Gabriel Mizrahi

A reframe, but also not entirely a reframe, right?

It might really help her son to acknowledge the reality that he will struggle more than the average person to fit in sometimes because he is unique, but that the meaning he makes of those setbacks and the conclusions that he draws about his self-worth and his prospects, those are under his control.

Or who knows, maybe with the right support, he does learn to succeed in more conventional environments, but with this very unique personality.

Yes, also possible.

All right, next up.

Dear Jordan and Gabe, in March of 2025, I started a new job at a small IT firm with two other branches, both located out of state.

The workload was manageable and the pay was decent.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the owner brought my branch into a meeting and informed us that we were being sold to another company, citing the difficulty of managing our branch from such a distance.

This caught almost everyone by surprise.

The same day, we met the new owner and were asked to sign employment paperwork immediately.

This included a sign-on bonus that would need to be repaid if we voluntarily quit or were terminated for cause.

I felt pressured and blindsided, but I signed the paperwork, as did my colleagues.

All of this occurred just two days before we officially transitioned to the new company.

The transition itself has been rocky.

It feels as though neither company was fully prepared for the transfer.

This has caused several rifts with our clients, significantly increased workloads,

and led to a general sense of distrust toward the new company.

For example, I had a week of PTO scheduled over the holidays prior to the merger, the old company paid out our PTO balances, and under the new company, we were given only three days of PTO to last from October through December.

I got sick and had to use two of those three days, leaving me with the choice of either missing my family's Christmas gathering or attending without pay.

While I understand that transitioning to a new company is never easy, the new company's policies and culture feel impractical and incompatible with the established culture at our branch.