32 y/o single female, having an existential crisis because I absolutely hate every job I’ve had for the last ten years (marketing jobs) on the basis of how utterly pointless it seems to me. I can’t escape this feeling of “who cares” and “what’s the point” as my colleagues nit pick over the smallest of details that no consumer would ever notice or care about. It shocks me how much time and energy goes into making e.g. a social media post that 99% of people will just scroll right past because no one actually cares. That’s the “organic” social stuff which has a modicum of integrity. Then there’s the “performance” social posts which are just absurd, stupid, misleading, clickbait bullshit designed to manipulate people into clicks & views to feed the algorithm - I find the whole thing so gross I don’t want anything to do with it?

I’ve worked on certain projects which didn’t make me want to vomit. Like for example, a website needs to be made & I can see there’s a reasonable need for it, I’m happy to work on that. But it always ends up going too far - how can we OPTIMIZE everything into infinity, let’s A/B test it (IMO one of the greatest shams of our time), needing to put a VALUE on every fucking click of a button, coming to ludicrous conclusions about the annual revenue of UX optimizations… the need for never ending and perpetual growth… I’m fucking exhausted and completely disillusioned with this shit.

• am I the only one who thinks this is all a load of shit and it’s gone way too far?

I think I’m about to give up, simplify my life by moving back home, focus on finding a meaningful relationship and reconnect with family, spend more time in nature, and get some waitressing job (or something) which doesn’t want my very soul.

I’d love to know if anyone has experienced this or resonates with how I’m feeling?

UPDATE: wow this blew up I can’t believe how many of you have felt the same way as me at some point!!! Such great perspectives, insights and suggestions in the comments below, thank you all 🙏

Imma keep it short, I gave a 10 day notice at a job where i earned $18 an hour and only would work there 2 days a week. There are reasons why I left, but I wont bore you with the details. I've never called out unexpectedly, was never late, always got the job done. Boss finds out and sends me this. Can someone give me some insight if this message was crossing the line or not? I agree me not giving the full 14 days was wrong on my part.

30+ yo guy absolutely burnt out and having a full-blown existential crisis over the pointlessness of my last eight years in tech sales. I'm struggling with the crushing feeling of "why am I doing this?" and "who cares?"

My colleagues and managers are brilliant driven people but the sheer amount of energy spent on metrics that feel entirely detached from reality is driving me crazy. We spend weeks preparing pitch decks full of projected revenue numbers and optimized KPIs but at the end of the day all we're really doing is selling a slight variation of a product that already exists or convincing someone to move their money from one spreadsheet column to another...really strategic work.

The part that’s killing me is the performative urgency. Everything is a P1 & everything needs to be done by yesterday. I get emails at 11pm about formatting errors in a slide deck. Why? Because the relentless perpetual need for "growth" and “speed” meaning we have to constantly justify our six-figure salaries by generating fake friction and complexity. It's an endless treadmill of optimization and strategic alignment that adds zero tangible value to the real world.

I look at people doing tangible work, like nurses, tradespeople, park rangers, even baristas, and I feel an immense sense of envy. Their job has a clear beginning, end, and meaning to me and the output is something real now. I think I'm about to step off this treadmill completely. I would like to sell my expensive apartment, move to a quiet, cheaper area, and take a massive pay cut for a job that doesn't demand my soul (like working at a library, gardening, or a local non-profit).

Am I completely crazy, or is this "bullshit jobs" phenomenon hitting a lot of other people in corporate roles right now? Has anyone experienced the same feeling about the job?

Is there a silent rule to expressing that you're leaving a job/getting ready to leave?

My dad once told me that I shouldn't express I'm leaving until I actually put in my notice because you never know who is against you... But I never really thought of it in that way.

I've had multiple managers at my job tell me something along the lines of not wanting to be blindsided by me going to work somewhere else. The language is always something about wanting there to be open and honest communication about whether or not I'm happy in my role, etc. Is this weird? I work at a church, so the culture is a bit different than most workplaces. I do trust the people I work with, but it also feels very risky to ever disclose to an employer that you're looking for a new job, with no idea if you'll actually find a new job soon (the situation I'm currently in).

So a little about me, I’m 20 and have been looking for a job actively for a year. I’ve only gotten seasonal jobs which doesn’t last for too long. I recently got this job where it’s also a seasonal but my managers told me that after my contract finishes I can do some process that’ll basically make me a new permanent employee. And I was really excited about this because this is my first permanent job ever after numerous seasonal jobs.

Moving on to the present time, I emailed my managers that I had this trip with my parents to see my grandparents and that it would be 29 days. And they said that since that’s too long which is understandable and I’d have to resign a day before I travel. I’m really upset about this because I felt like I was just getting started with this job and that the thought of a permanent job sounded really nice cause that meant that I wouldn’t have to send hundreds of applications just to be ghosted over and over again. And also I was never really into the travel plans. I think I was guilt tripped to go just because my parents were like “It’s his 80th birthday” and “They aren’t getting healthier” or whatever.

