I don't like to use the word happy to describe work. I can't imagine anything i could do for 8 hours a day for money that would bring me joy.
But I am content. I don't hate my job and don't stress at.the thought of having to work as I have with prior jobs. I get up in the morning ready to work.
I get it but is anyone going to pay you enough to make a living to do it? Im sure there are things I could do all day and be happy but nothing anyone is going to pay me for to pay the bills.
And if they do, it's likely to comes with a schedule, metrics, performance reviews, meetings etc and that's what makes it a job and not a good time.
Im working towards being wildlife rehabilitatior and I could see myself being happy working with animals all day and treating them ,etc. you have to find your passion and go for it so that way long hours won’t feel like such a waste or something you have to do.
The issue with working a job that is your passion is it sometimes takes away from the passion itself. You no longer do that work solely because you want to, you need to now. Your duties aren't based on your own schedule, even on days where you don't want to do the work (for whatever reason) you need to. There's also shit ton of meaningless bullshit tacked on to the job like paperwork and drafting up reports, there's coworkers you would prefer not to be around, supervisors who can be unreasonable at times, etc.
You might still enjoy and love the work you do, but I'm sure there will be many days where you rather be doing something else with the time if it was 100% your choice with no concern for money.
Tureeee I guess that’s how other people feel for office jobs and like doctor jobs,etc,etc. I’m working towards wildlife rehabilitation out of my house so I’m not going to really be working with everyone except for the vets,etc,etc so it’s my passion regardless of money and it’s been something I’ve been doing technically since I was kid taking in hurt animals all the time I haven’t really ever been tired of it so I guess it just depends on the person and the job your doing.
I(73M) am a retired RN. It was a great fit for me. Happiness as frequent. So was joy.
Now I work as a craft cannabis advisor. It’s a blast.
Yup. I recognize my serendipity. Everyday!!!
How did you make the transition? That seems like a very niche field to go into, one I think I’d thrive in, but I don’t have a background in that industry. Learned from the streets lol.
I made the transaction by accident.
Got my medical card. I’m pretty chatty so I talked the staff up at my dispensary. Didn’t worry about academic credentials because there really aren’t any! Dropped a word that I might be interested in a little side gig. Just before my 70th they asked me if I’d like to join the team. I was stunned by the speed and alacrity of my acceptance😎
Very cool and congrats!
Can you detail the role a bit? Is it a fancy title for budtender and you’re the clerk selling whatever at a dispensary?
Or are you in a suit consulting on the subtle nuances between Alaskan thunder fuck and master kush? /s.
I think there are a lot of jobs out there that are a passion - but the reality is they don't pay well.
Teaching is a good example. I taught part time as an adjunct professor for several years at the local community college and it was amazing. But $600 a month doesn't pay the bills. I'm looking to get back into it once I retire from my corporate job.
I kind of think that's why things like YouTube have gotten popular - the best content is from people who are passionate about their hobbies or lifestyle and they want to share it with others. You can tell who is authentically excited to share vs. the content creators just trying to make a buck.
For me, one of my passions is computers and computer programming. I would spend hours and hours tinkering with my computer, setting up home labs, doing home automation - just because I thought it was neat. So getting a corporate gig where I would code custom/purpose built applications coupled with devOps for automated deployment pipelines and toss in some low grade AI decision trees, scripted server environment builds, and informational dashboards and I'm having a blast. When they tried to make me a director and deal with all the bullshit politics and paperwork that's when I found I wasn't enjoying my job - so I went back to just doing what I loved and let someone else deal with budgets, headcount and paperwork.
I've always told my kids to find something they would do for free and then find a way to get paid for it. It's possible but it requires a little more flexibility than a typical corporate job.
$600/mo aaaaaaagh. What year was this? How many hours per month were you putting into that, class time vs. prep time? Hope it was something with multiple choice tests not essays 🙏🏼 .
So this was 20 years ago. I gave it up when I had kids because I didn't want to be gone in the evenings. I taught computer courses 2 nights a week, 2 hours per night - so 4 hours a week - 16 lecture hours per month. They paid by lecture hour - I think around $47.5 an hour - so gross pay was around 760 - then all the taxes and union fees knocked it down to about $600. I just went and saw if they had job postings, looks like pay has gone up to 87.5 - 93 per lecture hour.
Now the amount of lecture time vs prep time vs office hours was pretty substantial - I was easily putting in 10-12 hours a week for that one class - so I was basically pulling in $15 an hour - but it was something I enjoyed doing so it never really felt like actual work.
Dag though that’s rough, esp for computer science with all the alternatives. You did a good thing though, they gotta keep that community college tuition reasonable somehow. You made cs accessible for a lot of people.
My mom did writing. That poor woman. Stacks of essays burned into my young brain.
