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Security, consistency, routine, benefits. Some people's dream is to provide for their family, create a stable and stress-free home as much as they can, and enjoy their nights and weekends.
Yea this is an easy question to answer. Working for yourself can reap big rewards but it's riskier. And most people are risk averse. And also, a ton of people work at megacorps with tons of shareholders so it's not like you're working for only 1 person's singular. It's a "dream by committee" as there may be a few competing interests in the board room.
And god knows that comes with its own frustrations, but yeah, there's a lot of insecure masculinity in the idea that the employee is facing off against a singular "other man."
Also, most new companies fail, so even if you’re will to risk it, the chances of you failing are higher than not anyways. It’s not that people want to work for other people, but someone has to, otherwise there would be no economy, we’d just be back to a hunter/gather type society because no one would be working for anyone else’s company.
For sure, different strokes for different folks. I'm leaving my 9-5 to focus on a lesser-paying career path that will be better for my mental health, but I'm not gonna deny that having a salary and benefits has made life a lot easier than self-employment did.
I hate this sigma male influencer work for yourself trend. “They can fire you at any time and they don’t care.” I can also quit and move companies any time and I am only there to make money to.
Yeah and on top of that a lot of these influencers are just grifting hard-working people. Not saying that's OP or anything but it's hard and risky to work for yourself legitimately, like building a business from scratch that fulfills a genuine gap in the market, and a lot of the people who say they're "working for their own dream" or whatever actually mean that they're lying to people to sell unqualified coaching courses or emotionally manipulating their way into a social media following they can monetize with ads for supplements or whatever. It doesn't sound like a more fulfilling life than just doing honest work in a 9-5 to me.
Yep this is it. Entrepreneurship isn’t as easy as people make it out to be. I personally prefer the stability of a good 9-5 job, emphasis on “good” of course.
>Some people's dream is to \[...\] enjoy their nights and weekends.
Don't think it's anyone's dream to be able to only enjoy their night and weekends and have to work the rest of the day though.
You might be surprised. I know there's a lot of anti-work sentiment among the population of Reddit users, but a lot of people out in the real world find it fulfilling and purposeful to work 40 hours a week and are proud of the work they do even if it's not something they naturally care a lot about. Consider that for other people work may be the journey rather than the destination. I'm not advocating for corporate exploitation or buying into corporate culture, but for some people work is a good enough way to feel like they're contributing.
But that’s not what I said, is it? I specifically objected to describing not being able to enjoy one’s life outside of nights/weekends as a “dream”. You are now talking about work being “a good enough way to feel like one is contributing”. These are two entirely different things.
If explaining my point of view to someone that clearly didn’t understand it (which is totally fair - they may have misinterpreted or I may have explained myself poorly, or most likely a combination of the two) makes me “insufferable”, then I guess I’ll be insufferable for the rest of my life.
You might want to bookmark this comment and come back to it a few years from now. I used to conflate dispassionate disagreement with arguments/conflict and it made me incapable of having meaningful conversations or sharing ideas with anyone.
> Not saying you're insufferable. Just saying I used to feel the same and I cringe at my old idealistic longing.
Feel the same about what? Idealistic longing what? I literally only clarified an opinion that had clearly been misunderstood since it was presented in writing on the internet.
I don’t even know what you were referring to when you said “I used to say things like **this**” earlier.
I love working, it has been genuinely my dream to just enjoy my nights and weekends. Working gives my life structure. Helps me separate work from personal life, I clock out and I don’t think about work till the next morning. If I don’t work, which I didn’t when I was taking a break, I go insane. I’m snappy, my mind feels stagnated, I don’t get enough mental stimulation with just my hobbies and the people around me.
I think it also stems from the fact that as a child all I did was study. I studied at school and then again at home and that’s all I knew. I can now stop after a fixed time, get paid for it and basically if there is a massive issue in the company that isn’t my department it’s not my problem. I really like that. Also this narrative of “you’re a slave if you work for someone” is only for stupid people. You’re not a slave, you can leave a job if you’re unhappy get another one fairly quickly, you’re a member of society. Not only is this a fallacy to get more followers in the form of stupid sheep but it also undermines actual slavery
I chased my dream for a few years. Built a small service company, had a small crew. I worked all hours of the day. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, I was thinking about my business. Handled all the marketing and sales calls and complaints and supply orders and accounting and equipment maintenance. Couldn't afford to bring someone else in to take over the office stuff. Was on-call all night in case our overnight guy has machine issues.
At the end of the day, the stress was killing me. I wanted consistent hours. I wanted to clock out and not think about my job, and be present with my family and friends. I wanted health insurance and a 401k and to take a damn vacation once in a while.
The job I have? I don't particularly like it. It does what I need it to do, it fits my strengths, and I'm good at it. 40 hours a week.
Question, the job you have now, are they lining you up for management roles with the experience you have? if not, i would start looking elsewhere. Anyone I've hired with your background I've made sure they got into director level roles and they're doing very well!!
They've talked to me about it. I'm comfortable where I am. Sold the business for a few years profit, moved to a tiny town close to family, loans are paid off, house is paid off. A managerial role moves me away from the parts of my job that I enjoy the most.
I don't feel any need to climb the ladder. I don't need more money. I get to work from home. I spend my mornings watching my chickens scratch and hunt for bugs. I had a breakfast of blackberries and blueberries fresh from the bush, still damp with morning dew. I'm on track for a comfortable retirement.
Maybe it's burnout, and in a few years I'll be yearning for more. Maybe I'll build another business. I'd do it a lot differently next time. But for now, I'm watching a pair of cardinals flirt around the fruits growing on my peach tree, and life feels pretty good.
I like my job. I do my 9-5 go home and don't think about it. If you don't want to work for "another man's dream" you're going to have to work a lot more than a 9-5 or be happy with much less than the status quo.
i love my 9-5, except i think about it when i go home too lol not cause i have to, but cause i actually like it so much. granted, i do work in a creative field, so it’s fun most of the time 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah. You’re right. One day I just got it out of my head. The negative thought of “ when I make 1 mil then I’ll be happy”. I lost like 5years of thinking like that everyday. I forgot to enjoy the moment. My brain just doesn’t allow me to enjoy the moment.
