r/work•
mossy_shell

I feel like I've lost the role I worked so hard for. Am I overreacting?

Workplace Challenges and Conflicts

I (22F) work for a growing clothing company with 10 store locations.

When I was hired, I started as a key holder. Within about two months, I was promoted to store manager. After that, my role evolved into social media and marketing, which I absolutely loved. I managed our website, organized model shoots, created content, planned marketing campaigns, and helped grow the brand. I also became part of our internal team, traveling to different stores when they needed help (sometimes driving 12 hours) and helping support all 10 locations.

Three months ago, I officially transitioned into social media full-time. It felt like I had finally found the career path I wanted to build.

Then, two months ago, our office administrator quit. Another employee and I were asked to split the office/admin position while still handling our other responsibilities. Along with social media, I took on payroll, onboarding new hires, conference calls, and weekly check-ins with all 10 store managers. It was a lot, but I stepped up because the company needed help.

About a month ago, I was told I would no longer be splitting the office role and would be going back to focusing on social media and the website full-time. I was honestly excited because that's where my passion is. Even after moving back into social media, I continued handling the conference calls and weekly check-ins with all of the store managers.

Then everything changed again.

Last Tuesday, I was in the back office at my store with the other employee who had been splitting the office role with me when my bosses called me. They told me I wouldn't be working in the back office very much anymore and that the office/admin role had been given entirely to her because she had gone to school for it.
That part hurt more than I expected.

One thing that has made this transition especially difficult is that every major step up I had at this company was alongside her. We were both growing within the company, and many of our promotions and added responsibilities happened together. I was never the only person moving up, so I always saw it as us building our careers alongside each other and continuing to grow within the company.
Now our paths have completely split. She is in the office admin role working in the back from 9-5, while I am being moved away from the office responsibilities and back toward the sales floor.

I want to be clear that I don't blame her at all. She advocated for herself and accepted an opportunity that was given to her, and I think she is capable of doing the job. What hurts is that I feel like I was never given the chance to communicate what I wanted or where I saw myself continuing to grow within the company.
I also wasn't able to finish college because of my mental health, so hearing that her education was part of the reason she was chosen for the office role hit a really sensitive spot for me. I know that isn't her fault, but it brought up a lot of feelings about something I've struggled with for years.

During that same conversation, they also told me that because two employees had recently put in their notice, I'd be spending much more time on the sales floor and less time doing social media. They said they weren't really sure what my role would look like anymore and that eventually my social media responsibilities would likely be split with someone else.
I think that's what's been the hardest part.

I don't mind helping on the sales floor. I completely understand that businesses have staffing shortages, and I'm always willing to help where I'm needed.
What's hurting me is that every major change to my job seems to happen without anyone asking what I actually want. Every time I've gotten a phone call, it's been someone informing me that my role has changed again.
If someone had asked me what I wanted, I would've said I wanted to stay in social media, marketing, and website management. That's where I feel motivated, where I think I do my best work, and where I thought I was building a career.

Instead, I feel like I'm constantly being moved wherever the company has the biggest need at that moment.
To make things even more confusing, the company had hired a new store manager specifically so I could focus on social media, marketing, and the website full-time. I actually helped recruit and hire her because that was the direction we were all planning for. Now it feels like that plan has completely disappeared.

I also have a history of serious mental health struggles. When I was 18, I survived a suicide attempt, and over the past few years I've worked incredibly hard to stay healthy. The stress from everything happening at work became overwhelming, and instead of letting things get worse, I voluntarily admitted myself to a psychiatric hospital because I recognized I needed help.

While I was gone, they removed me from the HQ group chat and told me they would talk to me once I was back home. I got back on Saturday, so by the time we have that conversation, it will have been almost a week since I returned.

I'm doing much better now and getting the support I need, but I'm terrified that getting help is going to cost me my job. Because they had already told me they weren't really sure what my role would be anymore, I'm scared they'll decide they don't have a place for me when I come back. I don't know if that's a realistic fear or if my anxiety is making me expect the worst.

Lately, I've honestly been feeling like quitting. Not because I don't care about the company or the people I work with, but because the constant uncertainty has become exhausting. I feel like I've been trying so hard to prove myself, take on more responsibility, and grow within the company, but every time I feel like I have found my place, my role changes again.

I don't want to make a decision out of frustration or hurt, especially because I genuinely enjoy the work I do and the people I work with. But I also don't know how much more uncertainty I can handle without it affecting my mental health again.

I genuinely care about this company. I don't want to quit impulsively because I love the people I work with and I truly enjoy the marketing side of my job.
I just feel like the career path I thought I was building keeps disappearing every few weeks, and I'm exhausted from never knowing what my role will be next.

Has anyone else been through something like this? Am I overreacting, or are my feelings about all of these constant role changes reasonable?

Posted Aug 3, 2026, 2:04 PM UTC

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