Do You Enjoy Your Job?

I posted a thread ages ago along similar lines, but i'm not really enjoying my job after having a dream job last year that I loved (FTC, with the job being redundant after the contract, so no chance of staying).

Do you enjoy your job? I'm starting to wonder if it'll always just be a means to an end for me...

If you don't enjoy it, why do you think that is? For me it's just awful, awful management. Everything about my job I should enjoy, but the manager of our department is so bad it just makes the job very unenjoyable.

 

Most of the time when people are unhappy, it is down to their immediate manager.

At my last job, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there under two different managers. Then I got my third one, and it became a miserable experience.

Luckily I landed my current job and I'm back to being happy again.

 

I've wondered this. I've taken steps back to get into the industry I wanted to, took a while to get in and work my way back up and I still hate it. Last year I had really good management and loved it. This year the opposite. I wonder if I would enjoy a job in any industry (I do marketing, so could go into most industries in some capacity) if I had a good boss. The problem is it took so much aggro and effort to get into this industry I don't want to give up on it yet.

 

This is very true . I hate my job and have done for about 2 years. My manager , although he appears quite reasonable , has never made any attempt to help me develop and I have just stagnated .I have had endless conversations with him and nothing ever changes. Sadly , I have generally found there are a lot more bad managers around than good ones.


Having said that, although I’m looking to move on I’m still somewhat grateful to have a decently paid job and cautious about jumping into something else under the current circumstances.

 

It’s a difficult one, because if you like your job its very difficult to second guess what any new company would be like so it can always be out of the frying pan and into the fire. Lots of companies spout rubbish about their culture and career progression etc, but ultimately they’re no different to potential employees who bullsh1t in an interview. Companies bullsh1t just as much. Probably the closest you can get to verifying it is Glassdoor, which can generally give you a gauge of what it’s like to work there, but generally speaking it’s just pot luck.

 

Like my job, excellent senior management. Get frustrated by inertia in some other departments as well as politics and red tape, but overall enjoy it, find it challenging and have an excellent work life balance. Lots of smart colleagues with good sense of humour as well. I also like mentoring and developing people and get lots of opportunity to do that.

 

^ This.

The number 1 rule to learn, and learn early:

HR exists to protect the employer. HR does not exist to protect you.

Any time you put HR between yourself and the company they will ALWAYS favour your employer unless something flat out illegal is going on (e.g. sexual harassment), and even then you probably need evidence.

So many businesses claim they "care about their employees", but it's absolute nonsense. Loyalty to an employer is a waste of time; always do what's right for you in terms of your career, and if that means moving on so be it. Your employer will dump you in an instant if you become inconvenient to them.

 

For me a job is only enjoyable if it's mentally challenging/stimulating, some autonomy, workload is manageable, sensible commute (not london, never again!) have a good relationship with my boss and like the people who work for me and peers. I have that in this role but usually there are good and bad points. The last job paid £40k a year more than this one but I likened it to working for Satan. The owner was a scary utter *******. Screwed me out of £25k when I left but when I heard he had forensic auditors in and was looking into the value of ny house I decided against legal action ! The CEO in this job is a really good bloke. Happy if this turned out to be my last job but doubt it.

 

Yes. I find my work interesting and have a high degree of autonomy, which makes a big difference. When a job has been less so is usually due to an avalanche of responsibilities that make it difficult to do anything strategic or take time to try a new approach.

 

My last job was a weird one, I did enjoy it but more so because the place was almost cult like. There were some brilliant perks, but in one year I took 8 days holiday and pretty much worked 7-7 every day, and that’s not allowing for the commute into London as well. Nobody complained because it was the done thing, but that’s what I mean by cult, it was a given that everyone did it and they are well know for it, you didn’t join for an easy life. Ultimately I was kidding myself, although I enjoyed the work and the environment it was no way to live. In the end I felt like a zombie getting out of bed at 5am every day and getting home after 8pm without ever really taking any time off. The weekends were generally a write off as I was so exhausted.

 

Sounds a lot like the work culture in Japan. Was it a Japanese firm?

You're right that it's no life. I like what I do, but I work to live, I don't live to work.

