How to Survive a Job You Know You’re Going to Leave
What to do in the difficult space between knowing and leaving.
Realizing your job is unhealthy and leaving it don’t usually happen at the same time. There is a gap between the time you decide you will quit and the time that you can actually say good riddance — I mean goodbye. So what do you do in that space? How do you protect your sanity, your health, and your sense of self when you have to stay in a toxic job for a little longer?
I was in that space. I knew that I needed to leave, that my job was unhealthy, and slowly deteriorating my life. It was eight months between my moment of clarity and my last day. In some ways it was easier knowing that I would be leaving — but in some ways it was harder. It was easier because I knew it wasn’t permanent. I knew there was an end in sight. But it was harder because I was no longer working for promotions or pay raises. I was just going through the motions. For a high achiever, this can be difficult. Knowing I was leaving, believing that there was a better life waiting for me, also somehow made the toxicity more painful, less tolerable.
So I came up with some coping mechanisms to get me through the transition. Ways to protect my energy and preserve my sanity. If you’re in a toxic job, whether you’ve decided yet to leave or not, these strategies will help you too.
1. Detach emotionally without disengaging professionally
Because I care so much about my work — sometimes too much — I found that my self-worth had gotten wound too tightly with my job. But I learned that one of the most important things you can do to protect your emotional well-being is to separate yourself from the chaos of your workplace. You still show up, do your job well, and act professionally, but you don’t let decisions, comments, or conflicts get on the inside. Instead, you create a healthy boundary between your identity and your job.
I would imagine a bubble all around me and visualize the negative words or unfair expectations bouncing off of it whenever they were hurled my way. By stopping the internalization of workplace frustrations, I was able to reclaim a surprising amount of energy — enough energy to start building a new life.
2. Stop fixing what isn’t yours to fix
High achievers who care deeply about their work often fall into the trap of trying to repair what’s broken in their workplace. I know I did, and it was exhausting. I tried to solve everyone’s problems when they came to me. I took on extra work, tried to fix broken processes, and nothing ever got better. I finally realized that in the unhealthy system I was in, no amount of herculean effort was going to fix it. And more importantly, it wasn’t mine to fix.
If this is you, I give you permission to stop feeling responsible for problems that belong to leadership. Let go of the heavy burden that isn’t yours.
3. Protect your nervous system
This one is important. A toxic job wreaks havoc on your body — I found out the hard way. Sleepless nights, headaches, afternoon crashes, and depression were all symptoms I experienced. I didn’t know what was wrong with me or understand why I had so little energy for more than six hours a day. Once I moved to a healthier path, I sleep so much better, the depression is gone, headaches are rare, and my energy lasts all day long. It’s night and day.
So while you’re still in your toxic job, protect yourself from the chronic stress by creating safe havens for your nervous system. One of the best things you can do is get outside for a short walk. Nature is grounding and getting out in it can be an immediate balm for your nerves. Screen breaks, deep breathing, and exercise are also excellent ways to protect your nervous system. Make sure to do these things as often as possible during your workday. Don’t skip any of your breaks. It will help, I promise.
4. Journal the truth of your experience
Writing is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Journaling about your work environment helps get it out of your head and onto the page. Unhealthy jobs often create confusion and self-doubt — it’s easy to wonder whether the situation is really as difficult as it feels, or if you’re just being unreasonable. At least that was my experience.
Writing down what’s happening and how it affects you brings clarity. Journaling helps you process your emotions, recognize patterns, and validate your own reality. Sometimes it takes seeing the truth of your situation on paper before you’re finally willing to make a change. When I read a journal entry from one year prior detailing the same concerns and confusions about my former job, I knew I’d been stuck for too long.
5. Reconnect with who you were before the job drained you
I look at joy as fuel — and without it, burnout is imminent. The cruel irony of a job that drains you is that it often robs you of the energy to do the things you love outside of work, when doing those very things is what will keep you going. For years, I crashed on the couch after work with no energy left for anything but Netflix.
I learned to limit my after-work couch crashes to a couple of hours, then mustered the energy to write. The writing became the joy that fueled me. What do you love to do? What have you let go that you’d love to bring back into your life? Revisit the interests, hobbies, and passions that existed before work became all-consuming. Whether it’s reading, creating, traveling, learning, or spending time with people who energize you — these are the moments that will help restore who you are.
6. Start building your skills
Working in a toxic environment erodes your sense of agency — and taking some of it back makes a real difference. During my eight months, I started writing a historical fiction book in the evenings. That small act of creation was not only therapeutic but it sent a signal to my brain that I wasn’t stuck forever.
Taking small steps also builds your confidence, which is especially important if your job has knocked yours down. Updating your skills, exploring areas of interest, or learning something new helps restore your sense of possibility and gives you momentum toward your next step. You don’t have to know where you’re going yet. You just have to keep moving.
This list isn’t just about surviving a dysfunctional workplace. It’s about reclaiming your power and remembering who you are underneath all of it. The authentic you is still there, waiting patiently, ready for you to take your life back. I hope something here helps you get through — because what’s on the other side of this is worth every difficult day it takes to get there.