Men who have been in a work rut and escaped, what changed?

9 comments

1. The signs were there for a while that I should have moved on and tried something new. Unfortunately I left in the end due to a toxic work environment that I wanted no part of so that was the final straw. I’ve since moved on and tried new things and now all the better for it.

   Looking back I wished I’d just had the courage to give a chance to something new but also I realised how much personal and professional growth I’d made in the time I was there. It’s hard to see when you’re stuck in it but all those valuable attributes can be taken with you and injected into something new.

2. This is very YMMV, but I changed jobs. I used to work in customer service for a technical service. I did well at it (probably because my undiagnosed ADHD really liked the constant turnover of customers every ten to fifteen minutes, and I’m a recovering people pleaser). I did that for several years and got to know just about everything there was to know about the job. I liked my coworkers and the job became pretty easy, and after a while it started feeling a little dead-end.

   I ended up applying and getting another job in the company, a little higher up and more technical, and I’ve really enjoyed that. I learned more about the products and services my company provides. It allowed me to work from home instead of commuting two hours a day. I started doing the couch to 5K program on my lunch breaks around my neighborhood, and I get to work 4/10s, so three days off a week is pretty great.

3. I made a list of companies that I wanted to work for. I searched their job listings and started to pay attention to what they were looking for.

   I took classes to learn what I didn’t know. I expanded my network to meet people that may know someone.

   Basically whatever I could do to set myself up as a desirable candidate for the day I saw a listing that I wanted to apply for.

4. I keep telling myself that if I get complacent in my job, I’ll probably die.

5. Was in framing, I was lwad hand on a crew and knew there wasn’t much further to move up. Plus the toll it takes on your body is immense I knew I didn’t want to be doing it at 40

   So at 27 I switched to electrical and never looked back. I’m happy, and the industry is to big and with so many different fields I can climb ladders or make 1000 different lateral moves

6. The guy that was causing problems was fired “for being unable to build a team.” That opened up a supervisor position, that guy recognized my capabilities, he was furloughed, I ended up supervising. They put a manager over me. Then he was moved, which left me managing my own office. That’s where I am now. There’s not a lot of places left for me to move to, but I’ve got one or two upward moves left for me.

7. Long story short, a workplace incident for which I was not at fault left me in bad shape. With the resulting time off, settlement, and financial compensation, I was able to get some retraining. Then, I applied to multiple employers in a new industry whom I wanted to work for, and eventually, one of them took me on, and my career has been on a healthy upward trajectory since then.

8. I worked dead end jobs for nearly 20 years making douchey bosses rich and barely scraping by living with shitty roommates and driving old cars that spent more time in the shop than on the road. It wasn’t until I left that life behind and opened my own business that I finally broke free from that slavery and started thriving instead of barely surviving. Now I’m actually happy to go to work every day.

9. What changed? Everything.

   Left a toxic ass work place and made $30k more by doing so…then got another big raise shortly after, finished my Master’s degree and got sponsored for certifications which I earned, as well.

   I cruise around in a Jaguar now and just closed on my new-build home a few months ago.

   If you’re stuck in a rut…leave. Think about what you want to do, map out a plan and execute. When you look back 2-4 years later you will be so happy you did and will hopefully have improved your life and lifestyle in many aspects.

   Hell, I’m typing this from my balcony on a cruise ship as we sail the sea heading towards Aruba.

   Not flexing…just showing that things CAN change. Never stay in a toxic work environment…there are so many batter places out there. I would never have been able to live the way I live now staying at a place that seemed to TAKE PRIDE in BIRDFEEDING their employees among other bullshit.