I legit HATE working, how do I find a job that is at least bearable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you just need a job that's not in an office all day. Something where you are out and about, or working face to face with customers or something.

This is a good suggestion, if a more dramatic departure from what you have been doing. I have worked in full-time office jobs, and if the org culture is not great, it can be such a grind. I now do some consulting work in my old line of work, plus a part-time job in something else (mine is working with kids in a rec program, but yours could be whatever might interest you: work for the parks, or a museum, or teach yoga classes). I did take a hit financially, but I am much happier. I do have the privilege of being in a two earner household, so the finances are not all on me.

Or, a less dramatic departure would be to find a different employer, in the hopes that a different org would have a better org culture and be more reasonable to work for.

[Anonymous]

I also grow up with less (we weren’t poor but we lived frugally to support the big family in our home country), and I did everything by the code of model minority conduct. I hated my 120k job so I went ahead to get a new job, now I can say I hate my 250k job. I hope in 10 years I can tell people I hate my 400k job.

[Anonymous]

You sound like an amazingly astute and well accomplished, driven professional, OP. I’d love to work with you.

Inventory what you love to do - make a list and free form this. Include non work related tasks and hobbies.
Then make a list of tasks that you abhor and recognized weaknesses.

My positive list would be: writing, research, note taking, organizing spaces, meeting people, teaching and leading, reading, mysteries, history, word games, puzzles, lists, being outside in nature, helping others

Negative: technology, math, statistics, financial planning, chemistry, being confined in a tiny space, rigid routines, shift work, micromanagement

At 52, I’m in a new career field and received a promotion to a job I love. My new role incorporates so many of the skills on my “love” list - I’m teaching and helping, I have to understand the history of the job and role, I travel to various sites and do extensive editing and writing and organizing. I work on a small team and we each delegate preferred tasks to each other.

I’m always the note taker! I’m always the editor! I’m the bubbly and enthusiastic person who gets called in to smooth ruffled feathers and to advocate for my employees by remaining calm and neutral.

I can’t believe I get paid for doing what I love. This is my wish for you, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took what I was doing and moved to doing it as a consultant working on my own.

I’m not sure if you are female, but you do mention you are a minority. It wasn’t until I left a corporate job that I understood how much discrimination permeates the culture even in so-called “good” offices. This made me hate working and so, so burnt out. It was just exhausting having to be 150% to get anywhere.

I’m not completely free of that working for myself, but I’m at least a step removed. I feel like I got some of my power back by being able to choose who I will and will not work for, how much work I can reasonably take on and what skills are truly my best and worth focusing my time on.

White people hate working sometimes too. Why make this about race?

She is sharing her own experience, why jump to devalidate another person right away?

[Anonymous]

I don’t think many people actually like work, do they? They work to avoid poverty. Find something that motivates you, a promotion, a new job, money. That helps. I want to reach a certain income level, so I’m motivated to work hard. It doesn’t mean I love it. Maybe you’d dislike another job less, but maybe it would be the same or worse. You’ll find the things you describe not liking everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people hate their jobs OP. Just focus on the money it brings

+100

Life’s a b—-h and then we die

+1. Can’t believe OP doesn’t understand that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people hate their jobs OP. Just focus on the money it brings

+100

Life’s a b—-h and then we die

+1. Can’t believe OP doesn’t understand that.

Or op DOES understand it and doesn’t want to spend his/her/their life wasting away. Y’all are quick to assume other peoples mental capacity here.

[Anonymous]

I was able to cope better with working when I felt like there was light at the end of the tunnel. The FIRE movement helping me reframe my thinking and set up an investment plan to exit the workforce early.

