u/Fit-Practice-8102

More of a vent post than anything else.

I worked at a tech startup for 1.5 years. It wasn't exactly an entry-level position, I impressed the manager enough that I was allowed to select between 2 offers and I chose what seemed to be the more lucrative one with more opportunities for advancement. It started out pretty simple but over time my responsibilities skyrocketed. I was soon developing SOPs, beta testing new systems and providing feedback to the dev team, and went on an international business trip on 3 weeks notice to train a new team in South America.

My department was very small and close-knit, everyone had their own set of responsibilities and I felt that we all worked well together and got the job done. In our biweekly one-on-ones with the department head I was told I was performing to expectations, and I'd even ask if there was anything else I could be doing and was told no. In one of our department meetings we saw all of our individual day-to-day metrics and mine were in line with the rest of the team.

Over what ended up being my last month there, I felt the stress increase and it seemed like a ticking clock. I couldn't pinpoint any certain incident, just a vibe, and given the nature of the business and the current economy I expected some layoffs to occur sooner or later. However due to how small and essential my team was, as well as assurances that our specific jobs were to remain in-house, I thought I at least had until late this year to prepare.

One Monday morning, everyone at the company was brought into a mandatory meeting that took place over our work platform. Several members of upper management were onscreen, and told us that they'd had to lay off most of the company due to budget cuts, and it was cheaper for them to employ the teams we'd trained in South America. The CEO and COO, both of whom I'd been on friendly terms with, had both absconded and we didn't see them again after that point. After the meeting, our department manager once again assured us that our department was going to remain stateside. However, given how suddenly the layoffs had happened and the fact that I had just spent time training a new team, I feared it was more of a when than an if. But still, I thought I'd have at least a couple more months.

That following Wednesday, I was pulled into a meeting on our work platform by someone who worked for the HR department. No one else was present. She told me I was being terminated due to the fact that I'd left something untouched for 3 days, which was against policy. I told her that I hadn't been trained on that policy and I also carefully documented any actions taken in a place accessible to anyone, so what was it? She couldn't even specify what the mistake allegedly was. She then told me there had been a series of issues with me and my work. I told her my last performance review was very positive and I'd never been placed on a PIP, so why hadn't they been addressed then? She didn't have an answer for that either. She told me that regardless, the decision was final. I told her that this was shitty and the way it was being handled was unprofessional. She obviously didn't like that response but looking back I don't regret it.

I was told via email that they'd mail me back my personal belongings that were at my desk. It's been over 2 months and I still have not received them. I assume the company is in such shambles that they may not even be able to. I didn't keep anything of value at my desk, just basic office supplies, but still they were mine and it's a reflection of the company that they couldn't even do that much.

I'm mostly just pissed because I made clear I enjoyed working at that company, got along well with people there, and if they had just told me this was a business decision and they had to cut costs wherever they could, I would have understood and moved on. I had even moved apartments once my former lease was up in order to be closer to the office. My suspicion is that it was because firing me meant they could pay me less in severance (in total I only got 2 weeks) and that was the real reason, but emotionally it still doesn't feel that way.

Prior to this, I'd never been let go from a position before in my life. Any time I left it was always on my own terms and because I had something else lined up, so it put me in a very dark place mentally and threw off my sense of self. I questioned everything I'd ever done at and for the company, and whether I actually had been the issue the whole time. I'm still struggling with it and probably will for a while. Due to losing my insurance benefits I had to cancel all appointments with my therapist so couldn't even have that space to work through those feelings.

This story ends well though: after 2 months of filling out applications and doing interviews like it was a full time job, I ended up chancing upon something that seemed like a perfect fit for me. It's a complete industry change but it's one I have experience in and am passionate about. After doing an in-person interview, they basically hired me on the spot and I've been working there for just over a month now and absolutely love it! It's a much more stable position too, the newest person there has worked there for 3 years, so I don't constantly feel like I'm on shaky ground. The best part is that I'm also getting paid more here than I was there!

That's my big "everything happens for a reason" moment. In the end everything ended up working out for the better, but it was still an awful thing to go through and so many parts feel unfair. My new benefits have kicked in and I have an appointment scheduled with the same therapist I'd been seeing, I told her we'll have much to discuss.

More of a vent post than anything else.

I worked at a tech startup for 1.5 years. It wasn't exactly an entry-level position, I impressed the manager enough that I was allowed to select between 2 offers and I chose what seemed to be the more lucrative one with more opportunities for advancement. It started out pretty simple but over time my responsibilities skyrocketed. I was soon developing SOPs, beta testing new systems and providing feedback to the dev team, and went on an international business trip on 3 weeks notice to train a new team in South America.

My department was very small and close-knit, everyone had their own set of responsibilities and I felt that we all worked well together and got the job done. In our biweekly one-on-ones with the department head I was told I was performing to expectations, and I'd even ask if there was anything else I could be doing and was told no. In one of our department meetings we saw all of our individual day-to-day metrics and mine were in line with the rest of the team.