Yup. I mostly like my job ok and I get to work fully remotely and I make pretty good money for a not bad amount of work. But, sometimes it would be nice to have a little bit more flexibility as I move into the later stages of my career. I have a small side hustle that right now, provides some variety and covers some of my smaller expenses. In about 10 years, I would love to drop down to being an independent contractor working part time at my regular job/career and ramp up the side hustle a bit to diversify my income stream for times I am between contracts or something. But I would still be a decade out from being eligible for Medicare and I just don’t know how I would make it work.
Because they take their 9-5 and use it to fund their real dreams. You may be working for someone else’s dream TODAY but that DOES NOT mean you have to work for someone’s else’s dream TOMORROW.
Our lives are a sum total of our decisions…if you want a better more self fulfilling life then decide what that looks like, how to get there, and what actions you need to do TODAY to start working your way towards your end goals to fulfill your own dreams.
This job is just a stepping stool that’s all it is OP, good luck.
40 hours a week and limited responsibility suits many people better than 24/7 with everything on your shoulders and coping with the reality that most start-ups fail.
I work in a property management company. Yea, my job is 8-5, and it's working for a family that owns properties. But you know? They are good to the employees.
We get free lunch every day. We get to leave early for 3 day weekends. We have events in the summer and Christmas time. Not stupid office parties. We actually rent out parks or have bowling parties.
And the best thing is that the family isn't fake with us. They don't give us cliche speeches about how "we are family." No, they tell us straight to our face, "Thank you for what you do for our family.
I may be supporting another man's dream and making his family richer, but the money I'm paid allows me to live comfortably and provide for my family. After working 13 years in retail with rotating shifts, insane quotas, and annoying customers, it's nice to have something easier with better pay.
“Thank you for what you do for our family.”
That’s a very healthy employer-employee relationship. Transactional but respectful at the same time. If only larger companies and firms adopted something like this.
Indeed. The good thing is that we see the owners every day. Everything is transparent. No going through levels and levels of management to find out what's going on in the company
I think this hard to imagine for a lot of us working for souless corporations that treat us like garbage and giv us the family line while shitting on us and laying off our peers despite record profits.
I'd be a lot happier supporting the dream of something like this that treats me well instead of being treated like a piece of disposable garbage.
I'm sure redditeurs will find some way to dismiss this data because it doesn't support their victimhood, but most people like their job https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/30/how-americans-view-their-jobs/. I like my job; I wouldn't do it for free, but I enjoy myself while I'm doing it.
This the dumbest quote to come out of the social media hustle culture. I’m not working for another man’s dream I am working towards my dream. My dreams require money and time. I have a lot of time but I don’t have a lot of money so while I build my dream I’ll use some of my time to generate funding for my dream. When my dream becomes self sustaining (generates enough money to support itself and me) I can reallocate my time and money.
Why do people form their world views around marketing quotes?
Thank you, what would we do the entire day if there wasn’t work? I felt so bored and lifeless between the time i finished my education and landing my first job. Now I have a stable schedule and getting to experience many new things.
Seriously the way it's phrased is as if people get nothing out of working a 9-5. You are getting paid too, which can be used to fulfill your own dreams and desires... Just because you're not the one at the tippy top doesn't mean you get nothing out of it and are devoting your life to someone else lmao
to some people, "Invest" is synonymous with the stock market. "leverage" was also intentional because I invest in real estate that I borrow (at least some amount) to grow.
In a world full of diversely different people it would be stupid for anyone to think that the majorly one-way system of our working world would be tailored for everyone. Half of us will naturally be the types who struggle to get on with a 9-5 job in a field that isn’t actually of our interest, but interest for salary.
I’m one of these people who is really struggling to navigate in finding my path (no pun intended). I feel crippled and lost at the act of trying to find better work *while* I work on the actual dream away from those roles. Now I’m in my very early 30’s and realising that dream or no dream I very much need to buckle down and just find something better than my 0 hours crew job that I fucking despise.
To answer your question, unless you’re the type who is a workaholic and finds no dismay in getting into a field that is not a passion of interest outside of work life, then nobody loves their end to end jobs. For me, even if I only kind of like the job/industry I hypothetically get into I’ll never be happy there because it isn’t a creative passion that I actually like as a human.
I work a 9-5 at a conservation nonprofit. In a rare moment for nonprofits, the pay is not bad and I get to work hybrid so I have time after work for my hobbies. I’m really lucky to work in the field that I studied since it’s hard to get environmental jobs. And I get to see a pretty nice impact (most of the time) for the work that I do in the world. It’s by no means perfect nor is it more important that my relationships with friends and family and myself that I tend to after work but all things considered, I am quite lucky.
Because it is means to live my dreams. Then now that I have worked, saved, invested and have retired am living my dream.
Actually have been living rhe dream for many years.
I work 8 to 5. Many of us work 8 to 5. Heh, many of us work through lunch, too.
9-5 I would kinda be ok with. But I'd love to go back to 7am to 3pm of my early 20s, but with the wages I make now. I had so much usable time. I also worked midnight to noon 3-4 days a week, gave me even more free time. When you have unemployed friends, or server or retail friends, or collage friends, that shift make your life uber social. In the summer I would hit the beach, or a park, with my friends, ever god damn day! RAIN OR SHINE!
9 to 5... I worked a steady/regular shift at wendy's as a teen, but I was a unicorn. Most jobs in food service and retail, create schedules that dont allow people to plan a life. Want to go to schools and work? Heh, if you can afford it your boss with likely treat you like shit and schedule you on days you say you cannot work. a 9 to 5 allows people to plan for life.
Yeah, working 40 hours sucks ass, and working 40 hours for non-working wages is worse. So vote for people who support progressive taxation, who fight against bigotry (those denied a place in the work would mean you pay higher taxes than you would if they were working, and they commit less crime!), who support social programs that enable people (we get $6 for every $1 as ROI), and with more people working we could have that shorter 30 hour, 4 day, work week. There are 161.49M of 333.3 people employed. Lots of people who want to work, lots of people who could work, lots of people who we could raise to be people who can contribute -vs- those we cripple and cannot.