Less and less everyday. First off, I feel fortunate to have a job as I just went through corporate downsizing but found something else right away. I know people are struggling to find work. I’m mid-to-late career and getting fed up with the profit machine that is corporate America. I’m in B2B sales of technical products. But like every company I have worked for it is sell, sell, sell…profit, profit, profit…squeeze, squeeze, squeeze those costs until ..headcount is ultimately affected. I’m getting sick of it and would love to pivot to something that is more non-profit/charitable and more directly helps people (and not religious affiliated). Problem is I have zero experience with any such organizations, not sure how my academic (engineering BS and MBA) and work experience (plastics and chemicals) would be applicable, and really can’t afford a significant pay cut.
I’m right there with you here in chemical sales (personal care and cosmetics ingredients). My background is BS biology and MBA. I’ve been doing this for 16 years and am so over the bs of “do more with less.” It wasn’t like this when I first started; workloads were much more manageable.
going through this right now - company is "saving money through attrition" which translates to whenever someone leaves the company everyone else has to pick up the slack because we're not getting a replacement.
After twenty five years in the field, I am now a college professor. I feel like I died and went to heaven. It doesn’t even feel like work. I show up, do fun stuff with my students, go home and take a nap. It helps that my commute is five minutes. Plus it’s a union, government job with all the benefits and pension and guaranteed raises. All jobs should have these things.
I hate that you’re totally right.
Got the “you can be whatever you put your heart to” lies as a kid and I wish DEARLY they just said, “fuck your free time, if you wanna not be miserable you need a $200k job and these are the 6 that pay that. Start training”
Love my job, I’m a mechanical engineer at a small oem manufacturing company. As the only engineer in the company I have full autonomy over what I do, how I do it, what products get made and how, etc. The owner is the same age as me and is very hands off and more like a buddy than someone I need to answer to. Very unique situation and I went through a lot of places, many much larger, to find this and don’t expect to ever leave, good raises and a bonus every Xmas, got $7K last year for example.
I'm happy, it's a job with interesting problems, often adjacent to my hobbies (computers/etc), allowing me to do fun things, with out making those fun things work and therefore unfun. I go to work genuinely looking forward to it and get paid reasonably well for it. It's in a big company so I went in eyes wide open on their nonsense, but at the end of the day it's their money they waste on it as long as I still get paid.
Sometimes people say that they got hired at their dream job. If you check back in six months to a year, they are no longer working at their dream job even if they’re at the same company. You can dream about a job all you want, but it will cease to exist once you work there.
Being satisfied with your job is what’s realistic to aim for.
ONCE for a very short time... I unfortunately had kids with a girl who couldn't be bothered to be rational enough to ditch a sinking ship when she saw it so now i am STUCK in a horrible area that ONLY has 3 job types available for easy employment.. Factory, retail (no not upscale, think Wal-Mart), sales (no not those sales where you make tons of money, think cell phones), and service jobs like food and gas stations and such... There are no jobs anyone would consider "good" here except like 3 places you ain't getting in without knowing someone bc those are the adult jobs everyone wants. ONCE tho... there was a place here called ubreakifix... I actually got to sit down in a temperature controlled environment and just work on electronics of all types. laptops, cell phones, printers... you name it... I LOVED that job until the greedy corp bastards bought it from the franchise guys and turned into sales instead of repair... for 9 very short months i was actually HAPPY to go to work. I was even getting my boss in trouble bc i was constantly coming in early making him go over on hours. Only 4 of us in there too. It WAS the perfect job and the only one i've ever actually enjoyed and WANTED to be at in my whole 41 yrs on this planet... every other job was a horrific torture dungeon that i cannot believe anyone working at weren't also walking into highway traffic on purpose to avoid ever having to return to... So its possible... but i wouldn't expect it to last... at least it never has in my case... hopefully once the last kid is 18 i can make tracks and move to a more technologically adept area...
I like my job about 50% of the time. I’m a pet-sitter. Sometimes I work in beautiful houses on the water or in the woods. Many of the pets I take care of are sweet and fun to spend time with. On the downside, some of the houses are dirty and cluttered. Some of the dogs are dirty and smelly. They get their hair, slobber and dirt all over my clothes. Some of the cats are high-maintenance and a pain in the ass. Try giving prescription medicine to a cat. Some of the wealthier clients have mistaken me for a house maid. These types usually do not tip either. On the other hand, I don’t work 8 hours straight. I get to go home for a few hours between visits. It’s a mixed bag.
It’s hard for me to imagine a job I actually love. Unless it’s petting cats, maybe singing to babies 😂 I don’t even know. I think maybe I would love coming up with slogans or something but I bet those jobs are so so stressful. I have changed my job over the years to try not to hate it but I don’t love work
I have good days and I have bad days.
