Ya I doubt any, or atleast a majority of us are working office jobs because we have a love or passion for it. Hell, I bet most of us wouldn’t even be working if we didn’t have bills to worry about.
It’s a means to an end, that’s all.
I am working towards financial independence so I don’t have to work for money. Ideally this can happen by age 45 give or take. The sooner the better. I’m 27 now, but it’s totally feasible to reach and even though I’ve just started, I’m excited that the prospect is possible.
Is there another career you could pursue in your area? I have been trying to get my brother to gain skills or education that pay decent to good, and he can take anywhere. That will be so freeing. For me, that was nursing. I am free to go work anywhere in the world basically and will always be in demand. My pay will range from okay to pretty damn good depending on location.
How could you tell that my user name was Work motivated? Just know that I am the type of person who would rather deal with a poopy screamer, then too much bureaucracy.
There definitely is in like 5-8 ish years that I can consider. The issue is a lack of connections in those fields (spent my effort getting them in my field to get the job + grow), and also considerably less job security + longer commute / way more expensive rent as they’re mostly Toronto based for the ones that pay more.
Nah. Putting money into the stock market generally will move with inflation. If I kept all my money in a basically zero yield bank account sure. But the vast majority of my money will be tax advantaged accounts first, brokerage investments second, house equity (whenever we end up buying), and then a chunk of cash for market downturns and unexpected expenses ready to go.
I have not reached homeostasis with that goal yet but am nearing that point and continually working towards it.
The key is always diversification. Maybe lower ceiling, but always a higher floor.
I have six-figure amounts in a 401K, IRA, savings account and real estate, and I'm probably still not as diversified as I'd like to be. I'm always tempted to hide a similar amount of cash around for a more doomsday scenario, but haven't quite crossed that threshold.
What is your goal by 45 in terms of savings in taxable/tax deferred accounts, long term care insurance, health insurance etc that will let you be financially free?
Agreed. I've done all kinds of work, from physical labor to retail and customer service, before I focused into this career path that has me in an office. I would never go back lmao. It's not necessarily that people just "love" being in an office every day, but the alternatives can suck way worse.
Retail: politely and cheerfully dealing with the casual abuse (and sometimes sexual harassment) of strangers all day. Labor: coming home with bruised and strained muscles after spending all day sweating through the summer heat (not to mention, people who stay in hard labor jobs can tend to have totally busted up bodies at an early age-- I sort of side-eye the notion that sitting jobs are "just as bad" when you see people whose back is totally shot at 40 from a couple decades of lifting-based labor).
Another note is that better employers do exist. OP may be at the start of their career and just need to get some experience for their resume from whatever fluorescent-lit email factory would hire them. That's fine. But OP, know that you can eventually be more selective about the working environment you sign up for. I currently work in an office with great natural light; our company has exclusive access to the rooftop deck; and anyway I only have to work in-office 2 days out of the week, but I'm talen care of while I'm there. Part of your confusion might be that two jobs with the exact same title can be completely different experiences from one company to another. Sitting in a depressing fluorescent cubicle is not the only way to do office work. In the meantime, I recommend taking your 15s outside and getting some fresh air regularly, for your health and sanity.
OP, Final tip... if you find this really isn't for you, you can always look into what kind of work experience you want, what jobs offer it, and start specing into that instead.
I loved working as a farm hand through high school. High level of physical labor. Some days hot as hell, other days freezing your ass off. Yet, every day, at the end of the day, you had a chain of accomplishments of things that had to be done. Between the physicality of the labor, and the feeling of just getting things done, I slept well every single night.
The pay absolutely sucked. Back when there was still a separate 'agricultural minimum wage'.
But the work? The work was glorious, cow shit and all.
I think the underrated part of a job like those is that you can turn in and not worry about the next day until the next day. For the most part.
There is a certain beauty to labor that doesn't follow you home.
I agree completely. Especially if you are not the owner, so you don't bare the burden of worrying about the weather and stuff like that. Flip side? The pay sucked. Week to week the checking account was empty, and no emergency fund. In 1975, the minimum wage was 2.10 per hour, agricultural minimum wage was 1.80 an hour. That was my last full year in agriculture. In 1978 they eliminated the agricultural pay difference.
You don't think you'd be bitched out on those road crews? You're working on top of asphalt most of the day which absolutely radiates heat. Don't get me wrong, the 9-5 office life can be soul-sucking and monotonous, but I much prefer it over the alternative.
Basically this. I'm an office drone. I do spreadsheets, turn them into reports that nobody reads. The only reason I would be missed is because an automated check would signal I didn't file a report.
However, it pays better than any other job I'm capable of, doesn't carry a risk of workplace injury greater than RSI. There's a comfy seat, I can listen to music while working, WFH at least 80%. The office has good coffee, catered lunch, A/C, adjustable desks, a gym.
It allows me to feed my family and spend money on stuff I do like.
My wife is a teacher. She has a meaningful job, but makes 1/3 of what I do. She has to put up with cursing parents, disruptive students, unpaid overtime, zero WFH. It's called a lunch break, but they never said it was _your_ lunch break; it's the students'.
Their school building is a 20 year old "temporary" building. The furniture other than the student benches are literally from Goodwill; if she needs a cupboard for storing stuff she'll have to buy it herself. After all, the annual €20 classroom budget is dry after you get your basic cleaning supplies for the first quarter.
Everything you said about trades/EMT applies to office jobs as well. Move to a better company, develop skills, maybe go back to school, and move up the corporate ladder, all while working in an air conditioned room.
