This was my favorite, most meaningful, and most rewarding job I've ever had. I loved the people, I got to do work I was great at, and I helped lead the best team. But in early 2025, workloads exploded and kept getting heavier and heavier, and my dream job turned into one I couldn't stay in.
I worked hard to earn my position. I volunteered for projects, presentations, made an impact on people across the company, managed top performers. I built incredible relationships and every day made an effort to help others stay positive even in light of how difficult those days could be. I looked forward to growing within the company and shifting my responsibilities from heavy client work to more leadership projects, as I had seen people above me achieve.
While my client load decreased, the client workload & demands never did. I was still spending 80-90% of my day on clients as a Director, rushing through work the majority of the time to try not to get yet another day behind. Any other non-client projects I had to either rush or delay over and over, regardless of how much I wanted to do them. There were always new processes or initiatives to improve the quality of work our clients would get - initiatives that I wholeheartedly supported, but the pressure and reality of which felt impossibly heavy when it felt like I didn't have time to do even the bare minimum well.
My health (both physical and mental), my relationships, and my work/life balance all suffered during the last year I worked here. I heard over and over to hold on because things would get better. I waited and advocated, hanging on as best I could, until finally I couldn't do it anymore. When I left, it seemed like things might actually get better, but that feeling had come many times before and there's only so much hope you can hold onto before you have to do what's right for yourself.
I wish I could still work here. Honestly, I'm still heartbroken that the situation became so unsustainable, even as a high-performing employee with 15 years of full-time work experience, and that I no longer get to work with the absolute best team I've ever met.
