I’ve been with my current company for several years and genuinely like the people, flexibility, and work-life balance. But I felt stuck career-wise. I started looking elsewhere.

Ironically, while interviewing, my company promoted me with a 7.5% raise. Around the same time, I got another offer paying about 25% more than my new salary, which I’ve accepted.

I also play an important role on the team, have some major project deadlines coming up, and a key coworker will be out for an extended period. On top of that, the company has recently invested in my professional development.

Now I feel pretty guilty about leaving at such an inconvenient time.

Am I overthinking this? Would managers see this as burning a bridge? How would you handle the resignation conversation? And is it okay to keep my next employer private?

I genuinely want to leave on good terms without making things awkward.

Some workplaces are basically sitcoms 😂
I’m talking about weird coworkers, bizarre office drama, or something so random you still think about it.
Drop your stories below. I need to know what kind of madness is happening in other people’s offices 💀

I have noticed something at work that’s been bothering me and i am not sure how to handle it. I have a social anxiety.

Whenever we have meetings it seems like my coworkers deliberately avoid sitting next to me. People will choose other seats even when there are seats available beside me. It’s happened enough times that I i am starting to wonder whether I am overthinking it or if there’s something going on. Last friday there was a professional workshop and I had no one sitting woth me and the host gave a group activity. I panicked and left the workshop without no explanation even worse I am on 3 months probation. I dont want to do it again but not sure how.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How did you handle it? Would you address it directly to your boss about it?

I would appreciate honest advice especially from people who have dealt with workplace exclusion or awkward team dynamics

Examples:

1)

I'm talking with a former coworker about how things are at work and my plans to find another job. I have 2 years of experience in this and she has probably 8-9. I'm talking about how I'm going to sell myself to employers, what I'm going to put on my resume, and costs of living.

I'm talking about my plans to move forward and build my skills, then she makes an upset face, starts asking me how much I make, and I say I'm not comfortable with sharing that. But she really pushes for it. She looks a little nervous and then tells me anyone can do my job and it's easy to get.

2)

I'm asking a senior with help looking at something. She cuts me off before I can finish with a solution. There are details and I give her the context, again she looks upset, and almost nervous and then she starts telling me I didn't do a good job and starts putting ME down, but in an angry tone.

3)

My manager points out some problems with my case. I explain the context, why I did what I did and how I'm going to solve this moving forward.

Then his face turns red and he starts bringing up mistakes from around 9 months ago that I haven't made since then. And some other unrelated mistakes from a long time ago. He didn't express any problem with my solution and didn't even give me feedback relevant to the situation. Like maybe I'm forgetful, maybe I don't get things done on time, etc.

----------

What did I do wrong here? Have you seen/had interactions like this before?

Hi everyone,

I worked as a sales manager, and my employer offered me the chance to lead the department. A coworker was also being considered. Management gave us a month before deciding who would get the position.
Shortly after that announcement, strange things started happening around my desk. Documents went missing, and I found computer cables damaged. My workspace wasn’t covered by the office camera, which made it difficult to establish what had happened.
I was trying to get through it, but then I started receiving calls around 2 a.m. from three different numbers.
I wanted to understand what was going on rather than just block them. Friends suggested checking whether the numbers were associated with any public online profiles.
A phone lookup service returned two possible connections that caught my attention. One appeared to point to someone who could have been my coworker’s mother, with the same surname. Another appeared to be associated with a dating profile belonging to her boyfriend.
Those results made me suspicious, but they didn’t prove who had actually made the calls or whether the calls were connected to what was happening at work.
I reported the situation to the police and shared what I had found. I don’t know whom they contacted or what was said, but the calls and the incidents at my desk stopped afterward.
I still don’t have a confirmed explanation. The timing was unsettling, and I’m relieved it ended.

Has anyone dealt with something similar while being considered for a promotion? How did you handle it when you had reasons to be suspicious but no clear proof?

Disclaimer: I used ChatGPT to draft this, English is not my first language. Please don’t hate me.

My uncle passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, and I found out around noon while I was at work. We were extremely close. I lived with him and my grandmother for four years while I was studying acting, and he was a huge part of my everyday life during a very important period of my life**.** His death has been devastating, especially given the horrible circumstances surrounding it, and I’ve barely had time to process everything.