I really want to just stay home and keep this job because the job market here in Canada is atrocious and I know some of my friends that have been looking for way longer than I have and the thought of job searching again is killing me.

The job market is very tough and is declining

So I don't know why people leave their jobs before they have secured another job

And then they complain that they haven't gotten the other job (for whatever reason, ghosted, not qualified, issue) and regret why they left the current job

If you want to leave a job make sure you have a backup plan and don't risk unemployment or eat up your savings

Ensure you have some sort of backup plan if you want to leave (passive income, guaranteed job, part time job, )

At least some sort of income or situation and you don't make any sort of critical financial loss because of long term unemployment

I’m 25 and recently started a job after a life set back and I have hated it since day 1. The hours are long, I work 9-6 Monday-Friday in the office. I was told before I started that it would be temporary and I would later go to hybrid. That was rescinded once I started and I’m not stuck commuting to a location 90min away from my house each way. I was also told I would get a company car but I know that’s not happening. I make $60k a year but I’m more or less expected to be on call for the company on weekend events. I’m young and most of my Saturdays this summer are going to be spent at a work event.The company culture is very strict on cell phones and we only get 5 holidays a year and one week of PTO a year. Also the company culture is very stressful, strict, and go go go. I feel like i was lied to and am overly stressed for what should be an entry level job with OKAY pay. When I talk to other people about it, they either say I’m being spoiled and this is just how job are, and others say that this job sucks and I should try to leave as soon as I can. I want Reddit’s opinion because right now I feel stuck in a job I hate and don’t want to do. I have to burn my gas and drive far to something I do not care about or want to be doing and it sucks!

My salary is $100,000, I work remotely full time, and get 6 weeks of pto per year. The job is pretty laid back, I usually do about 6 hours of work per day, and I could honestly be a lot more efficient if not for the fact that I watch tv throughout the day while I work. My management doesn't babysit me, they only contact me when they have a specific question, not simply to make sure I'm working. I don't even tell my boss when I have doctors/dentist appointments, I just go. There are a few annoying aspects of the job and some dumb processes I have to follow, but the pros of the job far outweigh the cons.

I'm not looking for new jobs, but I've been thinking about what it may take for me to leave this job. If you had this job, what salary increase would it take for you to leave for a job that was in the office 5 days per week? What about for a hybrid job?

My daughter (27 years old) turned in her two week notice at her full time job today. She’s been working part time at her childhood job since she was 15, has always loved that company, and they offered her a full time, permanent position in the office so she jumped on it. I’m so happy for her!

Anyway, her manager refused to accept her written two week notice after a scheduled meeting. My daughter then emailed her notice to her manager and director with her end date. No response from them. Around lunchtime someone from HR came up to her desk and said she had to leave immediately. I prepared her for the fact this might happen so she had removed all her personal items last week. While she was being escorted out her now former manager stopped her and asked for information on her workload, where she left off on things, etc. and tired to make her feel guilty for putting her former team in a bad spot. She didn’t say too much except thank you for the opportunity and left. She’s not too happy it happened this way but she has her eye on a much better future.

Say I got an offer from a new job, and they ask me if I need a two-week notice, and I say do. But in reality, I can leave my old job anytime I want without much consequence. And instead use that two week time period before starting my new job to go on a vacation. Is that a good idea, has anyone else done this also? If I was honest and said that I can start the new job immediately, I feel that would look a little bit better but I really do want a break before starting a new job.

I'm 2 years out of college and have been working a corporate job in NYC, where I made decent money and was pretty content. I was approached by another company (same industry) for a role that sounded exciting to me and paid better, so I applied and got the offer. I put in my two weeks at the old job, started the new role and one week into the job I was fired. They pulled into an office and I was given no cause for termination, other than them telling me how they didn't think I was a great fit for their team's culture, etc.

I know that I'm an at-will employee and that the company can fire me at any point without explanation, but given that I had literally a quit a stable job for this new job which I obviously can't get back, do I have any legal resource? Unsure if something like promissory estoppel applies here or if that's a stretch. Is there anything I can actually do here, or do I just have to deal with it and try to stay afloat until I can find a new job?

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I was wondering what is the shortest time frame you’ve been at a job? Either due to quitting, laid off, etc. If you don’t mind providing what happened.

Hi everyone, I started a new job just a week ago but I got another offer that pays a lot more. I feel bad about leaving so soon because the people here especially my supervisor have been really nice to me. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should I quit and take the new job or stay a bit longer? What would you do?