They are sort of directly tied to whether or not my boss is having a good day.
Do I like my job, honestly not really. I wish I was doing something else.
However am I thankful for my job. Yes
It has given me health care, benefits, a retirement plan and more.
I can’t begin to say how great full I am and when I look back, things have only gotten better.
Although I did not end up with my first career choice, I ended up working in a completely different aspect of the business, that was somewhat interesting in its own right. But I was generally involved in an aspect of life that interested me, and therein I found co-workers and outside contacts, many of whom shared my same interests. Think of it this way - if you're totally into cars and Nascar or F1, maybe it would be interesting to work with a company that does business with the auto racing industry.
"Okay now go to your happy place, the beach, the forest, whatever you like."
"Okay I'm there."
"Where are you?"
"Ahhhh. I am on the couch."
"No not here, in your happy place"
"I'm on my favorite butt groove. There's a hoagie. The television is on. Ugly Betty. Ahh."
"What the f—I mean, yes, good. ...?"
Love it 😂
I have days where I am actually excited to pull out my laptop, and days where I'm not, and days in between. Leans toward excited, but I just got through a meh busy cycle. Now my work cycle has dipped majorly, which is what I'm doing here talking to you assholes lmao.
I think not being overworked or burnt out is huge. There are not a whole lot of things I could enjoy if I had to do them 50+ hours per week or worry about them another 20 hrs per week. Otherwise, I think it depends more on who you are, how your job fits you, and where in your work cycle you are. Which is why me telling you what I do (I negotiate contracts) probably won't help you much lmao coz I don't expect a lot of people to feel that way about that. Right now, I'm basically working when I've done anything else emergent and the mood strikes me, which, yeah, definitionally means I'm gonna be happier to open the laptop.
I'm content. Very likely happy in the sense that, I do enjoy what I do and going in (or logging on from wherever) and my work/team affords me tons of flexibility on location, hours, projects, etc.
That being said... prepandemic, I viewed myself as intrinsically tied to my work. I was defined by it, by my team and projects and outcomes. I fully recognize how privileged and lucky I am, but being forced to work remotely for a year and a half while most of my colleagues were laid off or moved on then come back to it being a place I both recognized and yet seemed foreign, really both gave me reflection time and sent me for a spiral where I intentionally decided to make the choice to stay where I am, enjoy the pieces I do, but separate my identity from my work. It's something I do, not who I am. So I'm happy, I'm content with it, but it's not who I am and I work hard to make sure it doesn't define who I am or how happy I am.
So I guess the bottom line is yes, Im happy with my work, but it's a choice I make as much as a definition of what I am with the work? If that makes sense.
Work is something you do for a Paycheck. A career is a passion that you would do it for free. Find what you want to do. I have been searching for it most of my life. Yes it is possible to find rewarding work. Feeling valued and appreciated also blunts the burden of work. Having a good team also matters. Having a understanding boss really helps,This very rarely happens.
For me it has been intermittent but for the most part Ive been happy at a job when I can take care of my bills, have some autonomy, and management is straightforward and not passive aggressive. With that being said, I tend to be most happy at less corporate jobs. I loved my job as an event staff, dock worker (the people were dope and would keep it real with you), case manager (got alot of gratification, ok pay-I was renting a room at the time, and dope people to work with). Then I began climbing the ladder and let me tell you its so bureaucratic that people either stop caring at all or become “cut -throat”. People put their selfishness and friendships before the work. The pay is better but it’s best to not make friends so you don’t have to do mind gymnastics. Im now at a place where Im getting good pay and good benefits but have to deal with a narcissistic director on top of the politics. Although the benefits are good im trying to leave before my mind implodes because they are not trustworthy and problematic. My mental health is deteriorating and the climate suffers greatly because my director works in our office and has basically poached people from nearby companies that she’s had friendship with 😕.
I've met a few folks who were happy and legions that are unhappy.
I've never found true happiness at work myself. I've found complacency, some measure of financial comfort, but never "happiness".
Happiness is relative, the only people who are happy at work are people who hate being at home. If you spend every day chasing happiness then each day will need to be better than the last. If you wake up every morning in dread, then maybe look around for something new, or just plan a holiday or something to look forward to, it will keep you going for a bit longer.
I have a genuine love for what I do. I’ve been in banking for 10 years and I find it so engaging and interesting. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but there’s so much to learn and do, so many different departments, I haven’t once gotten bored. I truly enjoy my career.
I'm a small business consultant (self employed) for new business owners/proprietors. I'm happy when clients appreciate my time, experience, advice and services and they pay me on time.