 

No not Japanese, but I know what you mean. Because you’re working with like minded people you get wrapped up in it, it just becomes a given. Nobody ever put out of offices on, even when they did go on holiday you were just expected to work if you had to, you’d get calls at the weekend from managers, but it was all just a given. Very cult like though because obviously it’s in the senior managements interests to create such an environment. The monetary rewards were potentially very good, but there is way more to life.

 

My day job = no
My football job = yes

 

I work in travel which is one of the worst to be in currently
Company making redundancies which has been worrying but job secure for now.
For me job is a means to an end, think it could be my last as only a few years left to retirement

 

Love my job. Of course the pay and conditions areshit but the job itself is top notch. Really satisfying. You'd have to do it to understand.

For example last week I went to get a bloke up in the morning, nice old boy he is - can never say thank you enough. He has a stoma bag. A pooh bag you know. Yes we are trained to clean and change those also. Well the bag had burst and overflowed in the night and the bed was full of it right up to the pillowcase. The pyjamas and him. It was not good and because the pooh has not been processed by the gut fully, I am sorry to say it fackin' reeks.

The shame was the old boy was in live tears and SO embarrassed and upset. He is a proud man who has done a lot with his life and told me his stories.

Well of course I sorted him out and then an hour later when I went to leave I turned round at the bedroom door and he was propped up on his pillows in a clean fresh bed, all washed and clean PJs and teeth and hair brushed and mattress flipped, morning pills all taken with his tea and toast on his lap, he was a different person. All smiles. I think to myself, yeah job done there.

Oh and thanks again for all that clapping. Just a gentle reminder about the erm payrise you mentioned?

 

I don't think I was ever cut out for office work and I don't particularly like it and yet somehow I find I've fallen into 25 years of it to date.

Covid has afforded me the luxury of WFH on full pay since my lad was born so can't complain too much being around the house all day to watch him grow.

I've often wanted to start my own little company - man with a van, basic gardener, bit of a handy man or something but never had the guts to risk losing the pay I get.

Maybe I'm too old now but I think the conditions of my return to the office after so long may feed my desire to start something new.

 

Head towards a place, company, organisation, role where you think you’d like to be, however ambitious and get your foot in the door. Not sure how many responsibilities you have, it’s not always easy to let the income slide to follow your dreams/instinct, but if you don’t have many right now then now is the time. You can always get a steady role and income later.

 

Hate it.
Apart from the odd year and job here or there I've always hated working. The initial buzz I used to get from helping people out (tech support roles) disappeared as people became less grateful more demanding and rude.

It's the not being able to do what you want when you want thing for me. Even owning your own business ( I consulted for a while) you're still at the beck and call off customers accountants, tax man or regulators.

Out of furlough I've been working from home on a reduced working week and hence salary. It's at break even level form me. I won't be going back full time, had enough and I'm seriously considering early retirement, which I can just about manage if I continue to live frugally.

 

Should of got him a bag for life

 

My job is, and has always been, a means to an end. I'm simply not interested enough in the work I've done since university to get into it. Worked for Camelot for 6 years then TfL for 14, both relatively interesting subject matter, but I always looked at people well into their job with a sense of bewilderment. Some projects were quite engaging, but I've almost always just stopped thinking about work the minute I left the building.

I think it's probably because I'm so into stuff like football, travelling around and everything related to south east Europe, cooking, running etc. that the work just feels boring. The things I'm into are never going to give me anywhere my current salary, so I effectively just block out the working day as time written off to funding my real life.

My dad was a workaholic who did long hours for no real reward. Seeing that growing up, I always vowed I was never going to let work be my life. I'm well paid and do a good job, but my mind is always on my family, interests and what I'm doing away from work. Possibly if I did a job that really mattered and made a difference to individuals lives (like Clive) I would feel differently. When my kids are adults, I plan to run a support group for kids with disabled siblings and will definitely get more out of that than workshops, strategies and business life.

 

I taught for 5 years, and genuinely loved every day. I don’t remember waking up and dreading going to work, although I definitely felt like I earned every penny and it wasn’t always possible to switch off the moment I walked out, considering some of the students and issues I dealt with regarding their school and home loved. My wife also teaches, and with a growing family of our own, I began to feel as though the time, effort, and compensation (particularly health insurance and others benefits) wasn’t quite worth the satisfaction that came from the relationships build and differences made.

