I recently relocated to California because my husband, who lost his job due to the pandemic, got his dream job out here. I assumed that my job, which has been remote since March , would allow me to continue being remote as I was willing to be flexible with my hours. I'm the HR Manager at my company, and as a team of 1, I wear a lot of hats. I love my job and my company has some great employees that are a pleasure to work with. However, when I told my boss about my relocation, she and the Executive Team decided to instead outsource the HR function. Talk about making me feel like I didn't matter! All of a sudden I was out of a job and made to feel like the decision was mutual (which it wasn't, I was just told that this is what they were going to do), and was asked to start transitioning my role to the new HR reps. I felt like after 3 years, everything I had accomplished just didn't matter and like I was just a number at the company. They also didn't offer me any sort of severance and just said they would give me good references. Honestly it made me start to question all my accomplishments at the company and whether I had any value at all. I truly felt like I didn't matter! But then, my coworkers started reaching out with so many well wishes, messages of thanks, and messages telling me how much I would be missed. That was my reward! At least the people that I was working for recognized my value and appreciated me, even if the executives didn't. I also started to realize that I was tying too much of my personal worth to work - there was so much more to life! A friend phrased it well, "you may be replaceable at work, but you aren't replaceable at home!". And even though it's a pandemic, I now have the opportunity to look for my next great adventure and really be intentional about the company that I am going to work for. I've signed up for a course with SHRM, and have started reaching out to my network about possible roles. I guess what I'm trying to say is, while leaving a company can be hard and sometimes isn't always the best experience, it does open the door to new opportunities and avenues for growth. And it's difficult to always look on the bright side, but it is there if you look hard enough! Also...anyone hiring an HR professional? ;)