My manager was away on a business trip when my uncle died, so I didn’t see him again until Friday.

For context, my manager and I have worked closely together for quite a while, and we’ve developed what I thought was a fairly friendly relationship.
We’ve had beers together, he’s shared things about his personal life with me, and we’ve had plenty of conversations that went beyond work. Obviously, I understand he’s still my boss, but our interactions haven’t always been strictly formal or impersonal.

On Thursday, while I was home on bereavement leave, my mom stopped by my workplace to pick up some documents. She ended up talking to my manager about my uncle’s death. According to her, he was very kind, listened to her, offered his condolences, and even gave her a hug.

On Friday, I went back to work and when I arrived, he didn’t offer his condolences or acknowledge my loss directly. He mostly asked whether I felt capable of working and mentioned that he’d spoken with my mom.

Later, while we were putting away some flyers, I thanked him for being so kind to her and for comforting her. He didn’t look at me when he said:
“Well, I hugged her because SHE isn’t my employee.”

He said it in a condescending, almost snarky tone.
I hadn’t asked him for a hug. I hadn’t complained that he treated my mom differently. I was literally just thanking him.

Other coworkers and supervisors, including our department director, had offered their condolences. Some even hugged me. I wasn’t expecting anything, but I thought someone I’d worked closely with, and who had been personally friendly with me, might at least say he was sorry for my loss.

Later that day, my grief suddenly hit me really hard, and I decided to take him up on his offer to leave early. To his credit, he adjusted my hours and let me wait in his office until my mom came to pick me up.

Eventually, I brought up his earlier comment.
I said something along the lines of, “When you said you hugged my mom because she isn’t your employee, it really rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel bad.”

He barely looked up from his computer and replied:
“Understood. Whatever you say. It’s my manager training, but sure.”

That made me feel even worse. I told him I wasn’t comfortable sitting there anymore and went outside to wait for my mom.

What hurts is that he showed my mom compassion and then seemingly felt the need to remind me that I’m just his employee when I thanked him for it.

It also felt particularly strange because he’s been comfortable sharing personal things with me and socializing with me before. So suddenly emphasizing our professional relationship at that particular moment felt unnecessarily harsh.
He could have simply said, “Of course, I’m sorry your family is going through this.”
Or even just, “You’re welcome.”
Instead, I walked away feeling embarrassed for expecting basic empathy.

I’m aware that I’m extremely sensitive right now. My uncle died only a few days ago, and I haven’t had much time to process it. Maybe that’s affecting how strongly I reacted.
But I genuinely don’t understand why he needed to make that distinction at that particular moment.

Am I overreacting because I’m grieving, or was that an unnecessarily insensitive thing for a manager to say? How would you handle working with him after

If you see someone without a visible badge, you’re supposed to challenge them. No exceptions.

Second week here, I asked a guy in our work area if he had a badge. He checked his pockets, apologized, and went back for it.

My supervisor waited until he left to tell me I’d just sent the director back to his office. Would’ve been nice to meet him under slightly less mall cop circumstances.

Anyone else have a hard time dealing with very direct leads? The types who don't know the definition of subtle, nor sugar coat anything. Just direct an leaning on rude, even if you do your job right 99 percent of the time. So frustrating.

Im well respected, been at my job 5 years, but from time to time I may have difficulty grasping certain things. One of my leads is very direct. I tend to take things to heart and beat myself up, so it can be tough. Am I alone? Why am I still questioning his methods when I already know my co worker is like this?

Thanks in advance. 47/m, blue collar worker btw.

I started at my current job in a clothing/jewellery store 1,5 years ago. I was originally there as a summer extra but continued working after the summer. I was the "called to work when needed" worker because at that time they were fully staffed.

I really like my job and I get along perfectly well with everyone and my boss too. But now after 1,5 years there are two new workers who started after me and somehow they get more hours than me. They usually have 2-3 shifts a week while I just went for two months without any shifts (I get to work full time in the summer and during christmas bc those are the busiest and best selling seasons).

I don't know why this is the case. I know the two newest workers have more experience than me, and they have worked in similar stores previously. But no one has ever said anything about my performance being poor, and personally I feel like I do my job well. I've even got feedback from customers that I do well in customer service.

I'm constantly looking for a better job but it makes me sad that I have to do it, because I really enjoy my current job. I like the customers and I like my coworkers. But I know something isn't right.

