Is anyone else starting to feel like they're drowning?
The combination of the recently announced RTO WGU requirements, the overtime required by a growing number of time-sensitive projects, and the need to balance everything outside of work has me feeling completely underwater. As a working parent, I'm also trying to figure out how to absorb a significant increase in childcare costs to cover the change in hours, and it's becoming difficult to see how it all fits together.
When I accepted this position, I knew there would be busy seasons and occasional overtime. What I didn't expect was how dramatically expectations would change, and how all the promised work flexibility would disappear. I feel blindsided, and honestly, the stress has gotten to the point where I'm starting to notice physical health symptoms.
One thing that's really been weighing on me is that it feels like I can't even take a sick day anymore. Our project schedules are so tight and the workload is so heavy that taking time off when the headaches get bad or you have a fever because it just feels like it creates an even bigger problem when you come back because the work just piles up.
I'm not posting to complain or start an argument. I'm genuinely wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. If you are, how are you managing it? Have you found ways to make it sustainable, or are you feeling like you're reaching your limit too?