Situation · Work
“I hate my job but I can't leave”
What could be going on
Sunk cost fallacy: Fits if you stay because of the years already spent.
Learned helplessness: Fits if you have stopped believing anything you do will change it.
Identity foreclosure: Fits if the job was chosen for you rather than by you.
Regulatory focus (promotion and prevention): Fits if you focus on avoiding risk more than seeking something better.
Bad faith (Sartre): Fits if you tell yourself you have no choice.
Major depression: Check whether low mood is making everything feel impossible.
Questions to carry
- Picturing myself handing in my notice, what is the first thing that stops me?
- Which part of who I am is tied up in this job?
Also said as
- I'm stuck in a job I hate
- why can't I quit my job
- I've been here too long to leave now
- I'm miserable at work but too scared to go
- I feel trapped in my job
- I want to quit but I can't make myself