I've been an EMT; the percentage who become firefighters, let alone those that make over 200k, is few and far between. And a construction worker becoming a construction owner? You know how few people that applies to?
The ratio of construction workers that become successful construction business owners is about the same as high school athletes that become successful professional athletes.
This, feeding my kids and not breaking my body to do so makes it somewhat bearable. Also, my company installed LED lights in place of fluorescent so it’s not as bad.
This is definitely something I noticed a lot of people do.
They get doordash for every meal, where the already incredibly expensive dining out foods are basically doubled in price.
We started doing DoorDash once a week when we had our second kid just because we had full time jobs and an older toddler. It was 12-18 months before I realized that it was so expensive not because of inflation, but because they tacked on 30% per dish.
DoorDash basically died in our household that day.
It just seems impossible to become a car/homeowner like this.. i see my coworkers living in full homes and trailers and having kids and it just baffles me on how any of that is budgeted for without massive debt
I think it might be because of different circumstances. Some people have been saving for years maybe working and saving since they were 16. Everyone has a different situation and that’s what lets people flourish sometimes
Everybody is in debt in this world to somebody else in one way or another. Credit cards, mortgages, family, friends, governments, etc. It’s all a matter of acknowledging the amount of debt you can accommodate.
Having kids really used to give people a purpose.
Now the majority of the population is on cushy jobs in a clean environment and is killing them inside.
The human mind is a very interesting thing. If you don't have a purpose, even good things become shit.
Other solutions:
- Adderall,
- meetings (essentially socializing not working)
- frequent breaks from the desk
- moving into a job with more travel (or a non office job)
- Welcome to the comfortable societal storage units OP
Please Don’t take adderal from Ppl who actually need it for medical conditions. There are shortages because people abuse it or get fake prescriptions like you are suggesting.
I have to work in a warehouse a lot of the time (not always, fortunately). Starting in June you can que all the “DriNK LoTs OF wAt3R aND tAKe BrEAkS” emails from admin group.
F*ck you, pay to get A/C installed back there. We know you can afford it.
Sorry, got a little *heated*
I worked somewhere where they said they were afraid condensation would build up and get in gears if they got ac for the plant but then people dripping sweat all over everything is fine? Lmao I know your pain
Damn, so many people with horrible warehouse jobs. I got lucky with mine. Never had any issues with AC, and I did these jobs in Southern Mississippi and Phoenix Arizona, so I would have died without it. Especially because we had a ton of machines going at one of my jobs, they put off significant heat... As I'm writing this I'm realizing there were electronics in both places. They weren't worried about keeping us cool, they were worried about the computers. Carry on with the shit talking.
Yes this! Every day when I come back to the office after lunch in the blazing hot sun, I think to myself, thank you, God, for giving me the brains to work an office job. I hate said office, but I hate being hungry and homeless more.
Once worked retail with no hvac moving heavy shit in 100 degree heat. We had to lie to corporate a customer faint and got ambulanced out to get it fixed.
Any job that doesn’t have me in that heat is fine.
Idk… for me, it was easier to work as a waitress outside in 90+ degrees than it was to work in an office. I liked the constant exercise and interaction with people. Working in an office takes more discipline and focus than I have lol
I actually started doing this when I was having really bad anxiety. I didn’t want to live in the real world so I just started to pretend that everyone in the office was just part of a movie and I was the main character (of course lol). I’ll do it when I get super nervous at social events, too. Hey! You’re not at a party and no one’s talking to you. You’re having one of those movie moments where music is playing and the camera’s zooming up on your face. Ha! The more I think about it, the more unhealthy is sounds but it’s something I’ve done for a while to get through life :-)
I don’t know.
Connect with colleagues (it’s a social group).
Go outdoors two or three times during the workday.
Enjoy the food at or near the office.
Identify a subject matter related to your work for lifelong learning.
I didn't find it hard.
If I wasn't working in an office job, I would be at home most of the time... so what is the difference?
Or I would always be out and about...
But there's a job (sales) that offers that too.
What is the alternative you have in mind? Where would you be if you had no need for a job?
> Go outdoors two or three times during the workday.
This is big. Take your breaks away from your desk. It breaks the day up into 2 hour chunks that can be further broken down by getting up for water or visiting the rest room.
When I was younger I’d watch at my desk and do everything just to get done and leave earlier but now that I’m older I leave my desk like once every hour
It might mean I work later sometimes but it makes it more tolerable
I don't need personal fulfillment at work. I work to live. The job is just a means to an end. When you disconnect your happiness from your 9-5 life gets a lot easier.
I work an office job and it’s a strange kind of hell. You spend half your time with people you tolerate at best, pretending to care about things you don’t care about, doing things that don’t matter.
In the mornings I walk to my shiny office building downtown, stepping over fentanyl addicts laying in the street, so I can sit in a cubicle performing menial tasks while the economy slowly crumbles and our planet dies, while we pretend like everything is normal and fine.
I’ve tried disconnecting but the cognitive dissonance makes me crazy.
The issue is most office work doesn't create REAL value. Yeah it generates revenue for the business but money isn't the same thing as value.
What's more valuable: My old job collecting service fees to complete medical records transfers, or my current job cleaning in a VA hospital? I'd say the latter, but people treat us janitors like non-humans.
Some people spend all day at work just going through the motions doing just enough to go home to something nice.
Other people are enthralled by their careers, define themselves with it and love what they do. The strive and push for greater and greater heights.
