IT worker told to take a demotion

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

May 13, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Being faced with the brutal decision of whether or not you'll take a demotion or be fired is not easy and it's an even harder choice to make. It would be easy to just want to up and walk away rather than face the humiliation demotion. But, unless you're in a secure financial position and have a lot of connections in your industry, you'll probably want to consider taking the demotion while you quietly go about looking for another job. After all, there's no better time to look for a job than when you already have a paycheck.

The entire experience is likely to be demoralizing and stressful, but if you're looking for sliver linings there's a good chance that the demotion will give you some breathing room in stress and responsibility levels while you take the time to get your CV tidied up and out into the world. Plus, it's not like you really need to be emotionally invested in your work anymore so you have the freedom to displace all that energy elsewhere.