullest. Just as long as they don’t try taking any younger or new employees with them. that’s a No no ! Here at BeReal I loved you with my complete and raw heart but you made it clear you had better job opportunities. As well as the biggest #1 rule here at “Nikki’s” is we don’t encourage liars. Just an FYI from management I don’t think we are really hiring. seems like destiny pays better too. we don’t have anything quit like her to offer you. Its just “Real” life love we sell. we like our sellers to be honest. and not to daydream about a cheap used up destiny around the corner. Loved both of my ex employees but I don’t like leftovers on my lunch break. not even a million dollars would I choke on that pickle again.so please enjoy your wife and job you have now because it’s just probably to hard of a job for you here. you gotta come ready and “real” and by the looks of things that’s already out the window, with my rotten tuna sandwhich. This company is def post apocalyptic thank you. fuck off

I am a barista at a very big cafe/restaurant that belongs to a national chain. When I say big I mean it: it is a building with two levels and a terrace outside with lots of tables. Each section has 1-2 baristas depending on how busy it is and ideally waiters and runners. But we are super understaffed and everything is a mess.

The system is, you go to the register and order your food, you pay and then you get your food or drinks. We are so understaffed that the baristas take the orders and make the drinks, but no one has been trained, not even the managers. We have some employees that barely speak english (the second language of the country) and some that work terribly.

God not even the managers received formal training. We are in a constant mess because the place is always busy and the managers keep all the sections open because people keep coming, even when there is not enough personal. They are super nice people but they always end up having fights because they can’t coordinate us… or themselves.

Yesterday I was working at the terrace and they left me alone taking orders, making the drinks, serving the drinks, and handling the complains of customers (there were some nasty ones). I asked for some help and 2 guys came to help me but the managers got kinda mad. One told me to send the orders to another bar if I needed help but how the fuck can I send the orders inside if there are no fucking runners to take them in?? People are still expecting their drinks, they want to order, etc. I cannot fucking leave.

I am a barista at a very big cafe/restaurant that is part of a chain. When I say big I mean it literally: it is a building with two levels and a terrace outside that has lots of tables. We are understaffed and most of the guys working are not working well.

The idea at the place is: it is divided in 3 sections and eqch section has 1-2 baristas depending on how busy it is. We also have to take the orders at the same time. No one has been trained, not even our 3 managers, so no one organises anything and we are in a constant mess because it is also a very busy place and lots of customers love to treat us like shit. The managers keep all the sections open even when we don’t have enough personal.

Yesterday I was working at the terrace and they left me alone taking orders, making the drinks, serving drinks, and handling the complains of people (there were two or three nasty ones today) and I asked for some help but the managers got kinda mad bc 2 guys out of the 5 we had came to help me (notice, we also have a manager of managers that supposedly has to do barista stuff in the biggest place but he works for a time and then goes on a break). One of them told me “if you need help just send the order to another bar” but at the time I literally had to stay because customers were nasty every time I tried to go in. I am losing it. The managers are super nice but they can’t coordinate themselves or us, and only one of them works and he is super stressed already. Like, I get it but we are all stressed and tired.

In the middle of my shift I hurt my hand because everything was fast and I had to keep the pace all alone. And some customers from hell were spawning around me and their mere presence is enough to make me feel like shit. There was one who was complaining so hard even after I offered her free drinks, dessert, a full refund, but she just stayed and complained and was nasty. I just gave her whatever she wanted just to make her leave, IDGAF about this company and their policies anymore.

They also started hiring only guys from the same ethnicity of the owners, and I didn’t mind but they hire the worst ones!! One or two of them are the most amazing guys ever and the rest… they kinda suck. They just do what they want, the owner likes to hire them because he likes to speak his own language. I get it but he should hire guys that work tho. I am totally thinking of quitting now because the manager of managers, the head chef and lots of new guys barely speak english, just their language and I have to translate from the customers. I used to like this job and the job market en is hard but I don’t care anymore.

Also the customers we get suck and believe they can boss us around just because they are paying, I literally hate certain groups of people because of it and it makes me feel bad but I can’t help it. Like sorry you feel entitled to treat us like shit but it isn’t my fault your country has literal slaves, this country is a fucking democracy. I know one day I will throw a drink over someone and I will be found guilty but at least I will have the satisfaction.

Lesson learned, never work at big restaurants that have a lot of tables. The only positive thing about the place is that they don’t scam you with the payment (common towards immigrants where I live).

I had a job that I genuinely loved last year. I worked for a small nonprofit, for a cause that I cared about, with a team that thought I was fantastic and loved giving me opportunities for training and growth, and they paid enough that I never minded the downsides. The commute sucked, and there wasn't a ton of room to move up in my department, but I felt like I mattered there.

And then budget cuts came down from the government, and four rounds of layoffs later, I was finally out the door.

I knew it was coming, and I made the best of it. I used it as a chance to do some short-term temp work that was more directly in my field for experience, then to get in at a bigger company with a bigger team and (in theory) more opportunities at promotions. It was a $10,000 pay cut, but that's the job market for you. I was lucky; I wasn't out of a job for more than a week.

But this job is slowly chipping away at me and i don't know how long I can keep this up.

It's not an issue of pressure, at least not in the usual way. It's that there's no pressure. No responsibility, no learning, nothing but redirecting calls and mindlessly scanning files into an out-of-date system. My boss somehow expects this task to eventually be finished, as if a stack or even a box of new ones don't show up at my desk every other week. I'm the only person in my department with no work-from-home days, no standing desk, no freedom to go get coffee or go for a walk to the next building to get water. I have exactly one meeting every other week. No one even bothers to pretend that my job is important; i found out from a coworker that my boss didn't even want to fill the position and only hired me under duress.

They said when I was hired that I would get experience in this position so I could move up. What exactly am I getting experience in, the sensation of my brain dribbling out my ears? There's theoretically an opening for a promotion coming up, but it's only available because my boss fired someone on their first day back from medical leave and I'm not even sure she's allowed to do that!!

I wish I could leave without my resume being full of short-term employment. I promised myself that I'd stay until at least April, but I don't know if i can do it anymore.

Hello everyone,

I'm currently I'm in a job that I hate and I'm regularly finding it hard not to start randomly screaming at my desk.

It's a combination of intense boredom or intense stress, no screen privacy, constant monitoring, no opportunity for growth or movement and senior leadership with no ability to regulate their emotions. Oh, and bad pay.

I currently don't have the option to be jobless, but I've been applying to about 20 jobs a day for the last 4 months with no responses.

This has manifested in biting my nails and writing long rants into my phone notes to vent some frustration.

Any recommended coping mechanisms? Weirder the better. Thaaanks 💖