Corporate employee lands a dishwashing job after getting laid off, reveals he isn’t even doing it for the money: ‘I want to feel…'

Professional life has become really unpredictable and brutal for millennial and Gen Z employees. They can be given the sack any moment, any time, and find themselves going from being gainfully employed at their dream job to doing odd/menial jobs. One Reddit user shared his sad story.

Taking to the subreddit Layoffs, the disillusioned user revealed, though he received a generous severance package, his prospects after he got laid off were dim. Over a span of four months, he applied to over 200 jobs and went through 15 interviews but was not able to secure a new job. This really impacted his mental health. Exasperated and frustrated, he decided to take a dishwasher job that paid a meagre $11 per hour.

The user said he was not even taking up this gig for money but just to feel gainfully employed.


“I never thought I'd come to this, and I'm not doing this for the money, but to feel useful, in any way. To give structure to my days... or maybe I'm rationalising this to myself. I'm hoping this experience can be grounding and I can turn off this anxious mind for a few hours a day…” he wrote.

He lamented that he has become so accustomed to working that even if he were financially independent or retired, not having to work would make him anxious. He admitted that even when he has free time, he feels useless, as he is not dedicating it to work. He wondered if this feeling of emptiness, of feeling "useless", was something all people who had retired suffered, and if his father, who had over 30 years of work experience, would also undergo.

Redditors React

One Reddit user advised him not to feel depressed or attached ‘class’ to some jobs. He revealed how he was laid off from his high-paying tech job, and he transitioned to ‘menial’ jobs such as evaluating displays at movie theatres for pennies and secret shopping at Jersey Mike's and Denny's to support his family. “All money counts,” he explained wisely.

Another told him such jobs could be therapeutic and help him heal. He stated he once washed dishes at a soup kitchen, and the experience made him feel productive and useful.