I wanted to share a little of my perspective with all of you, in hopes that it makes it easier for everyone to find the answer they are looking for. This message board was my salvation while still employed at Verizon, where I knew I wasn’t crazy for feeling like I wanted to crawl out of my skin every day I worked.
This is coming from a manager, who just didn’t feel quite correct when his fellow managers were suggesting ways to game the system in order to sell VZ Home and VZProtect. You know the drill, find savings with a plan swap or autopay discount, and “bundle in” the VZHome or VZProtect increase (or both! Payday! $$$). I understood the logic and even convinced myself it was just “smart selling,” instead of the obvious bait–and–switch that it really was.
But everyone has a number. It might be weeks, months, or years, but everyone has that magic number when they say “I’m done.” We have both the elements of ‘retail’ AND ‘corporate’ to contend with, so let’s be honest: it sucks. It really does. But it pays like a champ, and it knows it can pi–p out our mental well–being for that dollar bill.
What did I do? I didn’t buy a house, I fully invested in the 401K, and I withdrew half of it with the Coronavirus penalty–free withdrawal. An escape had been created. It took me a year to act on it. And after being gone, here’s what I can share:
- It’s okay that you know you want to leave but can’t yet. It’s okay to know the truth underneath but do what you have to do right now to get out ASAP.
- Once you step back from the company and are no longer the target of budget cuts, you start to understand why they are doing this. You realize that, if given the same controls and costs, you’d probably have to do the same thing.
- The first month you leave will be more confusion than relief. You will not regret leaving, but you will feel the way a person finally leaving a toxic relationship will feel. It will be rough, but you will know you did the right thing.
- Choose to be a hunter. That’s what is missing from our lives. We get these nice “corporate” jobs that make us feel proud, but we feel like house pets begging for their meals. Go into the wild, start a business, learn a skill, and hunt for the money. This was the biggest lesson I learned about myself. This is what I was missing.
I appreciate the struggle all of you are going through. I promise you that you will get out. You know that the role, whether DM, GM, SM, or SS... the days are numbered. Some of us have kids, some of us have mortgages, but you WILL find your way to take care of those things without Verizon. If you let yourself think deeply on it, you’ve always known you can’t do this forever.
Stay strong my friends. You deserve to find the way out, and you will. We’ll have some beers to celebrate on the other side!