I thin you are naive. You know they'd rif you ass in a minute if they had budget cuts, right? That's the way it goes

I got my layoff notice 2 f*!&-ing weeks before Christmas.

OP, I actually see a benefit to the people at your agency if you leave. My agency has been counting on retirements and separations as a way to avoid RIFs. As someone who is still very low on the seniority list, I am first on the RIF list if enough people don't go so I cheer every retirement. I would rather have a ton of extra work than no job at all. You may actually be doing someone a favor by leaving.

Like everyone else has said, you have to look out for you. I'm many jobs removed from my first job and had those feelings of inertia at my last job. At first I convinced myself that at least it was flexible ...but as more work with the same due dates were being added on I realized it really wasn't that flexible if I felt I couldn't go to the dentist without throwing a deadline off. Then I thought, well at least I have my co workers ...until someone was let go for budget reasons. And I thought well maybe the devil you know ...until I realized I had four people giving me direction ( the joys of the matrix organization) and only one was pleasant almost all the time. I also realized that I was starting to change from the happy, eager to change things for the better, sociable person I was to someone that was scared of saying anything at anytime. That was the kiss of death because at some point I wouldn't have the confidence and drive I needed to get another job if I stayed much longer. The funny thing is once I left, I felt like a burden was lifted. You definitely want to leave on your terms for not just any job but the right job.

OP here, thanks for the advice & encouragement.

15:49, thanks for the suggestion of therapy, but I think I just more need a kick in the pants to lodge me out of my inertia. (This isn't my first job, just my first job out of law school). It's the fear of the unknown -- this job is miserable, but at least it's a known quantity of miserable.

I'll keep looking for a job that will be a step up (or at least the potential for a step up), rather than trying to settle for anything that will get me out.

It's a new year. Make a fresh start, and find a new job. Your colleagues will quickly follow if they know what's good for them. The ones who are still there either are apathetic or can't leave for some reason, or maybe they are not hireable because they've been there too long. Find a new opportunity, and move on, OP.

The reason you have a job is because you are beneficial to them.

If you were not, believe me, they would not feel bad about cutting you. You need to look out for your own interests, because they certainly will not.

OP, you are very young and this is your first job. Your job is not your family. You are not hurting feelings by leaving. It is a career move.

Kindly, I think therapy is in order.

I learned a long time ago that companies will fire you without so much as a second thought. You need to do what's right for you. And if you feel bad for some of the other staff, help them switch jobs too once you move. I did this and have poached 9 people from my old firm, with 3 more currently in process. As an added benefit, I got $45,000 in referral payouts for the 9. Everybody wins.

Don't quit, but look for another job. Leave when you find one you want. You have the luxury of having a paycheck so you don't have to jump at any job that comes along.

Sometimes, you have to look out for you.

I've worked at my agency for 7 years, since I graduated from law school. In the last few years, we've had a hiring freeze which has made life at work miserable as of late, due to our staffing just being decimated as people leave for other opportunities. Every time someone leaves, the morale just drops lower and lower. It's time for me to try something new, before I become completely unhirable for having spent too much time in 1 place and 1 subject matter. But I feel bad leaving, as if I am letting management (and my colleagues) down for leaving them in this shitty situation. I know, intellectually, that I've got to do what's right for me and for my career, but I can't help feeling (irrationally?) like I will hurt someone's feelings. If I knew that Congress would get its act together and give us more funding to hire, I'd wait out a few months, but I've got no illusion that that's going to happen any time soon.

Words of advice or encouragement?