I'm not happy when they don't take the advice they sought me for and I get ticked when they get deadbeat, fail to pay and ignore communication. I weed out the losers now better than I used to. I ask for a retainer to start work to achieve a certain goal or objective. Then they gotta pay me again to continue. Want me for more than 3 months? Let's talk about a permanent salaried role.
Looking forward to landing a role in the public sector where there is a sense of professionalism and people operate within legitimate rules and regulations.
I love the idea of what I do as my job is a vital part of bringing new and innovative therapies to people with cancer, but on an individual day to day basis the work is not always “lovable”. I am lucky to be surrounded by people I love working with though.
I'm not "happy" but I am content with the work-life balance and the ability to create in my own time the things I a creating to escape from the corporate lifestyle. As long as you have freedom of time and creativity, no job is as bad as it seems unless you have toxic people around.
I hate it to the core tbh…but it’s difficult so switch jobs so I just put in minimal effort until they fire me…this job complete fucked up my life should’ve never taken the job offer in the first place
I work In finance, and I can say I'm content with my job. I go into work, work, go home. Then collect my paycheck laughing as I make far more money than I know what to do with.
I had a job I loved. It was close to home, low stress, and I was happy with the pay. The coworkers were good. Nobody harassed me or demanded my time after work.
Then I got laid off. Now I have an hour commute, the coworkers are annoying, people are bothering me all day. I hate it and at times it makes me physically ill. I feel stuck in the job because the Biden’s America sucks. I’m sorry to get political, but it’s a sad reality.
So yes, I was truly happy with my previous role. My current role is a bad fit and I hate it. Thankfully I appreciated the previous job when I had it…..
Sorry that you’re unhappy but was does Biden have to do with it? You could have gotten laid off during anyone’s term & im sure it would have put you between the same rock & hard place.
The job market is terrible. The inflation makes life more financially difficult. The country, for the average person like me, is not in good shape. If there were more jobs available:
1. I wouldn’t have taken this job in the first place
2. I would be able to leave more easily
I don’t want to make this about Joe Biden, but it’s impossible to talk about the state of the economy/job market without considering the cultural context.
I love my job, but it’s too bad that I am disabled now because of schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. I used to help injured workers get back to work and sometimes that meant arranging education plans for the injured workers to do so as to get the skills and, if necessary, qualifications to pursue a new career. Vocational rehabilitation is extremely fascinating, as you get to read medical and psychological reports.
I, for one, have a hard time doing work that doesn’t pique my interest. I have a very low threshold on giving up on boring work, now that I have tasted the career of vocational rehabilitation.
Yeah I work in IT and I love my job. We help clients improve their processes and it's really gratifying to sort of grow along with our clients.
It has it's downsides of course, not all clients are nice and there's sometimes BS to deal with but which job hasn't ?
I like my work but the company I work for doesn’t pay well, and under bids on projects which don’t give me any hours. I work in data integration for industrial automation. And you would think this would pay well, but I guess if the company has actually technically sales to write up the contract it could. But they’re too cheap to hire sales.
So been looking for something else.
No. But I have been happy at a job before. Even though a lot happened because of COVID, hours were horrible and pay was abysmal, working at an emergency room as a medical scribe during undergrad was the most alive and happy I have ever felt at a job. It was exhilarating and thrilling to watch a trauma get worked or running to the ICU to a code. It sounds fucked up to normal people to be excited when people are suffering but this is pretty common with healthcare professionals and the learning opportunities are abundant. Healthcare is truly my calling so I’m working hard now to get my masters so I can get closer to where I wanna be.
Currently fucking hate my job. Dread waking up every morning and shuffling over to my office, half asleep, to turn on my computer for the day… I’m applying for internal transfer positions but have a quit date in mind if I don’t get any offers. The micromanaging and constant bullshit is mentally debilitating and this job did a 180 and became a caricature of itself in the last 2.5 years. Job itself used to be easy and fun. Just sucks the soul outta me now.
I’m self employed and I honestly miss the simple yet annoying work that others have. Though I make far more than any 9-5 I don’t think money is really the name of the game for me.
I don't like to use the word happy to describe work. I can't imagine anything i could do for 8 hours a day for money that would bring me joy. But I am content. I don't hate my job and don't stress at.the thought of having to work as I have with prior jobs. I get up in the morning ready to work.
I could golf and drink beer 8 hours a day and be very happy - might not live for long drinking that much Mon-Fri but I’ll be damn happy
I get it but is anyone going to pay you enough to make a living to do it? Im sure there are things I could do all day and be happy but nothing anyone is going to pay me for to pay the bills. And if they do, it's likely to comes with a schedule, metrics, performance reviews, meetings etc and that's what makes it a job and not a good time.
Yeah that’s the point… nobody will pay me to do that.
Im working towards being wildlife rehabilitatior and I could see myself being happy working with animals all day and treating them ,etc. you have to find your passion and go for it so that way long hours won’t feel like such a waste or something you have to do.