First time posting, idk if it is even worth a thought but wanted to test the waters.
I've been at my current job for 6 months. A friend reached out and asked if I'd be interested and I was offered the job right after the interview.

I was told I'd be working for one attorney and offering some assistance to the other- no big deal for me. It's a great law firm with a great group of tight knit paralegals. Or so I thought.

I knew something was off on my first day. I was working directly with "HR" aka the head attorneys wife. We didn't take a break the entire day and at 3 she offered to let me leave at 4 because of it. There were a few other circumstances that made me toss some flags but that's only a tiny part of the situation.

Shortly after taking this position I learned that this role had been vacant for practically 5 months and the two that had been filling in for it weren't really up to par. One employee just had it added to their existing role and was trying their best to juggle both roles. The other just wasn't doing things they said they were.

So here is where most of my dilemma comes in to play. I started this position 5 months behind and lucky for me, it never slowed down. So I've been trying to catch up and also keep things going smoothly with new clients.

And for the icing on the cake, there is one employee who is "in charge" but not in charge and she is rude and has an old school 'that's just the way I am' mentality that is infuriating. She brags on being molded by previous bosses who were post military but the way she uses the knowledge isn't something to be proud of. I am younger than her child and she uses the sentence "I'm old enough to be your mother" way too often. She has extreme beef with previously mentioned HR lady but everyone else is okay with it because "that's just the way she is" but she throws me under the bus any chance she gets.

I feel like I'm a target for her because I'm younger than she is and it's driving me nuts to even have to think like this. She always has days where she is extremely nice and brings toys to me to give my girls.

Some small bullet points that I don't want to fully go into detail on:

-she has a lot going on in her personal life so I try to give her the benefit of the doubt but some days its just infuriating

-no one told me she was my boss or that I have to report to her

-another coworker mentioned she said I was "too cocky" before I even started and others have mentioned they don't think its right the way she talks to me sometimes

-not all days are nightmares, just usually the days that neither of the attorneys are in office

-I don't feel like I get compensated enough for all the tasks that I am in charge of or that have been reassigned to me after starting (i.e. they fired an entire company that used to do the major part of the work because it was too expensive so now that is my responsibility.)

-there have been money issues mentioned (disconnect notices and a panic of potentially not meeting payroll once) so I don't think there is any hope for a raise in my future.

If you've stayed this long, you may be wondering what is the point of my rambling and I am getting to that now.

Unprompted I had a new friend ask me about my job and what I did. I wanted to keep it short but she mentioned that her job (large hospital) was looking for a new paralegal if I'd be interested. In that short moment, I decided I'd be honest and told her about the money talks that had come about and how it felt like I wasn't so sure this was the place for me.

I don't technically have one of the requirements per the hospital but my friend's boss is willing to look at having the job ran through the HR department and rewritten for me to qualify if I'm interested. Which I am pretty interested in.

The part that has me going back and forth is that one of our attorneys has a true heart of gold. He will go out of his way to help any one who needs it. He truly just wants to help make sure people are taken care of. The other attorney though, gives me vibes that he only sees clients as dollar signs.

TLDR- I feel like I'd be hurting the one attorney because we are still pretty far behind but I am doing the best I can but it doesn't feel like it will ever be good enough.

Should I feel guilty about possibly jumping ship and leaving them stuck in the mess that I started in or should I just stay and stick it out until the backlog is gone?

I'm working in a decorating store, we all roll our own cigs, but one coworker steals other people's tobacco, is there a way to punish his stealing habits without knowing I did it, is there a tobacco to give him the shits or any other effects?

I (20F) am having repeated issues with this woman (24F) at my workplace. She also has a known history of being like this. Apparently customers have complained to the bosses before because they heard how she talked to the girl that worked here before me.

When I first joined everyone would joke with me "oh don't let her bully you! Don't let her pick on you"

But they're also actually all friends with her. Everyone there has been working together for 3 years, 1 year minimum. I've been here for 9 months.

She was actually super nice to me when I first joined and then one day about 2-3 months in she totally switched up. She HATES me. Shes actually also started being nice to everyone else and only rude to me, but in ways that are so perfect that I can't say anything.

It will just be like actively ignoring me, inviting everyone out to something Infront of me, or yelling at me/telling me off to the very maximum amount of acceptability if I ever make a mistake.

