One of the hallmarks of any emotionally abusive relationship is criticism. Rather than letting you be you, does your job give performance reviews to highlight the ways you can “improve”? You are not perfect, but neither is your job. Often jobs will criticize you without giving a single thought to how they might change to better suit your needs. When was the last time your CEO asked you what they could be doing differently? Sometimes criticisms may be veiled as compliments like, “I think you should go back for your master’s.” Don’t be fooled: These are attempts to point out how your job would like you to be rather than appreciating you for who you are.
Then, when things go wrong, it will inevitably be you who is at fault for not being diligent enough, well trained enough, or “at your desk” enough. An abusive job will often blame you for the failure of the business. Clearly that doesn’t make sense: Each of us is responsible for ourselves. However, irrational blame patterns can be difficult to spot once you are trapped in them.
Some companies even ask you to fill out evaluations for yourself. This twisted mind game makes you both jailer and inmate, co-opting you into a self-imposed prison of blame. When your job gets you to start picking yourself apart, it can be very difficult to break away.
7 Ways To Know It’s Time To Break Up With Your Job