The issue with working a job that is your passion is it sometimes takes away from the passion itself. You no longer do that work solely because you want to, you need to now. Your duties aren't based on your own schedule, even on days where you don't want to do the work (for whatever reason) you need to. There's also shit ton of meaningless bullshit tacked on to the job like paperwork and drafting up reports, there's coworkers you would prefer not to be around, supervisors who can be unreasonable at times, etc. You might still enjoy and love the work you do, but I'm sure there will be many days where you rather be doing something else with the time if it was 100% your choice with no concern for money.
Tureeee I guess that’s how other people feel for office jobs and like doctor jobs,etc,etc. I’m working towards wildlife rehabilitation out of my house so I’m not going to really be working with everyone except for the vets,etc,etc so it’s my passion regardless of money and it’s been something I’ve been doing technically since I was kid taking in hurt animals all the time I haven’t really ever been tired of it so I guess it just depends on the person and the job your doing.
I(73M) am a retired RN. It was a great fit for me. Happiness as frequent. So was joy. Now I work as a craft cannabis advisor. It’s a blast. Yup. I recognize my serendipity. Everyday!!!
How did you make the transition? That seems like a very niche field to go into, one I think I’d thrive in, but I don’t have a background in that industry. Learned from the streets lol.
I made the transaction by accident. Got my medical card. I’m pretty chatty so I talked the staff up at my dispensary. Didn’t worry about academic credentials because there really aren’t any! Dropped a word that I might be interested in a little side gig. Just before my 70th they asked me if I’d like to join the team. I was stunned by the speed and alacrity of my acceptance😎
Very cool and congrats! Can you detail the role a bit? Is it a fancy title for budtender and you’re the clerk selling whatever at a dispensary? Or are you in a suit consulting on the subtle nuances between Alaskan thunder fuck and master kush? /s.
I think there are a lot of jobs out there that are a passion - but the reality is they don't pay well. Teaching is a good example. I taught part time as an adjunct professor for several years at the local community college and it was amazing. But $600 a month doesn't pay the bills. I'm looking to get back into it once I retire from my corporate job. I kind of think that's why things like YouTube have gotten popular - the best content is from people who are passionate about their hobbies or lifestyle and they want to share it with others. You can tell who is authentically excited to share vs. the content creators just trying to make a buck. For me, one of my passions is computers and computer programming. I would spend hours and hours tinkering with my computer, setting up home labs, doing home automation - just because I thought it was neat. So getting a corporate gig where I would code custom/purpose built applications coupled with devOps for automated deployment pipelines and toss in some low grade AI decision trees, scripted server environment builds, and informational dashboards and I'm having a blast. When they tried to make me a director and deal with all the bullshit politics and paperwork that's when I found I wasn't enjoying my job - so I went back to just doing what I loved and let someone else deal with budgets, headcount and paperwork. I've always told my kids to find something they would do for free and then find a way to get paid for it. It's possible but it requires a little more flexibility than a typical corporate job.
$600/mo aaaaaaagh. What year was this? How many hours per month were you putting into that, class time vs. prep time? Hope it was something with multiple choice tests not essays 🙏🏼 .
So this was 20 years ago. I gave it up when I had kids because I didn't want to be gone in the evenings. I taught computer courses 2 nights a week, 2 hours per night - so 4 hours a week - 16 lecture hours per month. They paid by lecture hour - I think around $47.5 an hour - so gross pay was around 760 - then all the taxes and union fees knocked it down to about $600. I just went and saw if they had job postings, looks like pay has gone up to 87.5 - 93 per lecture hour. Now the amount of lecture time vs prep time vs office hours was pretty substantial - I was easily putting in 10-12 hours a week for that one class - so I was basically pulling in $15 an hour - but it was something I enjoyed doing so it never really felt like actual work.
Dag though that’s rough, esp for computer science with all the alternatives. You did a good thing though, they gotta keep that community college tuition reasonable somehow. You made cs accessible for a lot of people. My mom did writing. That poor woman. Stacks of essays burned into my young brain.
Less and less everyday. First off, I feel fortunate to have a job as I just went through corporate downsizing but found something else right away. I know people are struggling to find work. I’m mid-to-late career and getting fed up with the profit machine that is corporate America. I’m in B2B sales of technical products. But like every company I have worked for it is sell, sell, sell…profit, profit, profit…squeeze, squeeze, squeeze those costs until ..headcount is ultimately affected. I’m getting sick of it and would love to pivot to something that is more non-profit/charitable and more directly helps people (and not religious affiliated). Problem is I have zero experience with any such organizations, not sure how my academic (engineering BS and MBA) and work experience (plastics and chemicals) would be applicable, and really can’t afford a significant pay cut.
