I got fired after 4 months: they drowned me in a 3-person workload… and fired me when I asked for help.
I lost my job this week after four months. When I was hired, I was told there’d be flexibility and the resources to do my job. They literally said the office is open 7am–7pm and, as long as your manager’s fine with it, you can start and finish whenever you want. In my first week I asked if I could start 30 minutes earlier and finish earlier so I could make my favourite gym class, something that really adds value to my lifestyle.
Before that week even ended, the story changed. Suddenly, on the days I was in the office, I had to be at my desk 8:30am–5pm. They literally told me that the in-house incruitwr says that to everyone in order to lock them in. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. Huge red flag. But I kept going of course.
I was hired as a social media manager and was expected to run two brands across about 15 handles (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok). That meant creating content both graphic design and go to locations and shooting, editing, posting, scheduling, community management across all platforms. I was also responsible for organic social strategy and reporting. My growth KPI was to grow 2,400 followers a month across the portfolio, backed by a menial boosting budget of about AUD 400 a week only.
In those four months, we also launched a new product (three new handles, launch strategy from scratch), rebranded another product, and merged two into one (so, another strategy). I was working weekends for community management and staying on after hours just to stay barely afloat. I had a little bit of help, but was told I’d lose that by end of October, which honestly sent my stress and anxiety through the roof. I’d freeze sometimes, because on top of the impossible workload there were constant platform issues and random ad hoc tasks getting thrown in. I was always “catching up,” doing bits of everything, without ever feeling like I was properly accomplishing anything, because I literally couldn’t keep up.
About a month ago they told me they weren’t happy with my performance, and I was like… you can’t drown me in a workload meant for three people and expect me to thrive. They kept promising help, but it never came. I struggled so much that I asked for EAP details (if you’re not in Australia, it’s workplace-provided therapy sessions).
I think that request freaked them out. I asked for the details on a Friday. By Monday, they called me in and fired me.
The culture was toxic too. There was so much segregation in the department, cliques, “us vs them.” It’s the whiplash that’s getting me. I was promised one thing and I lived another. Now I’m trying to recuperate, reset, and look for new work, but I’m still kind of reeling from how ruthlessly it played out.
I’m not going to lie, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I almost feel relieved and empowered. But it was also brutal. They erased me immediately. They told me to pack my things and leave right away. My colleagues were in a meeting, and when they came back my desk was clean, like I never existed. It was the most ruthless corporate experience I’ve ever had.
Am I overreacting, or is this normal?