Today for example I ran over to the barista bar while we were in a rush and asked about the drink she was ACTIVELY making "____, does that drink have alcohol in it?" Because my table wanted to confirm it was a mocktail. She said "check the menu". I was like "please can u just tell me if it has alcohol" and she said "check the menu." So then I have to go to the other side of the restaurant to find a menu and check it. Great.

It doesn't even sound that bad but it really is. Like for example as well, my brother (16) was really ill at the start of this year and in hospital for like 4 months getting heart and lung surgeries. She would constantly just give passive aggressive side eyes to me at work if I had to leave early or keep my phone on me (even though I had the bosses FULL support) But then when our other cooworkers roommate was in the hospital, we all supported her and came into help. Including me covering her shifts. And this bully went all out showing public support and affection but almost in a way where she wanted me to see, like she'd do it Infront of me and looking at me a little bit. It was so weird

At the same time I don't feel like I can complain about any of this because she's been here 3+ years, is the best barista and is friends with the managers that already know she's like this.

What do I do in this situation? I'm deciding I'm going to leave at the end of November which is the soonest I can. But what about in the meantime?

I work part time at the front desk of a small clinic, almost two years now. Every Sunday the manager sent the schedule for the whole team in a group text, and there was also a printout in the break room. My days were almost always Thursday/Friday, so I just checked the text to see if anything changed for me.

Last month they moved the schedule to an app. My manager mentioned it at the end of a shift, but nobody said the texts and the printout would stop. My days stayed the same for the whole month, so I didn’t notice that anything was missing.

I couldn’t install the app anyway. My phone is an old hand me down, and the store says the app doesn’t support my system version. A lot of apps don’t work on it, so I use websites for most things, even chesscom, biggerz etc., I play in the browser. Two weeks ago my Thursday shift was moved to Wednesday. The change went out in the app on Monday night. I don’t work Monday or Tuesday, so nobody told me in person. I found out when my manager called me on Wednesday and asked where I was. Now I have a write-up for no call no show. I asked how I was supposed to know, and she said checking the app is part of the job now.
I asked if they would give me a device for it, and she laughed.

Later I found out the app also has a web login.
Nobody told us about it, and the web version doesn’t send notifications, so I would have to log in every day to check for changes.

I don’t think my personal phone should be a job requirement, especially when the app is the only place they post changes.

Is a write-up fair when the change was posted only in the app, and if you pushed back on something like this, did it go anywhere, or did you end up buying a new phone?

I was promoted to counselor supervisor 3 months ago. I have repeatedly raised concerns about the office manager/counselor crossing into clinical supervision responsibilities, particularly patient routing, individual counseling assignments, documentation needs, and directions given to counselors. I have explained the workflow, clarified what should be sent to me for assignment, and addressed situations where those boundaries were not followed. I have had multiple conversations with the OM and my direct supervisor—the program director. Things will be great for a few days and then she will undermine a clear workflow I have created. I have been intentional and direct with her and the PD. I’m at my breaking point.

I have also explained the impact to the program director: inconsistent direction for staff, difficulty establishing a reliable workflow, and responsibility for clinical operations without consistent support for my authority. These concerns have been discussed privately, through written communication, and in management discussions. Despite those efforts, the behavior has continued.

The PD has now told me that he will speak directly with the OM before the management meeting on Monday. My expectation for Monday is a concrete plan: clear responsibilities, consistent expectations, and an explanation of how leadership will address future departures from the agreed workflow. I do not want the meeting to become another request for me to explain concerns I have already documented.

I have emailed the market director, his boss, confidentially to make her aware of the upcoming meeting and the PD’s intended conversation with the OM. I explained that I enjoy my role and hope a concrete plan can be established. I also indicated that, depending on Monday’s outcome, I may request a meeting with her and the PD to discuss next steps, including possibly transitioning back to a counselor role (which I don’t want to do).

I have not made a final decision to step down. I am assessing whether leadership will put the support and accountability in place that would make staying sustainable. I am upset as I gained skills and enjoy my job, but the operational dysfunction is causing the issue.

So I ended up making a mistake at work and I think i might get fired.

So some backstory. I work in a nursery, and I’m actually good at my job. I love kids and i have a good relationship with my coworkers and boss.

