u/AdditionalRise5722

The situation is pretty much what the title says - I'm in a job where I make $215k, and most of my "work" consists of responding to a Slack thread every now and then, sending a quick email, and attending a meeting from time to time. I'm not saying this as some weird kind of bragging or because I feel like I've beaten the system. Honestly, I feel guilty and like I'm waiting for the whole thing to blow up in my face at any moment.

Part of me is grateful, of course. I started this role at a different company about 14 months ago, and my family and I didn't grow up in very comfortable circumstances. So I always try not to forget how lucky I am, especially knowing that a lot of people would do anything to be in this position.

But another part of me feels awful that I'm being paid this much money when I'm not doing much actual work. I know I'm capable - I led very important projects in a previous role, and I've always been seen as a strong performer. But here I feel like I'm just floating along, while everyone around me seems extremely stressed. My manager seems happy with me, no one has said there's a problem, and all the feedback I've received so far has been good. Even so, I can't get out of my head the feeling that if cuts happen at any point, I'll be an easy target because I don't feel like I'm adding enough compared to my cost.

Has anyone gone through a similar situation? I'd be grateful for any advice on how to handle this.

I'm on a team of 4, with 3 other women who are older than me. Every Wednesday, we have to stay late at work because of potential client meetings. These meetings can be moved if we decide to reschedule them. And we don't get paid extra for this because we're salaried.

Anyway, one of my coworkers' cats died, so I covered for her. After that, she needed to go to her daughter's school event, so the boss made me cover for her again. Last Wednesday, that same coworker slipped at work, and I was standing next to her when it happened. Honestly, I feel bad for her because she's been having a hard time lately.

Anyway, another coworker refused to cover for her and said her kids are young and she has to go home to feed them and get them ready for bed. So the boss asked me to cover for her again. I've been covering for her for 4 weeks now.

I had already made plans with my friends to go out to eat and hang out. I told the boss I had plans, so he asked me what they were. I told him I was meeting my friends. He said I should cancel. And he asked me why I couldn't cover for her since I don't have kids.

I told him I don't like canceling plans I had already arranged, so he said I'm not a team player. I told him honestly that I wasn't going to cancel, so I didn't cover for her. That night, no one covered for her.

Anyway, my boss has pretty much stopped talking to me. I applied to 5 jobs last night. I feel like I'm being discriminated against.

F*** my boss for saying that to me.

I've been through a few strange situations, but one that sticks in my mind was when the hiring manager proudly declared: "We're all like one big family here!" Immediately after that, he went on to explain their "flexible" work schedule, which simply meant they expected everyone to stay late without any extra pay.

Then there was a time an interviewer spent half the interview typing on his laptop, barely making eye contact. Even stranger, he mixed up my CV with someone else's and asked me about a completely different job.

But the biggest shocker? A place tried to convince me I'd "gain invaluable experience" for the first three months, with a promise of *possibly* discussing a salary afterward. Oh, no thank you. These kinds of arrangements make you want to run in the opposite direction. So, what are some strange interview stories you've encountered?

I started at my current company about 4 months ago because my last job was draining me. This has become a recurring theme for me; I usually change my job every two or three years. Always the same type of job, but in different fields.

I really thought this time would be different. The company has amazing reviews on Glassdoor and is always on the 'Best Places to Work' lists. I make about $150,000 a year, the benefits are excellent, they even gave me a decent sign-on bonus. Honestly, my team is great and everyone seems genuinely happy.

But I still dread opening my laptop in the morning. I'm constantly fighting to stay focused and finish my tasks because I have absolutely no motivation. I've been thinking and racking my brain for a while to understand the reason, and I think I've figured it out: The work itself doesn't feel meaningful to me. I feel like the skills I'm gaining are too specialized for this corporate world and don't translate to anything I care about outside of work. All my work just increases the company's profits, and that's it. I've thought about a complete career change, but nothing else has really appealed to me, and anything I like has an average salary that's about 60% less than what I make.

Has anyone else been through this stage? What did you do to get out of this state?