Has anyone gone from being highly driven at work to having almost no motivation? What helped?
I'm 29 and currently work as a data engineer. Over the past year, I've started getting more negative feedback from managers, and at the same time I've noticed that my motivation to work has completely fallen off a cliff.
Earlier in my career, I consistently received very positive feedback. I was also much more disciplined. I would force myself to practice interview questions, learn new technologies outside of work, and generally do what I needed to do to advance my career.
The strange thing is that I don't think I ever cared that much about the work itself. A lot of my motivation came from wanting to increase my income and eventually become financially independent. For years, that seemed to be enough to make me work hard.
Around a year ago, something changed.
I now have essentially zero interest in practicing interview questions or learning things for my career outside of work. More concerningly, my ability to make myself work at my actual job keeps getting worse. I procrastinate much more, struggle to start things, and generally feel increasingly disengaged.
Intellectually, I understand the consequences. I need an income. I want to be able to support myself and the people I care about. I know that continuing to perform poorly could eventually cost me my job. But knowing those things doesn't seem to translate into motivation or behavior anymore.
I've also tried taking time off. Even after a two-week vacation, I mostly just felt dread about eventually having to return to work.
It's starting to scare me because I don't understand what changed or how I'm supposed to sustain a career for another few decades if I increasingly struggle to make myself work.
I've recently started seeing a therapist, and I'm also planning to see a psychiatrist to work through some ADHD-related issues, so I'm looking into the mental-health side of this as well.
But I'm curious whether anyone here has experienced a similar shift?
Did it turn out to be burnout? Depression? ADHD? The wrong career? Something else?
And more importantly, what actually helped you regain your ability to work consistently? Did you change careers, change jobs, change how you approached work, or find some other way of dealing with it?
Jobadvisor
What you're describing is common, and the timeline matters. Many people with a strong early work ethic run on external pressure, novelty, or a clear goal. When those fade, or the work starts to feel like a grind, the discipline that used to come easily can suddenly feel impossible. Your drive was real, but it seems to have depended on fuel that has been running low.
I can't tell you which of the usual suspects it is, and it may be more than one. Depression often looks exactly like this: flat motivation, dread that doesn't lift with rest, and a sense that even things you know matter don't move you. Burnout tends to show up after a long stretch of pressure, and a two-week vacation that doesn't help is a meaningful clue. ADHD can make this worse in a specific way. Someone may have compensated for years through urgency and effort, and then the effort stops being sustainable, especially once the work becomes less novel. Negative feedback adds another layer. Shame makes it harder to start, avoidance makes the feedback worse, and the cycle tightens.
Since you're already seeing a therapist and planning a psychiatry visit, those are good steps. I'd bring them a clear timeline: when the change started, what else was happening then (health, sleep, relationships, a new manager, a project that went badly), what the feedback has actually been about, and how the dread feels in your body on a Sunday night versus in the middle of a workday. That context will help them tell depression, burnout, and ADHD apart much faster than general descriptions will.
On what helps people recover their ability to work, a few things come up often. Rebuilding structure in small, concrete ways tends to work better than trying to summon willpower. That might mean breaking tasks into pieces small enough to start in five minutes, using a body double or a standing check-in, or setting one specific deliverable per day. Talking directly with your manager can also help, especially if you ask for specific expectations and what success looks like. Vague feedback is demoralizing, and clear criteria give you something to work toward instead of a verdict to dread. Some people also find that their original motivation, income and financial independence, has become too abstract to pull them through daily tasks, so connecting work to something nearer, like a project they care about or a skill they want to use, can help.
Changing careers or jobs is sometimes the right answer, but I'd be cautious about deciding that before you know what's driving this. If it's depression or ADHD, a new job may come with the same struggles. If the work itself has stopped fitting who you are, a change could be exactly what you need, and you'd want to know that before you leave.
What's the feedback been about? Knowing whether it's about output, reliability, or communication would help me think through it with you.
Terminated (alot) ?
Hi - my job isn’t your usual 9-5. I work as a freelance instructor in gyms. I also took gigs as a freelance admin work online (night shift). This year was just tough.