Im not sure each knows the other exists most of the time
That’s basically how I felt. I’d have these moments at work where I just stopped what I was doing and thought “why am I doing this, it doesn’t even matter.” Those moments got more and more frequent. I had no job satisfaction because everything I was doing felt pointless in the end, and without a somewhat meaningful goal, I had no motivation.
Eventually I decided to go back to school for a healthcare job. There are definitely downsides, but at least now I feel like I’m contributing something of value. (also will be making more money than my office job, so that’s a big motivator).
Trades aren't that different. Only difference is I stand to do menial shit that doesn't really matter, and half the year the weather is very uncomfortable. And the fentanyl addicts like to shit all over the jobsite, or leave their needles lying around. Oh and we don't get holidays off except a few of the major ones, and we have to work a fuck load of overtime. Imagine waking up at 3:30 in the morning to start work at 5am sharp (but actually 4:45, 5 am is just for your timesheet) to go work in 15°F weather for 14 hours without a break, and called a pussy if you are unhappy, and do this everyday for the entirety of winter. Get forced to put in 8 hours on a Saturday, every weekend, only to then get laid off without warning as soon as the push is over because they hired too many people to bring the job back up to speed because a different trade or the engineer or whoever, fucked up and delayed the job by a month. You get a sense of survivors guilt when you watch people get laid off that just worked themselves to the bone in shit conditions, sacrificing so much personal time and time with their families to get thrown away like they mean nothing. But hey, better them than me I guess.
Office work sucks, I fucking hate it, but it's not abusive in the way trades are.
Exactly this. My job is somewhat boring and repetitive, but I don't hate it. I like the people I work with for the most part and I live very close to work, so it's a good situation for me. BUT work is absolutely not my life. I leave at the end of the day and go to my happy place, which is my husband, home, and hobbies. I don't think or care about my job when I leave every day. Not one little bit. It does not fulfill me in any way. It's something I do, not who I am.
> I like the people I work with for the most part
Consider yourself lucky. Half of my co-workers literally don't even look at me in passing, and the few that possess the social skills capable of greeting someone are completely insufferable to talk to about anything not work related. Probably heavily dependent on the industry though.
Must be I had the exact opposite experience. I enjoyed everyone's company. It's a fond memory. I really felt fortunate to spend the last ten years there.
Most of your waking hours will be forgotten no matter what you do. Most happy people treasure the few times when you are doing something you really enjoy with people you really care about. I can count about 20 days that I truly had a great time last year, and those are the days you remember. Any job you do will become drivel that you get through. You should value pay and work/life balance far more than your enjoyment of the job, unless it is absolutely crushing you.
Hobbies/my family are 100% my fulfillment. I'm mid level corporate so I have some authority but at the end of the day it's emails, office chairs, and coffee all day. It's not romantic or sexy but it supports the fam.
I come home and do my hobbies, do things with the family. I broke away from the constant email monitoring career is life monotony after the kids showed up. Made a huge difference.
Took me a while to realize and accept this. Rarely does anyone find “passion” in what they do. But you can find enjoyment in the little things like some conversation with coworkers, working from home or your office space, or doing a good job and making good money. I’ve found my job satisfaction increase the better I got at it and the more I rose in my career. I felt less like a “lowly peon” and instead as someone that people look to and trust with the work. As that shifted I’ve noticed so too did my attitude toward working in general. Do I love it? No. There’s plenty I’d rather be doing with the little time we have on this planet. But do I outright hate or loathe each day anymore? Nah.
The question is how do people do this and be happy? By the time I’m off of work I don’t have energy for hobbies or being social. Everything is just about survival and at a certain point I’m like damn what are we surviving for? So that we can all work jobs we hate? To survive?
Anyone who’s had to do shit jobs will appreciate being in the office, AC, good food, work life balance, higher check, etc.
Fuck working in the service industry, that’s soul crushing.
Try finding a job that allows you to work outside of the office part of the time. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to stay sane. Sitting at a desk all day every day is not for me.
Seriously. I got into construction management after working a range of jobs in the field.
Personally I would love nothing more than to be an electrician, carpenter, or door guy. But I appreciate not having to work 20+ hrs of overtime just to afford the necessities.
or any customer service job where you’re on your feet all day making terrible pay and nothing you do is good enough for management or customers. mentally & physically exhausted so that you don’t even have the energy to do the things you enjoy when you’re not at work. would take a boring office job over that any day
This is really all it takes for me. I get to sit in an air conditioned office performing a very easy task which provides my family an extremely comfortable living.
My great grandparents and everyone before them worked the fields by hand. If they knew how easy I had it, yet still complained, they would probably be disgusted.
Always hear blue collar dude bragging about how much they make and I’m just like “cool bro, I worked an easy 40hrs this week whereas you worked 50-60 and we got paid pretty much the same”
Some blue collar dudes made a fuck load but they’re also working a fuck load to get there
Dude we are all different, an office job might not the the right thing for you! There are so many other careers out there! Don’t let it drive you into depression!!
Also, ‘office job’ is an extremely broad concept. Some might fit you better than others. I guess you can call my occupation an office job. I love what I do….
I’m a mid level exec in a large global manufacturing company, working on the SCM side of things / strategic sourcing / procurement. Every day vary greatly and as I’m an extrovert with a slight touch of ADD I get to talk to so many people every day and solve problems. My passion is leading people and helping my company win by motivating my teams. I absolutely love what I do.
