Feeling Trapped in a Job Role I Didn't Sign Up For: How Can I Break Free?

I have been working in xxxx for 9 months. I was recruited for Automation, and even after committing to the same profile in my project, my manager put me on a different profile. When I asked them to release me from the project, they manipulated the situation for a while. During a teleconference, my SPM threatened to terminate me. I felt really demotivated and suppressed. I asked them again, and after a month, they committed to releasing me by September. However, September has passed, and they are still manipulating the situation, holding me back in the project for billing purposes. They are now making excuses that the client is not willing to release me and wants to keep me in the project. I am sure they are lying, as I know the quality work I have done, and I was not even interested in that work.

They have manipulated the situation so much that I have escalated the issue to HR and explained everything. Initially, I felt that HR would help me sort the issue, but now I feel she has also been manipulated and is speaking the same manipulative things as my managers.

I would like to mention my clear and true health condition, which is "Depression." I was diagnosed at NIMHANS six months ago, and I am trying hard to overcome this. This situation is causing me so much stress that almost every day, I feel trapped, and my depression is not improving; it is getting worse.

I thought about sharing this condition with HR or my manager, but based on my experience so far, I think they will see it as a manipulation tactic and not take it seriously. I believe it might be easier to convince them if I were a girl.

I want to come out of this situation as soon as possible as it is hindering my recovery from depression.

Please suggest what can be done in this case regarding xxxx.

It is clear from what you have written that the company can't assign you the profile you want for whatever reasons. Now, you can either accept this situation or feel depressed about it. I am sure that you have done your best to fight this situation and have reached a point where further negotiations or talks with the company will only hamper your survival there.

Here's What You Can Do:

1) Meet a psychologist and get help with counseling.

2) Meet a psychiatrist and take SOS medication to combat depression.

3) Start practicing stress management exercises like meditation or creative visualization.

4) Search for a new job and this time make sure that you get the profile you want.

5) Be positive and see that this is not the end of the world and it is just a job that you need to change.

I would advise you to watch the following documentaries for your personal growth and positive mindset:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIuMCRgNi8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csKkLja5kok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwA9...4Y_MxQnejiXrm9

All the best!

When finding unable to adjust within the organizational environments, it is always better to part ways with the company rather than becoming emotional and getting depressed. Jobs in companies are not always to the taste of the employees.

It is better to search for another job and, until then, try to adjust yourself to the situation provided to you.

Hi Himanshu,

My suggestions were based on what you had written. If you think your company can assign you the kind of work you want, please pursue the case. But, do remember that you can only do so effectively if you take care of your mental and emotional health.

By the way, how long do you think your current project is going to last? What is so troubling in this project that you want a change?

While empathizing with your situation, I would nevertheless suggest something that may cause you further pain now, but I assure you that it will be temporary and short-lived, leading to a long-term improvement in your situation.

First, a Few Basics

You mentioned that "if you are aware of the working style of service organizations, then you must have come up with a different response" in reply to Atul Sharma's first post. As he clarified, nowhere in your first post did you even mention it was an IT company, leaving it to the members to make their own presumptions. Your use of the word "Automation" gave me the impression that it could be an IT company, and you could be into software testing. Whether services or products is again unclear and is left to the members to make another presumption. Do you think this way of viewing issues could have had some impact on your work? This is not to put you in a bad light; sometimes it happens. Just give this a thought.

Considering Your Statement

"This is not true that the company cannot assign me the work I'm interested in." Are there any very strong reasons that you have to work in this company only? Don't you think you will find openings for you in other companies, possibly many? I know you can, since software testing is a regularly hired skill set. What stops you from trying to move from here after you get another job? Do you think it's worth getting depressed and hospitalized for a guy like your manager who plays games? The choice is yours.

Another Way of Looking at the Situation

As I usually mention, what the other guy (be it an individual or company) says or does is never in your control. What's in your control is your action/response. Do you see anything coming out of your hassles that will address your situation by focusing on what the manager or the company did and is doing? Here again, you have a choice. Just go ahead and change your job before it's too late. I am sure you know that in the IT sector, the longer the gap between jobs, the tougher it becomes to justify the gap.

Also, I suggest beginning to ignore some aspects of any job that you may not agree with or just abhor, like the focus on billings (which could be excessive in your opinion but may not be so in others' view). I have a feeling that you may have commented on this aspect with your manager or the HR, which has aggravated the situation here.

All the best.

Regards, TS

Thank you so much for writing such a well-articulated and easily understood response. I agree with your feedback on my response to Atul. It could have been clearer to prevent any misunderstandings among the members. As I am not a regular writer in this forum, I was unaware that they would remove the organization name from the title. Therefore, I included the organization name in the post title, which intuitively addresses both of your questions: 1. Whether it is an IT company, 2. Service or product organization.

Response to Your Questions

1. I recently changed companies; within a year, I worked in my previous organization for only one year before joining my current one. I seek stability in my career, which is why I am not keen on switching again, especially since I have been with this organization for only 9 months.

2. I agree with you that I do not have control over what others say or do. Rather than dwelling on it, I seek clarity on the actions I should take, hence why I shared my thoughts here.

I appreciate your response, and it will positively influence my actions in managing the situation.

Thanks

Thank you so much for writing such a well-articulated and easily understood response. I agree with your feedback on my response to Atul. It could have been clearer, which would have prevented misunderstandings among the members. As I am not a regular writer on this forum, I was not aware that they would remove the organization's name from the title. Therefore, I included the organization name in the post title, which intuitively answers both of your questions: 1. Whether it is an IT company. 2. Service or product organization.

In Response to Your Questions:

1. I recently changed companies; within a year, I worked in my previous organization for only one year before joining here. I am looking for stability in my career, which is why I am not very keen on switching again, especially as it has been only nine months in this organization.

2. I agree with you that I cannot control what others say or do. It is not useful to dwell on it. I posted my thoughts here to gain clarity on the actions I should take.

I appreciate your response, and it will positively influence how I handle the situation.

Thanks

While agreeing with your view that 9 months is too short a time to make another job change, you also need to bear in mind the cost-benefits of the decision, any decision for that matter in life or career. I don't think getting into NIMHANS is worth it, even if the company is Google or Microsoft, or for that matter, Obama's job. Let's not mix up issues and angles of viewing the problem.

As far as handling the change within 9 months during interviews, you could take the stand that you were on the bench for much of the time and are afraid of losing touch with the subject. Knowing the current situation in IT services companies, one would gauge your stand (with much of the work being automated, the demand for coders and testers is undergoing a vast change now everywhere) accordingly, combining with your interview performances.

All the best.

Regards,
TS