About 2 years ago, I took a punt on a midstream job with one of the big oil and gas companies, that I wasn’t really qualified for, but managed to bag through the fortune of a great interview, helped in no small part by the fact one of my interviewers kids all went through the High School I was teaching at. English accent is useful too.

I thought I’d be giving up some of the job satisfaction I had teaching, in favor of better compensation/career development, but honestly, I really enjoy what I’m doing now. I work in a small team, with a good group of people who I’m able to have frank and honest business conversations with.

Over the years, I’ve learned that the work itself isn’t really what makes the job, it’s the people I work with.
I’d imagine finding my current job a bit of a grind if I didn’t enjoy the time spent with the people I work with, in the same way that teaching would be a hideous grind if I didn’t enjoy being paid to make fun of kids all day.

 

I think i'm the same as you. There is a guy at work who reads business books 'to become better at my job' as he puts it. I couldn't think of anything worst than reading about marketing when i'm not at work, mainly because I couldn't give a ****.

 

Do it. You won't regret it. I suffered being an office boy for quite a few years and although the money was better and the hours easier, I always despised the office culture and the round robin emails and the cakes for jenny's birthday and the endless endless pointless meetings. Meetings in the morning, meeting for lunch, then an afternoon meeting. Oh team! Team!

Number one reason I left and went to the job I do now was to escape the office. Number two was to do something useful rather than shuffle papers.

It hasn't escaped the attention of even my semi-literate, technophobic, dimmeloh bosses that because of past experience I am maybe more adapted to clerical work than some of my comrade carers, but I have made it clear - no office! I help them out with some of their data entry from home sometimes and occasionally gently point out some of their more riotous spelling and grammatical errors but that's it!

 

That's the key in any job. Good people make a pleasant experience.

 

I graduated in 2014 and thought I’d just stroll into a job at a water company. Underwhelmed by my options and with a crippling disease called ‘being a lazy ****’ meant I started helping my dad out at his flooring business. He’d been a one man band for about 10 years, doing a bit of rep work on the side for some contacts. We started growing the business and before I knew it years had passed! We employ two more people now, we’ve got some great customers and two lovely units side by side with an office and a great workshop. We’ve been really lucky this year, not only have we qualified for plenty of financial help but our main customers are still going strong. It’s a pain in the arse buying oak for our flooring accessories but other than that it’s almost like nothing has happened.

I love it, I’m so lucky that I had the opportunity to benefit from nepotism but knowing that one day it’ll all be mine (unless my old man is a lying *******) is constant motivation. I’ve come to realise that what my best mates do, which is all based around IT, being in big offices and having to wear a smart shirt everyday just wouldn’t be for me. Everyday is different and while I’ve had the odd moment where I’ve felt like I should find something that isn’t the family business I’m glad that I’ve stuck it out. I think I felt a sense of shame for while, like working in a family business is inherently unchallenging and unworthy but I’ve come to terms with it now. When I met my partner a few years ago I almost envied the stress and struggle of her being a primary school teacher (She really gives a ****, she’ll be a great Head Teacher one day) but now, like I said, I’ve come to appreciate the position I’m in.

 

But you bottled it?

 

That attitude wouldn't wash there?

 

You weren’t flushed with success?

 

Non, je ne regrette evian.

 

I work in travel as well Guy. Agree with you - this is not a great time for the industry at all.

What do you do within travel? DM me if you prefer.

Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk

 

Ah you absolutely don't know how much I'd love too but at 44 and with no particular set of skills other than general DIY I'm not sure exactly where I could ever really go now without spending a lot of money and time on training to do something new.

Wife's on mat leave until December so I guess will see what happens if/when she goes back to work full time.

 

Yes there's a big pool of jobs on tap in that sector.

 

TV seems like an interesting industry. My brother in law is a TV producer, and gets to travel the world whilst being paid and seemingly having the best time. As a result though he has almost no personal life. If he starts seeing a girl, he's off to the middle of nowhere in America again for 9 months.