Talk to me about a time you were miserable in a job and tell me what you did.

[Anonymous]

Sorry this is happening to you, OP. I've been there, and I left. I've taken pay cuts to do so and they've both been worth while and recovered in the long term.

I recommend you challenge your assumptions about your inability to take a pay cut. You may think you're making a sacrifice for the benefit of those you support, but if your personality and mental health are declining, you're forcing sacrifices upon those around you, too. The martyr is rarely the only one who suffers.

[Anonymous]

I was miserable, so I tried talking to management with ideas…..went nowhere. I did as little as possible, then I just quit. I should have quit much much sooner, life is too short to be unhappy. Time is precious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in a situation like this at a federal government agency. After several years of looking for a better position, I retired in my early 50s. I wasn’t totally ready for that, but I couldn’t take work anymore.

Me too!

[Anonymous]

Looking for a new job for 3 years? That sounds major, are you way overpaid or have a too high title at your current job? I’m not a consultant but work with a lot of consultants. One of the consultant companies has way higher titles than the others - think SVP vs Sr Director, so 2 - 3 levels higher. Is that possibly part of the issue here?

If you hate your job you’re probably not performing it well. You need to get a new job. Money it’s important but not that important. I took a $25k base salary cut last year for a job with way more responsibilities but l don’t hate work every day so totally worth it. Same title level but l would have taken a lower sounding title if l had to. I am working hard and learning every day instead of wallowing.