i stayed at my last job for a long time for similar reasons. then i got a manager that was kind of mid and i still stayed. it wasnt so bad i thought. then that manager started drinking the chatbot coolaid and offloading his cognition to it and became a bad manager very quickly. i held on for a while for my coworkers. i was the only person with the skills to fill my role which was critical to the project, but eventually i couldnt stand it for one more minute and quit without notice. leaving after sending my resignation email felt like escaping prison. i kept feeling like they were going to call me and somehow convince me to go back. when i started there i had a good manager and every day felt like a friday. its amazing how bad things can get with a bad manager.

I'm staying for the same reason. I have jumped around a bit but I found a position that doesn't pay as well but there really isn't stress, no real fear of losing my job, etc. Still at the far low end for my position and years in the industry. But with less stress I guess it is worth it. Still can't retire, still can't afford to go on vacations. But at least I don't want to die anymore.

What proffession do you work in, if I may ask?

Same. I get to work on shit I like, my boss is chill, I get 30 vacation days plus overtime compensation, mostly reasonable deadlines, nobody really looks at when I come and go as long as things get done, and this side of a complete collapse I should have decent job security. Oh, and most people around me have sane opinions on politics, AI and priorities in life. I do get paid less with a MSc degree than some of my peers got with a fresh bachelor, but I wouldn't want to swap.