2 admin clients decided to not pursue after 2months. I resigned from 1 gym that I worked for 3 years bc of underpay & overwork- although I have this feeling of regret bc even if they paid low at least there was a base pay + predictable schedule.
Been freelancing as an independent contractor in other cities for 4 months now. It’s been really hard for me. I love the job but there’s much financial instability (if you don’t work, you don’t earn). I lost 2 gyms - first one they didn’t agree to the schedule I can give (this was a blow bc they paid a lot) & the second one due to missed classes (didn’t pay much imo but I liked them enough to reserve 3 hours of my day) . I have been feeling pretty horrible and down. I still got other places I work for but I still feel really down. Honestly, there’s no more time for family or other things bc of this. I think I am burnout but need to keep grinding-
Bc of this I feel like my value and worth is 0, had suicidal thoughts & I feel weak af
Help?
Jobadvisor
- Romania: If you are currently in Romania, you can call 112 for emergency help, or contact the Anti-Suicide Helpline (Telul Verde / Alianța Română de Prevenție a Suicidului) at 0800 801 200 (toll-free) or visit
www.antisuicid.ro - International: If you are located elsewhere right now, please visit
findahelpline.com to find free, confidential support in your country.
A Gentle Validation
Step-by-Step Guidance for Right Now
1. Pause and Lower the Stakes
- Release the pressure for the next 24–48 hours: If you can, take a step back from any non-essential tasks. Give your nervous system permission to just breathe.
- Talk to someone close: Reach out to a trusted family member, a true friend, or a healthcare professional. Let them know: "I am struggling deeply with burnout and feeling hopeless right now. Can we talk?"
2. Re-evaluate the "Hustle" Structure
- Acknowledge the grief of leaving: It is completely normal to regret leaving the gym that gave you predictable base pay, even if it underpaid you. Security matters for mental peace.
- Stop viewing losses as a reflection of your worth: Losing a gym because of a scheduling conflict or missing a class is a logistical mismatch, not a verdict on your value as an instructor or a person. Gyms and independent contractors part ways all the time due to changing logistics.
3. Shift from "Grind" to "Triage"
- Audit your energy: Look at your remaining gigs. Which ones are draining you the most relative to what they pay? Is there any client or class you can drop or scale back on to claw back even a few hours of rest?
- Look for stability anchors: In the long run, look for opportunities that offer even a small amount of guaranteed base hours, employee status, or fixed contracts rather than 100% volatile independent contracting.
Let's Take It One Breath at a Time
Are tech layoffs really because of AI, or is AI just part of the story?
I don't think all these layoffs are happening just because of AI. I feel like there might be more to the story.
Recently, I came across a post from a PayPal employee who mentioned that after layoffs in their team, the remaining employees were expected to take over the work of the people who were let go. Even if the roles were still needed, the company wasn't necessarily hiring replacements.
I also recently spoke to a friend who works at a product-based MNC. According to him, the situation isn't just about AI replacing people. AI is definitely helping developers write code and complete tasks more efficiently, but he believes the bigger problem is the lack of new projects and clients. He mentioned that his company hadn't acquired a new client since 2024.
This got me thinking: Are companies actually laying people off because AI can do their jobs, or are they using AI as part of the explanation for broader economic problems, reduced business demand, and cost-cutting?
Another thing I wonder about is whether companies are reluctant to openly acknowledge that their business growth or demand has slowed down, especially when they need to maintain investor confidence and stock prices.
I'm not saying AI has no impact on jobs. It clearly has the potential to change how software development works. But I find it hard to believe that AI alone explains everything happening in the job market.
For those working in IT, especially in product-based companies:
What is the actual situation inside your companies?
Are layoffs happening because AI is genuinely replacing employees, or are they mainly due to fewer projects, reduced client demand, and cost-cutting?
Are companies still hiring, or are they simply making existing employees do more work with fewer people?
I'd genuinely like to hear perspectives from people working in the industry rather than just relying on headlines and corporate statements.
Jobadvisor
1. The "AI Scapegoat" and Investor Psychology
- The PR Spin: If a CEO admits, "We overhired during the pandemic, our growth has flatlined, and our clients aren't buying new projects," their stock price takes a hit and investors panic.