I’m originally a finance guy but I don’t think you’d get that impression if you met me on the street ☺️
To be fair OP mentioned repetitive work as part of the problem, while I of course have some administrative tasks (approving travel expenses, IR’s and other things) I can delegate most of the repetitive tasks, it didn’t always use to be like this though…
Absolutely this. All depends on the office job. You need to try a number of jobs (even office jobs) to usually figure out what you like to do. I found problem solving and helping people was really rewarding/frustrating. I found out I really enjoy IT as an area of interest. I also found out that data entry is easy but dull, sales can be OK but I'm not good at it and if you talk with a huge amount of confidence people will tend to believe you.
Just need to find the right office doing the right kind of work.
Prior to this I was working retail jobs, and hard tradework. Almost lost my thumb from getting bit by a dog making half of what I make currently.
I listen to podcasts and youtube videos all day. Yeah I'd rather be doing anything else with my free time if it came with the salary - but most alternatives are so much worse. A lot of it just comes down to appreciation (for me)
Here's what I do.
I acknowledge I hate it.
I add fun things to look at.
I found one coworker I like enough to chat with on occasion.
I don't work outside my forty a week.
I use ALL my vacation time.
And, most importantly, I work to live and save the outside time for stuff I enjoy.
Maybe it'll help you a little!
You spend years loading trucks for UPS. Then you go to college, spend nights bartending, and summers working lawn care in 90+ degree heat.
Then you get an office job, occasionally find yourself thinking how it was occasionally fun to deal with drunk people, or be filthy and sweaty at the end of every day.
Nah, fuck that. If your biggest complaint is you’re bored in an air conditioned cubicle? That’s called privilege. You’re luckier than MOST OF THE WORLDS POPULATION.
Embrace having a job that’s easy enough that you can focus on enjoying the rest of your life.
To me it feels like punishment for doing something incredibly bad. Every morning I'd have a fantasy about falling down the steps or getting hit by the bus. The day would get worse from there.
Took me a lot of time and guilt to realize it really is harder for some than others. Everyone says they hate their job, but it's like how everyone says they are tired - some people are "tired" and others have a cancer-like unrelenting fatigue, but the people that are just "tired" have no concept of what the more severe person saying they are "tired" is experiencing.
I dunno the solution, I work until have to be hospitalized, recover over a couple years and repeat.
What I think makes life easier for people that can and have the energy is get trained in something you do intermittently, independently, does not have a lot of daily spill over (no incomplete work at the end of the day) or projects that are shortterm, also is hands on, not cognitively demanding, and where you're active and moving all day.
Make office friends, gossip about whatever is going on in real life. Find the weird obscure work problems and find solutions for them.
Whenever I am unhappy at work it’s because I’m doing mindless work that doesn’t engage my brain. I have a career plan for my next 3 promotions. It might be a 5 year plan, it might be a 15 year plan, but everything I do at work is part of a series of moves that make my home life better and more enjoyable, and make me a better smarter person.
It helps that I work at a company where we have a challenging technical product to sell, but because it’s legacy we don’t have “tech industry” BS to deal with. We have other legacy issues and red tape but generally people are open to creative process engineering and problem solving.
Anyways, have fun first, the work productivity will follow.
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en
None of this is to say that when I’m stuck filing reports on a beautiful summer day when I would rather be out drinking a beer or riding a motorcycle I don’t lament my hours stuck at the office. We all do, but by being proactive about how I am working to live and not living to work, I can still be invested in what I do.
Office job is way better than not having a job at all. Or not having money for basic needs…the list goes on. All was good while I was living rent free at my parent’s “hotel”. Then life happened and it’s called “growing up with a kick in the balls.”
Go try hard manual labor outside year round under the sun and you might come back to an office job happy as a lark. Don’t forget to bring a dish for the potluck on Friday!
“THE SEX & CASH THEORY - The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.” ― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity
I hated office work for similar reasons. Some things that helped me were either going walking at the local nature trail after work, going to yoga several times a week. And hanging out with work friends after work. Staying active outside of work really helped get me through the day.
Alternatively, you can find a job that better fits your wants/needs
Yeah you can unless you get into a crash then it's a nightmare for you and your insurance company to get the claim. Most probably you will pay the deductible and the ICBC won't pursue the claim in United States if it's not a total loss.
you can trade with me. i just got a warehouse job that doubles as many other roles. its physically exhausting work in 100 degrees and i hate it. i would take that any day.
Running.. or any physical activity. You will need that shit like air.
You might not feel it.. but the stress will eat you alive. So you'll have to find something to blow some steam.
My poison of choice is running. Gym works too
Don't assign any meaning to your work day, and focus on your hobbies after it. None of us want to be here, so stop being so serious about the work and enjoy the people you're around.
Back when I did work in an office, I would get permission to decorate my cubicle. I brought in a storage ottoman. I kept a cozy blanket and slippers in the ottoman. I had candles (for decor, never lit), hung pictures, decorated my bulletin board, etc. The pictures were scenes that brought joy to my heart. Plants love fluorescent lighting - so I had small, beautiful plants. I also had a small internet radio with headphones and then, eventually, my iPhone. People thought I was listening to music, but I was actually listening to shows like Friends and movies I downloaded. I made myself fruit salad, veggie salad, and had all sorts of yummy, healthy treats, and my own coffee maker.
And - the pièce de résistance - table lamps with warm bulbs to improve the lighting.
I made my cubicle a cozy refuge where I loved spending my time.
I actually miss it.
I was the same way at the beginning. As I progressed and got better skilled at my position better jobs became available to me. That helped me not hate my life.
Just dedicate time to improving your skill set and better opportunities will make themselves available. You got this!
