Employee realizes how miserable they are in their current role after being appointed temporarily to another team: 'I wasn't waking up dreading the day [anymore]'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Mar 9, 2026 9:00 AM EDT

An employee who took a temporary assignment to another role went from being worried about performing to the standards of the role to discovering that it was actually their job that was the problem. 

Sometimes stress comes on to you like a frog boiling in a pot of water, with the stress building so slowly that you don't even realize when it's time to jump out. 

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  • 01
    This is kinda embarrassing to admit but the last two weeks honestly messed with my head a bit. Someone on another team had to take medical leave and my manager asked if I could cover for them temporarily. I figured it'd be a disaster since I didn't know their workflow or tools or anything.
    via Gundythechef

  • By the time you realize it, you're well into at least the early stages of burnout, and then it's an uphill battle to pick up the pieces and try to better your situation with what little you have left. And, it's often not until you're exposed to a different reality, a new "normal," that you realize that the reality you have been experiencing isn't "normal" at all. In fact, there are some things that you have been putting up with and normalizing that you don't have to put up with forever.

    When you find yourself in such situations, it can seem impossible to pick up those pieces and move forward. But by taking small steps forward, working towards the future that you envision for yourself, eventually you'll get yourself out of that toxic environment and into a much better, more enriching one. It might seem like a lot of hard work now, but if you put in those hard yards 

    And it's as much about seizing the right opportunities when they come your way as it is being ready for them, poised to make that leap when the right chance appears. And it can be something as simple as taking a temporary appointment to another team in your organization. That small change, a different team, with different dynamics and a different manager, all within the same organization, can be enough to give you that breath of fresh air you so desperately needed. 

  • 02
    An employee in formal business attire holds their head in their hands, stressed, working at their desk in a gray office.
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    An employee holds their head in their hands, stressed, working at their desk.

    The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • When an employee in their company, but on a different team, went out on medical leave, this employee was presented with an opportunity, more or less a secondment to the employee's role. They were nervous that they weren't prepared for the role and were going to fail spectacularly, but instead, almost the exact opposite happened.

    The employee found that what this really exposed them to was how miserable things were in their current role. They weren't dreading work anymore; they felt more motivated to work, and they realized that they had forgotten what it was like to work on a "regular" team. It wasn't until the secondment ended and they had to go back to the old job that they found themself, once again, sinking into despair. 

  • 03
    But it was... fine? Like weirdly fine? I wasn't waking up already dreading the day. I actually wanted to get stuff done, which sounds basic but I haven't felt that way in forever on my regular team.
    via Gundythechef
  • 04
    Then Monday rolls around and I'm back with my usual team and it's like someone just dropped a brick on my chest again. Same work, same people, same everything but completely different energy.
    via Gundythechef
  • 05
    And now I'm sitting here wondering if I've been blaming myself this whole time for something that's actually just... a bad fit? Like maybe the problem isn't that I'm not good enough or trying hard enough, maybe it's just the environment?
    via Gundythechef
  • 06
    Has anyone else had this happen where you suddenly realize "oh sh, I'm not the problem here, this just isn't right for me"? Cause I'm honestly trying to figure out what to do with this information now.
    via Gundythechef
  • 07
    Juanchito I've seen this happen more than people want to admit tbh. We always think burnout = too much work, but a lot of the time it's actually just... wrong type of work.
    via Gundythechef
  • 08
    There's this whole concept around energy alignment (sounds woo-woo but hear me out). Basically different people drain or recharge depending on stuff like: • what kind of problems they're solving ⚫ how fast decisions need to happen ⚫ how much structure exists ⚫ the overall vibe of the environment
    via Gundythechef
  • 09
    Like you could have two jobs with identical responsibilities on paper and one feels impossible while the other feels natural. It's not about working harder, it's about whether the role matches how you naturally operate.
    via Gundythechef
  • 10
    That's why what happened to you is so revealing. You took yourself out of the "maybe I just sk" equation and saw that in a different setup you're actually... fine? Good even?
    via Gundythechef
  • 11
    When people do structured career assessments (like Pigment or similar tools), this is usually the first big lightbulb moment: "Oh nothing's wrong with me, I was just in a role that fought against how I work."
    via Gundythechef
  • 12
    You're not imagining it. Sometimes the clearest signal is exactly what you experienced seeing yourself function normally somewhere else and realizing it wasn't you all along.
    via Gundythechef
  • 13
    kazii8982 You just got clarity most people never get. The fact that the work itself wasn't the issue but the team/environment means you can fix this without starting over. Request a transfer, talk to HR or apply internally. Don't go back to convincing yourself you're the problem when you just proved you're not
    via Gundythechef
  • 14
    Rixxy123 Team is EVERYTHING. You can have an amazing job doing interesting work yet the team is brutal, so suddenly a day feels like a week. As you discovered, the opposite is also true. "This makes no sense I don't know what the h l is going on but the team rocks and now I actually really want to learn. "
    via Gundythechef
  • 15
    XGamer54X Haven't had this experience, yet, but I think thats a totally common thing to experience. You become desensitized to the sh youre drowning in. Maybe you can look for a transfer or start interviewing elsewhere, but doing something that drains you will burn you out so bad. Good luck buddy
    via Gundythechef
  • 16
    No-Growth3624 Yeah its the people you have to work with. Most of these work crews are dog eat dog and dealing with personal issues every day of their lives. Once you work with real people who dont pretend to be someone else the energy changes and the work environment gets way better
    via Gundythechef
  • 17
    FrameOver9095 Yes, same happen me before. Sometimes place sk energy, not you. Change team or environment can make big difference.
    via Gundythechef

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workplace discussion employment issues antiwork jobs employee employees workplace story employment
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