THERE is a quiet kind of heartbreak that comes with walking away from a job you genuinely loved. For many, the workplace becomes a part of life rather than just a professional space. It becomes your identity and sometimes, your second home. So, when you finally land a new job after years of being dependable, the hardest bit is saying goodbye. We often associate job changes with celebration because of promotions, higher pay, new challenges and a better environment. But behind the congratulatory messages and LinkedIn updates, there is often a lingering sadness that is harder to explain. It is mourning about what you are leaving behind.Never just a jobFor people who tend to be overly flexible or accommodating at work, such as those people who stay back late or carry the emotional weight of the team, the lines between work and life often blur. You do not just do your tasks and clock out. You show up for your team. You build relationships. You invest in the culture. Over time, all of this becomes part of your routine. You learn everyone’s lunch order, you know who is having a bad day just by how they walk in or react to certain things and you share inside jokes that only make sense in your office bubble. So when the time comes to leave, it is a loss. It is not unusual to experience real grief during a transition especially if your sense of purpose and identity were tied up in that space. You might feel guilty for leaving. You might worry about how your departure affects your team. You might even question whether you have made the right decision all while missing the little things, such as the sound of your old office or your go-to lunch spot.Guilt and all that comes with itIt can feel selfish to grieve a job when you have moved on to something “better”. But change, even positive change, often stirs up complex emotions. Some days, you might feel relief or excitement. Other days, a song or a topic from your old team could send you spiralling into nostalgia. It is common to feel guilt too – guilt for leaving behind colleagues who relied on you or for starting fresh while others are still stuck in old cycles. What a lot of people do not realise is leaving does not mean you did not care. In fact, it means you cared enough to grow.Give yourself timeOne of the most important things to do after leaving a beloved job is to simply let yourself feel the loss. Too often, we jump into new roles expecting to shake off the past immediately. But, emotional attachment does not work on a strict timeline. It is okay to miss your old team. It is okay to check in with them once in a while. You can even keep a photo or souvenir from your previous desk as a small reminder of where you came from. Just remember not to dwell too long. Honour what was, but do not let it stop you from building what is next.Start small, build new routinesPart of what made your old job feel like home was the rhythm. Morning breakfast rituals, shared lunch breaks at the canteen, familiar faces, same jokes – these small things grounded you. Now, in a new role, it is up to you to recreate that sense of stability. Start with small routines. Maybe it is choosing a specific seat in the office, creating a new morning playlist or exploring nearby restaurants during lunch. These simple actions can help you feel more rooted, even in unfamiliar surroundings. Also, give your new team time. The chemistry you had before was not built in a day. Listen more than you speak, show up with sincerity, share your thoughts and let connections develop naturally.Let go of the pressure to ‘fit in’ Walking into a new job especially after leaving a close-knit team can feel isolating. You might feel pressure to immediately find your “work bestie” or replicate the same vibe you left behind. But belonging takes time. Instead of chasing the same dynamics, open yourself up to something different. Each workplace has its own culture, and part of adapting is learning to appreciate what this new environment offers even if it is quieter, more structured or wildly unfamiliar at first.Take the bestYou do not have to reinvent yourself completely in a new job. Bring along the values and habits that served you well such as your teamwork and flexibility. At the same time, leave behind the parts that drained you. If you used to say “yes” too often or took on emotional burdens that were not yours to carry, let this new beginning be a chance to set better boundaries. Growth does not mean forgetting your past, but learning from it. You will settle inStarting over is rarely easy, but it gets better. As weeks pass, you will start remembering new names, laughing at new jokes and feeling a little less like a guest. One day, without even realising it, you will look around and realise this new place and these people are starting to feel like home too. Because leaving a job you loved will always hurt a little. But it also makes space for new beginnings and new parts of yourself to emerge.