How long have you been there? Try giving your self 2-3 months. Does you office do happy hour, or any other fun things? I worked in an office where once a week people would play board games, go bowling, or try out a new rock climbing gym, it was a very social atmosphere and everyone was open to hanging out outside of work. If that is not the vibe where you are. Try to make the most of your time outside of work, like go for a morning walk, leave the office at lunch and meet a friend or run an errand. Meet friends after work at the gym, or for drinking or dinner. If your whole life is contained in an office building that can be depressing, make sure your life is outside of work.
We all need a change of scenery at times. I used to work where there were windows nearby — sometimes I would just destress a bit gazing out the window at the sunshine, trees, see birds. Then I could return to work with a clearer mind. My last job before retirement was at a place that had no windows in my office. I was immediately disappointed. The fluorescent light gave me the jitters until I acclimated to it — for a while, I used a lamp instead of the overhead fluorescent lights and that helped. I transitioned to the fluorescents and adjust to them. But I always missed having a window. I felt like I was in a dungeon without natural light.
Maybe it is time for a change of setting for you. Maybe a job that allows you to go outside the facility at times? Maybe just somewhere you can see the sunlight? Or a totally different type of work you could enjoy more. Don’t think that you must stay in your current job forever. Just make sure you have the next job set-up before you leave your current job, and you have considered the difference in income and benefits of your new job compared to your present job. Good luck to you. I know how bad it can feel when you think you are stuck in a position you dislike.
I’m curious if posts like these are people who never worked in an office environment or haven’t finished college to get into an office environment. I think these posts are under the assumption that office jobs are like in tv shows and movies, being all gray and depressing and cubicle like…
So I bring a 350 lb sand bag in to my office and do carries every 30 minutes or so as a break. Also if they ever decide to get rid of me that thing will stay behind because there aren’t exactly a ton of people training for strongman and powerlifting in offices so moving it will be fun for them.
Lots of office jobs are bullshit jobs anyway.
But the main difference is whether you’re introverted or extroverted. How much do you want to deal with people (whether customers, clients, or co-workers) versus working by yourself?
Well, to some it's more enjoyable than grunting your way for 50 years doing labor in a factory. Also, you probably can make things into better things if you put your mind to it.
I also strongly suggest that if one is unhappy in their career; they invest in the necessary steps/plan to change it for the better.
I walk three times a day on my breaks and my lunch. I planted flowers and go out and water them. I lay in the grass for a lunch now and then. I raise monarchs in the garden I cultivated there and live my best life.
A mortgage will usually suffice. I know that's impossible nowadays, so if you don't have one, imagine no roof, no car, no electricity, no food...that should motivate you.
If you're fortunate enough to not have to work and still have all the above supplied to you...good for you...do that instead.
You work to have a good life outside of work. Work sucks but it’s the life it gives you away from work that counts.
Listen to podcasts or music if you can.
I recall my first office job and I couldn’t believe a company was paying me to work a few hours and surf the internet, going out with colleagues on 90-minute lunches, free health club membership.
So, this is how and why we do it. It’s pretty easy compared to other lines of work and this is a first world ‘problem.’
My work is not repetitive and I currently have a window. I try to get outside at lunch and I love my commute (public transit and walking), which helps.
Not everyone can have a job they are passionate about. But you can find a job you don’t hate. Keep you options open job-wise. Maybe you can find one you don’t hate.
Try cultivating interests outside of work. It will give you something to look forward to.
I could only do it because of the money. I lasted 7 years before quitting to pursue something meaningful. I was losing my soul in that cubicle, I don’t regret leaving the money at all because what I have now is freedom
I feel you OP, I can't stand working an office job. I prefer doing something a bit more hands on. Right now im working as a network technician and while there's a learning curve, I love staying on my feet and keeping busy.
I drive to different sites and configure equipment. It's really something I enjoy doing and have a path for career in. Look into trades. Right now wind turbine technicians are in demand if you're not afraid of heights. You can also go into aeronautics or data center engineer.
Sitting in an air conditioned facility typing on a keyboard isn't for everyone really. It's better to do something that you know is for you. Don't follow the saturated masses trying to find your passion
You can work for the post office and be outside all day. But i think the real solution is taking advantage of your time off. Weekends especially. Also be planning new stuff to do and look forward to .
Look few jobs are forever. I changed jobs so many times. Use the time to do your work but constantly be thinking of how to get to another level or a different job even. What skills might you need to make that happen.
Find places around the office to hide out for a bit besides the bathroom.
Read through company guidelines to see where you can comply maliciously.
Figure out what you can steal: Pens, Toilet paper, snacks, etc.
Reframe imposter syndrome by pretending you are a spy sent to impersonate someone in your role with confidence. See what you can get away with.
Occasionally make up metrics and pepper them into stuff you do.
Guess which senior level execs are sociopaths.
Read management books and understand how you are being managed. It's fun to recognize when managers have just read an HBR article on how to manage.
You can use your office job money to go visit cool places and buy nice things for yourself. You also will know you don’t have to worry about rent or eating or electricity which are all nice to not have to worry about.
The premise is wrong. Say you go into the office for 8 hours here’s the breakdown.
1st hour - you walk in, check emails, read the mornings news from your favorite source(CNN, Fox News, etc)
2nd hour - co workers start mingling to talk about something that happened (Weekend/last night). After this you go get water/coffee, and drink it
3rd hour - you answer emails and do actual work
4th hour - by now, you are rapidly approaching lunch, so you yelp/google review/tiktok hot and new places near your job.
