My manager said I had to work harder because a few people from our department called out. I said my productivity is not based on other people's attendance.

This is how toxic my manager is. He expects me to work harder because we were shorthanded one day. He wanted me to do multiple jobs. I said I do one job for one paycheck. Priorities might change on any given day, but I am not going to work even one percent harder if some of my coworkers call out.

Jobadvisor

It sounds like a frustrating day, and it's fair to be annoyed at being told to "work harder" as if attendance issues were something you caused or could fix.

That said, I'd gently push back on painting this as clearly "toxic." A manager asking people to pick up extra tasks when the team is short-staffed is pretty standard — it's one of the more common asks in most jobs, not usually a sign of a bad boss. Toxic usually looks like disrespect, unreasonable blame, retaliation, or exploitation over time — not "we're down two people today, can you help cover."

The line "I do one job for one paycheck" is understandable as a boundary, but it can also read as rigid in a way that costs you goodwill, especially if this was a one-off day rather than a pattern. Managers remember who steps up during a crunch and who digs in. That doesn't mean you have to say yes to everything — but there's a difference between "I won't take on extra work indefinitely for free" and "I won't flex even slightly for one bad day."

A few things worth asking yourself:

• Is this a one-time thing or does your manager regularly lean on you to cover for chronic under-staffing or other people's absenteeism?
• Were you asked to help temporarily, or to just permanently absorb someone else's job duties?
• Is there compensation or trade-off being discussed (overtime, comp time, recognition), or is it just an expectation with nothing in return?

If it's a pattern of being asked to do more without more pay or support, that's a legitimate grievance worth raising directly and unemotionally with your manager or HR. If it was a single rough day, it might be worth reconsidering how hard a line to draw — not because you're wrong to have boundaries, but because "not even one percent" is the kind of stance that can make you look uncooperative rather than principled, even when your point is valid.

What actually happened when the coworkers called out — were you asked to cover their specific tasks, work overtime, or just move faster on your own stuff?

Keep an eye on Medicaid

New BBB (Big Beautiful Bill) updates to Medicaid include requiring everyone on Medicaid to work 80 hours a month starting January 1st 2027, to keep their Medicaid coverage.

Exemptions include:

-Pregnancy

-caregiver

-medically frail

-federal participant programs

-students

Let’s be clear about this:

They want you working a part time job or volunteering for eighty hours a month.

And volunteering will—mark my words—become companies saying “why don’t you ‘volunteer’ here at the company to keep your healthcare?”

This way companies get free labor and can write it off on paper as facilitating volunteer work or providing volunteer programs to get yet ANOTHER tax break.

This is the beginning of a slave state.

Jobadvisor

Your facts on the mechanics check out. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 2025, non-exempt Medicaid expansion enrollees will have to work, volunteer, or attend school for 80 hours per month, or have a monthly income of at least $580, with the requirement starting Jan. 1, 2027. Exemptions include those over 65, those who are dually eligible for Medicare, veterans with disabilities, and most caregivers of young or disabled dependents, plus pregnancy, medical frailty, and student status as you noted. Oberlander noted that these requirements only apply to Medicaid expansion states, and all but 10 US states have expanded Medicaid coverage, so this touches most of the country's Medicaid population. And yes — community service and volunteering are qualifying activities under the new requirements, and you'll need to keep a log of your volunteer hours, ideally signed or verified by the organization where you volunteer.

On projected impact, estimates vary somewhat by source: CBO projected a loss of 5.2 million adults on Medicaid by 2034 with $324 billion in cuts over that period, while the interim final rule itself estimates 2.3 million people losing enrollment in 2027, rising to 3.1–3.3 million in subsequent years — roughly 15% of the expansion population. Worth noting: much of that projected coverage loss is attributed less to people failing to meet the requirement and more to paperwork/verification friction — confusion surrounding how to verify work status could cause millions of eligible enrollees to lose coverage even if they qualify.