- The Innovation Spin: If a CEO says, "We are restructuring to lean into the transformative power of AI and drive operational efficiency," investors cheer, view them as forward-thinking, and often push the stock price up.Data from tech layoff trackers shows that while a high percentage of layoff announcements mention AI, industry analysts and labor economists repeatedly point out that there is little evidence AI is actually doing the day-to-day work of the human beings being let go.
It is a convenient cover story for cuts that would have happened anyway.
2. The Capital Shift: Funding Data Centers, Not Developers
- Building and training large language models, securing GPUs, and maintaining massive AI data centers cost an astronomical amount of money.
- To fund this multi-billion-dollar infrastructure race, big tech companies are trimming fat elsewhere.
They are sacrificing traditional software engineering teams, middle management, and back-office administrative roles to free up cash for compute power. They are spending money on infrastructure, not saving it through software automation.
3. The Post-Pandemic Correction and Stalled Demand
- When interest rates went up to combat inflation, the era of cheap capital ended.
- Concurrently, organic market demand cooled. As your friend noted, many service and product companies are struggling to close new enterprise clients or launch major new product lines because businesses globally are tightening their IT budgets.
4. The "Do More with Less" Reality
- The PayPal example you mentioned is the textbook playbook: Teams are downsized, but the remaining product roadmaps and support tickets do not shrink. Management expects the survivors to absorb the workload of 2 or 3 people, leaning on coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot) to supposedly bridge the gap.
- Hiring has not stopped entirely, but it has changed shape: Companies are intensely risk-averse. They aren't hiring junior devs or building out speculative R&D teams. Instead, they are hyper-selective, looking for senior talent who can hit the ground running, manage multi-layered responsibilities, and single-handedly maintain systems that used to require entire teams.
The Bottom Line
how to find work in the current state of the entertainment / media industry?
hi all.
i am a senior in high school and is considering going to uni for media studies, journalism, broadcasting, or film. i am at a bit of a loss of how i am going to find work after i graduate. im deeply passionate about this line of work. im a pretty initiative person and advocated a ton to the school and now have been work for my school's marketing department for around a year and a half, its a private prep school so they do that kind of thing. i work on admission and content strategy, videography, and photography.
it seems that the industry is struggling more than ever and im really uncertain about my future and if i would regret making this decision to commit to creative work five years from now when i cant find work whether in entertainment, cooperate, or whatever. i currently study in a different city and have zero connections to the van area where i would want to potentially work after completing uni. so when people say "its all about networking and connections", it fucks my mental up even more.
i dont even really have a concrete image of what i want to do. there are just so many jobs and possibilities and theres just no way i can possibly explore all these options. i guess its just in the nature of the industry to be uncertain but i do not like that at all but i do absolutely love the work.
does anybody have any advice?
Jobadvisor
Your uncertainty makes sense. Creative fields are unstable, and "it's all about networking" can feel like a verdict on someone who doesn't have connections yet. But you already have more to build on than you might think.
Your school marketing job is real experience. Admissions content, video, and photography are skills that many employers hire for, including universities, hospitals, nonprofits, tech companies, and corporate communications teams. Those "corporate" creative roles are a large part of the market, and they often pay more steadily than entertainment work. Keep that job going if you can, and document what you've done: the projects, the numbers if you have them, and a reel or portfolio. A reference from a supervisor who can speak to your initiative will also help.
On choosing a program, I'd weigh co-op placements, internships, and what you produce over the program's name. Look at whether the school has co-op or practicum terms in Vancouver or with local employers, and what its graduates end up doing. A program that gets you working on real projects, with people who work in the city you want to be in, will do more for your career than the degree title.
For the connections problem, you don't need a network before you move. Start now by talking to people in roles you find interesting. LinkedIn and alumni directories are good for this. Ask for 20 minutes and ask specific questions: how they got started, what a normal week looks like, what they wish they'd known. Most people are glad to talk, and those conversations are how connections form. Volunteering on local sets or at film festivals, which often need volunteers, can also get you into rooms with working people. Entry-level production assistant work is a common starting point in Vancouver's film and TV industry, though the current volume of production there changes over time, so check recent figures from sources like Creative BC or local industry groups rather than relying on what you've heard.
