u/Weekly-Fill5107

I spent 11 years working on myself and studying, including 6 years of full-time study (a degree and also a professional certification), while at the same time working full-time. I'm an accountant.

It was an extremely exhausting period, and now I make good money, but when I reached the role I had been aiming for, I felt like reality slapped me in the face: I'm not interested in this field anymore at all. It's not about the role, or my manager, or the company; I just don't enjoy accounting at all anymore. I reached the place I had been chasing, and it turned out to be clear that this wasn't what I wanted from the beginning!

So what am I even supposed to do now?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Open LinkedIn, TikTok, or even half the career advice podcasts out there, and you'll always find some version of the phrase "find the work that ignites your passion." But realistically, how many people can afford to keep jumping from one thing to another for six months just to figure out what their "calling" is?

Most people I know (myself included) work because there are bills. Buying groceries, paying student loans, helping our families, keeping the car running. Passion starts to feel like a shiny word people use to make a normal 8-to-6 workday seem like a personal failure if you don't wake up excited for it.

So I guess my question is: should we be more honest that, for a lot of people, work is just work, and that's it? Or is there still something worth holding onto in the idea of waiting for a job you're interested in?

My manager made a comment about a personal loss I'm still dealing with. It was probably supposed to be some kind of joke with a coworker, but it was sent to me instead of him.

I broke down. It hurt all over again, and I started crying, told people I was leaving, and left.

So... What happens now?

I got hired for the job pretty much right away at the beginning of this month at a used car dealership. They seemed annoyed when I told them I needed about 10 days before I could start. This morning was supposed to be my first shift, so I showed up at 8:45 like they told me to. It's now a little past 10:15 and no one has done anything with me. They all know I'm here, sitting in the lobby waiting. Not exactly the best way to make a new employee feel like their time has value.

In the end, I got up and went to the sales office and spoke to the manager there, the same guy who had been avoiding even looking at me the whole time and didn't even bother to introduce himself. I told him: "Thanks for the opportunity, but I've been sitting here for more than an hour and a half and no one has welcomed me, said hello, shown me around, or even told me what's going on. This isn't a place I'm going to work at. Best of luck."

I worked at a small company for 3 years as an admin. My supervisor was the only person above me, and the rest were warehouse staff, the warehouse lead, and the manager. The warehouse is literally like a revolving door for employees. Most of them either leave in the middle of the shift or stop showing up entirely and block our number. I was stressed, buried in work, underpaid, and burned out. I talked to my supervisor about it more than once and asked them to hire someone else. In April, they said they would bring in another admin.

Since June, I requested 9 days off and they denied all of them except 3. I can't take time off when my manager is on vacation, or the week before or after it, and she has two separate trips, each two weeks long, so I'm literally almost trapped at work for most of the summer. I asked for a raise and was told no. They interviewed about 12 people recently for the second admin position, and somehow every single one of them was either "too desperate" or "not the right fit."

Anyway, after a few interviews, I was offered a new job with a 45% pay increase, more PTO, cheaper and better health insurance, and the two days I needed off this summer already approved. The same days my current job immediately denied, by the way.

I gave my notice to my manager earlier this week. She looked very upset. She said she was shocked, speechless, "I thought you liked it here, why would you do this?" I told her I was sorry, but this was a very big pay increase. She told me to get out of her office.

About 10 minutes later, she came back to my desk and told me I had to stay 3 extra weeks until they found someone and trained them. I told her I couldn't. She told me I had to.

Everything has changed, and now I know exactly how much they need me, and that I don't need them. Honestly, I'm very happy that the way they treated me badly isn't going to ruin this opportunity for me. But I just wanted to share.

We were in a Zoom call. I was helping with something while she had a spreadsheet open on her screen. For just one second, she clicked on the chat window, and I saw her and another woman talking about how my accent is really thick and saying that my English comes across as "bad."

I've been living in the United States for 27 years. I graduated from George Mason and have two graduate degrees. I know I'm not perfect, but honestly, there isn't much I can do about my accent.

Honestly, I wish I had never seen that. I really liked this woman, and every time we talk on the phone, she treats me with kindness and warmth, like she's very nice and friendly.

I'm not planning to bring it up or even let her know that I saw the messages. I think I just feel hurt. My job is already stressful, exhausting, and demanding, and I'm trying to do my part as best as I can.

They're always making it complicated

https://preview.redd.it/6yz7tjb1o89h1.png?width=724&format=png&auto=webp&s=d78fddabb7eb3b71a4fb8807020e8525558f1fba

Exactly 

I just started my first full-time job. From what I understand, my office/my position had been vacant for a little while before I arrived, so people who don't have their own private office got used to treating my current office like a quiet work room or just a place to sit. There's also another desk in here because apparently this job used to be split between two people, and now it's just me.

I'm trying to be nice and give everyone time to adjust to the fact that this space is now occupied, but honestly, I'm already fed up. I don't want to come across as rude or make people dislike me when I'm still new, but at the same time I need people to stop coming into my office as if it's a shared workspace... There are other places they can go.

Earlier today, around 10:20, I got to my office and found the door already open. There was a guy sitting at the desk next to mine, with about 6 folders spread out, and he had his laptop, charger, and phone. He asked me if anyone was going to use that desk. I told him no, this is an office for one person only (which is why only my name and title are written on the door). Then he asked if he could work here until 1, and said he'd leave after that. I said okay because it was only a few hours.

It's now 2:17 and he's still sitting here. I understand that he probably has things he needs to get done, but there's a common area with computers right outside, and there are empty workstations at the end of the hallway. I've already had 3 calls/meetings and I was expecting him to take the hint that he should leave, especially since I work in healthcare and there's confidential information involved, but no. He hasn't moved.

And what made it worse is that he's been on a personal phone call inside the office for almost 50 minutes. As a Caribbean girl, I understand that family can call you at any time and expect you to answer lol, but he's having the loudest conversation in the world in Creole (which matters because I understand some of it), and the call has been going on for a century.

So yeah... How do I politely tell people that this is my office now and they need to work somewhere else? Because in my head I'm literally saying please get out lol

For the people who sent me this post, thanks a lot. It really inspires me with pretty good tips about how to be calm and not nervous during a conversation.