Woman leaves her corporate job to deal with grief and now regrets her decision: ‘[Boyfriend] said that everyone goes through grief yet still shows up for work’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Oct 8, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

If you look back all the time, you'll miss what lies ahead

Grief is a complicated thing. If you have ever gone through an important loss, like the one the woman who wrote this story went through, you will understand me. Some people can keep doing their normal activities like it's nothing and grieve independently, but others go through life-altering transformations that can shift the direction they were going in before entirely.

I personally know a lot about this because I lost both my parents a few years ago. I kept working, moved countries, and started studying again, all in the course of only one year. But that extreme level of activity didn't reflect what was going on inside accurately.

Maybe it was my way of processing it; who knows, but I remember feeling that something fundamental had changed inside of me, and I couldn't pinpoint what. With time, I understood I didn't have to pinpoint exactly what had changed; I only had to experience it. So little by little, I started recovering my sense of self, and actually I'm still at it.

What I mean by this is that you're allowed to do whatever you need to do in a situation like this, and it would be nice if your loved ones supported you on the journey. They shouldn't support us in leaving every activity we used to participate in, because that could harm our well-being, but pausing for a while is fine.

A grief process for an important loss is a very delicate thing. And having to start from scratch after it is ok; think about it like this: it's so much better for your mental health that you gave yourself the time to grieve and then got back to business. You'll be able to go much further because of that. Maybe if you hadn't stopped, you would've gone mad! All the best to the original poster.

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  • Cheezburger Image 10669281024
    via Sherise Van Dyk

    Grief is long

    Still frame for contextual reference only

  • Maybe grieving wasn't the best financial decision

    I quit my corporate job in May 2025 bc one of my parents dod, which caused me to rehome and take care of my living. parent. I was also in a toxic workplace (normal toxic, I guess?) and was
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  • overwhelmed by the weight of the responsibilities. I had a year worth of savings I planned on using through my hiatus, but I did deplete them by the time I got another job a year later.
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  • I've been at my current job now for 5 months, getting paid 5k less. Now I'm back to square one, at a job I don't particularly like, with no savings, debt racked up, and getting paid less.
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  • This came up in a conversation with my live- in boyfriend who said I was't mentally strong enough and that I should've just not quit my job back then. That I should've pushed through, quiet quit while I looked for
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  • another job, so I wouldn't. have to blow my savings. and stunt my earning potential. He said that everyone goes through grief yet still show up for work. Like his boss, whose parents both d d within a
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  • month, yet he still showed up and pushed through. Part of this hurts bc my bf, whom I love and I assume loves me, saw my lowest point and made a dig about my mental strength and how I should've just
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  • Cheezburger Image 10669281280
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Wotking through grief must be hard

    Licensed media provided as editorial context

  • persevered. Throughout my unemployment, I never asked him for financial support and we kept the bills split in half like we did normally. I guess I just feel guilty about not being strong
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  • enough. I should've been able to separate professional life from personal life. And even though my bf is right, I feel hurt by his words and how he perceives me. Sorry if this is the wrong
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  • ayeeitssteph Your bf isn't right and is a weirdo for saying that while you've been grieving. I'm also really sorry about your loss.
    via ayeeutssteph
  • One-Traffic7717 Corporate America is h I. You could quit over your boss not turning they camera on in Teams and it'd be valid. Sorry for your loss.
    via One-Traffic7717
  • Cheezburger Image 10669281536
    via Ann

    You deserve time

    Image for illustrative purposes

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relationship advice family drama workplace-stories toxic-workplace work family feud relationships workplace family toxic relationship relationship drama toxic-work-environment
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