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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Radiant_Research_578 on 2026-08-19 20:26:27+00:00.
Found out today a former colleague just passed away from an illness, only in their mid-forties.
We worked together a few years ago in this absolutely toxic workplace. New leadership had a knee-jerk dislike of them because they were calm and collected and not spending every moment freaking out about getting the company more money. They did their job, closed their computer and focused on their family. They got passed over for promotions and eventually demoted just because they weren’t willing to play along with the BS. Eventually they left for another job.
I did way better playing along with the “yes everything is critically important here and I love thinking about how to help this company” game. And that kept me on the promotion track, for a while. Of course I eventually got laid off for being too expensive anyway.
I want to tell this person how much they had it right. Their obituary is full of their family, their loved ones, their passions. That job did not deserve their peace, time, or focus after 5. I feel so enraged in retrospect knowing how short their life was that leadership did whatever it could to try and force them to give so much more than what they were paid to do.
I know this sub is full of stories about not prioritizing work over what matters most, but this is another one anyway.
Any job that prefers you in a state of panic is the wrong job. Any job that expects you to work extra hours without pay is the wrong job. Any job that wants all of your fucks while giving little or none in return is the wrong job. Do what you gotta do to pay bills but protect your time and peace as much as you can.
