I Hate My Job! Do I Have to Suck It Up Until the Economy Recovers?’

The Cut’s financial advice columnist Charlotte Cowles answers readers’ personal questions about personal finance.

I hated my job before the pandemic, and now I hate it even more. I’m a product manager at an apparel company, and the whole place is awful. The hours are never-ending, and there’s even less respect for personal time now that we’re all working from home. I also don’t approve of how the warehouse staff has been treated throughout this crisis.

I’m 29 and have had this job for two years; it was a significant step up from my previous job in terms of salary and title, but the company culture is bad and getting worse.

I was originally planning to quit in May (I’ve been saving up to do so since last fall) and take some time to reevaluate what I want to do next. But now I’m wondering if that’s completely insane.

I will have enough savings to cover my expenses and bills for at least six months (or longer if social-distancing measures keep up), but will I be able to find a new job by then? It seems pointless to look for jobs right now, and I’m not sure when that will change.

I know I’m incredibly lucky to even have work right now, and part of me thinks I should just be grateful for my paycheck. But saving up to quit is the only thing that’s gotten me through these past few months, and honestly, I need a break. What’s the right move here?

Can I prioritize my mental health and put in my two weeks’ notice? Or do I need to save more before I leave? (If so, how much?) Or should I just suck it up until the economy recovers somewhat?

I can’t tell you when to quit your job, exactly. I don’t know what the economy will look like in six months, either. But I do believe that you shouldn’t have to torture yourself for a paycheck. I wish more people had the financial option to leave a workplace that’s bad for their health (mental and/or physical), and I’m glad that you’re in a position to do so, even if it’s tenuous.

On that note, you’ll want to consider your next steps very, very carefully. Most economic models predict that this mess will continue to get worse before it gets better, and the country’s recovery may take years. There’s a lot of pressure to hold on to whatever you’ve got, be hyper-protective, hunker down.

These are healthy instincts, and not to be ignored. The last thing you want is to be sitting around in a year feeling even more trapped than you do now because you’ve run out of savings and no one’s hiring.

Still, I relate to what you’re going through. I also hit an inflection point in my career around age 30, and for a while I felt like I’d really lost the plot. (When I did eventually quit my job later, I saved up a bunch of money first too. It wound up being less necessary than I anticipated, but it helped quell my anxiety.)

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