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/

MMM is uncomfortably frugal for many people, but you can apply the same principles to any budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did everything the right way. I grew up poor & am a minority. Went to the military, got out and used the GI bill at a top undergrad. I interned on the hill. Got a prestigious fellowship for a year and then went to a top grad school. My resume is very strong and I am frequently praised for being a hard worker..but I legitimately hate working. I hate the creepy management, I hate office politics & the small 'watercooler talk', I hate that I have to put a smile on my face and deal with disgruntled clients, I hate working for the sake of working and having to fill my calendar with 40 hours even if I can effectively do all my work in 20 hours. I'm miserable trying to do this corporate grind. I left a job paying well over 100k because I have never felt so unfulfilled and dreaded going to work and not knowing what senior management was going to decide was a good idea that day. I'm not even motivated by the money like I was before.


For those of you who have experienced what I have, how did you survive? How did you end up finding something that was in that 30 hour a week time frame? Is federal side any better? Corporate? Small business?

Stop looking for money or title or whatever box you feel you have to check off. Look for work with people you genuinely like and respect. It sounds like you like work just fine. (You could not have achieved what you have already if you hated to work.) Rather, you hate working in a toxic workplace.

+1 hating your job is not the same as hating work

Sounds like you’ve worked hard and accomplished a lot. Based on all the hard work you did to get where you are, I suspect you didn’t hate work or you would have given up long ago.

Relax and figure out what you enjoy and then do more of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people hate their jobs OP. Just focus on the money it brings

+100

Life’s a b—-h and then we die

+1. Can’t believe OP doesn’t understand that.

Or op DOES understand it and doesn’t want to spend his/her/their life wasting away. Y’all are quick to assume other peoples mental capacity here.

And become a social baggage? It’s people like op that this country is so f-ed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like an amazingly astute and well accomplished, driven professional, OP. I’d love to work with you.

Inventory what you love to do - make a list and free form this. Include non work related tasks and hobbies.
Then make a list of tasks that you abhor and recognized weaknesses.

My positive list would be: writing, research, note taking, organizing spaces, meeting people, teaching and leading, reading, mysteries, history, word games, puzzles, lists, being outside in nature, helping others

Negative: technology, math, statistics, financial planning, chemistry, being confined in a tiny space, rigid routines, shift work, micromanagement

At 52, I’m in a new career field and received a promotion to a job I love. My new role incorporates so many of the skills on my “love” list - I’m teaching and helping, I have to understand the history of the job and role, I travel to various sites and do extensive editing and writing and organizing. I work on a small team and we each delegate preferred tasks to each other.

I’m always the note taker! I’m always the editor! I’m the bubbly and enthusiastic person who gets called in to smooth ruffled feathers and to advocate for my employees by remaining calm and neutral.

I can’t believe I get paid for doing what I love. This is my wish for you, OP.

wow what are you doing for work now? it sounds amazing - congrats on finding this and making it work

[Anonymous]

OP do you think your role has meaning and impact? Do you have an opportunity to learn continuously?

I don’t always love my job but I believe in my work, which helps. I couldn’t work a white collar job for only money—too much sitting and too many hours of my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe try to work at an agency like NASA where people love the mission, and their general good mood will run off on you? Lots of veterans and variety of job roles.

Heads up, NASA isn’t just handing out positions.

[Anonymous]

I liked the actual work but not all of the extra stuff. I found another job doing the same thing but as an individual contributor and with fewer meetings. Without all the meetings, follow-up meetings, and pre-meetings, I'm able to get everything done in much less than 40 hours. Since my job switched to virtual, I'm at home and not stuck sitting in my office so I spend the rest of the time with my children or on my own personal pursuits. I'm much happier. I don't know if I'll ever love work. It's more of a means to an end for me, but at least now I don't dread it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked the actual work but not all of the extra stuff. I found another job doing the same thing but as an individual contributor and with fewer meetings. Without all the meetings, follow-up meetings, and pre-meetings, I'm able to get everything done in much less than 40 hours. Since my job switched to virtual, I'm at home and not stuck sitting in my office so I spend the rest of the time with my children or on my own personal pursuits. I'm much happier. I don't know if I'll ever love work. It's more of a means to an end for me, but at least now I don't dread it.

You keep saying that like that's something special or proof of how smart you are. It's not. I usually work less than 10 hours and get paid for 40. What does that prove? Nothing other than I only work 10 hours.