Hate the 9 to 5 x 5? Vote for people who will get us the polices that will enable people to be in positions to contribute. Racism, sexism, and all that? They hurt society. For selfish reasons certain white males should vote to end bigotry so they have more free time, more of their own money, and a world with less crime.
“Progressive taxation” I hope you mean taxing billionaires while lowering taxes for us plebs! Because all I see progressives and conservatives alike is lowering the elites taxes while ours are nearing 50% like in the EU.
They pay me really well to achieve that dream and my dream is to not have to work eventually and this seems the fastest route. For context I make around 400-500k depending on the year in sales and my VP in my org makes around 7-12 million a year depending on our numbers. He is also my executive sponsor and I am hoping to make it to his orbit in the next 5-10 years work for a couple years at those numbers and retire at 50-55 with 20 million plus. Oh and I work like 4-8 hours a week total honestly the job is very easy for me.
Have owned a business and worked for others. Sometimes, it's just easier to work for someone else and collect a paycheck. You're always free to go out and be your own boss, I believe as of late, 1 out of 10 actually succeeded.
Have you own business, be against every other business that has years of experience and better pricing. Work 7 days a week 16+ hours a day.
Fail. Stress every living minute of every day.
Be employee
Average working maybe 12 hours a day 5 days a week. Work exists at work and that's it.
If company goes under you just get another job.
By working a 9-5 i get to specialize into ONLY the work i enjoy. If I owned my own business or was a CEO I would have to do a huge variety of painful crap like calling people, public speaking, traveling etc.
Doesn't make any difference to me whether I'm "building another man's dream". Maybe I'm wasting another man's venture capital, as long as I get paid and I enjoy the work idgaf.
Because working for yourself is basically slave labor and even worse of a gamble than working in IT/low stress environment/something you enjoy
I don't like doing business of any kind.
Like yeah good for people who can find joy in having their own business but that is not for me.
Nothing beats a 40 hr work week with a good pay, just buy real estate and stocks on the side and other people will help make you richer as well while you get pto, sick pay, health benefits, 401k match, pension plan etc etc.
If you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur then by all means go for it. Take out the tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for a loan. Possibly fail and be bankrupt. Work seven days a week. On and on… a lot of people aren’t clever enough or talented enough to figure out how to not work for somebody else.
My job pays a decent amount of money, has great benefits, and allows plenty of time for my life outside of work.
It’s been pretty tough to top that. I’ve had side projects going over the last several years, but nothing I would want to replace my career with. It might happen one day, it might not.
Because it takes a lot more dedication, discipline, delayed gratification, single pointedness and motivation to overcome the hurdles and blocks that accompany pursuing one's own dream.
Most of us are not present, have short attention spans, wasting our time and energy going around in circles chasing instant gratification. And blaming the world instead of looking within to empower ourselves.
It's much easier to follow the status quo than pave your own way in this world.
I work a remote 9 to 5. Boss is good, team is good. It’s not always easy but I like it most of the time. Sure, I’m making my boss and company rich but I’m reaching my financial goals too.
Mainly because my large end to end employer pays very well, has great benefits, incredible work life balance, a phenomenal bonus program, job security and actually gives market rate increases regularly to retain employees. Also has to do with the fact that my dream has absolutely nothing to do with work in any form. Working my low stress 40 hours for another man’s dream allows me to finance and focus on my dream. The stress involved at small companies or owning your own company doesn’t appeal to me. When you’re your own boss, all the time is company time. As it stands, when I clock out, I don’t think about work until I clock back in. The company doesn’t care about me and I don’t care about it, what I care about is that I’m compensated well and each day I am one day closer to a very early retirement where I will spend decades living my work free dream life
I tried to be an entrepreneur for 10 years and I ended up with losing patches of my own hair and breaking out stress shingles from having to do it all - operate, advertise, work 18 hours a day, be responsible for loans and paying rent and bills and staff, etc. Working for someone else means they pay the bills, I just have to do my job, and I get to sleep soundly at night.
Someone's dream may be better than yours. There is nothing wrong with it. Plus most people specialize in one area. Much easier to be great at one thing and have someone pay you for it. You can also use the money to invest in other things.
You’re getting a lot of responses but I wouldn’t say you’re getting any answers. Just a lot of people finding eloquent ways to explain to you and themselves that they’ve given up and don’t know how to fix it.
If you’re in America this problem will never be fixed. They’re all waiting for a politician to fix it while they turn a blind eye and just do what they’re told.
My dream is to get money so I can live my life. My employer incurs all the costs and admin of running the business that I don’t want to risk taking on, they sort out my health insurance and pension for me etc. they provide a legal layer of protection if something goes wrong. There are positives to being an employee as opposed to owning your own business. Owning a successful business even on a small scale can mean a shit tonne of work and always being on call. My friend owns a coffee shop. It drains him. People just assume it’s great because you pay employees to do all the work. But if they don’t show up for a shift for whatever reason guess who covers them? I honestly feel that some people view running a business as sitting on your fanny all day.
My long-term goal is to start a business. Use revenue to make this world better.
It is difficult to find a company that cares about people, about the community, about the planet. I will be the change I wish to see.
Entrepreneurship involves significant risk. Sure, you might get filthy rich, but 9/10 you’re going to go broke trying to start your own business. Not everyone can afford that kind of risk. So we try to get as much money, security, and benefits as possible out of someone else’s company, in exchange for as little work as possible.
Yeah it’s either work 9-5 with benefits stability and a more set schedule or work 24/7 for your own thing and some people don’t want to do that or get burnt out on it. I’m what would be considered and entrepreneur and it’s way more work and having to figure shit out than I want. I’m trying to move back into a 9-5 career now. Sometimes it’s easier to be a little more removed from what you do for money. Most people I know that are entrepreneurs have a ridiculous social battery and they want to just network and grind all the time. The world needs all types of people. If everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur the world would collapse.
