Red flags I ignored for YEARS
Shima Ghaheri
From Designing Games to Designing Futures | TEDx Speaker, Career Coach, Ex Toy and Game Designer
→ Waking up every Monday feeling sick to my stomach
→ Drowning under impossible deadlines, no support in sight
→ Giving my all but feeling invisible—no thanks, no recognition
→ Watching a coworker get promoted for taking credit for?my?work
The signs were all there...
I was suffocating in a toxic workplace,
and I didn’t even realize it.
I was so caught up in trying to SURVIVE
that I didn’t see how much this job was breaking me.
Then, one day, I finally hit my breaking point.
When I told my manager I couldn’t do it anymore,
she looked me dead in the eyes and said,
“I saw you were drowning but didn’t help you—so you’d learn your lesson.”
That hit me like a ton of bricks. Why did I let it get this far?
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When I finally walked away,
it felt like I could breathe again after being underwater for years.
But it wasn’t something a few days off could fix
it took more than a year for me to feel human again.
I’m sharing this because I don’t want you to ignore the signs like I did.
Other red flags to watch for:
→ Leaders who stay silent when you need them most
→ Feeling small, unheard, and like nothing you do matters
→ Colleagues disappearing left and right, and you know why
Was it worth sacrificing my mental health just to keep a job and hope for a promotion?
Absolutely not.
Life is short. Your career is long. Put yourself first.
And speaking of putting yourself first...I’ve got something exciting in the works, just for you. Stay tuned, I’ll be announcing something that’s going to help you take back your power—just like I did. Let’s just say, you won’t want to miss it. ??
PMP Trained| AM IT | IT Infra Manager | IT Support | Google Project Management Certified
5 个月Such a cruel manager. We have to learn from others mistakes to save time and money and extend the experience life span of each other rather than we do all by ourselves. I used to tellmy students if i teach you the experience of Aristotle approach, and you apply it in your life, then your experience life span is counted in thousands of years and can become more expert than doing the same today.
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5 个月I honestly can't remember the last time I worked overtime. (I don't care if my employer reads this) I. Don't. Need. Too. To. Be. Successful.
Scaling B2B Emerging Tech. | Investor & Customer Acquisition
5 个月What a story Shima. More and more people have been ignoring red flags at work for reasons like fear of not being able to get another job, comfort in current job, etc without realising sometimes the toxic culture of bosses. One of the early signs, as you have mentioned in this article, is when your coworkers have been leaving at an unusually fast pace. When the boss says stuff like letting you drown, that's when you know it's bad & at another level of toxicity. I try to make it a habit to occasionally check in on my team individually to let them know they're noticed and as a reminder they're an integral part of our work family.
Award-winning teacher and helper sharing stories that teach kindness.
5 个月Collin George Brown this is a really good and relatable read. Thanks
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5 个月The body always knows! It doesn't imagine what you "should" be able to do. It doesn't compare to what others are doing. It just tells you what it can do. And yet I still so often ignore it! ?? I'm far better than I used to be though!