The way my dad used to talk about his job changed after he got laid off 4 years ago

He used to come home cracking jokes about the guys at the warehouse, but now he just sits quiet when anyone asks about work. It's like he's smiling through it so we don't worry, but I can tell he still feels stuck. Anybody else see a parent change like that after losing a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_reed8d ago

Man it's wild how losing a job rewires someone like that. I've seen it with my uncle too - he used to be all loud and proud about his construction work, now he just shrugs and says "it pays the bills" when anyone asks. Makes you realize how much of our self worth gets tied up in what we do for money, and how hard it is to get that back once it's gone.

gracec168d ago

Loud and proud" to "it pays the bills" is the saddest transition honestly. I've seen it happen to a few people and it's like watching someone shrink in slow motion. That sense of purpose or whatever it's called is really hard to rebuild once it's broken. And yeah, way too much of our identity gets wrapped up in a job that can just disappear.

diana6177d ago

My dad worked at the same Ford plant in Detroit for 32 years, and when they shut down the line in 2009 he never really got back to who he was. What gets me is how this isn't just about jobs though, I've noticed the same thing with hobbies people used to love or even just the way they describe their weekends. It's like we have this quota of passion or pride we're allowed to feel, and once something takes it away we're scared to put it into anything else because it might get taken too. And it creeps into everything, right? Like you see people downplay stuff they genuinely care about because they learned it's safer to not get too attached.