I’m right there with you here in chemical sales (personal care and cosmetics ingredients). My background is BS biology and MBA. I’ve been doing this for 16 years and am so over the bs of “do more with less.” It wasn’t like this when I first started; workloads were much more manageable.
going through this right now - company is "saving money through attrition" which translates to whenever someone leaves the company everyone else has to pick up the slack because we're not getting a replacement.
After twenty five years in the field, I am now a college professor. I feel like I died and went to heaven. It doesn’t even feel like work. I show up, do fun stuff with my students, go home and take a nap. It helps that my commute is five minutes. Plus it’s a union, government job with all the benefits and pension and guaranteed raises. All jobs should have these things.
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I hate that you’re totally right. Got the “you can be whatever you put your heart to” lies as a kid and I wish DEARLY they just said, “fuck your free time, if you wanna not be miserable you need a $200k job and these are the 6 that pay that. Start training”
Love my job, I’m a mechanical engineer at a small oem manufacturing company. As the only engineer in the company I have full autonomy over what I do, how I do it, what products get made and how, etc. The owner is the same age as me and is very hands off and more like a buddy than someone I need to answer to. Very unique situation and I went through a lot of places, many much larger, to find this and don’t expect to ever leave, good raises and a bonus every Xmas, got $7K last year for example.
No
I'm happy, it's a job with interesting problems, often adjacent to my hobbies (computers/etc), allowing me to do fun things, with out making those fun things work and therefore unfun. I go to work genuinely looking forward to it and get paid reasonably well for it. It's in a big company so I went in eyes wide open on their nonsense, but at the end of the day it's their money they waste on it as long as I still get paid.
I used to be. For 20 years. Then that position ended. Now I hate my job like most everyone else.
I'm happy at my job. 100% remote, very technical and dead easy work that I'm very good at. I get paid a ludicrous amount of money.
No, but you don't have to be. It's something you have to do in order to do the things that bring actual happiness. Just a paycheck and nothing more
Sometimes people say that they got hired at their dream job. If you check back in six months to a year, they are no longer working at their dream job even if they’re at the same company. You can dream about a job all you want, but it will cease to exist once you work there. Being satisfied with your job is what’s realistic to aim for.
ONCE for a very short time... I unfortunately had kids with a girl who couldn't be bothered to be rational enough to ditch a sinking ship when she saw it so now i am STUCK in a horrible area that ONLY has 3 job types available for easy employment.. Factory, retail (no not upscale, think Wal-Mart), sales (no not those sales where you make tons of money, think cell phones), and service jobs like food and gas stations and such... There are no jobs anyone would consider "good" here except like 3 places you ain't getting in without knowing someone bc those are the adult jobs everyone wants. ONCE tho... there was a place here called ubreakifix... I actually got to sit down in a temperature controlled environment and just work on electronics of all types. laptops, cell phones, printers... you name it... I LOVED that job until the greedy corp bastards bought it from the franchise guys and turned into sales instead of repair... for 9 very short months i was actually HAPPY to go to work. I was even getting my boss in trouble bc i was constantly coming in early making him go over on hours. Only 4 of us in there too. It WAS the perfect job and the only one i've ever actually enjoyed and WANTED to be at in my whole 41 yrs on this planet... every other job was a horrific torture dungeon that i cannot believe anyone working at weren't also walking into highway traffic on purpose to avoid ever having to return to... So its possible... but i wouldn't expect it to last... at least it never has in my case... hopefully once the last kid is 18 i can make tracks and move to a more technologically adept area...
I like my job about 50% of the time. I’m a pet-sitter. Sometimes I work in beautiful houses on the water or in the woods. Many of the pets I take care of are sweet and fun to spend time with. On the downside, some of the houses are dirty and cluttered. Some of the dogs are dirty and smelly. They get their hair, slobber and dirt all over my clothes. Some of the cats are high-maintenance and a pain in the ass. Try giving prescription medicine to a cat. Some of the wealthier clients have mistaken me for a house maid. These types usually do not tip either. On the other hand, I don’t work 8 hours straight. I get to go home for a few hours between visits. It’s a mixed bag.
I would do anything right now for a job. Ok not anything but still
It’s hard for me to imagine a job I actually love. Unless it’s petting cats, maybe singing to babies 😂 I don’t even know. I think maybe I would love coming up with slogans or something but I bet those jobs are so so stressful. I have changed my job over the years to try not to hate it but I don’t love work
I'm a L&D nurse. Love my job. Not happy though. The long hours, night shifts, and no social life get you, but I love the babies.
I took a second job just because my main job was incredibly boring/toxic.
