MattMunnell.com

What is old is new again!

Today, after being inspired by my daughter Eleni, I have started writing this blog and recording the “Driving to…” podcast again. I tell how she inspired me in the podcast episode which you can find at the bottom of my home page or under the “Driving to…” link also on my home page.

I have started a new job since I last wrote a post. It is and has been an amazing experience. See, you never know how toxic something is until you leave it. Well maybe you do, but some of us are a little slow and need a little bit more to recognize the toxicity. That was my case.

The job I held for over 36 years was one I enjoyed. Even when the circumstances became stressful I still enjoyed the job. The stress was just part of running a huge business and I figured once things settled down the stress would go away – in fact I told myself I wasn’t under any stress.

Then a restructuring came and I was told I was retiring. Ok.

Then the pandemic hit and I decided I would wait to go back into the job market.

About a year after “retiring” I started looking for a job. A new opportunity came quite quickly, and then another one and another one.

Cool

But only one of these seemed to have a culture that I would enjoy. It just so happened to be the lowest salary too.

I chose it anyway and I have never been happier! And in working inside of this great culture it has made me recognize how toxic the last 5 years of my old job was (and it didn’t have to be, if the powers would’ve just realized certain things but that’s another story!). The new job has metrics to meet, productivity standards to achieve – all of the same stuff as the last job, but without the constant oversight, pounding, phone calls and stress that those things caused.

I wish I had recognized my old toxic environment earlier.

I visited a store from my old job and spent a little time talking to a couple of the managers there that I knew. They both commented that I looked happy and stress-free. I shopped at another one and ran into that store manager and she said almost the same thing. One of the managers even said something that I had said in the past, “every manager that leaves looks happier.” All three managers stated that things hadn’t changed – and they all looked, well, stressed. Maybe they should leave to be happier too.

It’s tough to recognize a toxic situation – especially if you have been in it a long time. Listen to your family and friends though. They can be giving you signals that could tell you to re-think and make a change.

I’m so glad I did…even if it wasn’t my idea.