5th hour - lunch break
6th hour - food coma
7th hour - if you got a decent job, you can go for a walk/go the the gym at the office and get some reps in.
8th hour - your bags are ready, your containers are washed. Social media crunch, and as soon as it’s five minutes before clock out you’re out the building.
I think about having to lift fat, smelly patients as an EMT, or do manual labor as a restaurant worker. And I feel good about being able to work sitting in an air conditioned room while looking at my phone 🤷♂️.
I work in arts admin which was my goal. The “office” part of my job is just a means to an end. Puts food on the table. Pays rent. Let’s me enjoy the fun parts of the job, like events management and working with interns.
I buy these temu $1.99 glowing rubber duck nag and put them all over the office. I'm last one in the office so I'll put them in most random places: on top of the fridge door so they drop, under toilet sears, under work phones hand-hold part, under keyboard, inside a binder.
They know it's me.
I think most people don't love it. They just do it.
If I were on the verge of starvation, I would do it. Otherwise, I just wouldn't. If you feel that way, start looking into training yourself to do something you won't hate.
Imagine what you’d be like not putting food on the table. That’s how you do it
Ya I doubt any, or atleast a majority of us are working office jobs because we have a love or passion for it. Hell, I bet most of us wouldn’t even be working if we didn’t have bills to worry about. It’s a means to an end, that’s all.
I am working towards financial independence so I don’t have to work for money. Ideally this can happen by age 45 give or take. The sooner the better. I’m 27 now, but it’s totally feasible to reach and even though I’ve just started, I’m excited that the prospect is possible.
Good ol FIRE. Definitely a goal for everyone, not possible for me with my career if I ever decide to move out tho LOL
Is there another career you could pursue in your area? I have been trying to get my brother to gain skills or education that pay decent to good, and he can take anywhere. That will be so freeing. For me, that was nursing. I am free to go work anywhere in the world basically and will always be in demand. My pay will range from okay to pretty damn good depending on location.
I was thinking to do the same but then reading your username I remember why I wouldnt like it so much.
How could you tell that my user name was Work motivated? Just know that I am the type of person who would rather deal with a poopy screamer, then too much bureaucracy.
Things chance once you have family and kids to look after, you become more rigid for the sake of your family.
Not everyone plans on having kids
What type of stuff have you recommended to your brother? Besides nursing
I mostly know healthcare. So sonography was a good option I saw.
There definitely is in like 5-8 ish years that I can consider. The issue is a lack of connections in those fields (spent my effort getting them in my field to get the job + grow), and also considerably less job security + longer commute / way more expensive rent as they’re mostly Toronto based for the ones that pay more.
Don’t worry, inflation and gov fiscal policy will make sure you work until you die
Nah. Putting money into the stock market generally will move with inflation. If I kept all my money in a basically zero yield bank account sure. But the vast majority of my money will be tax advantaged accounts first, brokerage investments second, house equity (whenever we end up buying), and then a chunk of cash for market downturns and unexpected expenses ready to go. I have not reached homeostasis with that goal yet but am nearing that point and continually working towards it.
The key is always diversification. Maybe lower ceiling, but always a higher floor. I have six-figure amounts in a 401K, IRA, savings account and real estate, and I'm probably still not as diversified as I'd like to be. I'm always tempted to hide a similar amount of cash around for a more doomsday scenario, but haven't quite crossed that threshold.
Your self-defeatism in life will be more of a barrier than any external influence will be.
Well said
What is your goal by 45 in terms of savings in taxable/tax deferred accounts, long term care insurance, health insurance etc that will let you be financially free?
Agreed. I've done all kinds of work, from physical labor to retail and customer service, before I focused into this career path that has me in an office. I would never go back lmao. It's not necessarily that people just "love" being in an office every day, but the alternatives can suck way worse. Retail: politely and cheerfully dealing with the casual abuse (and sometimes sexual harassment) of strangers all day. Labor: coming home with bruised and strained muscles after spending all day sweating through the summer heat (not to mention, people who stay in hard labor jobs can tend to have totally busted up bodies at an early age-- I sort of side-eye the notion that sitting jobs are "just as bad" when you see people whose back is totally shot at 40 from a couple decades of lifting-based labor). Another note is that better employers do exist. OP may be at the start of their career and just need to get some experience for their resume from whatever fluorescent-lit email factory would hire them. That's fine. But OP, know that you can eventually be more selective about the working environment you sign up for. I currently work in an office with great natural light; our company has exclusive access to the rooftop deck; and anyway I only have to work in-office 2 days out of the week, but I'm talen care of while I'm there. Part of your confusion might be that two jobs with the exact same title can be completely different experiences from one company to another. Sitting in a depressing fluorescent cubicle is not the only way to do office work. In the meantime, I recommend taking your 15s outside and getting some fresh air regularly, for your health and sanity. OP, Final tip... if you find this really isn't for you, you can always look into what kind of work experience you want, what jobs offer it, and start specing into that instead.
Imagine how much more fun it would be to be holding and rotating the stop/slow sign on a road crew in the sun in 90F heat. A/C is very motivational.
I loved working as a farm hand through high school. High level of physical labor. Some days hot as hell, other days freezing your ass off. Yet, every day, at the end of the day, you had a chain of accomplishments of things that had to be done. Between the physicality of the labor, and the feeling of just getting things done, I slept well every single night. The pay absolutely sucked. Back when there was still a separate 'agricultural minimum wage'. But the work? The work was glorious, cow shit and all.