On not knowing what you want, you don't need to explore every option. Pick three or four roles that sound interesting, such as video editor, content strategist, documentary producer, or communications coordinator. Look at real job postings in Vancouver to see what they actually require, and talk to one person in each. Then choose the one you'd like to test first. Your first job doesn't need to be your permanent path. People in this industry often move between roles several times.
As for regret, five years from now you probably won't regret studying the thing you love as much as you'd regret not building skills, work samples, and relationships along the way. The uncertainty is real, but you can reduce it with a few concrete steps: keep producing work, keep talking to people, and treat each year as a chance to find out what you actually enjoy in practice.
Would you leave a stable $150k total comp job for a fully remote $170k role?
Late 30s, married, 2 kids.
Been going back and forth on this and could use some opinions.
Current job:
- Energy industry
- $120k base
- ~10% bonus
- Good retirement match/benefits
- Total comp around $150k
- In office 5 days a week
- Low stress
- Stable company
There's also a decent chance I get promoted next year (I'd guess 50-70%), which would probably come with a 10-15% raise.
New opportunity:
- Senior contracts role with an EPC company
- $170k base
- 5% retirement contribution
- Fully remote
- No bonus
- Higher workload
The weird thing is I don't hate my current job.
It's comfortable. I know the people. The expectations are clear. Nobody is breathing down my neck.
The downside is that I sometimes feel like I'm coasting. I'm not learning a ton these days and it's hard to picture where I'll be in another 5 years.
That said, I'm not convinced the new role is some amazing career move either. It's still contracts work, just with more responsibility and better pay.
Family is also a factor. My wife may be changing jobs soon, and if that happens I'll probably be doing more school pickups, appointments, etc. The fully remote aspect is honestly one of the biggest selling points.
Financially we're doing fine, but we're not independently wealthy. We still have about a $500k mortgage, two kids, and the usual expenses that come with that. A bad career move wouldn't ruin us, but it definitely wouldn't be fun.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do?
Stay where things are comfortable and wait for the promotion?
Or take the remote role and the extra money?
Jobadvisor
I'd probably take the new role, but mainly for the remote setup, not the salary.
The money gap is smaller than it looks. Your current total comp is about $150k, but that includes a bonus, and the promotion probably adds 10-15% to base. If you get promoted, your cash comp is likely in the $145-150k range before match, which puts you around $160k total with your retirement match. The new role is $170k base plus a 5% match, about $178k. So the difference is roughly $15-20k a year if you don't get promoted, and close to zero if you do. That's real money, but it's not transformative, and it's not the main thing to weigh.
Remote work matters more here. If your wife changes jobs and you're doing school pickups and appointments, a five-day office schedule could become a daily strain on your family and your marriage. That kind of friction is hard to price but easy to underestimate. Remote also removes commute time, which is a quality-of-life gain that compounds.
The workload and stability are the real risks. EPC companies are project-driven, so crunch periods, travel, and layoffs after a project ends are common. Your current company is stable and low-stress, which is worth something with two kids and a $500k mortgage. A bad year in a high-pressure role can cost more than the raise adds.
On "coasting," I'd take that feeling seriously. Five years of little learning is a real cost, and senior contracts experience at an EPC company is usable in energy. But you said yourself it's still contracts work, so the growth may be more about responsibility and pay than a new skill set. Don't let that be the deciding factor unless you're confident the new role will stretch you.
Before deciding, I'd try a few things. Ask the new employer whether the bonus can be converted into base or whether the 5% match can go higher, since $170k with no bonus is a fair but not generous offer. Ask what a typical week looks like, how often there's travel or overtime, and how stable their contracts pipeline has been. Then ask your current manager what the promotion timeline is and whether remote or hybrid flexibility is possible in your current role. Some companies will allow a WFH arrangement for an internal promotion when they wouldn't have for a new hire, and that could give you most of the benefit without leaving.
If the new employer is willing to move on the bonus or match, and the workload sounds manageable, I'd take it. If they won't budge and the role sounds like constant crunch, I'd stay, ask about hybrid flexibility, and wait for the promotion.
Do you know whether the EPC role involves regular travel or project deadlines that would pull you away from home?