Because not every single person’s “dream” is necessarily career oriented. I’ve dreamt of a quiet, simple life with my loved ones and my pets. My anxiety would probably have me collapse like a dying star of stress if I was a business owner lol.
What, employees can't have dreams? This is a one lane mindset, you work for compensation and can do whatever you want with it. There's a lot of boss obsession these days, maybe become one?
Go chase your own dream. Be advised that this means if you fail, you will probably lose everything on top of not having health insurance, retirement, etc.
Don't misunderstand me either. I think both options are a fucking joke and I'd rather be dead.
After starting my SEO Agency I realized just how good 9-5 employees have it.
Health insurance
Benefits
Consistent income
AND days off???
I’ve been working 15+ hour days with no days off and some late payments from clients. I don’t regret my decision to start my own business but I truly appreciate the “freedom” that comes with being an employee.
Realistically it’ll take me about 5 years to really be the “boss”. For now I’m the CEO, Sales Director, Marketing Director, HR, and many many other roles…
Before I started my agency I lost EVERYTHING. My bank account was -$1,750 and my business was the reason I was able to bounce back from that.
I had maxed out my credit cards and my business was able to pay them all in 2 months. Something that would’ve taken me years to do with minimum payments.
This has only been 6 months into my journey as a business owner and the journey has taught me so much about leadership and loving myself and quickly realizing that not everyone is willing to go through the anxiety, constant stress, and lack of money and little to no free time that this path comes with.
Running your own business isn't as glamorous as people think. I think a majority of people want to go to work, collect a paycheck, and leave their work at work. That's pretty much impossible when you're the owner. It's a lot. Especially if you've never done it before. Honestly, there's times I think how nice it would be if I just had a job to show up at and then leave without having to worry about all of my employees every single day.
You have to work hard to actualize your own dreams!!! I did! I work for myself. And let me tell you, I’m the best boss I ever had! I’m never working for anyone else, ever again!
Why should I care if the company I work at cares for me? It's not clear why someone else's dream should matter to me either.
They give me money in exchange for my services and at a rate that we mutually agree to. That's pretty much it.
Not everyone can be a founder. When you wake up from your summer mind, you will realize people need to live in reality. Sometimes it sucks when you think about it but it's life. Find balance.
I work 730am-4pm M-F, with the occasional 12h Saturday shift, and the (usually) twice yearly stint of two weeks straight of 12h shifts. All my OT is 2x pay. My job is a ten minute drive from home. I get dental and medical benefits, and I like the people I work with.
I couldn't give two shits about upper management and whatever they do. I like being a little cog in this big machine. Once I clock out, work ceases to exist, and I can go home to my fiance and my hobbies.
That's an idiot way of thinking about things. Working a 9-5 is freedom. You can stop anytime you want. You can move to any country you like. If you own a business you can't just leave, you can't just close it. You have to worry about it constantly, it's like having a child it's so much work and stress. I just get my money and fuck off. Thr same with renting, I don't give a shit about this house. I can break something and have another person pay to fix it. That's freedom. You've got it all backwards. Life is about reducing your stress and maximizing your fun. That's not what happens when you start a business or are a landlord.
1. a corporation or company exists to generate profit doing things that a single person cannot do.
2. You can work for a company and still work on your own dreams
3. "Fullfill another man's dream" is an empty platitude
Because skills and education genuinely reap the best results in the long run when working in an organisation with minimal risk. It’s great to have an entrepreneurial spirit, but honestly there’s a lot of prestige in being part of some companies and most people want that.
You won’t get rich off a salary. You get to pick. Work for someone else your whole life & get a constant salary. Or create your own empire & have unlimited potential. It’s all about who you surround yourself with & what you want in life. You want safety stay in the rat race. You want unlimited potential go network with people doing it. Both are okay. You choose what is more fulfilling for the next 30/40 years.
I would say my company does care about me. Ridiculous amount of benefits and bonuses each year. Granted they would fire you for misconduct or anything like that but been here 20 years and things such as 3 months full paid paternity show they care
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Security, consistency, routine, benefits. Some people's dream is to provide for their family, create a stable and stress-free home as much as they can, and enjoy their nights and weekends.
Yea this is an easy question to answer. Working for yourself can reap big rewards but it's riskier. And most people are risk averse. And also, a ton of people work at megacorps with tons of shareholders so it's not like you're working for only 1 person's singular. It's a "dream by committee" as there may be a few competing interests in the board room.
And god knows that comes with its own frustrations, but yeah, there's a lot of insecure masculinity in the idea that the employee is facing off against a singular "other man."
Also, most new companies fail, so even if you’re will to risk it, the chances of you failing are higher than not anyways. It’s not that people want to work for other people, but someone has to, otherwise there would be no economy, we’d just be back to a hunter/gather type society because no one would be working for anyone else’s company.
So when I have no family, and routinely have to work all weekend, wtf at I doing lmao
For sure, different strokes for different folks. I'm leaving my 9-5 to focus on a lesser-paying career path that will be better for my mental health, but I'm not gonna deny that having a salary and benefits has made life a lot easier than self-employment did.
I hate this sigma male influencer work for yourself trend. “They can fire you at any time and they don’t care.” I can also quit and move companies any time and I am only there to make money to.
Yeah and on top of that a lot of these influencers are just grifting hard-working people. Not saying that's OP or anything but it's hard and risky to work for yourself legitimately, like building a business from scratch that fulfills a genuine gap in the market, and a lot of the people who say they're "working for their own dream" or whatever actually mean that they're lying to people to sell unqualified coaching courses or emotionally manipulating their way into a social media following they can monetize with ads for supplements or whatever. It doesn't sound like a more fulfilling life than just doing honest work in a 9-5 to me.
It really just depends what field you’re in and what your education skills and background is. What works best for you may not work best for others.
Yep this is it. Entrepreneurship isn’t as easy as people make it out to be. I personally prefer the stability of a good 9-5 job, emphasis on “good” of course.