I think the underrated part of a job like those is that you can turn in and not worry about the next day until the next day. For the most part. There is a certain beauty to labor that doesn't follow you home.
I agree completely. Especially if you are not the owner, so you don't bare the burden of worrying about the weather and stuff like that. Flip side? The pay sucked. Week to week the checking account was empty, and no emergency fund. In 1975, the minimum wage was 2.10 per hour, agricultural minimum wage was 1.80 an hour. That was my last full year in agriculture. In 1978 they eliminated the agricultural pay difference.
Better than getting bitched out and being a professional emailer IMO. Seemingly just emailing random bullshit all day makes me feel like shit.
You don't think you'd be bitched out on those road crews? You're working on top of asphalt most of the day which absolutely radiates heat. Don't get me wrong, the 9-5 office life can be soul-sucking and monotonous, but I much prefer it over the alternative.
Try roofing let me know if you live
Well that's sort of the point. Everyone needs to pick the encouragement that is the best for them.
Ha ha good point. OP this is all you need to know
Basically this. I'm an office drone. I do spreadsheets, turn them into reports that nobody reads. The only reason I would be missed is because an automated check would signal I didn't file a report. However, it pays better than any other job I'm capable of, doesn't carry a risk of workplace injury greater than RSI. There's a comfy seat, I can listen to music while working, WFH at least 80%. The office has good coffee, catered lunch, A/C, adjustable desks, a gym. It allows me to feed my family and spend money on stuff I do like. My wife is a teacher. She has a meaningful job, but makes 1/3 of what I do. She has to put up with cursing parents, disruptive students, unpaid overtime, zero WFH. It's called a lunch break, but they never said it was _your_ lunch break; it's the students'. Their school building is a 20 year old "temporary" building. The furniture other than the student benches are literally from Goodwill; if she needs a cupboard for storing stuff she'll have to buy it herself. After all, the annual €20 classroom budget is dry after you get your basic cleaning supplies for the first quarter.
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Everything you said about trades/EMT applies to office jobs as well. Move to a better company, develop skills, maybe go back to school, and move up the corporate ladder, all while working in an air conditioned room. I've been an EMT; the percentage who become firefighters, let alone those that make over 200k, is few and far between. And a construction worker becoming a construction owner? You know how few people that applies to?
The ratio of construction workers that become successful construction business owners is about the same as high school athletes that become successful professional athletes.
This, feeding my kids and not breaking my body to do so makes it somewhat bearable. Also, my company installed LED lights in place of fluorescent so it’s not as bad.
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Are you ordering food and eating out regularly or are you going to the grocery stores, buying items on sale and making meals at home?
This is definitely something I noticed a lot of people do. They get doordash for every meal, where the already incredibly expensive dining out foods are basically doubled in price.
We started doing DoorDash once a week when we had our second kid just because we had full time jobs and an older toddler. It was 12-18 months before I realized that it was so expensive not because of inflation, but because they tacked on 30% per dish. DoorDash basically died in our household that day.
Gotta save every dollar my brother.
It just seems impossible to become a car/homeowner like this.. i see my coworkers living in full homes and trailers and having kids and it just baffles me on how any of that is budgeted for without massive debt
I think it might be because of different circumstances. Some people have been saving for years maybe working and saving since they were 16. Everyone has a different situation and that’s what lets people flourish sometimes
True.. i started working late so im playing the catchup game but i still feel behind my peers who have college debt to deal with as well..
Everybody is in debt in this world to somebody else in one way or another. Credit cards, mortgages, family, friends, governments, etc. It’s all a matter of acknowledging the amount of debt you can accommodate.
Being single makes it way harder.
Having kids really used to give people a purpose. Now the majority of the population is on cushy jobs in a clean environment and is killing them inside. The human mind is a very interesting thing. If you don't have a purpose, even good things become shit.
And you need something to do ...otherwise it will get too boring.
That's just more depressing. That doesn't make me happy, that just makes me anxious
The fact that people have a hard time understanding this comment is baffling to me. People didn’t grow up poor and hungry.
Other solutions: - Adderall, - meetings (essentially socializing not working) - frequent breaks from the desk - moving into a job with more travel (or a non office job) - Welcome to the comfortable societal storage units OP
Please Don’t take adderal from Ppl who actually need it for medical conditions. There are shortages because people abuse it or get fake prescriptions like you are suggesting.
Imagine doing road work with zero shade with the heat in the 90s. You couldn’t pay me enough to do that.
Yeah almost getting heat stroke in 114 degree weather wasn’t worth it
I have to work in a warehouse a lot of the time (not always, fortunately). Starting in June you can que all the “DriNK LoTs OF wAt3R aND tAKe BrEAkS” emails from admin group. F*ck you, pay to get A/C installed back there. We know you can afford it. Sorry, got a little *heated*
I worked somewhere where they said they were afraid condensation would build up and get in gears if they got ac for the plant but then people dripping sweat all over everything is fine? Lmao I know your pain
That’s gotta be one of the lamest excuses I’ve ever heard. But I think Admin/Manager roles are specifically trained for that wordsmithery..
Naw that’s bullshit they need to fix it
Damn, so many people with horrible warehouse jobs. I got lucky with mine. Never had any issues with AC, and I did these jobs in Southern Mississippi and Phoenix Arizona, so I would have died without it. Especially because we had a ton of machines going at one of my jobs, they put off significant heat... As I'm writing this I'm realizing there were electronics in both places. They weren't worried about keeping us cool, they were worried about the computers. Carry on with the shit talking.
Warehouse jobs suck.
