I went to a seminar in the early 90’s where the presenter made a hell of a point. He said you are (fill in your name) incorporated. You hire out your services for compensation. When you start thinking this way, your situation will look different. If you are already there, then disregard this.
I left a job with a multinational company where I was essentially a guinea pig in an experiment to see just how much garbage I could take. I took a different job with a very small company with no safety net, but have thrived.
Now I am the president of this company and treat my 8 other partners as if they were family. We are all interconnected as in we all eat or we all starve. Very different working environment.
Best of luck to you and hope it works out.
I’m an old guy also. Just past 55 this summer.
Thanks for success story — good luck to you for creating a great place to work