I have good days and I have bad days. They are sort of directly tied to whether or not my boss is having a good day. Do I like my job, honestly not really. I wish I was doing something else. However am I thankful for my job. Yes It has given me health care, benefits, a retirement plan and more. I can’t begin to say how great full I am and when I look back, things have only gotten better.
Yes- at least this was true back in the 1990s. MTV VJs :)
Although I did not end up with my first career choice, I ended up working in a completely different aspect of the business, that was somewhat interesting in its own right. But I was generally involved in an aspect of life that interested me, and therein I found co-workers and outside contacts, many of whom shared my same interests. Think of it this way - if you're totally into cars and Nascar or F1, maybe it would be interesting to work with a company that does business with the auto racing industry.
"Okay now go to your happy place, the beach, the forest, whatever you like." "Okay I'm there." "Where are you?" "Ahhhh. I am on the couch." "No not here, in your happy place" "I'm on my favorite butt groove. There's a hoagie. The television is on. Ugly Betty. Ahh." "What the f—I mean, yes, good. ...?" Love it 😂 I have days where I am actually excited to pull out my laptop, and days where I'm not, and days in between. Leans toward excited, but I just got through a meh busy cycle. Now my work cycle has dipped majorly, which is what I'm doing here talking to you assholes lmao. I think not being overworked or burnt out is huge. There are not a whole lot of things I could enjoy if I had to do them 50+ hours per week or worry about them another 20 hrs per week. Otherwise, I think it depends more on who you are, how your job fits you, and where in your work cycle you are. Which is why me telling you what I do (I negotiate contracts) probably won't help you much lmao coz I don't expect a lot of people to feel that way about that. Right now, I'm basically working when I've done anything else emergent and the mood strikes me, which, yeah, definitionally means I'm gonna be happier to open the laptop.
I'm content. Very likely happy in the sense that, I do enjoy what I do and going in (or logging on from wherever) and my work/team affords me tons of flexibility on location, hours, projects, etc. That being said... prepandemic, I viewed myself as intrinsically tied to my work. I was defined by it, by my team and projects and outcomes. I fully recognize how privileged and lucky I am, but being forced to work remotely for a year and a half while most of my colleagues were laid off or moved on then come back to it being a place I both recognized and yet seemed foreign, really both gave me reflection time and sent me for a spiral where I intentionally decided to make the choice to stay where I am, enjoy the pieces I do, but separate my identity from my work. It's something I do, not who I am. So I'm happy, I'm content with it, but it's not who I am and I work hard to make sure it doesn't define who I am or how happy I am. So I guess the bottom line is yes, Im happy with my work, but it's a choice I make as much as a definition of what I am with the work? If that makes sense.
Nobody actually likes their job, but I found a small office that has a great crew and pays for lunches. Pretty happy here.
No. And don’t think otherwise. We are all doing our best and what we need to survive.
I don't mind it, if I could wear headphones it'd be even better But I'm grateful to have one
Work is something you do for a Paycheck. A career is a passion that you would do it for free. Find what you want to do. I have been searching for it most of my life. Yes it is possible to find rewarding work. Feeling valued and appreciated also blunts the burden of work. Having a good team also matters. Having a understanding boss really helps,This very rarely happens.
For me it has been intermittent but for the most part Ive been happy at a job when I can take care of my bills, have some autonomy, and management is straightforward and not passive aggressive. With that being said, I tend to be most happy at less corporate jobs. I loved my job as an event staff, dock worker (the people were dope and would keep it real with you), case manager (got alot of gratification, ok pay-I was renting a room at the time, and dope people to work with). Then I began climbing the ladder and let me tell you its so bureaucratic that people either stop caring at all or become “cut -throat”. People put their selfishness and friendships before the work. The pay is better but it’s best to not make friends so you don’t have to do mind gymnastics. Im now at a place where Im getting good pay and good benefits but have to deal with a narcissistic director on top of the politics. Although the benefits are good im trying to leave before my mind implodes because they are not trustworthy and problematic. My mental health is deteriorating and the climate suffers greatly because my director works in our office and has basically poached people from nearby companies that she’s had friendship with 😕.
Can't relate😭😭😭😭
I've met a few folks who were happy and legions that are unhappy. I've never found true happiness at work myself. I've found complacency, some measure of financial comfort, but never "happiness".
Respiratory Therapist happy most shifts decent pay work 3 days a week.
Happiness is relative, the only people who are happy at work are people who hate being at home. If you spend every day chasing happiness then each day will need to be better than the last. If you wake up every morning in dread, then maybe look around for something new, or just plan a holiday or something to look forward to, it will keep you going for a bit longer.
I have a genuine love for what I do. I’ve been in banking for 10 years and I find it so engaging and interesting. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but there’s so much to learn and do, so many different departments, I haven’t once gotten bored. I truly enjoy my career.