Over what ended up being my last month there, I felt the stress increase and it seemed like a ticking clock. I couldn't pinpoint any certain incident, just a vibe, and given the nature of the business and the current economy I expected some layoffs to occur sooner or later. However due to how small and essential my team was, as well as assurances that our specific jobs were to remain in-house, I thought I at least had until late this year to prepare.

One Monday morning, everyone at the company was brought into a mandatory meeting that took place over our work platform. Several members of upper management were onscreen, and told us that they'd had to lay off most of the company due to budget cuts, and it was cheaper for them to employ the teams we'd trained in South America. The CEO and COO, both of whom I'd been on friendly terms with, had both absconded and we didn't see them again after that point. After the meeting, our department manager once again assured us that our department was going to remain stateside. However, given how suddenly the layoffs had happened and the fact that I had just spent time training a new team, I feared it was more of a when than an if. But still, I thought I'd have at least a couple more months.

That following Wednesday, I was pulled into a meeting on our work platform by someone who worked for the HR department. No one else was present. She told me I was being terminated due to the fact that I'd left something untouched for 3 days, which was against policy. I told her that I hadn't been trained on that policy and I also carefully documented any actions taken in a place accessible to anyone, so what was it? She couldn't even specify what the mistake allegedly was. She then told me there had been a series of issues with me and my work. I told her my last performance review was very positive and I'd never been placed on a PIP, so why hadn't they been addressed then? She didn't have an answer for that either. She told me that regardless, the decision was final. I told her that this was shitty and the way it was being handled was unprofessional. She obviously didn't like that response but looking back I don't regret it.

I was told via email that they'd mail me back my personal belongings that were at my desk. It's been over 2 months and I still have not received them. I assume the company is in such shambles that they may not even be able to. I didn't keep anything of value at my desk, just basic office supplies, but still they were mine and it's a reflection of the company that they couldn't even do that much.

I'm mostly just pissed because I made clear I enjoyed working at that company, got along well with people there, and if they had just told me this was a business decision and they had to cut costs wherever they could, I would have understood and moved on. I had even moved apartments once my former lease was up in order to be closer to the office. My suspicion is that it was because firing me meant they could pay me less in severance (in total I only got 2 weeks) and that was the real reason, but emotionally it still doesn't feel that way.

Prior to this, I'd never been let go from a position before in my life. Any time I left it was always on my own terms and because I had something else lined up, so it put me in a very dark place mentally and threw off my sense of self. I questioned everything I'd ever done at and for the company, and whether I actually had been the issue the whole time. I'm still struggling with it and probably will for a while. Due to losing my insurance benefits I had to cancel all appointments with my therapist so couldn't even have that space to work through those feelings.

This story ends well though: after 2 months of filling out applications and doing interviews like it was a full time job, I ended up chancing upon something that seemed like a perfect fit for me. It's a complete industry change but it's one I have experience in and am passionate about. After doing an in-person interview, they basically hired me on the spot and I've been working there for just over a month now and absolutely love it! It's a much more stable position too, the newest person there has worked there for 3 years, so I don't constantly feel like I'm on shaky ground. The best part is that I'm also getting paid more here than I was there!

That's my big "everything happens for a reason" moment. In the end everything ended up working out for the better, but it was still an awful thing to go through and so many parts feel unfair. My new benefits have kicked in and I have an appointment scheduled with the same therapist I'd been seeing, I told her we'll have much to discuss.

Hi everyone, first time posting on Reddit so excuse any errors. I'm currently in a strange situation I'm not sure what to make of, and someone suggested making a post here to see if anyone else had any suggestions. Fair warning that this may be a little long because I'm trying to include all the details I can.

I moved into a new apartment about 5 months ago. I like the area, it's close to my work, and the amenities are nice. However, there's one major issue: my downstairs neighbors will, at least once a week, blare the same shitty techno song on a loop. It's always the same song, no breaks, and has lasted for over 48 hours on more than one occasion.

I first noticed it the day I moved in. It was so loud it could be heard from the parking lot, and when I got into my new apartment the floors were shaking from it and I could feel the bassline through my furniture. I went to the ground floor to confirm it was coming from the unit directly below mine. I noticed a few people moving in or out that same day and the music stopped that night, so I figured they were just having a moving party and shrugged it off as a weird one-off event.

