Last month, I decided to break up with my job. I was burned out from stress and long hours, and I knew it was time to find a position that was a better match. I gathered my courage and gave resignation. And as soon as I’d left, I began to regret it.
Until this job, however, I’d never thought much about the emotional impact of leaving a job and coworkers behind. I’ve since learned that a professional breakup can be just as painful, and transformative, as a personal one.
As I sent a goodbye messages to my friends, I spun around in my chair and looked over at my work best friend.“Am I doing the right thing?” I asked, half-hoping he’d say no and beg me to stay.
“You are,” he assured me. “You know that this is what you want.” He was right, of course—I’d made this decision after months of careful deliberation, and I was confident about what I wanted.
Then the goodbyes started rolling in. By the third message wishing me well, I was overflowing with feelings of love for my coworkers. I realized how attached I’d become to the people I saw at the office everyday, and how much I would miss exchanging words made up entirely of gifs and brainstorming ideas over bubble tea.
I spent the next week sitting in my home, texting my former coworkers to ask what they were up to and imagining what I’d be doing if I was still at work. I realized that I’d been so busy focusing on the parts of my job that didn’t fit, I hadn’t taken enough time to appreciate the parts that did. Clearly, I was having a lot of trouble letting go. Speaking to friends about this felt strange at first. When we choose to leave a job or a relationship, the general narrative is that we’re moving onto something bigger and better.
This article is written especially for my former coworkers and also my partners in crime - Mahesh, Harsha, Ranjith. I also made a lot of new friends in the last quarter of my stay there - Madhuri, Sairam, Venkatesh, Sandhya (I couldn't write everyone's name)
I hope they stay in touch and never forget me. #Friendsforever