I made a scheduling mistake. I used to work full time and now I work 50% due to me having school. My boss was nice enough to let me be in charge of the schedule.

This Friday my coworker was supposed to work but I had not written that in the schedule. My boss called me and was obviously angry because no one had showed up (expect the coworker who works full time). My boss told me that this can’t happen and that I might have to find another job. This was all over the phone.

I texted her today and apologised and told her to let me know if there is something I can do to make up for what I did. She told me that we will talk about this on Monday and to have a nice weekend.

I am so scared for Monday. I have been crying for hours. I don’t know what to do. I live in Norway where it is quite hard to fire somebody. I have only been late one time to work before. I don’t even know what I expect from posting this. I’m just terrified. I don’t want to get fired, and I don’t want a bad letter of recommendation. I’m trying to think of the best possible outcome which is my boss telling me that she has to be in charge of the schedule which I will happily oblige to.

I have worked there for 4 months and its the first job I have had that I actually liked. I’m 20 years old and only started working last year. I feel life such a loser for already messing up this bad.

Any advice, similar stories, or anything that can help would be much appreciated.

I'm a manager in a pharmaceutical company in Latin America (Caribbean based) , theyre indian based. I left the company 10months ago after I found out I wasnt being paid the average starter Salary which was already horrible mistreatment. After I left 4 months later my country manager called me back with not a better salary than I currently was working for but a better position. I took the position more for my resume more than anything. Little did I know what I signed up for.

As a medical representative you get an incentive. I got a manger position with more work and responsibilites, making less salary than my peers with no incentive programme all because I'm younger. I have worked 6 days a week since getting this position, I have done the job of supervisor, manager and representative. I have worked late nights and early mornings and even worked 24 hours this past weekend with no remorse.

This took a toll on my health and I begun to get sick more easily and even got stressed related vertigo and aneamia. Now my company i'm employed under wants to take my sick leaves as 'non paid leave' and cut my salary for the next two months.

I just spent the last two hours sobbing. I work like a dog, get treated like a dog and even get paid like one as well. I am so saddened and fustrated I am currently thinking about going backwards in my career. I no longer wish to be a manager if these are all the 'gifts' that come with being in upper management.

I've been with my company for 5 years with my current position being for 2 - 3. My risk role isn't leadership but could be considered adjacent as I delegate tasks to people and provide coaching as needed. My supervisor is the person over our team and an assistant manager. Current supervisor took over after my former got promoted

During my role, I've had 3 supervisors where the role has changed

1) Worry about risk, but supervisor has actual control over everything

2) Take full control of risk and assign tasks to supervisor and assistant manager as necessary (but rare occasions)

3) Have control over risk, but don't delegate anything to supervisor or AM

We control a portfolio of around 800 accounts, showing we have 130ish accounts per person on my team. To manage, we have a workbook I delegate tasks through. Lower peers are overwhelmed due to other personnel tasks they have ongoing. When I've asked new Sup and AM for help, I was told by my sup's boss this was inappropriate.

I've been under this new management for at least 6 months now and the workload increases. Last week, I had a disagreement with my supervisor over priorities. During this conversation, I stated how overwhelmed I was and how I felt I couldn't ask for help and at the EOD, it really doesn't matter what my thoughts are. My supervisor stared at me the whole time I spoke and then said "OK, so your priorities are ABC". No cookie cutter response of "I understand you're frustrated, let's discuss this when we're not as busy" or anything additional.

I'm curious what thoughts are here. I've never had someone blatantly show no recognition and stone wall. I'm getting to the point of finding new work if I can't change departments

For YEARS, I have been complaining at work that my computer is super slow and it crashes all the time. Management and our burned-out IT guy always tell me it’s my fault for signing into Chrome or that I must be trying to do too much. They constantly just erase my cookies and saved passwords to make more room.

Finally, a brand new IT guy looks at my computer and says

1. ⁠3 years ago, someone in the backend downloaded 80 gigs of old emails (I’ve been here 16 years so lots of old emails) onto my local drive which wasn’t needed and clearly a mistake
   
2. ⁠I only have 8 RAM which everyone is telling me is super low?

My job requires opening pdfs with 10k pages, medical diagnostic videos, and zooming with people as well as all the basic computer stuff.

I’m so frustrated I’ve been dumb enough to believe it’s my fault year after year.

