Staying Too Long: I’m Always Wrestling With My Biggest Regret
Loyalty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
On a muggy August day 20 years ago, I left my office mid-morning and sat in a nearby park. I spent an hour propped up against a tree, calculating how much damage my career would sustain if I just never returned to work.
Forget quitting, I was seriously considering blocking my phone and email and just disappearing, essentially ghosting long before the term existed.
Sadly, the issue that propelled me to the park that day was nothing unusual. Every workday was a hellscape of laughable proportions.
Things had started out promising two years before. Being a market research consultant wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but my nerdy side loved the idea of being paid for something that resembled school. My interview with the charismatic CEO and the funky office with exposed brick and a cobalt blue meeting room convinced me — this was the place I needed to be.
Like many toxic relationships, those first six months were nothing short of a honeymoon. Coming from a boring administrative job I was overjoyed at the chance to be creative with bright, young co-workers. My boss loved me and treated me like I was someone special, once calling me his “best employee.” I rushed to work every…