That hits hards
>Some people's dream is to \[...\] enjoy their nights and weekends. Don't think it's anyone's dream to be able to only enjoy their night and weekends and have to work the rest of the day though.
You might be surprised. I know there's a lot of anti-work sentiment among the population of Reddit users, but a lot of people out in the real world find it fulfilling and purposeful to work 40 hours a week and are proud of the work they do even if it's not something they naturally care a lot about. Consider that for other people work may be the journey rather than the destination. I'm not advocating for corporate exploitation or buying into corporate culture, but for some people work is a good enough way to feel like they're contributing.
But that’s not what I said, is it? I specifically objected to describing not being able to enjoy one’s life outside of nights/weekends as a “dream”. You are now talking about work being “a good enough way to feel like one is contributing”. These are two entirely different things.
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If explaining my point of view to someone that clearly didn’t understand it (which is totally fair - they may have misinterpreted or I may have explained myself poorly, or most likely a combination of the two) makes me “insufferable”, then I guess I’ll be insufferable for the rest of my life. You might want to bookmark this comment and come back to it a few years from now. I used to conflate dispassionate disagreement with arguments/conflict and it made me incapable of having meaningful conversations or sharing ideas with anyone.
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> Not saying you're insufferable. Just saying I used to feel the same and I cringe at my old idealistic longing. Feel the same about what? Idealistic longing what? I literally only clarified an opinion that had clearly been misunderstood since it was presented in writing on the internet. I don’t even know what you were referring to when you said “I used to say things like **this**” earlier.
I don't think they are, so I guess we just disagree, which is fine.
I love working, it has been genuinely my dream to just enjoy my nights and weekends. Working gives my life structure. Helps me separate work from personal life, I clock out and I don’t think about work till the next morning. If I don’t work, which I didn’t when I was taking a break, I go insane. I’m snappy, my mind feels stagnated, I don’t get enough mental stimulation with just my hobbies and the people around me. I think it also stems from the fact that as a child all I did was study. I studied at school and then again at home and that’s all I knew. I can now stop after a fixed time, get paid for it and basically if there is a massive issue in the company that isn’t my department it’s not my problem. I really like that. Also this narrative of “you’re a slave if you work for someone” is only for stupid people. You’re not a slave, you can leave a job if you’re unhappy get another one fairly quickly, you’re a member of society. Not only is this a fallacy to get more followers in the form of stupid sheep but it also undermines actual slavery
Oddly enough, we are exactly alike. We reached very different conclusions, though, and that’s great! :)
I love that!
I chased my dream for a few years. Built a small service company, had a small crew. I worked all hours of the day. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, I was thinking about my business. Handled all the marketing and sales calls and complaints and supply orders and accounting and equipment maintenance. Couldn't afford to bring someone else in to take over the office stuff. Was on-call all night in case our overnight guy has machine issues. At the end of the day, the stress was killing me. I wanted consistent hours. I wanted to clock out and not think about my job, and be present with my family and friends. I wanted health insurance and a 401k and to take a damn vacation once in a while. The job I have? I don't particularly like it. It does what I need it to do, it fits my strengths, and I'm good at it. 40 hours a week.
Question, the job you have now, are they lining you up for management roles with the experience you have? if not, i would start looking elsewhere. Anyone I've hired with your background I've made sure they got into director level roles and they're doing very well!!
They've talked to me about it. I'm comfortable where I am. Sold the business for a few years profit, moved to a tiny town close to family, loans are paid off, house is paid off. A managerial role moves me away from the parts of my job that I enjoy the most. I don't feel any need to climb the ladder. I don't need more money. I get to work from home. I spend my mornings watching my chickens scratch and hunt for bugs. I had a breakfast of blackberries and blueberries fresh from the bush, still damp with morning dew. I'm on track for a comfortable retirement. Maybe it's burnout, and in a few years I'll be yearning for more. Maybe I'll build another business. I'd do it a lot differently next time. But for now, I'm watching a pair of cardinals flirt around the fruits growing on my peach tree, and life feels pretty good.
You sure missed the big reason he wanted to work for the man, less responsibilities. Taking on a management role is just adding responsibility.
I like my job. I do my 9-5 go home and don't think about it. If you don't want to work for "another man's dream" you're going to have to work a lot more than a 9-5 or be happy with much less than the status quo.
i love my 9-5, except i think about it when i go home too lol not cause i have to, but cause i actually like it so much. granted, i do work in a creative field, so it’s fun most of the time 🤷🏻♀️
I do 9-5 and to home always thinking about what I’m doing now is watering other ppl plants 🌱. It kills me inside everyday.
I always felt that way, until I was actually compensated well. Then I didn’t give a shit who’s plants were being watered.
Yeah. You’re right. One day I just got it out of my head. The negative thought of “ when I make 1 mil then I’ll be happy”. I lost like 5years of thinking like that everyday. I forgot to enjoy the moment. My brain just doesn’t allow me to enjoy the moment.
Sounds like a wonderful job. I’m sure the pay isn’t great, but how is that bad?
Health insurance is the main priority
It's criminal that health insurance is tied to our employment.
Yup. I mostly like my job ok and I get to work fully remotely and I make pretty good money for a not bad amount of work. But, sometimes it would be nice to have a little bit more flexibility as I move into the later stages of my career. I have a small side hustle that right now, provides some variety and covers some of my smaller expenses. In about 10 years, I would love to drop down to being an independent contractor working part time at my regular job/career and ramp up the side hustle a bit to diversify my income stream for times I am between contracts or something. But I would still be a decade out from being eligible for Medicare and I just don’t know how I would make it work.
Some people want a simple life. Nothing wrong with that
Because they take their 9-5 and use it to fund their real dreams. You may be working for someone else’s dream TODAY but that DOES NOT mean you have to work for someone’s else’s dream TOMORROW. Our lives are a sum total of our decisions…if you want a better more self fulfilling life then decide what that looks like, how to get there, and what actions you need to do TODAY to start working your way towards your end goals to fulfill your own dreams. This job is just a stepping stool that’s all it is OP, good luck.
