How are people handling toxic work environments. I’m literally drowning and I can’t just quit because finding another job will take another year.

Do not quit before finding another position. I don’t know why it would take so long to find another position. Are you in a small market? A niche area?

A word about recruiters. They are paid when they place a candidate in a position. They will move faster than you can and a good recruiter will know what is available.

Can you take a leave of absence to get your sanity back and apply for jobs? Agree with others that it shouldn’t take long to get another job-certainly less than a year although I would delay a start in my new job as long as I could to get a bit of a break in between. Also, you know you are on your way out so begin to train yourself to care less. Stop going to some meetings if you can especially if you have another deliverable to do. Respond to emails with more delays- these are actually all normal things so no shame in them. Just budget your time very carefully to not work yourself to death and to deal less with annoying people

I’m on the same boat. I took a leave of absence a few months ago because I lost my brother suddenly and my employer told me to use that time to think about whether or not the company was a good fit for me. I’ve been there for four years and they used my bereavement against me, hence me taking a medical leave of absence. Problem is, I’m scheduled to return to work next week. I’ve been applying and interviewing, with a whole bunch of rejections. I’m now stuck on the hard decision to suck it up and return to a toxic workplace until I get another offer, or cut my losses while continuing to search for other opportunities. Yes, the market is strong but it’s also very competitive so landing a job isn’t as simple as it looks.

I too, would appreciate any insight on this.

I try to focus on why I’m putting up with this for. My family? My dog? It’s a different motivation each day. It’s really hard… I used to have weekly panic attacks until I finally found another opportunity. It took me 3 months of actively looking and interviewing to find it.
Update the resume and start to look for another job now. Maybe find someone to confide in who you can talk to?
Sorry you’re going through this, OP. Know you’re not alone.

I work at a startup company that’s really supportive and we offer Unlimited PTO along with other benefits. What’s your background? What kind of role are you searching for?

Tbh I had a really toxic job last year that I wish I saved myself from sooner by quitting before I had another one lined up. I needed the mental break and am still feeling burned out from not taking a longer one. If you have the savings and it’s not going to make you feel more stressed save yourself the mental anguish of staying at a toxic job while job hunting for a new one by putting in a notice. Put in a months notice instead of two weeks if that makes you comfortable! But having the light at the end of the tunnel makes it easier

Why are you saying it will take that long to find a job? The market is actually pretty healthy right now. Where are you located? What’s your practice area?

Sometimes when shit is going sideways I find myself creating supposedly insurmountable obstacles. Bc everything is so overwhelming it’s just easy for me to say everything from all angles is not possible.

I don’t love the firm, but there is a radical self responsibility that is part of the culture here. Maybe beyond the norm or reasonableness yet it’s been useful to learn.

I’d ask you to revisit: “Because finding another job will take another year”, ask yourself how much PTO+sick days you have and ask a friend to help you create a plan.

I left a toxic work environment that I was in for almost 10 years. Best decision I’ve ever made. It is possible, I promise 🤍

I was in a similar situation. I just left a position that I was in for 11 months because it was literally going to kill me. I started looking in January, started my new position 3/21.

It shouldn’t take long to find a job in this market.

I was absolutely burnt out. I quit without finding a job or had one lined up because I needed the break. I was lucky enough to have enough savings to do so but I’m so glad I took the break. Once I got my head cleared and relaxed a bit, I was able to really grind to apply for jobs and found one within 2 months

First off, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. A toxic work environment can lead to low self esteem, depression, and lack of motivation thus making it harder to rise. You deserve better.

Setting up a routine will help you. Balance right now is the best way through. I know from experience. You need to counteract the negative influence of work and the energy you give it by setting up clear boundaries with it both with your physical time snd your energy given to the dramas.

A routine that sets up even 30 mins prior to starting just for your health will allow you to start your day the way YOU want to show up and the way YOU want to be. Set a boundary each morning with how you will respond and behave to others. Then work - but take breaks away from the people. Walk, eat, shut the screens off and learn to be very present with gratitude for that food and flavor, the fresh air, people watching but not talking, etc. Lastly know when to shut it off each day. Committing to exercise post work can help ALOT with that as well as just helping you get out some of the grossness from being in the toxicity.

Then you do what others suggested - Commit one hour to networking with others on LinkedIn or wherever letting people know you’re looking, researching, informational interviews, etc. and come the weekend you go through the application process. 1 application per week goal + 4 networking connections per week.

Make sure you have a spreadsheet to track your process. It may seem like a lot but it’s really not and will keep you on top of things. Each Monday set up your weekly goals. It will keep you on track.

You got this.

Self care. Find something that helps restore you. For me, it was CBD, exercise, and making sure I got sufficient sleep.

What kind of role and requirements you have would require 365 days to find another job offer?

I personally would work normal and spend personal time looking for another job when I’m still in the company. It’s depend on how bad you want leave.

The people always talking about quit they less likely to quit, the person really want quit are normally quiet and when you noticed they already starting the new job.

When you working at any company is both party effort and both got benefit , otherwise it will not end well. The early you realized it the early action you can take, instead reactive you will be proactive.

I couldn’t escape the hamster wheel of toxic workplace culture. I “was sticking it out” from place to place because I was advised to “get the title” so I could keep moving up the ladder. It was a miserable journey.

I decided to open my own business. Within 3 months, I’m now at capacity for the next 3 years and have started a waitlist for future prospective clients.

Maybe the reason your current strategy isn’t working is because you should start your own business too.

Why would it take a year to get a new role?

Too much booze at first. Now a lot of early morning workouts, meditation, and meaningful things outside of work.

Related to not looking for a job now: Everyone has heard this saying… “the best time to find a job is when you have a job”. I’d encourage you to work with someone in Recruiting/HR to revamp the resume and leverage recruiters to start a conversation about what you are looking for, you can even use a service like Fiverr to help build out your resume for very affordable range of prices.

I’ve been in a toxic place for 5 long years and finally just got out. It was great until we were acquired by a corporation 3 years ago. My advice is don’t go above and beyond at your current job so you can focus your energy on finding a new one. Make finding a new job your first priority, and let your current job be on the back burner. Get invested in some hobbies and life your life outside of work so the toxicity doesn’t consume you while you are there.

Actually I used to think like this, and I don’t know your situation, but resigning and spending two months dedicated to networking and interviews actually was the best thing. Luckily I had some emergency funds to support my life but I never would’ve done this years ago, but I’m so thankful I did. Because the alternative is looking for jobs for maybe 30 minutes a day and squeezing in an interview? No I’d rather go full time focus on me.

I was out of work for over a year thanks to COVID. I tapped into my professional network for open roles and managed to find a few decent opportunities but none of them materialized into an offer. Everyday for a few hours I was job hunting. Applying online, tailoring my resume to each role, and hoping for the best. With that strategy I was lucky to go on 1-2 new interviews per month. This wasn't working and I needed a new strategy. That's when I saw an ad for Pathrise. I expressed my interest in their program and scheduled an intro call. The Pathrise rep (while not the nicest guy in the world) gave me some hard truths as reasons I probably wasn't seeing much success. I decided to sign up for the program which is paid by you based on the job offer you accept. Generally, it's 10% of first year income. The Pathrise counselor assigned to me was amazing. Using her tips, I went from 1-2 interviews/month ro 5-6 interviews per WEEK! About 2 months into the program I had 2 strong job offers to consider. My overall experience with Pathrise was far from perfect, and there was some appalling MIckey Mouse shit (eg not showing up to scheduled call). To their credit, they worked out the issues with me and we came to an amicable agreement which is why I would still recommend them to anyone looking for a new role and not getting the results they want on their own.