Woman Explains Why She Still Gets ‘The Sunday Scaries’ Despite Not Currently Having A Job
The Sunday scaries may just be a universal part of life now.
alinabuphoto / Shutterstock Everyone is familiar with the Sunday scaries — the feeling of anxiety that creeps in the day before the start of a new workweek. If you think that feeling of impending dread goes away if you don't have to work Monday morning, think again.
One woman said despite being unemployed, she was hardwired to have the Sunday scaries before the start of a new week.
A woman who quit her job found that she still had the Sunday scaries.
A TikTok content creator named Lauryn said that she still experienced the Sunday scaries, even without a job.
“I do have the Sunday scaries, but not because I have to go to work tomorrow,” she explained. “I quit my job. My last day was Friday, and I don’t have work on Monday.”
Instead, Lauryn gave a different reason for why she felt the Sunday scaries.
“I think my body is, like, conditioned to feel like I need the schedule, I need to be working,” she shared.
Lauryn was disappointed that she felt such anxiety for a job she didn’t even have anymore.
“I hate that I’m just so stressed out about it right now because it was my choice,” she insisted. “I chose to quit because I wanted time off and to figure out exactly what I want to do in my career, in my life, that makes me feel fulfilled, and that makes me feel like I have a purpose.”
Instead of just taking some time to relax now that she was no longer working, Lauryn found herself still stuck in the rat race of corporate life.
“All weekend, I was looking for jobs on LinkedIn,” she said. “Like, applying to jobs when I really don’t wanna work at these companies. I don’t even know if I want the same role that I just had.”
“I’m feeling a lot of, like, survival mode right now,” she admitted.
These feelings are common among workers right now.
Many employees or former employees are facing similar situations right now, as the comments on Lauryn’s video exemplified.
“I want to quit my job. I get the scaries every single day,” one person said.
“I’ve been unemployed for one year and haven’t been able to enjoy one day,” someone else added.
“I’ve been off for over a year now and still get those feelings,” a third person shared. “We’re coded, I fear.”
The Harvard Business Review mentioned The Great Resignation and quiet quitting as two tangible examples of this feeling of restlessness. Workers are leaving their jobs in record numbers because of their unhappiness, or staying there and simply giving up.
There is another layer to this that the Harvard Business Review called “The Great Frustration.” In Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workforce analysis, they found that 60% of workers feel "emotionally detached" from their jobs, and 50% feel stressed on a daily basis.
These kinds of feelings could certainly be enough to cause someone to leave their job and take a “sabbatical,” as Lauryn did.
As one commenter mentioned, we might be “coded” to follow this pattern. We are so used to life being a certain way, and so used to following the schedule of work. We have become, as Lauryn said, “conditioned.” It’s all we know, really.
Some might look at the current state of the workforce and think everyone has become robotic. People are simply following the rules and doing what needs to be done. Based on what people are saying, in some ways, this might be true.
Despite these feelings of worried monotony, everyone deserves to feel valued at their job. Everyone also deserves to take a break when necessary, and to truly feel like they are on a break when they do take one. No one should feel stuck in the corporate rut, especially after they leave their job.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.