My old manager in Seattle said 'your job is a chair, not a cage' and I quit 3 months later

Stella Hill · 2026-10-03T18:10:03.51413+00:00

Ran into my old manager Dave at a coffee shop in Seattle last month, first time in 2 years. We got to talking about work and he asked why I left the team. I said the pay was flat and the projects were stale, the usual stuff. He laughed and said 'your job is a chair, not a cage.' Meaning you can get up whenever. I sat in my car for like 20 minutes after that just staring at the steering wheel. The thing is, I had been at that company for 4 years waiting for a promotion that never came, and I never once applied anywhere else. I quit 3 months after that talk and my new job pays $11k more. Now I keep asking myself why I needed a 60 year old guy at a coffee shop to say it out loud. Has anyone else had a random conversation like that totally flip how they see their own career?

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My old manager in Seattle said 'your job is a chair, not a cage' and I quit 3 months later | Career Advice - Talk Freely