Remote jobs usually promise flexibility, but not all of them.

So, what would you do if you took on a new role that started out manageable, but over a seven-month period, things got out of control?

Would you keep dealing with it because the job market is bad? Or would you consider quitting to be done dealing with it?

In the following story, a remote document controller finds himself in this situation and is looking for advice.

Here’s what’s going on.

Should I stay or leave? 7 months into a remote job with nonstop ASAP tasks and delayed pay

I’m 7 months into my current remote job, and I’m genuinely torn about whether to stay or leave.

The first 3 months were okay, manageable even.

But after that, everything escalated fast. I work as a Document Controller, yet we’re also expected to act as leads and basically know everything about all tasks. Meetings are nonstop, and everything is labeled ASAP, which ironically kills momentum because nothing ever gets finished properly.

The team keeps shrinking.

We started with 10 team members.

One resigned because he accumulated too many backlogs and couldn’t keep up with the pace. Another resigned after repeatedly being called out by the boss for computational errors, often with sarcasm. Both resigned immediately, breaking the 30-day render rule (which says a lot).

The company is fully remote and run by a group of relatives, while the rest of us are new hires. That dynamic already feels off, but what really gets me is the salary delays. Pay has been delayed 4 times now, usually by about a week or more. Meanwhile, tasks and expectations are urgent and uncompromising.

Now, he’s unsure what to do.

Yesterday felt like the last straw. I’m exhausted, morale is low, and the instability is stressing me out — but at the same time, the job market isn’t great, and I don’t want to make an impulsive decision.

So I’m asking honestly: Is this just “normal pressure” that I should power through? Or are these red flags serious enough that I should start planning my exit now?

Would appreciate perspectives, especially from people who’ve been in similar remote or startup-style environments.

Yikes! That does sound like a pretty tough decision.

Let’s see what the people over at Reddit would do if they were in this situation.

This reader can’t look past the delayed pay.

Yet another person who’s bothered by the delayed pay.

This is a good point.

According to this person, he should run.

It’s time to move on, because it sounds like this company won’t be around for much longer.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.