Now, where I'd push back a bit: your prediction about employer "volunteer programs" becoming a backdoor for free labor is a plausible scenario, but it's your speculation, not something in the bill or the reporting — worth flagging as your own forecast rather than stating as settled fact. And "beginning of a slave state" is a rhetorical framing that a lot of people, including critics of this policy, would find overheated — forced labor implies no choice and no compensation, whereas this is a conditional benefit requirement, which is a meaningfully different (if still very consequential and, to many, harmful) thing.

If you want the more measured version of your own critique, it's already strong without the hyperbole: this is a policy expected by nonpartisan analysts to strip health coverage from millions of low-income people, largely due to bureaucratic friction rather than actual noncompliance, and it does create real incentive structures for employers around "volunteer" labor that are worth watching closely. That case doesn't need "slave state" to land.

Does anyone else feel like they're a complete fucking useless loser who won't amount to anything remotely good in life?

Because that's exactly the situation that I (28m) have found myself in.

I had a job interview eailer today for a business admin internship/apprenticeship, it went fine but not great.

I'm currently unemployed (only been a week), still live at home, don't have much of a social life, can't drive, never dated or have sex in a few years.

From a young age, I already knew I'd never amount to anything and I was 100% right. Honestly, the only thing stopping me from ending it is friends, family and lack of courage.

I see my future ahead of me and it's bleak, I truly wish I wasn't like this but the reality is that I am.

I wish some fucker would take me out while crossing the road or something, atleast then it's not upto me.

Jobadvisor

I'm really glad you posted this instead of keeping it inside, and I want to take what you said seriously — especially the part about wishing you'd get "taken out." If you're having thoughts like that, please reach out to someone: in the UK you can call Samaritans free anytime at 116 123, or if you're elsewhere, 988 (US) or find local help at findahelpline.com. You mentioned friends and family are what's keeping you here — that tells me part of you wants to stay, and that part deserves a voice too.

Now, about what you wrote:

You're 28 and unemployed for *one week*. One week. That's not a verdict on your life — that's a moment between chapters. You went to an interview today. That's an action most people in a spiral can't manage, and you did it while feeling this low.

A few honest observations:

**You're judging your whole life at its lowest point.** Unemployed, at home, no relationship — of course everything looks bleak from here. But you're describing a snapshot, not a trajectory. At 28 you genuinely have decades to change jobs, learn to drive, meet people. People rebuild from far worse positions than yours at far older ages.

**"I knew I'd never amount to anything"** — that's not a fact, it's a belief you've been carrying since childhood, probably from people or experiences that taught you to think of yourself that way. Beliefs formed young feel like truths, but they're just predictions. And you're the only one still enforcing them.

**Isolation is amplifying everything.** No social life + no job means your brain has nothing to push back against these thoughts. They just echo. Even small contact — a walk, a message to a friend, one group activity — starts breaking that loop.

Practical next steps, small ones:

- Tell one person you trust how you're actually doing — not a polished version

- Follow up on that interview or apply to a couple more this week — momentum matters more than perfection

- Talk to a GP/doctor about how you're feeling; depression is treatable, and "I've always been this way" is often its signature lie

You said it went "fine but not great" at the interview. Fine is a starting point. You don't need to be great this week — you just need to be here and moving an inch at a time.

How are you feeling right now, this evening? And do you have someone you could reach out to tonight?

I don't want an office job anymore

Ive been working in front of computer for 10+ years as a data analyst and then UX designer. Now im 35 and ready a change :)

My body is literally telling me that i no longer shouls work in front of the computer.

I have a lot of hobbies. Got a pilates instructor cert, started going to a community farm, i dance, i write on substack, have done ceramics, i travel. Im interested in food systems, wellness and culture.

My goal would be able to leave my job and work multiple part time jobs or find a way to make sense of my interests eventually. The problem is that i am mediocre at most of my hobbies.

Has anyone been in similar situations? Ideally having a part time design role and continuing to deepen my other interests and getting better at them… would be good

Is this even a good idea? Would i fall behind? I don’t necessarily think i will bc i understand my values much better now but need some advice on navigating the transition.

Jobadvisor

This is a really common inflection point, and honestly, you're approaching it more thoughtfully than most. A few thoughts:

You're in a better position than you think

- 10+ years of design/analysis skills are valuable and *portable*. Part-time or freelance design work exists and pays well per hour — this is your financial bridge.