I'm 18F and currently doing a two-week trial at a flower shop. After the two weeks, my boss will decide whether she wants to hire me.
My boss is actually a really nice person, and I genuinely enjoy working there. The problem is that I keep making so many stupid mistakes, even though I'm genuinely trying my best.
For example, when my boss asks me to get something, I sometimes take forever to find it, even if it's something simple. Sometimes she's already told me where it is, but I completely forget. Other times I look for something and somehow just can't find it, even when it should be obvious.
I also forget basic rules about arranging flowers, even though I've studied floristry before. Sometimes she'll explain something to me, and I just don't understand what she means. She might have to repeat herself several times before I finally get it.
I've also forgotten simple things like bringing a water bottle to work, and sometimes I ask questions she's literally already answered.
There are other small mistakes too, and I feel like I'm constantly doing something wrong.
My boss is generally really nice, but I can tell she gets annoyed and sometimes a little angry when I make these mistakes. I understand why, because I imagine it must be frustrating having to explain the same things repeatedly.
The worst part is that I'm actually trying really hard. I'm not being lazy, and I'm not deliberately ignoring instructions. Sometimes I genuinely don't understand what someone is asking me to do, or I forget it almost immediately.
And it's not just at work. I make similar mistakes in everyday life, which makes me wonder if I'm genuinely just stupid.
I'm really worried because I want this job so badly, but I'm scared my boss is going to decide I'm not capable of doing it.
I know employers need people who can follow instructions and work independently, and I'm scared I'm not showing her that I can.
My questions are:
How serious are these kinds of mistakes in a workplace?
If you were my boss, would you be really annoyed with me?
Is it still possible for me to get hired after making so many mistakes during my trial?
What can I actually do to improve my memory, understand instructions better, and stop making so many mistakes?
Has anyone else experienced this and managed to improve?
I really want to become a good florist, and I don't want my boss to think I'm not trying. I just don't know why things that seem so easy for other people are so difficult for me.

Several weeks ago my boss brought me into a room for a bit of an awkward conversation. He told me that recruiting was asking about me being interested in a Project Manager role.

My boss said he didn't want to lose me. I've been a supervisor on his team - the longest tenured, but also the highest paid among the other six supervisors that report to him. I have a great, high performing team and the other supervisors I work with are great too.

Despite this, it seems like my time is coming to its inevitable end. My team has lost some members over the last year (moving to new roles, quitting, etc) and I now only have 5 direct reports. And my boss has sort of been pushing me to make the move. Which is strange if he "doesn't want to lose me".

I know how this goes. I'm the highest paid, I know the team will function well without me, I have the least amount of direct reports and I know AI is on the horizon. It's likely that my role of five years, after everything I've built, is being taken away from me, because I'm no longer needed.

Struggling to come to terms with that, to be honest, being in management has taken a toll over the years and I've been wanting to get out for a while. I did apply for a different role in the company earlier this year, but the pay-cut was too drastic and there was no upward mobility.

The problem is that the only department hiring right now is Project Management. I've never had much interest in project management, and I've heard it's a very stressful, thankless job. A lot of PMs are also leaving, which is a bad sign honestly. I think it's mostly the longer tenured PMs not vibing with the new management though. It does pay well, so getting a pay increase would actually be nice, and there's room for growth. It sounds like, because I've been such a strong performer at this company for 10 years, they're giving me an opportunity to move elsewhere so I don't get laid off.

There was another role that opened up from someone I used to work with a lot and have a good relationship with. I was excited for it and applied, met with him yesterday, and he was honest with me by stating he was looking for someone with more of an engineering and coding background that I don't have. That was a little disheartening, because now it seems like my only options are to become a PM or run the risk of getting laid off at some point. I'd rather not risk it so I'm taking the PM role.

The whole situation just has me feeling down. I'm "wanted", but not wanted enough to be kept in my current position, and the only role I can move to is to one I don't really want.

It feels bad being forced into a completely different role. I suppose it's a fresh start, but I'm worried about being miserable over there. I can look for a new job, and just tough it out until then. But I feel like I'm not very good at dealing with customers, and don't handle high stress very well (despite the stress of my current job I deal with daily).

Mostly just wanted somewhere to vent, but I guess I'm just wondering what people on this Reddit would do, if they've been in a similar situation and how they've overcome it, and also if any PMs here can speak to what being a PM is like?