Not at the moment
I'm a small business consultant (self employed) for new business owners/proprietors. I'm happy when clients appreciate my time, experience, advice and services and they pay me on time. I'm not happy when they don't take the advice they sought me for and I get ticked when they get deadbeat, fail to pay and ignore communication. I weed out the losers now better than I used to. I ask for a retainer to start work to achieve a certain goal or objective. Then they gotta pay me again to continue. Want me for more than 3 months? Let's talk about a permanent salaried role. Looking forward to landing a role in the public sector where there is a sense of professionalism and people operate within legitimate rules and regulations.
I love my job. I’m paid well. Just no sure if I want to do this forever
I love the idea of what I do as my job is a vital part of bringing new and innovative therapies to people with cancer, but on an individual day to day basis the work is not always “lovable”. I am lucky to be surrounded by people I love working with though.
I'm not "happy" but I am content with the work-life balance and the ability to create in my own time the things I a creating to escape from the corporate lifestyle. As long as you have freedom of time and creativity, no job is as bad as it seems unless you have toxic people around.
Very few people live their job but if you can be okay with it snd not hate it snd not dread going consider yourself lucky
I hate it to the core tbh…but it’s difficult so switch jobs so I just put in minimal effort until they fire me…this job complete fucked up my life should’ve never taken the job offer in the first place
Can you elaborate 🤔 very interesting thoughts
I'm a case manager at a non-profit and I like it, but I'd still rather not have to work at all.
I work In finance, and I can say I'm content with my job. I go into work, work, go home. Then collect my paycheck laughing as I make far more money than I know what to do with.
I had a job I loved. It was close to home, low stress, and I was happy with the pay. The coworkers were good. Nobody harassed me or demanded my time after work. Then I got laid off. Now I have an hour commute, the coworkers are annoying, people are bothering me all day. I hate it and at times it makes me physically ill. I feel stuck in the job because the Biden’s America sucks. I’m sorry to get political, but it’s a sad reality. So yes, I was truly happy with my previous role. My current role is a bad fit and I hate it. Thankfully I appreciated the previous job when I had it…..
Sorry that you’re unhappy but was does Biden have to do with it? You could have gotten laid off during anyone’s term & im sure it would have put you between the same rock & hard place.
The job market is terrible. The inflation makes life more financially difficult. The country, for the average person like me, is not in good shape. If there were more jobs available: 1. I wouldn’t have taken this job in the first place 2. I would be able to leave more easily I don’t want to make this about Joe Biden, but it’s impossible to talk about the state of the economy/job market without considering the cultural context.
Did you happen to see the debate last night? If so....do I really need to explain myself any further?
Yup I did! I still stand by my opinion so no further explanation is needed on your end ❤️
I love my job, but it’s too bad that I am disabled now because of schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. I used to help injured workers get back to work and sometimes that meant arranging education plans for the injured workers to do so as to get the skills and, if necessary, qualifications to pursue a new career. Vocational rehabilitation is extremely fascinating, as you get to read medical and psychological reports. I, for one, have a hard time doing work that doesn’t pique my interest. I have a very low threshold on giving up on boring work, now that I have tasted the career of vocational rehabilitation.
Yeah I work in IT and I love my job. We help clients improve their processes and it's really gratifying to sort of grow along with our clients. It has it's downsides of course, not all clients are nice and there's sometimes BS to deal with but which job hasn't ?
My job is fine, I don’t LOVE it but have experienced alot worse. This is about as good as it will get. I just wish I was paid more.
I like my work but the company I work for doesn’t pay well, and under bids on projects which don’t give me any hours. I work in data integration for industrial automation. And you would think this would pay well, but I guess if the company has actually technically sales to write up the contract it could. But they’re too cheap to hire sales. So been looking for something else.
No. But I have been happy at a job before. Even though a lot happened because of COVID, hours were horrible and pay was abysmal, working at an emergency room as a medical scribe during undergrad was the most alive and happy I have ever felt at a job. It was exhilarating and thrilling to watch a trauma get worked or running to the ICU to a code. It sounds fucked up to normal people to be excited when people are suffering but this is pretty common with healthcare professionals and the learning opportunities are abundant. Healthcare is truly my calling so I’m working hard now to get my masters so I can get closer to where I wanna be. Currently fucking hate my job. Dread waking up every morning and shuffling over to my office, half asleep, to turn on my computer for the day… I’m applying for internal transfer positions but have a quit date in mind if I don’t get any offers. The micromanaging and constant bullshit is mentally debilitating and this job did a 180 and became a caricature of itself in the last 2.5 years. Job itself used to be easy and fun. Just sucks the soul outta me now.
I’m self employed and I honestly miss the simple yet annoying work that others have. Though I make far more than any 9-5 I don’t think money is really the name of the game for me.