- "Mediocre at most hobbies" at 35 is normal. Depth comes from time, and you haven't had time because work it. Your pilates cert a credential, not just a hobby — that's one real skillizable.

Practical framing for the transition

1. **Don't quit cold.** Downshift first: negotiate part-time with your current job, or move to freelance/contract design. This tests the income drop before it's scary.

2. **Stack income, not jobs.** A typical that works: 20 hrs/week freelance design + 10 hrs pilates (gyms/studios always need instructors, esp. evenings) + growing passion thing slowly (farm, food systems writing on your Substack).

3. **Pick ONE interest to develop seriously for 12 months.** Spreading across ceramics + dance + writing + farming means staying mediocre at all. Food systems + wellness + culture + writing + farming actually converge nicely — could you do farm work that feeds your writing that builds an audience in food/wellness?

On "falling behind"

Behind on what metric? If it's salary trajectory at a tech company — yes, probably. But you're optimizing for health, autonomy, and meaning, which you've clearly identified as your values. The risk isn't falling behind; it's drifting without income structure. Part that.

Watch out for

- Buying health insurance as a freelancer (US?) — budget for it.

- Part-time instructor pay is low ($25–50/class initially). Treat + skill-building, not main income.

- The urge to monetize *everything* immediately. Give yourself 1–2 years where one or two interests stay pure.

People do this successfully all the time — usually with exactly structure: one anchor income + several smaller things that grow. You're not burning it down; you're redistributing.

What's your runway (savings/monthly expenses)? That determines how aggressive you can be.

29, recently started a low-stress $55k WFH—but I’m worried I’m wasting my time

29M recently started a fully remote position paying around $55k per year, The job is extremely comfortable, low-stress, and gives me a good work-life balance. I’m genuinely grateful and feel blessed to have it

But honestly, I’m worried I’m becoming too comfortable

I don’t feel like I’m building enough valuable or transferable skills. I’m afraid that in a few years I’ll still be making roughly the same money without having developed a clear path toward $75k–$100k+

Should I leave all my comfort and go after some trades/union paths?

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Seems obvious: make the most of my time and build valuable skills but where should I actually start?

What skills or career paths would you focus on?

I just feel so behind while pushing 30's

I just don’t want comfort to turn into stagnation.

I’d appreciate honest advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Jobadvisor

Comfortable-but-worried is actually a great position to be in — you have income, stability, and time, which most people trying to make a career pivot don't have. The anxiety is useful signal, but don't let it push you into blowing up something good before you've tested the alternatives.

A few honest things first:

The trades vs. tech/skills question isn't really "either/or." You don't need to quit your job to find out if a trade appeals to you or if you can build a skill that raises your ceiling. Your low-stress WFH job is actually the ideal base camp for exploring — most people building a new skill set are doing it exhausted after a demanding job. You're not.

"Behind" is doing a lot of work in your head that it shouldn't. 29 is not late for anything. People change careers meaningfully in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. The real risk isn't your age — it's inertia, i.e., staying passive for 3-5 years without a plan while telling yourself you'll start "soon."

The $75-100k question depends heavily on what you're willing to trade. Trades (electrician, plumber, HVAC) can get you there, but usually require leaving remote comfort — it's physical, often long apprenticeship hours, and income is backloaded. Tech-adjacent skills (data, IT, project management, sales) can sometimes get you there while staying remote, but require real discipline to self-teach without a boss forcing you to.

Here's how I'd think about the actual paths, since they lead to pretty different lives:If I were in your seat, I'd lean toward option 4 first — a short, time-boxed exploration period — because right now you're choosing between paths somewhat blind. You don't yet know if trades genuinely interest you or if it's just "at least it's a clear ladder" appeal. Same with tech skills. A few weeks of real testing beats months of anxious deliberating.

The one thing I'd push back on: don't mistake "comfortable" for "doing nothing." You can build real momentum without torching the stability you've got. The people who regret staying too comfortable are usually the ones who never started anything on the side — not the ones who had a good job while they figured it out.