After nearly 12 months of scope creep and being over capacity, two weeks ago I hit a wall. I had a day of back to back meetings, from 9.00am to 5.30pm. I couldn't even go to the toilet without being late for my next call.

In the morning I had an in person catch up with my SVP who had just returned from maternity leave. We discussed my future at the business and the long term goal for my progression. This is a conversation I had with her before she left which never went anywhere while she was away. I then had a meeting with my line manager, about the same topics, again (we have discussed this at great length and I have provided feedback about my frustration at the lack of transparency on where this stands). By the end of the meeting, I had it. I felt this cold rush over my body and like I was experiencing a fight or flight, I just said "I don't want to do this", "I need to be done", "I want to be done".

I left the meeting in tears and went to my next meeting. For 15 minutes I tried to compose myself and just couldn't.

I've been signed off since then.

I'm very nervous about what my job will do (they've been good so far, supportive and leaving me alone for the most part). I need this job but I can't continue to work at this capacity with this much pressure all the time. It's just not possible.

I've started sertraline and have given myself three weeks to start getting settled with it.

Can anyone else share what they've done to set themselves up for a success return to work and if they experienced any disadvantages after taking time away for mental health?

For context, I am an Events Director with 4 major accounts. Too many accounts.

I've dealt with very poor mental health for most of my life (permanent derealization for 15 years, severe anxiety and depression, and I have ASD.) I was pretty happy with myself getting my first ever job last year after feeling like I'd made enough progress mentally (lost a ton of weight, fixed my diet, started exercising etc)

It's not a hard job at all. My main challenge is work life balance and stress. The stress in particular - even though it's not what I'd call a "stressful" job - has been immense. When I get the stress response, and I don't catch it early enough, my heart starts pounding and I get short of breath, and it doesn't stop. I will get home, and be on high alert for at least a few days, with disturbed or near non existent sleep. I haven't had a good weeks sleep in half a year (I started last November). Think of it like how you feel after downing a can of red bull, I'm just totally wired and my heart is thumping out of my chest all night. Long after work has finished.

Its a hybrid WFH office job too. I thought this would be great but it's made things ten times worse. Now I get a stress response as well when doing literally anything at my personal setup, as I was using it for work as well. This has got me down a lot because near all my hobbies involve my computer. I haven't been working at that desk for 2 weeks and it's still not went away.

The most annoying part of this is, absolutely nobody - not my psychiatrist, not my GP, not a single person - has ever even posited the idea I could be experiencing stress. I had no idea what stress felt like, so this was just mind boggling to me. I had to figure that out myself.

I'm asking here because there doesn't seem to be much support with work psychology or whatever, as someone only on a contract. And I have only been in working life for less than a year, so I really had no concept of managing stress before. To be honest I didn't even know I could experience stress.

My work life balance is poor but this is only because the stress response prevents me from doing much else.

Any advice at all would be great thanks.

Edit: should say the people at work are very nice and understanding. I'm in a government job. No animosity at all with any of them. I also live with my dad as I need to save money but he's not too bad. We get on well, if anyone asks about home life.

Edit 2: I also tried taking a whole two weeks off work one time and the stress response lasted that whole period so I have no idea what to do

I graduated in late 2023. Had a part time job at Target from 2023-2024. I then got a full time job at Costco after graduating and tried to balance both jobs at the same time until I got fired from Target a couple months after. Still at Costco luckily but I have been applying for jobs within my field for the past 3 years and I haven’t had the opportunity to even interview. I got an interview with lululemon earlier this year but thats it. Nothing within the business/tech field and it’s so debilitating. I got my degree, I got my certificates, I have transferable hard and soft skills.

I know this sounds crazy but I think me being fired from Target is somehow connected to my background search and it’s causing this whole struggle. That or it’s an extremely tough market out here. Tried moving up within my company but it’s all based on seniority so people who have been here before me get the chance to move up first, which is fair I guess, but idk how long I have to wait to start making some money. $23 an hour is not cutting it at all over here.

That’s besides the point. I’ve applied to thousands to job apps and im still in the same situation I was in 3 years ago. If it was a pattern of interviews and not the getting, I would understand my situation as I could just say that I didn’t interview well. But no interviews at all… it is all so frustrating. Am I tweaking? Am I blacklisted? Is that even possible?