#mentalhealth

Horrible culture, no care about your mental health. Your life has zero value to Halliburton. Go ahead and leave on your own accord not theirs. They ain’t paying no severance. They treat you like trash.

For decades Nike was about growth, optimism and building greatness which drove culture and results. Now it is a place where people are fighting to survive and make decisions out of fear. Much different, and won't work ever.

It’s not a question “IF” Anthem/Elevance is planning more RIFs, it’s more like “WHEN”. Always just assume they are, and plan accordingly. No one is safe from the RIF, so get your resume and LinkedIn up to date, start looking for ways to network more, save as much money as possible, figure out ways to strengthen your mental health, and show up every day knowing it very well could be your last.

The company really needs to make decisions and fast. People are worried/scared and unsure. Not to mention the lack of desire to actually “work”. They have had a year to figure this out. The layoff should be completed no later than 2 weeks after the closing of the EOI window. Time to fast track for the sake of employees mental health.

Not sure if anyone else is feeling this way, but my depression and anxiety is persisting despite being marked “safe” (for now).

I love my wife and children and am thankful for a paycheck, but am having trouble getting over the anxiety and depression that has loomed over my head in 2025.

Perhaps it is mourning? Mourning and longing for what was in the face of what is today and what is yet to come?

HeadSpace is a joke. It’s a cheap illusion hired by a company that wants to say “we care”.

I’m front row to seeing Chubak walk out of 12555 smiling while the next person is carrying a Fry-Wagner box with their desk’s contents. Cheshire-vibes.

I’m sorry, but I am done. If anyone has any ideas on how to get through this I would appreciate it ❤️

It’s not like Dell is on the rise, or that this job is some badge of honor that will shine on a resume down the road. Sure, the job market is tough and the economy isn’t looking great, maybe even getting worse, but there are always other options. The worst thing we can do is let the company pull us in so deep that we lose perspective. Worrying about this job doesn’t help. It only wears us down.

I am considering contacting a lawyer! The stress is becoming overwhelming! No clear answers! Promise to update UM/ utilization but no updates since August 4th! No answers from upper leadership! Every answer is more to come! Humana is causing mental strain! Supposed to make changes Sept 1 which is a holiday, so info is not correct! It will be Sept 2nd. What is going on? Who is doing this? Who is making the decisions?

Knowing layoffs are coming is destroying me mentally. It’s Saturday and I can’t relax. My mind keeps spinning about what’s next. I just wish they would get it over with so we could either focus on work or start looking for something new if we are laid off. Anything is better than being stuck in this limbo.

I have not slept well for last 10 days. How long this will continue ?

Anthem expanded rapidly and with each acquisition decided who to keep or dump, but instead of keeping those with true subject matter knowledge or leadership skills they selected based on favoritism, self-promotion and the ability to take credit for the work of others. The current state is an extremely top-heavy royal court of tone deaf “leaders” who in my opinion, add little to no value. Because they are in over their heads, I believe they relied on overpaid consultants who sold them on a dysfunctional and elitist business agile model.

Senior leaders were to identify their subject matter experts and make them a grade 15, with stock options after 3 years, higher bonuses and unlimited PTO. But instead of choosing the most worthy, they chose their glam squad, the people who make their PowerPoints and make them look good.

Now that they believe they’ve secured their “brain trust” phase 2 appears to be a business strategy where they replace current experienced employees with a) cheaper on shore hires, b) offshore employees, or c) will completely eliminate positions and replace with AI. If you are still working long hours and weekends trying to bail this sinking ship, just stop. There is no place for you in the lifeboats and there never was.

If you are a grade 15 category and one of the, I’d estimate 40%, who are carrying the other 60%, who use their unlimited PTO all the time, I would put in to take the month of September or October off and see if your peers step up; spoiler alert- they can’t so they won’t. You should plan to leave the minute you get vested.

Agile philosophy means you learn and expand your role; it doesn’t mean you take on the workload of three people. Collaboration in Agile is organized, it isn’t just random in office time to check a box. Return to Office mandates will result in others leaving, when collaboration has the people who work witness first-hand the lack of knowledge and work output among others who are paid much more and do far less.

