First casualty of the October stock market crash has emerged🔥

Directly linking resignations to the stock market may just be two emotional outbursts happening at the same time—there may not be any real causation.

If this is just a short-term emotional spike, don't rush into major financial decisions like liquidating your holdings or using leverage; wait until garden leave ends and your income rhythm is clear before planning. The prerequisite is that you have a few months of buffer funds on hand—otherwise, prioritize protecting your cash flow.

In the workplace, garden leave is sometimes a handover period, and it may also involve non-compete or contractual clauses—beyond the emotions, you still need to look carefully at how the company arranges salary and social insurance.

Severance pay and non-compete rules vary quite a bit from state to state, so check which state you're in before deciding whether you're getting a raw deal.

You mentioned a "shitty boss" and a "shitty stock market," but is it really the job departure or the investment losses that's driving this? These two things need to be handled on different timelines. I'd suggest first separating the resignation paperwork, bonus settlement, and stock account, and dealing with whichever part you can control first.

If your income is reduced during garden leave and this coincides with market volatility, cash flow pressure will be more pronounced than usual.