I am 40 something and in a stable job but I have lost my passion for what I do and find that I am on an endless rollercoaster of emotions at work - sometimes feeling good about my role and other times just desperate to leave. The role can often be very stressful so I have been trying to work towards a career change.
In the summer I had a short time off work for stress leave following a bereavement and also as a result of the toll of lockdown and childcare / work juggling. I thought I had come out the other side but am now feeling overwhelmed again, particularly since my workload is enormous once more and I am just completely exhausted.
My longer term plan was to try to build up some more experience of my new career area in my current role before trying to make a side move as and when an opportunity arose. However, a more junior role than my current one, but in this new area, has opened up at work and I have an interview.
Something doesn’t feel right though and I don’t know if it’s fear or stress or something else. But is it worth taking two steps down in terms of seniority, to get into a new area and out of the stressful situation? Or should I stick it out a bit and try to side step in due course? This next step feels like an important one in terms of my career path and I don’t want to make a mistake, especially during these crazy times.
Would a step down in the same company look bad?
The things I like about my current role are team management, autonomy and strategic work. New role would put me back into more of a ‘doing’ role with no team to manage and potentially could be a bit isolating.
Would I be swapping one kind of stress for another? Help!