I feel like my entire personality is "job." How do I get "me" back?

Currently employed but the company has had several rounds of RIF, with another looming on the horizon. ELT has advised us to "be useful" if we want to be retained, and roles aren't being backfilled anymore when someone moves on voluntarily, so the pressure and workload are insane.

My job search is squeezed into all the other hours. I feel like a robot. I'm also kind of an old broad (50s), so I'm determined to present as flexible, eager to learn, not calcified.

I realized that my entire algo is jobs, jobs, layoffs, recruiting, blah blah blah. I used to have interests! I was into tinned fish and documentary films and indie music. But now I'm stuck in a doom loop of all-jobs, all the time.

How do you keep your personality intact? All of my brainpower and energy is given over to trying to survive.

Posted Apr 7, 2026, 11:26 AM UTC

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