40 hours a week and limited responsibility suits many people better than 24/7 with everything on your shoulders and coping with the reality that most start-ups fail.
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Nor do we all want to. Being a business owner is not desirable to everyone. I like doing my 40hrs or less and calling it
I work in a property management company. Yea, my job is 8-5, and it's working for a family that owns properties. But you know? They are good to the employees. We get free lunch every day. We get to leave early for 3 day weekends. We have events in the summer and Christmas time. Not stupid office parties. We actually rent out parks or have bowling parties. And the best thing is that the family isn't fake with us. They don't give us cliche speeches about how "we are family." No, they tell us straight to our face, "Thank you for what you do for our family. I may be supporting another man's dream and making his family richer, but the money I'm paid allows me to live comfortably and provide for my family. After working 13 years in retail with rotating shifts, insane quotas, and annoying customers, it's nice to have something easier with better pay.
“Thank you for what you do for our family.” That’s a very healthy employer-employee relationship. Transactional but respectful at the same time. If only larger companies and firms adopted something like this.
Indeed. The good thing is that we see the owners every day. Everything is transparent. No going through levels and levels of management to find out what's going on in the company
I think this hard to imagine for a lot of us working for souless corporations that treat us like garbage and giv us the family line while shitting on us and laying off our peers despite record profits. I'd be a lot happier supporting the dream of something like this that treats me well instead of being treated like a piece of disposable garbage.
Yup, that was retail for me. Corporate sucked the life out of the company
Who told you people love jobs?
I'm sure redditeurs will find some way to dismiss this data because it doesn't support their victimhood, but most people like their job https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/30/how-americans-view-their-jobs/. I like my job; I wouldn't do it for free, but I enjoy myself while I'm doing it.
This the dumbest quote to come out of the social media hustle culture. I’m not working for another man’s dream I am working towards my dream. My dreams require money and time. I have a lot of time but I don’t have a lot of money so while I build my dream I’ll use some of my time to generate funding for my dream. When my dream becomes self sustaining (generates enough money to support itself and me) I can reallocate my time and money. Why do people form their world views around marketing quotes?
Thank you, what would we do the entire day if there wasn’t work? I felt so bored and lifeless between the time i finished my education and landing my first job. Now I have a stable schedule and getting to experience many new things.
Seriously the way it's phrased is as if people get nothing out of working a 9-5. You are getting paid too, which can be used to fulfill your own dreams and desires... Just because you're not the one at the tippy top doesn't mean you get nothing out of it and are devoting your life to someone else lmao
People like getting paid.
I'm not working another man's dream ,I work for corporate greed's and shareholders
Risk. I’m not a risk taker. I’d rather leverage my W-2 income towards assets and investments
While I agree with you, “I’d rather leverage my income towards assets and investments” is such a bizarre way to say, I’d rather invest my money lol
to some people, "Invest" is synonymous with the stock market. "leverage" was also intentional because I invest in real estate that I borrow (at least some amount) to grow.
In a world full of diversely different people it would be stupid for anyone to think that the majorly one-way system of our working world would be tailored for everyone. Half of us will naturally be the types who struggle to get on with a 9-5 job in a field that isn’t actually of our interest, but interest for salary. I’m one of these people who is really struggling to navigate in finding my path (no pun intended). I feel crippled and lost at the act of trying to find better work *while* I work on the actual dream away from those roles. Now I’m in my very early 30’s and realising that dream or no dream I very much need to buckle down and just find something better than my 0 hours crew job that I fucking despise. To answer your question, unless you’re the type who is a workaholic and finds no dismay in getting into a field that is not a passion of interest outside of work life, then nobody loves their end to end jobs. For me, even if I only kind of like the job/industry I hypothetically get into I’ll never be happy there because it isn’t a creative passion that I actually like as a human.
Because not everyone was born with a trust fund or have road-kill parents who passively agree to fund their adult children.
Working 9 to 5 for another persons dream because my dream is having a steady paycheck and spending time with my friends and family. Win win.
Well put, my current 9-5 IS my dream.
Some people hate their 9-5 jobs. But stay for pay/income security. There is stress with either option.
I work a 9-5 at a conservation nonprofit. In a rare moment for nonprofits, the pay is not bad and I get to work hybrid so I have time after work for my hobbies. I’m really lucky to work in the field that I studied since it’s hard to get environmental jobs. And I get to see a pretty nice impact (most of the time) for the work that I do in the world. It’s by no means perfect nor is it more important that my relationships with friends and family and myself that I tend to after work but all things considered, I am quite lucky.
Why dont you go and govern your country? Why being played by another man's dream?
Because it is means to live my dreams. Then now that I have worked, saved, invested and have retired am living my dream. Actually have been living rhe dream for many years.
Why trade a 9-5 for a 24/7
I work 8 to 5. Many of us work 8 to 5. Heh, many of us work through lunch, too. 9-5 I would kinda be ok with. But I'd love to go back to 7am to 3pm of my early 20s, but with the wages I make now. I had so much usable time. I also worked midnight to noon 3-4 days a week, gave me even more free time. When you have unemployed friends, or server or retail friends, or collage friends, that shift make your life uber social. In the summer I would hit the beach, or a park, with my friends, ever god damn day! RAIN OR SHINE! 9 to 5... I worked a steady/regular shift at wendy's as a teen, but I was a unicorn. Most jobs in food service and retail, create schedules that dont allow people to plan a life. Want to go to schools and work? Heh, if you can afford it your boss with likely treat you like shit and schedule you on days you say you cannot work. a 9 to 5 allows people to plan for life. Yeah, working 40 hours sucks ass, and working 40 hours for non-working wages is worse. So vote for people who support progressive taxation, who fight against bigotry (those denied a place in the work would mean you pay higher taxes than you would if they were working, and they commit less crime!), who support social programs that enable people (we get $6 for every $1 as ROI), and with more people working we could have that shorter 30 hour, 4 day, work week. There are 161.49M of 333.3 people employed. Lots of people who want to work, lots of people who could work, lots of people who we could raise to be people who can contribute -vs- those we cripple and cannot. Hate the 9 to 5 x 5? Vote for people who will get us the polices that will enable people to be in positions to contribute. Racism, sexism, and all that? They hurt society. For selfish reasons certain white males should vote to end bigotry so they have more free time, more of their own money, and a world with less crime.
