I’m answering a brilliant (and very real) listener question: “Is it insane to resign?”

If your workplace has recently been bought out, the culture is collapsing, and you’re feeling an urgent need to escape — this one is for you.

I’ll share why your frustration and anger are valid, why it’s NOT insane to want to leave, and — crucially — why pausing, planning, and positioning yourself first is key to protecting your future.

You’ll hear:

✅ Why private equity takeovers feel so brutal (and why it’s not personal)

✅ How to handle the emotional vs. logical brain tug-of-war

✅ 3 practical steps to create your Freedom Fund and plan your next move

✅ Why rushing out the door might land you in a different version of the same trap

And a gentle reminder: You don’t have to pretend this culture is okay for you. Clarity, not insanity, is what you’re experiencing.

Ready to design a sane, strategic exit — and a joyful next chapter?

👉 Join the Midlife Unstuck Community Membership — find clarity, support, and real tools to redesign your work life.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Reclaiming Middle-Aged Me Blog
• Career Design Video on YouTube

You’ve got this. And if you need a guide — you know where to find me.

This is the Joy At Work podcast, and I'm Lucia Knight.

Today's question from a listener is, a biggie.

Our company has been bought by a private equity firm.

It's been three months and people are being exited in droves.

We've become a numbers machine.

All humanity and working practices has disappeared.

We've been ordered back into the office, told what office attire is and isn't.

And no one appears to give a hoot about anything other than

cutting costs at any cost.

I need to leave fast before it starts to impact me more than just making me angry.

I'd resign right now, but that seems like insanity in a world

where there never seems to be enough jobs for experienced people.

My partner and I both work full-time.

We don't live beyond our means, but we have two kids in university

that are still quite expensive.

Is it insane to resign?

Okay, first things first.

You are not insane.

You're just awake in a system that has stopped feeling remotely human

and that anger in your belly.

I don't think it's an overreaction.

I think this is a clash of personal and business values.

You're watching your work maybe once a place of purpose or at least

professionalism, get striped for parts.

And it hurts.

Of course, it hurts when the place you've invested your time, your effort,

and maybe your evenings suddenly turns into a numbers only machine.

It's normal to feel like, get me out of here before I lose my mind.

But here's my reaction, and you may not love me for saying this.

Just because you feel like leaping doesn't mean you should leap today.

You've got responsibilities.

Kids in universities.

Bills a household that runs on two full-time incomes.

That part of your brain that's shouting danger ahead, is not being dramatic.

It's being responsible.

It's trying to keep you safe.

So what do we do when our emotional brain is shouting?

Leave Now!

And our rational logical brain is whispering.

Not yet.

We pause.

We plan.

And we get into position because what you are in right now.

It's not just a toxic job, it's a system in collapse.

I spent the last decade of my former career working a lot with private

equity businesses who had just bought a new organization and needed

different people to lead on the ground.

These private equity businesses weren't run by horrible humans.

They were just very super, super clear on their three year goals and what they

needed to do in order to achieve them.

They cared a lot about people in their newly acquired company

being good at their work.

But they cared not a lot for how much joy at work.

Everyone was feeling.

They changed the company culture overnight.

And that cultural clash hurt for some.

I've included a link to an article written by one of my former clients

called Reclaiming Middle Aged Me, which is a story about A CFO whose company was

acquired by a private equity company and how that cultural clash impacted him.

I'll include it in the show notes.

This is the old system in collapse.

You don't need to go down with it, but you do need to leave on your terms, not

in a panic, not in an angry tantrum.

So here's what I recommend.

Step one, get super clear.

On your financial runway, if you walked tomorrow, how long

could you keep things going?

Three months, six months, a year more?

Knowing that exact number can reduce the fear fog massively.

Then reduce unnecessary spending to build your freedom fund.

Step two, figure out what you want next.

It's clear you want to escape, but that's not enough.

You need to figure out what you want to sprint towards.

What does more joy at work look like for you?

Is it simply just a new job?

Or is this the time to design a new career strategy?

I'll include a quick video in the show notes to help you answer that question.

And then step three, start the quiet shift.

If you are just looking for a new job.

Start a job search under the radar.

Talk to all the wonderful humans in your personal network, clearly describing

what your next career move looks like.

No need to explain all the current woes.

Reconnect with the headhunters and recruiters in your industry.

Set up very specific searches on the exact role you are looking for so that you can

spend just 10 minutes a day reviewing one email from one trusted source.

Treat this phase like a transition, not a trap.

But if the same job in a new company is not going to satisfy you.

Maybe this is the right time to talk to someone like me who

specializes in specifically designing a new career strategy

for the next decade of your career.

I've seen too many people blow up their situation because they wanted relief Now

only to end up in a different company with different branding and the same problems.

You're too smart for that.

And look, I get it.

It feels like there aren't enough jobs out there for experienced people,

but I'm here to tell you that most of the positions that are recruited

are recruited via personal networks.

So the jobs you are seeing in the active job market are only 25% of the

roles that are available in the market.

And don't listen to the news.

As my dad always says, no news is good news.

There are always roles for people who understand and can prove the

value of their unique superpowers solving important problems for others.

Now, you don't need to do all of this this week.

You don't need to even decide your entire future today.

But what you do need is to decide or start to discover a direction of

movement, something that makes staying bearable because it's just temporary.

While you are busy creating light at the end of the tunnel.

And while you're creating something that makes leaving the sane move because

it's part of a well thought through plan, part of a long-term strategy,

not a knee jerk short-term reaction.

Thank you for your question.

You're not losing your mind and it's not insane to resign.

You are just not ready to pretend that this kind of culture is okay for you.

That's nothing like insanity, that's clarity.

You've got this, and if you don't, you know where to find me.