Quitting my (30F) job, sad because I was friends with my boss (52M). How do I deal with losing a friend?

I put in my two weeks notice at work yesterday. This feels super dorky to write about but I don’t know who to talk to about this IRL without seeming dumb.

About five years ago, I got a job as an assistant in the field I’m going to school for at a small family business. I was an assistant to one man, and we grew close. Over time, my skills progressed and I went to graduate school for the field I’m in. We’d discussed it and I’d leave the job in school. We were both bummed about it, as by that point we’d grown to be good friends. He was almost like my second dad at that point. (Although at times, I have suspected he harbors less than professional feelings towards me.) The plan—tentatively—was that I’d come back and work there after school.

My boss called me up about a month in to school and asked me to come back part time. I needed the extra cash and enjoyed working with him. Things kept on with me part time for two years. In that time we grew even closer. It feels super goofy to write this out about my boss, but between spending so much time together and having so much in common, he grew to be one of my closest friends, and he felt the same way towards me.

Now, not all was rosy. My boss was a hard man to please. He was intensely particular about the way things were done, and sometimes his particularity seemed to follow no particular pattern. He grew frustrated with me—which I understand to an extent, but I was doing my best with what I had—and had somewhat unreasonable expectations for me. I was expected to function on a level far beyond my training and experience, and when I fell short of that, my boss would get frustrated. He’d insult my intelligence and sometimes just be mean.

Over the past few months the situation has deteriorated. He’s grown mean and rude, and I’m not the only person to notice it. He told me last month that he’d changed his mind about hiring me as a professional after graduation, saying he wasn’t sure I was cut out for the job (my coworkers, professors, and mentor disagree). He cussed me out earlier this week. Yesterday after getting belittled again, I decided I’d had enough and put in my notice.

It was so strange, when I met with him and gave him my resignation letter he didn’t react at all, just told me to put it on his desk and didn’t even look at me. He then acted like nothing happened for the rest of the day.

Frankly, he’s screwed without me. But I’m also scared I’m gonna go in to work Monday and get yelled at.

I know it’s for the best but I cannot help but mourn the loss of one of the most peculiar but fulfilling friendships I’ve ever had.

TL;DR: good job was good while it lasted, my boss who is also my friend grew mean, I’m mourning the loss of a friendship and not sure how to move on.

Submitted September 17, 2022 at 07:13PM by One_Entertainer5382 https://ift.tt/7NhTsJm