“Being fired helped me reassess my goals”

Alicia, 27, Manchester

“After completing my journalism degree and a masters in marketing, I entered the world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). I spent three and a half years at various marketing agencies, moving up from being an executive to SEO manager. Driven to succeed, I often worked late, rarely took breaks and was a self-proclaimed workaholic. When I was headhunted for an SEO manager role, I immediately felt the weight of imposter syndrome. I worked even harder to build my technical skills, but the intense hours and in-office requirements wore me down. I was used to remote work and the transition to in-office expectations, combined with a strict work culture, impacted my mental health. The environment felt anything but supportive, and I quickly found myself drained and unmotivated.

After five months, I was let go – a difficult moment since it was my first job loss, especially with the competitive job market. However, the experience gave me a chance to reassess my goals. During a few months of freelance work, I discovered a love for digital PR – a perfect blend of my interests in marketing and journalism. Now, five months into my role as a digital PR manager, I feel genuinely fulfilled. My job is creative, I work on-site once a week, and I have a great relationship with my team. Getting fired turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me.”

“My health has been transformed”

Molly, 31, London

“I was fired from an investment banking job and it transformed my career and health for the better. I have an autoimmune condition that can cause pain and joint swelling and leave me unable to walk at times. Stress can be a trigger. So while I used to see being the first one to arrive and last one to leave the office as a marker of a successful career, I quickly saw how these things were linked to some of the worst flare-ups I had ever suffered. I asked to work from home on these occasions, roughly one day a week, as my employer said they were open to flexible working requests. Ten days later I was asked to leave.

The experience was traumatising. But it’s been transformative for my career and my health. It led me to start my own company, Flexa, to help workers who rely on flexible work – like me – find roles they can thrive in. Unsurprisingly, I let my own team work whenever and wherever they want. Having the freedom to work remotely or flex my hours helps me keep my symptoms under control, fit in the exercise I need to feel energised and work when I’m most focused. As a result, I’ve been able to build a company that’s supported over three million flexible job seekers alongside some of the UK’s most well-known brands. I’ve also launched a podcast that gets millions of impressions a month. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been fired.”

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