God gave me better

Earlier this year, I was given increased responsibility at work. I had two junior colleagues working under me and was placed on a promotion track. My manager spoke about me building a strong “brand” within the company and the wider market, and on the surface, everything looked positive. However, behind the scenes, my workload kept increasing. I was working longer hours just to keep up, and slowly I began to feel burnt out. I found myself overwhelmed, unhappy, and struggling with the pressure, especially as there was no increase in compensation despite the additional responsibility.

In September, during a one-to-one meeting, I was told my promotion would be pushed back because I hadn’t had enough time to demonstrate I could operate at the next level. Ironically, the reason I didn’t have that time was because the workload had become so heavy that I couldn’t take on anything extra.

The following month was especially difficult. I took annual leave, but returning to an already unmanageable workload left me even further behind. There were moments of tension at work, a difficult interaction with a colleague, and a couple of complaints due to delayed responses - something that’s normal in my line of work, but still weighed heavily on me. Eventually, the pressure began to affect my health. I took time off because I was unwell, and I realised I was no longer happy going into work.

In November, I had another meeting with my manager where I was told I couldn’t be put forward for promotion in good faith until I worked on things like empathy and how I presented myself including my facial expressions, my eye contact. That conversation was painful, but it was also a turning point. At that moment, I knew something had to change. I prayed and made the decision to step out in faith and look elsewhere, even though handing in my notice would mean losing out on a bonus I had worked hard for.

On the 23rd of November, I applied for a new role. On the 18th of December, I was offered the job. Not only was the role more senior than my previous position, but it came with a 45% salary increase, a five-figure signing bonus, and inclusion in the next bonus cycle with no pro-rata applied. I would be working for a major name in my industry - something I could not have orchestrated myself.

This season taught me that God sees what we endure in silence. Even when doors seem to close, God is often protecting us and preparing something better. What felt like rejection was actually redirection. Where I lost financially in one place, God restored and multiplied it elsewhere.