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Even when someone realizes that their move into management has become a source of constant anxiety and pressure, it doesn’t mean they can easily move on. Becoming a manager feels like a commitment. From the beginning, you throw yourself into the role. You learn everything you can about your team and your department. You work long hours trying to understand what needs to change and how to improve things. Along with that effort often comes a significant pay raise, better benefi

Management promises authority, but often delivers more responsibility with very little power to change what actually matters. As a kid, when I thought of a manager, I imagined someone in control. The boss. The person with authority. Someone people listened to. When they said jump, you jumped. The reality of management is very different. Even job descriptions for management roles subtly promise authority. Influence. The ability to make change. But once you’re in the role, the

Do you ever fantasize about handing in your notice and walking away from your management job, the one that keeps you up at night, drains your energy, and makes you wonder how you ended up here in the first place? If you’re still there, there’s probably a reason. Maybe you feel trapped financially. Maybe security is everything to you, and thinking of walking away sends you straight into panic. Maybe people depend on you. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself you “should” be able to

One of the most exhausting parts of being a manager isn’t the workload, it’s being responsible for other people’s responsibilities. For some, this is energizing. Developing others, coaching them, mentoring them; it’s their favorite part of leadership. But for many of us, especially those who prefer structure and independence, this part of the job can feel less like leadership and more like babysitting. I’ve had employees who needed reminders for the most basic tasks, not majo

You moved up. You were promoted into leadership. Your paycheck is something to be celebrated. You feel financially stable. You feel important for having been given the title. People look to you for answers. You are a leader. But you feel small. You are overwhelmed by the pressure to hold things together. The expectations to make a difference when you still feel you do not have enough authority to make changes. You’re exhausted from the constant meetings. You feel you have to

Have you ever stayed in a job you knew wasn’t right for you, but felt too scared to leave? I spent three years in a management role that slowly stripped away my confidence. I stayed because of security, my tenure, my benefits, my fear of losing stability. But what I didn’t realize was that staying too long in the wrong role can quietly dismantle your sense of self. At first, it was small things, second-guessing a decision or hesitating to speak up in meetings. Over time, that

Would it surprise you to know that many people regret becoming managers? Or maybe your first instinct is, of course, it’s exhausting. There are countless reasons people regret the move into management, but it often comes down to personality fit. Sometimes, the regret stems from the sheer amount of stress that comes with the title. Other times, it’s the loss of the hands-on work that once felt satisfying. Managing others brings its own kind of pressure, especially when you’re

The decision to step down from management can feel tormenting. One moment you’re convinced you can’t take another second of pressure; the next, you’re panicking at the thought of losing a steady paycheck. The fear of giving up financial security and the uncertainty of what comes next can leave you stuck in a painful loop of indecision. And it’s rarely as simple as telling your boss you want to return to your previous role. Maybe that position doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe you

Feeling trapped. Imprisoned by the fear of financial insecurity. You don’t want to apply for new jobs; you’re worn out. You can’t even imagine doing the same type of work again. You’re over it. You wish you could go back to the days when you weren’t responsible for other people. The days when your inbox wasn’t full of complaints, when you could actually breathe. What you wouldn’t give for a job that simply paid your bills, didn’t put enormous pressure on you, and let you feel

Being a manager often means you’re never really off . You can’t fully rest. You find yourself checking emails on a Saturday, feeling the tension of possibly seeing a problem. You’re always half-waiting for a call that alerts you to an issue and when that call comes, you’re instantly exhausted. It can feel dangerous to let things go. Most of the time, there was nothing catastrophic in my inbox, just basic stuff. Yet as I scrolled through, I felt that familiar nervousness in my

What was I supposed to do as a struggling, introverted manager? Companies preach “mental health awareness” and “psychological safety,” but try telling HR that your job is making you physically sick and see how that goes. “Hey, I’ve been doing some soul-searching and research on why I might not be happy in my role, and I realized I’m probably a highly sensitive person. I don’t know if you know what that term means, but basically this role is triggering daily anxiety and burnou