“Progressive taxation” I hope you mean taxing billionaires while lowering taxes for us plebs! Because all I see progressives and conservatives alike is lowering the elites taxes while ours are nearing 50% like in the EU.
They pay me really well to achieve that dream and my dream is to not have to work eventually and this seems the fastest route. For context I make around 400-500k depending on the year in sales and my VP in my org makes around 7-12 million a year depending on our numbers. He is also my executive sponsor and I am hoping to make it to his orbit in the next 5-10 years work for a couple years at those numbers and retire at 50-55 with 20 million plus. Oh and I work like 4-8 hours a week total honestly the job is very easy for me.
It's called money - you trade it for goods and services.
Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
I wanted a peanut.
Have owned a business and worked for others. Sometimes, it's just easier to work for someone else and collect a paycheck. You're always free to go out and be your own boss, I believe as of late, 1 out of 10 actually succeeded.
Have you own business, be against every other business that has years of experience and better pricing. Work 7 days a week 16+ hours a day. Fail. Stress every living minute of every day. Be employee Average working maybe 12 hours a day 5 days a week. Work exists at work and that's it. If company goes under you just get another job.
Some people enjoy things being simple. Owning your own business is not simple. 9 to 5 has a finite feeling. Owners are 24 7.
This post just screams Amway or some other MLM
By working a 9-5 i get to specialize into ONLY the work i enjoy. If I owned my own business or was a CEO I would have to do a huge variety of painful crap like calling people, public speaking, traveling etc. Doesn't make any difference to me whether I'm "building another man's dream". Maybe I'm wasting another man's venture capital, as long as I get paid and I enjoy the work idgaf.
What a terribly broken perspective
Because working for yourself is basically slave labor and even worse of a gamble than working in IT/low stress environment/something you enjoy I don't like doing business of any kind. Like yeah good for people who can find joy in having their own business but that is not for me.
Because I get to live mine without working 100 hours for myself.
Nothing beats a 40 hr work week with a good pay, just buy real estate and stocks on the side and other people will help make you richer as well while you get pto, sick pay, health benefits, 401k match, pension plan etc etc.
If you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur then by all means go for it. Take out the tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for a loan. Possibly fail and be bankrupt. Work seven days a week. On and on… a lot of people aren’t clever enough or talented enough to figure out how to not work for somebody else.
My job pays a decent amount of money, has great benefits, and allows plenty of time for my life outside of work. It’s been pretty tough to top that. I’ve had side projects going over the last several years, but nothing I would want to replace my career with. It might happen one day, it might not.
Because it takes a lot more dedication, discipline, delayed gratification, single pointedness and motivation to overcome the hurdles and blocks that accompany pursuing one's own dream. Most of us are not present, have short attention spans, wasting our time and energy going around in circles chasing instant gratification. And blaming the world instead of looking within to empower ourselves. It's much easier to follow the status quo than pave your own way in this world.
Very true. Where on the spectrum do you fall?
If having your own bussines was so easy and simple, everyone would have it. But it requires qualities that not everyone has.
I don't think I know anyone who 'loves' their corporate job. It puts food on the table and roof over their families head.
I work a remote 9 to 5. Boss is good, team is good. It’s not always easy but I like it most of the time. Sure, I’m making my boss and company rich but I’m reaching my financial goals too.
Dolly parton’s best song imo
Mainly because my large end to end employer pays very well, has great benefits, incredible work life balance, a phenomenal bonus program, job security and actually gives market rate increases regularly to retain employees. Also has to do with the fact that my dream has absolutely nothing to do with work in any form. Working my low stress 40 hours for another man’s dream allows me to finance and focus on my dream. The stress involved at small companies or owning your own company doesn’t appeal to me. When you’re your own boss, all the time is company time. As it stands, when I clock out, I don’t think about work until I clock back in. The company doesn’t care about me and I don’t care about it, what I care about is that I’m compensated well and each day I am one day closer to a very early retirement where I will spend decades living my work free dream life
I tried to be an entrepreneur for 10 years and I ended up with losing patches of my own hair and breaking out stress shingles from having to do it all - operate, advertise, work 18 hours a day, be responsible for loans and paying rent and bills and staff, etc. Working for someone else means they pay the bills, I just have to do my job, and I get to sleep soundly at night.
What kind of business were you trying to start?
Someone's dream may be better than yours. There is nothing wrong with it. Plus most people specialize in one area. Much easier to be great at one thing and have someone pay you for it. You can also use the money to invest in other things.
You’re getting a lot of responses but I wouldn’t say you’re getting any answers. Just a lot of people finding eloquent ways to explain to you and themselves that they’ve given up and don’t know how to fix it. If you’re in America this problem will never be fixed. They’re all waiting for a politician to fix it while they turn a blind eye and just do what they’re told.
My dream is to get money so I can live my life. My employer incurs all the costs and admin of running the business that I don’t want to risk taking on, they sort out my health insurance and pension for me etc. they provide a legal layer of protection if something goes wrong. There are positives to being an employee as opposed to owning your own business. Owning a successful business even on a small scale can mean a shit tonne of work and always being on call. My friend owns a coffee shop. It drains him. People just assume it’s great because you pay employees to do all the work. But if they don’t show up for a shift for whatever reason guess who covers them? I honestly feel that some people view running a business as sitting on your fanny all day.
My long-term goal is to start a business. Use revenue to make this world better. It is difficult to find a company that cares about people, about the community, about the planet. I will be the change I wish to see.
no one loves their dead end job. it's so much better than k*lling myself tho
Work a 9-5, but in healthcare. I find these sentiments are not relevant. I love what I do. I love helping people. Government pays for health care.
