Comments on: Disengaging Instead of Quitting (vs. Leaning Out vs. Work-Life Balance)

By: Anon

Anon — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 22:48:53 +0000

In reply to anon.

I honestly agree amd disagree with this. My current role is pretty “put in as much effort you want” as it gets, but the extra effort rarely has anything to do with the bottom line of work we have to do. I really wanted to excel at this position when I got started in August, hoping to get some good projects to add to my portfolio out of it, but I’m hampered by a lack of clarity for our projects goals, shifting posts for work that needs to be done, and fundamentally very little agency to push for the changes I think should happen to get the proverbial ball rolling. Result? I leaned out to focus on recovering from a pretty nasty case of burnout from my previous role and reengaging in improving myself personally so that I can have greater stamina for engagement going forward.

I’m glad you have the mental stamina and bandwidth to push for change and improvement at every turn, but I really hit a slump with this job because all the work we do just seems so pointless. I’m sure that feeling has been exacerbated by the pandemic, but the idea of searching for another job after interviewing at for 23 other positions makes this all seem pretty pointless. I’d prefer to lean out, reassess my interests, nail down a reasonable personal routine, build up my portfolio a little doing some side projects, and then look for the next opportunity. That takes a while. Leaning out feels like the only reasonable option.

By: Leaning Out

Leaning Out — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 14:07:12 +0000

I love feeling seen. My company restructured in August. I was demoted from a busy important job that I loved to my former position’s assistant. I got a small pay cut. No longer part of a team. No longer part of the decision making process. Just a worker. I still get paid well. No complaints there. But the transition from an all encompassing job that I based my entire personality and self worth on to much much less – was very hard. I spent months interviewing with other companies ultimately declining offers because I am so burned out I can’t imagine starting at a new company with energy. So I have leaned out. I am doing my job well but I do not put in an ounce of extra energy or effort. I quit at 4pm. I take breaks. I don’t check my email on the weekends. I am figuring out who to be now. But this is much better. Leaning out.

By: MM

MM — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 07:10:16 +0000

In reply to anon.

Keep burning the midnight oil and working yourself to death for the sake of shareholders and your CEO- no one’s stopping you. But I’m not going to pretend to admire you for it – I frankly think it’s pathetic. You think your working oh- so- hard is somehow noble – and it’s not. It’s warped priorities.

By: Anon Happier Person

Anon Happier Person — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 02:03:28 +0000

I totally did this during the pandemic — not because I was stressed because of it — but because I knew I was never going to get any further at that company. So I took advantage of less supervision thanks to working from home. Most days I only worked about 2 hours a day and still got everything done. But I barely did anything extra because it was clear there was no point. So I put that energy into bettering myself and ba bam, got a new job. But now I do have to work more than 2 hours a day so it’s an adjustment (but a good one!).

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 02:00:23 +0000

In reply to Anonnnn. Amen. I'm tired of being dumped on because moms need to see every play and coddle every sniffle. Nobody GAF when I need coverage for eldercare issues.

By: Anon

Anon — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 19:44:20 +0000

In reply to anon. This is not true in many jobs. Sometimes projects don't get done as fast as they would've. For example, new software implementations can run over by months, merged entities don't get fully integrated and continue to operate independently, automation gets delayed, an RFP to move to a new vendor doesn't get completed on time so you continue with the old vendor awhile longer, an Audit can go late because the source documents were hard to chase down, etc.