Elevance has now created an organizational caste system. It used to be if you worked hard, you succeeded, the company succeeded, and everyone reaped the benefit; even if some were better compensated than others. Under this new methodology, there is a largely unworthy noble class that does very little, other than attending meetings where they assign out work to the small minority of grade 15’s who work and to grade 14’s and below. It takes no skill to say something is broken, it is fixing it that requires knowledge and effort. As shown last year, when bonus time comes around the pie is sliced so that those who do less are rewarded more.

With recent layoffs the royal court is scrambling to find peasants to pick up the slack; don’t fall for it. Let the favorite children who still get decent raises and bonuses finally do real work and fix things; if they can. Do enough to keep your job and your sanity until you can find something better. Set an alarm and work an 8 hour day, but when the alarm goes off if you think about working one minute more, remember that there is a VP that is taking 6 paid weeks to climb Everest and will return and still have more PTO, while you are neglecting your friends and family. Don’t overexert during upcoming peak and before you ever consider working a weekend realize that Elevance must be well staffed since they’ve yet to revoke unlimited PTO.

This is the logical conclusion of Elevance policies. Almost every working employee could likely qualify for an anxiety diagnosis. The lack of transparency in layoffs, where employees are disappeared overnight like you’re living in a communist regime, leads to a fear response. In the short term, you might get a burst of productivity, when workers try to do more to avoid getting on the RIF list. But when the RIFs keep coming, and there is no transparency or apparent logic to the RIF’s, the avoidance phase sets in. The weekend or PTO provides short term relief, but you come back to the same stress and if work piles up during PTO it is even worse. Politely turn down the extra work and cite health reasons; it is not a misrepresentation, maybe they can create a new diagnosis code for Elevance induced anxiety- Elevancia.

Calculate the hours you work verses your pay to arrive at your true salary. Calculate the cost of a commute that you may not have agreed to when you were hired. Calculate the impact of stress. Give the minimum you can but don’t buy into the fact that you owe more to fix problems that other’s incompetence and egos created. Notice that some of the fixers are leaving, so believe if or not, it may get worse.

Don’t sacrifice your physical or mental health for an organization that views you as completely disposable. If you set boundaries and get RIF’ed, it potentially was only a matter of time anyway. RIF’s no longer appear to be an unfortunate business necessity, but rather an Elevance business strategy. If the stock drops enough maybe the board will finally step in and replace the current inept leadership team and their royal court.
#IChooseMe
#Elevancia
#PeasantsUnite

More than 15 years with Nike. I gave it every chance to change and improve because of those good early days. But I’m done waiting and wasting time with a company that lacks vision and a real future. I just landed another job. Not better by any measure, but in a different environment. If I stayed here another day, I’d have jumped out of my skin. Wishing you all the best. And if you end up as fed up as I am, don’t hesitate - leave. There’s no point staying somewhere that makes you feel awful.

I’m starting to lean toward the former.

That is exactly what this feels like. They are letting us wait this long, making us stress, worry, and think about our livelihoods potentially disappearing next week every hour of every day. Why would they prolong it like this? Can anyone give me a real reason besides simply wanting to torture us?

With so many recent conversations here, this feels important to say: Mental wellness is a vital part of overall health. If you’re struggling, reaching out for support is not only important—it’s courageous. And remember, mental health care is covered by our health insurance plan, just like physical health.

Recent laid off employee here.

Laid off based out of Charlotte. Been here for 14 years. I am non working till October 2025. Haven’t signed the severance yet as my mental health tanked after the news. How much my severance will be? Any other advice on how to deal with severance and other pointers regarding layoffs will be helpful.

I don’t care about the job itself, I just badly need it. I’m in a tough spot in life right now and can’t afford to lose this job. I know I’m not the only one, but I’ve got so much on my plate that the possibility of being laid off absolutely terrifies me. Fingers crossed for all of us, especially those in particularly precarious positions.

I was laid off, and I don’t have regrets. I’d been bracing for this, the anxiety had been building for a while, so in some ways, it feels like a relief. I’m also grateful it gave me the push I needed to start looking elsewhere. I stayed at Oracle too long, became complacent, and lost sight of other possibilities. Staying in one place for too long isn’t great for self-confidence or professional growth, especially with how companies have been operating over the past decade. The job market is tough, but here’s hoping I prove I’m tougher.

Good luck to the rest of you, and don’t let yourself fall under the psychological pressure the corporate environment, and especially layoffs, can create. There are always other options, and other opportunities to prove to yourself that you’re good at what you do.