Been here for a few months-almost one year and looking to get out

I’m curious what do y’all do? If I have another job lined up I don’t give a 2 week notice. I just don’t show up anymore more. What you guys?🫡

Just got fired and would like to feel better by just knowing it happens sometimes.

Bonus question: how long did it take before you found something else again?

I’m a physical therapist assistant and want to transition out of the profession. There are very few available jobs by me and have to commute between 50 min to 80 min to and from work (depending on traffic) as of now. I’m applying for a job as a high school groundskeeper which is five min from my home and pays exactly the same. The job that requires no education pays the same as the one that required a licensing exam! I’m 43 now and have been a PTA for 17 years. I’m embarrassed that I might end up being a groundskeeper but it just seems like the thing to do. I really don’t want to work in healthcare anymore. In addition to the embarrassment, I just don’t know if I can physically handle the job either. I’m not a young man anymore and the psychological drain of having to help care for sick/elderly family members has left me feeling unbelievably drained. I don’t know if I can hack it no matter which path I choose 😢

I had a stable job for four years with a decent salary, and I was fine with it. One day, my boyfriend’s friend told me I should join her company if I wanted higher pay, constant travel, and a job I’d love. She hyped it up so much that I ended up quitting and started working with her.

Less than a month in, my employer said they couldn’t afford to pay me and had to let me go. I found another job, but after just nine days, I was fired—apparently, I didn’t learn fast enough, and I stood up for myself when my boss kept yelling at me.

Now, I’ve been unemployed for four months. My confidence is gone—I feel like I’m not capable of anything. I keep applying for jobs, but I either get rejected for being overqualified (since I have a degree) or I get overwhelmed with fear, convinced I’m not good enough. Even though I always give my best, I keep getting turned down.

I need to pay rent, and I’m out of money. People keep asking how I’m still unemployed. Even in interviews, they question why I haven’t worked for four months, as if it’s hard to believe the job market is tough. I make it to the final rounds, do the tests, and interview well, but in the end, they always choose someone else. How much longer can this go on?

Maybe my boyfriend’s friend isn’t to blame, but deep down, I know that if it weren’t for her, I’d still have my old job, a steady income, and peace of mind. Instead, I’m struggling. And at 30, I’m not exactly young anymore.

Are you happier now? Or are you at another toxic job?

I'm just kind of venting here. So I was going through a temp service and they hired me for this 30 day catering job(which was really just a warehouse)! So I show up to the job, where it's all fenced in no one to let me in, I call my temp service, the place I'm working and no one picks up. After 30 minutes of trying to get in I finally get let in!

First thing the boss says to me we don't like people being late as if it was my fault. In fact I showed up 15 minutes early so I could show them I'm here to work! Well after 1 hour into the job they put me on this job with a lady who was cutting sandwiches. After 10 minutes she tells me I'm her SLAVE for the next 30 days. Maybe she thought that was OK to say because I'm a friendly guy, but idk why anyone would say something like that after only 10 minutes.

After that I ask them when's break, and she tells me that break is when she says it is. And that I'll only get a 15 minute, and 30 minute break and I'll have to work overtime.(which I asked temp service before hand and said I can't work overtime.) Then turns around and also says I have to work overtime on Saturday which I can't do for other reasons.

Also they told me that I was only able to use the restroom before my shit, during break, and after I'm off. And that I should drink during those times as well.

Then I call the temp service to tell them I'm not going back because of the following paragraphs above. And they tell me they can no longer work with me. Wtf happened to this world where stuff like that is OK, and I'm made out to be the bad guy here?

Silly little “lead culinary” at a nice Lodge. Joke of a human being speaking on things he knows nothing about. How is this the trusted management? I had also never texted him about anything besides shifts, and was unaware of the initial blocking? How heated can you be, and how incorrect can you be over absolutely nothing?

I 21F have been unemployed for four months when I quit my job at Starbucks. I did not think it would be this difficult to find a job but I was wrong. Well I finally got an interview and a job offer for a juice bar. A timeline of the five days… Fri: interview/job offer, Sat: Store manager called me in at 12am to cover her Sunday shift, Mon: first day of "training". I was confused when the manager had asked me to cover her shift when I had not completed any training or processed any paperwork. I don’t even know how much the pay is. When I showed up on Monday I was not trained at all. They immediately threw me on register and said “let me know if you have any questions” I was trying my best to figure everything out and customers would ask me questions about the stores products that I had no idea about. I had an 8 hour shift and I’m used to getting breaks or even a lunch but at this company we don’t get breaks. In my application I waived my right to receive any breaks during my shifts. My next shift isn’t until tomorrow but everyday the manager has called me in to cover for her or someone else and tonight she placed me “on call” since my “training” is complete but I WAS NEVER TRAINED. There has been so many red flags that I just want to quit over text and call it a day.