Every career has some amount of turnover. People can be moving up the ladder, leaving for other opportunities, or sometimes get laid off or fired. The emotional response to these career-life moments can bring out many different responses from the person going through them. One employee sent a resignation letter to their fellow workers, stating that the job has problems without attacking anyone specifically.
The post, titled "This E-mail I received from a co-worker," is a comical description of a less-than-satisfactory job position that the poster wrote and sent to their team on their last day of work. Their ability to not bring attention to any one person or problem, but sum up their overall dissatisfaction with the job is spot on.
Boring job.Image via Canva - Photo by demaerre
Here's what they had to say,
"After seven years in the same position, I've finally decided to break free before I start growing roots into my office chair. I figure it's time to let someone else battle the endless email chains and mysterious disappearing pens. I've had a great time here watching the walls change color slower than my career progression. If office plants had a union, they'd probably have more rights by now. I'll always remember the thrill of the printer jamming at the worst possible moment in the plant.... Thank you all for the laughs, the drama, and the occasional existential crisis. Here's to hoping my next role involves fewer forms and more fun!"
Oscar has had enough on the show, The Office. media0.giphy.com
The email describes a mundane work situation with little or apparently "no'" room to grow. Feeling unchallenged and unrecognized in a job can be extremely difficult. In a 2022 study about unrewarding work published in the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that when employees find their efforts don't match the rewards, they grow depressed over time. The concept of effort-reward imbalance describes the lack of pay, respect, or recognition a job might offer.
In the comments
Responses from other Redditors varied from approval of the email to personal reflections of their own experiences, and some even offered advice.
- "Nice e-mail, funny without insulting anyone."
- "Someone on my team sent a similar email recently that was definitely not funny and definitely didn't insult anyone."
- "It turns out the people who aren't good at doing basic office jobs also often aren't good at being funny or reading a room."
- "I sent the Truman show ending gif 'if I don’t see you again' to my IT group chat before I got fired."
- "'Office plants would have more rights than the workers in this company' isn't necessarily calling somebody out by name but it is still absolutely insulting to all of management and the executives in the company."
- "This is their thinking: If they promote you then who does your job? If it’s likely an inferior person, then it’s better to just keep you there!"
- "If you dig ditches well, they’ll never put you in charge because they can just give you a bigger shovel"
- "Nice touch. The right touch of calling out the work environment, and yet taking responsibility for one’s career."
- "Maybe unpopular opinion: I don't want 'more fun' at work. I just want a hefty paycheck and people to leave me alone. I'll have fun after work with my actual friends. Thanks."
- "I mean, it's the place you spend a huge chunk of your waking hours for most of your adult life. Might as well try to make it as enjoyable as possible."
"Hey, guess what? I quit." media1.giphy.com
Reasons for leaving a job.
When it's time to leave a job, the sooner the better. A 2015 study conducted on predictors for job satisfaction by the ASPE found that compensation and a supportive workplace culture were critical to retaining employees. High job stress and overall dissatisfaction itself was a strong predictor of people leaving. In reviews of exit interviews published in SHRM, work/life balance and lack of career development lead the way for why workers would also depart.
Finding the right job can be extremely difficult. Leaving a job that isn't right can be scary, too. Hopefully, you can find a job that appreciates you, offers you room to grow, and delivers a competitive and progressive salary model.
An elderly man walks down an icy roadCanva 
An elderly man grilling at a partyCanva
Two people enjoying a walk through the woods
A woman pets her dogCanva 
A woman stands in front of a window listening to musicCanva
A group of people sit around a circle talkingCanva
A woman sleeping in bedCanva
Woman proudly displays an "I Voted" stickerCanva
A woman's ear with multiple piercingsCanva
A woman takes a bit out of a huge strawberry cakeCanva
The back of a woman's head with silver hair. Canva
A woman watches the sunset from her carCanva
A nurse holds a clipboard in a hospital hallwayCanva
A heavily-tattooed woman holds a mug of coffeeCanva
A pile of cashCanva
A pregnant woman clutches her bellyCanva
An eviction noticeCanva
Supportive Reddit comment Reddit | 
A gavel rests in front of a judgeCanva
Victoria Claflin Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States in 1872rce Harvard Art Museum/Fogg Museum, Historical Photographs and Special Visual Collections Department, Fine Arts Library via 
Suffragists matching for women's right to vote in the early 20th centuryCanva
Amazon fulfillment centerCanva
A worker transports a heavy boxCanva
Female shopper looking for help
21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.