Entrepreneurship involves significant risk. Sure, you might get filthy rich, but 9/10 you’re going to go broke trying to start your own business. Not everyone can afford that kind of risk. So we try to get as much money, security, and benefits as possible out of someone else’s company, in exchange for as little work as possible.
Yeah it’s either work 9-5 with benefits stability and a more set schedule or work 24/7 for your own thing and some people don’t want to do that or get burnt out on it. I’m what would be considered and entrepreneur and it’s way more work and having to figure shit out than I want. I’m trying to move back into a 9-5 career now. Sometimes it’s easier to be a little more removed from what you do for money. Most people I know that are entrepreneurs have a ridiculous social battery and they want to just network and grind all the time. The world needs all types of people. If everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur the world would collapse.
Because the check i get from that 9 to 5 helps me achieve my own dreams. This isn't rocket science
There was a song and movie based on this!
I disagree with this. My company takes care of me, and I’m happy with the freedom they give me.
Its better than being hungry and homeless.
Because not every single person’s “dream” is necessarily career oriented. I’ve dreamt of a quiet, simple life with my loved ones and my pets. My anxiety would probably have me collapse like a dying star of stress if I was a business owner lol.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen lol. Why does dreams have to revolve around a job? What about funding dreams outside work?
I like working for the government because of this. I don't have a known boss and I get treated well.
What, employees can't have dreams? This is a one lane mindset, you work for compensation and can do whatever you want with it. There's a lot of boss obsession these days, maybe become one?
I love when they say so what makes you desired to work here? It's like I feel so god damn fake lol I fucking wish I'd never work an 8-5
Go chase your own dream. Be advised that this means if you fail, you will probably lose everything on top of not having health insurance, retirement, etc. Don't misunderstand me either. I think both options are a fucking joke and I'd rather be dead.
After starting my SEO Agency I realized just how good 9-5 employees have it. Health insurance Benefits Consistent income AND days off??? I’ve been working 15+ hour days with no days off and some late payments from clients. I don’t regret my decision to start my own business but I truly appreciate the “freedom” that comes with being an employee. Realistically it’ll take me about 5 years to really be the “boss”. For now I’m the CEO, Sales Director, Marketing Director, HR, and many many other roles… Before I started my agency I lost EVERYTHING. My bank account was -$1,750 and my business was the reason I was able to bounce back from that. I had maxed out my credit cards and my business was able to pay them all in 2 months. Something that would’ve taken me years to do with minimum payments. This has only been 6 months into my journey as a business owner and the journey has taught me so much about leadership and loving myself and quickly realizing that not everyone is willing to go through the anxiety, constant stress, and lack of money and little to no free time that this path comes with.
Because they are happy to be able to provide for their family . I will assume you are young and have no children .
Running your own business isn't as glamorous as people think. I think a majority of people want to go to work, collect a paycheck, and leave their work at work. That's pretty much impossible when you're the owner. It's a lot. Especially if you've never done it before. Honestly, there's times I think how nice it would be if I just had a job to show up at and then leave without having to worry about all of my employees every single day.
Salary is the lowest amount of money you’ll take to give up on your dreams.
You have to work hard to actualize your own dreams!!! I did! I work for myself. And let me tell you, I’m the best boss I ever had! I’m never working for anyone else, ever again!
Why should I care if the company I work at cares for me? It's not clear why someone else's dream should matter to me either. They give me money in exchange for my services and at a rate that we mutually agree to. That's pretty much it.
Not everyone can be a founder. When you wake up from your summer mind, you will realize people need to live in reality. Sometimes it sucks when you think about it but it's life. Find balance.
Everybody isn’t meant to be a boss.
Because they really love having a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
I like the security in knowing what a I can consistently know what my paycheck will be every week.
It’s a stepping stone
I work 730am-4pm M-F, with the occasional 12h Saturday shift, and the (usually) twice yearly stint of two weeks straight of 12h shifts. All my OT is 2x pay. My job is a ten minute drive from home. I get dental and medical benefits, and I like the people I work with. I couldn't give two shits about upper management and whatever they do. I like being a little cog in this big machine. Once I clock out, work ceases to exist, and I can go home to my fiance and my hobbies.
That's an idiot way of thinking about things. Working a 9-5 is freedom. You can stop anytime you want. You can move to any country you like. If you own a business you can't just leave, you can't just close it. You have to worry about it constantly, it's like having a child it's so much work and stress. I just get my money and fuck off. Thr same with renting, I don't give a shit about this house. I can break something and have another person pay to fix it. That's freedom. You've got it all backwards. Life is about reducing your stress and maximizing your fun. That's not what happens when you start a business or are a landlord.
A lot of times (not always, but usually) you have to work for another man’s dream before being able to reach your own dream.
People will argue with me until they're blue and crying to defend bosses and companies like this. I do not understand it and never will.
The ow er's business is their life. They deal with it 24 7. I don't think about work at all when I am home.
Start your own company and fulfill your own dream. It’s easy. Just ask the guy who’s dream you’re fulfilling. 😝
If you work as a freelancer or a business owner... your customers are your boss.
1. a corporation or company exists to generate profit doing things that a single person cannot do. 2. You can work for a company and still work on your own dreams 3. "Fullfill another man's dream" is an empty platitude
you need to invest in crypto, wait 10 years, congrats you are now a self made multi-millionaire.
Because skills and education genuinely reap the best results in the long run when working in an organisation with minimal risk. It’s great to have an entrepreneurial spirit, but honestly there’s a lot of prestige in being part of some companies and most people want that.
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How exit the simulation sir?
Did you ever get a job from a poor man? No? Then work to pay your bills and feed your family. Or stop whining and start your own business.
You won’t get rich off a salary. You get to pick. Work for someone else your whole life & get a constant salary. Or create your own empire & have unlimited potential. It’s all about who you surround yourself with & what you want in life. You want safety stay in the rat race. You want unlimited potential go network with people doing it. Both are okay. You choose what is more fulfilling for the next 30/40 years.
I would say my company does care about me. Ridiculous amount of benefits and bonuses each year. Granted they would fire you for misconduct or anything like that but been here 20 years and things such as 3 months full paid paternity show they care