Wondering what people are doing to try and keep some mental sanity in tact amid the chaotic culture and toxicity, particularly when the market outside doesn’t look like a good alternative right now. I’ve been trying to get into some ‘zen’ type outlets like Yoga and journaling, and it really does help. Doesn’t seem like there’s any other way out of a spiraling mental cluster but would love to hear how others are coping.

The last few days have been nerve wracking while waiting for the ISP decision.

The next few days are going to be worse.
What is everyone doing to stay calm and maintain your sanity?

I was so burnt out I dreaded coming into the office every day. Today, I got laid off and it feels like winning the lottery. I know finding a new job might be tough, but this was long overdue. It’s better for both me and Wells Fargo that we part ways. Sometimes the push you didn’t ask for is the one you needed.

What a great day. I received the call this AM. I heard in my managers voice uncertainty about their own future. What a mess, they have a whole heck of a lot of stuff they need to unwind to get themselves off the firing line. For those who did not want to speak up for me that is OK, I forgive you. I do not feel bad for standing up for myself when I did. Nobody slots me into incorrect alignments and gets away with it. At this point, I appreciate the paid 60 days PTO and severance. I am going to use this as an opportunity to reset my mental health and find a better position for the remainder of my career. Feel free to position these changes as (right-sizing all you want). I have watched for years as you've hired your friends and diversity hires. Thank God those days are over for me. I should have never put up with it in the first place, but with COVID and forced RTO the market contracted making a move a little more elusive than I had hoped. Again! Thank you all very much. This is a weight off my shoulders.

It’s hard to stay positive these days at Visa. This place is such a downer, but we’ee lucky enough to be employed for now. What are healthy coping strategies that have worked for you?

• "Quiet cracking" is a new workplace trend where employees silently disengage due to stress, AI fears, and stalled career growth.
• Unlike "quiet quitting," it isn’t deliberate withdrawal but an unintentional decline in mental and emotional health.
• About 54% of employees report unhappiness at work, ranging from occasional to constant.
• Symptoms include lack of motivation, feelings of uselessness, irritability, and worsening burnout-like signs.
• Workers feel stuck, unable to quit due to the tough job market, leaving them unhappy in their roles.
• Global employee engagement dropped from 23% to 21% in 2024, echoing pandemic-era lows.
• This decline cost the global economy $438 billion in lost productivity in the past year.
• Managers often fail to recognize or address quiet cracking early enough.
• Nearly half (47%) of struggling employees say their managers don’t listen to their concerns.
• Training is a strong antidote: 62% of non-cracking employees receive training vs only 44% of those disengaged.
• Prioritizing training signals care, builds motivation, and fosters retention.
• Managers can intervene by scheduling honest conversations, offering new tasks, and providing growth opportunities.
• Good leadership is critical—company culture can make or break employee engagement.
• Employees can fight back by identifying the root cause of unhappiness and discussing development plans.
• If growth opportunities remain limited, staff may need to switch departments, employers, or even careers to stop quiet cracking.

Source:
https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/quiet-cracking-workplace-culture-employees-burnout-disengagement-mental-health-billions-business-loss-managers-ai-promotions/

Quiet cracking describes a progressive decline in employee engagement and overall workplace fulfillment. While team members continue to meet business objectives, they may experience reduced motivation, diminished connection to our culture, and lower levels of energy. Unlike overt burnout or voluntary attrition, quiet cracking often develops beneath the surface, making it harder to identify until it impacts performance, productivity, and overall wellbeing.

https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/quiet-cracking-workplace-culture-employees-burnout-disengagement-mental-health-billions-business-loss-managers-ai-promotions/

I no longer want to give my energy or care to my work. I am currently looking for a new role because this company does not seem to get any better by the day.

There are some people not doing so well since being laid off. Seriously not doing well. Please seek help.

Feeling anxious and depressed, having trouble sleeping, not being able to enjoy activities that you are used to enjoying are all normal feelings that you may experience after a layoff.

If these feeling persist over time it may be useful to be assessed by a doctor and/or mental health professional. Layoffs can put a lot of emotional stress on relationships and it may be useful to consult with a mental health professional about this as well.

Come back to the office it’s totally safe they say! Meanwhile some crazy person walked right into an office building and started shooting people on the 33rd floor today in NYC!!!

I’m working in a very toxic team and it is affecting my mental health. I’m even developing physical symptoms. What should I do to get a leave of absence? Where should I start from? Does anyone have similar experience? I’m in CA
#cisco