However, the music kept coming back. Again. And again. At least once a week but often more. It was always the same song (and before anyone asks no, I don't know what song it is. The beat goes OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ OONTZOONTZOONTZ OONTZ OONTZ and there are no lyrics. Sorry but it's just another piece of the mystery.) It would start at 5am on a Sunday, 11pm on a Wednesday, there was no regularity to it. It lasted for either minutes or hours, also no pattern that I could decipher. This complex is reasonably priced for where it's located but I live in what's considered an affluent area and the rest of the residents are families and/or business people, so this type of noise doesn't fit with what you'd expect to find here. I never saw or heard any guests coming and leaving downstairs, so it wasn't that there were parties going on. I also noticed an extremely potent weed smell when I went out onto my apartment balcony, and sometimes it would be so strong it would leak into my own apartment, even with all the doors and windows closed. Both of these were huge problems for obvious reasons, but made even worse by the fact that I have a hybrid job with long stretches of being fully remote, so I was hearing and smelling them all day while working. I was hesitant to go confront them myself because I'm a woman living alone and was worried about the situation turning ugly, since I had no idea who was living in that apartment or what their response would be. I did catch a glimpse here and there of the people I believed to be living in the unit. There was a man who appeared to be in his mid-20s and I heard a woman's voice coming from the balcony often enough that I assumed she lived there as well.

After a few weeks of this, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go complain to the leasing office. I hated getting off to a bad start in my first month of living there, but this felt justified. They were sympathetic to the noise issue and agreed it was super weird that it was the same song on repeat, but they told me that since this was the first complaint the standard procedure was only to send the residents a letter. I'm pretty sure the units directly next to that one as well as the one across the hall were vacant at that time, so figured it made sense this was the first thing on file about them, especially if they were also new to the complex. The office took my alert about the smoking much more seriously and said a citation would be issued since no smoking is allowed anywhere in the complex. I walked away feeling more or less satisfied that management had been made aware and action would be taken. Over the following week I noticed the smell went away, but the music continued. I described it as water torture, since I had no idea when the next round was coming or when it would end. I went to the office to complain again (still feel a little Karen-y, but I think anyone might go a little crazy in this situation) and the desk there gave me the contact info for the senior business manager, since apparently the next step is that she'll reach out herself and give the neighbors a warning. I emailed her and we had a short conversation where she told me she'd speak to them, but nothing seemed to come of that either.

Shortly after, I met my next door neighbor as well as the neighbor one door down. They're both lovely people around my age, and we all made friends immediately. They invited me to hang out with them by the complex pool, and when I joined them there I asked if they'd been hearing the music. They told me no, that it hadn't reached them, but they'd definitely noticed the weed smell. After getting back to my apartment from the pool the music started up again, so I texted them both to come through my front door just to see. They did so and immediately understood what I'd been talking about, they felt the floors shaking and heard every beat. They offered to go down with me to knock on the neighbor's door and confront them, and I told them yes.

We all headed downstairs, I had to knock several times to be heard over the music, and a woman I'd also place in her mid-20s opened the door. I introduced myself and told her that I lived in the unit directly above her, and could she please turn the music down. She seemed shocked that it was loud enough to be heard, and deeply embarrassed when I told her it had been shaking my furniture and I couldn't sleep. She was very apologetic and seemed quite nice, and turned the music down right away. My neighbors and I headed back up, glad that the conversation had gone well. Just before I was about to go back inside she came running up, and told me she and her partner are DJs and were practicing a set. We exchanged numbers, she told me her name is Andrea (fake name for Reddit purposes) and to just text her if it ever got too loud again. My next door neighbors and I discussed it a bit later and we all concluded that something about her explanation had seemed fishy, but I was so thankful to see the situation resolved that I decided to leave it at that.

Since then it's been a slight improvement, but not by much and I still have questions. The music has gotten less frequent, but still starts at all hours at a volume loud enough to wake me out of a dead sleep. I've heard knocking on the door down there and the volume gets turned down afterward so I have reason to believe other neighbors have confronted them. Andrea remains very polite when I text her about it and will even occasionally give me a heads-up when she plans on starting it, but I'm still sick of hearing it and it disrupts my days and nights.

Once after she lowered it I requested they simply keep the music at that volume, which is still audible but doesn't shake my floor and I can play my own music or shows over it to drown it out, but that received no response. I've also asked since they're both DJs if perhaps they have headphones they can use, but that didn't get acknowledged either. It's also been 5 months and it's still the same song, I don't know much about DJing but wouldn't you rotate sets or have multiple songs you practice? The music has also played on weekend evenings/nights before which is when I'd assume they'd be at work? It all seems like the DJ story is made up to cover something else but I'm struggling to find any other explanation.

Last night I emailed the leasing agent that I couldn't take it anymore and asked if I could be moved to a different unit. I'll even pay a fee or sign a new lease if I have to, this is driving me crazy. While I wait for a response, does anyone here have any ideas on what the reason for their playing the same song on repeat could be? I'm just so baffled and haven't broached the question with Andrea yet, but I might. The only things I can think of are 1. She was telling the truth about her and her partner being DJs, but they're incredibly shitty ones. 2. Listening to the same song on repeat is a self-soothing tactic for neurodivergence, and she came up with a cover story since she didn't want to disclose that info to me. 3. This is drug-related and they play the music while they get high on whatever substance it is they're doing.

Any input here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!