Do You Have Rust-Out?

Fed up? Feeling uninspired? Writing that resignation letter as we speak? This might be the career pep talk you need...

- Harriet Hall

Every weekday morning at 8:30am on the dot, Megha* sits at the small table in her living room, the oppressive quiet of the flat swelling as she opens up her laptop and waits for a task from her boss to hit her inbox. Once she has completed it—some take hours, others just 30 minutes—she waits again. Some days, another task never arrives, so she scrolls through LinkedIn, looking for suitable vacancies. Having once been a conscientious worker, Megha has now, in her own words, ‘given up’.

Earlier this year, the 28-year-old agency manager landed her dream job. For Megha, the first couple of months were exciting and challenging. “I was creating content, sending newsletters to more than 3,00,000 people, doing interviews, and creating campaigns for some of the biggest brands—it was great,” she says. Then, a new staff member joined the company and took over most of Megha’s responsibilities, leaving her to pick up more basic tasks. Despite having over eight years of experience and working hard to climb the ladder, Megha says she is now no more than a glorified assistant. “I don’t get any feedback; I am not involved in any projects. It is almost like they have just decided not to bother with me. I dread starting work. It’s soul-destroying,” she says. “But I hate giving up... I want to be thriving, I know that I am capable of so much more than this.”

So why hasn’t Megha joined in with the Great Resignation and the record number of employees throwing in the towel over the past two years? “I am not in a position to quit. I have a loan to repay. I need a similar salary to be able to do that.” As the minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months have yawned on, Megha has started to lower her standards when it comes to the roles she applies for. She just has to get out.