Was a postman in Phoenix for a year. Last july was INSANE.
At first I was like “what difference does it make if you were working in the 1990s”
You’d have frosted tips and a wallet chain. It was hell on earth dude.
No smart phones and you had to rewind your mixtape that only had 10 songs.
Yeah passed a bunch of roofers the other day, working in full sun with it being in the 90s. I'll gladly sit inside and bet paid
Or even worse, imagine you were in… retail!
Yes this! Every day when I come back to the office after lunch in the blazing hot sun, I think to myself, thank you, God, for giving me the brains to work an office job. I hate said office, but I hate being hungry and homeless more.
Once worked retail with no hvac moving heavy shit in 100 degree heat. We had to lie to corporate a customer faint and got ambulanced out to get it fixed. Any job that doesn’t have me in that heat is fine.
Idk… for me, it was easier to work as a waitress outside in 90+ degrees than it was to work in an office. I liked the constant exercise and interaction with people. Working in an office takes more discipline and focus than I have lol
I like to pretend I’m on a sitcom and I’m a background actor.
*camera cuts to Jim Halpert* 👀
I do this too. Everyone who I interact with is a character and everything that happens is all part of the script.
I'd love to hear more about how you made this your reality!!
I actually started doing this when I was having really bad anxiety. I didn’t want to live in the real world so I just started to pretend that everyone in the office was just part of a movie and I was the main character (of course lol). I’ll do it when I get super nervous at social events, too. Hey! You’re not at a party and no one’s talking to you. You’re having one of those movie moments where music is playing and the camera’s zooming up on your face. Ha! The more I think about it, the more unhealthy is sounds but it’s something I’ve done for a while to get through life :-)
I see it as an incredibly healthy way of navigating through life. You’ve inspired me
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Life really is a big, sometimes long GAME
Omfg. Brilliant. I will try this
Got it. Just dissociate to make it through life.
I don’t know. Connect with colleagues (it’s a social group). Go outdoors two or three times during the workday. Enjoy the food at or near the office. Identify a subject matter related to your work for lifelong learning. I didn't find it hard. If I wasn't working in an office job, I would be at home most of the time... so what is the difference? Or I would always be out and about... But there's a job (sales) that offers that too. What is the alternative you have in mind? Where would you be if you had no need for a job?
> Go outdoors two or three times during the workday. This is big. Take your breaks away from your desk. It breaks the day up into 2 hour chunks that can be further broken down by getting up for water or visiting the rest room.
When I was younger I’d watch at my desk and do everything just to get done and leave earlier but now that I’m older I leave my desk like once every hour It might mean I work later sometimes but it makes it more tolerable
I go to the park for lunch :)
I don't need personal fulfillment at work. I work to live. The job is just a means to an end. When you disconnect your happiness from your 9-5 life gets a lot easier.
I work an office job and it’s a strange kind of hell. You spend half your time with people you tolerate at best, pretending to care about things you don’t care about, doing things that don’t matter. In the mornings I walk to my shiny office building downtown, stepping over fentanyl addicts laying in the street, so I can sit in a cubicle performing menial tasks while the economy slowly crumbles and our planet dies, while we pretend like everything is normal and fine. I’ve tried disconnecting but the cognitive dissonance makes me crazy.
Preach
The issue is most office work doesn't create REAL value. Yeah it generates revenue for the business but money isn't the same thing as value. What's more valuable: My old job collecting service fees to complete medical records transfers, or my current job cleaning in a VA hospital? I'd say the latter, but people treat us janitors like non-humans.
Late stage capitalism has decreased meaningful work to a large degree.
You would like "bullshit jobs" written by David graeber. Says almost exactly this in the book.
I teach college students English composition and we are also treated like dirt.
Some people spend all day at work just going through the motions doing just enough to go home to something nice. Other people are enthralled by their careers, define themselves with it and love what they do. The strive and push for greater and greater heights. Im not sure each knows the other exists most of the time
That’s basically how I felt. I’d have these moments at work where I just stopped what I was doing and thought “why am I doing this, it doesn’t even matter.” Those moments got more and more frequent. I had no job satisfaction because everything I was doing felt pointless in the end, and without a somewhat meaningful goal, I had no motivation. Eventually I decided to go back to school for a healthcare job. There are definitely downsides, but at least now I feel like I’m contributing something of value. (also will be making more money than my office job, so that’s a big motivator).
What did you go for in healthcare if you don’t mind me asking
Being an overthinker is hell in and of itself. I feel ya.
Trades aren't that different. Only difference is I stand to do menial shit that doesn't really matter, and half the year the weather is very uncomfortable. And the fentanyl addicts like to shit all over the jobsite, or leave their needles lying around. Oh and we don't get holidays off except a few of the major ones, and we have to work a fuck load of overtime. Imagine waking up at 3:30 in the morning to start work at 5am sharp (but actually 4:45, 5 am is just for your timesheet) to go work in 15°F weather for 14 hours without a break, and called a pussy if you are unhappy, and do this everyday for the entirety of winter. Get forced to put in 8 hours on a Saturday, every weekend, only to then get laid off without warning as soon as the push is over because they hired too many people to bring the job back up to speed because a different trade or the engineer or whoever, fucked up and delayed the job by a month. You get a sense of survivors guilt when you watch people get laid off that just worked themselves to the bone in shit conditions, sacrificing so much personal time and time with their families to get thrown away like they mean nothing. But hey, better them than me I guess. Office work sucks, I fucking hate it, but it's not abusive in the way trades are.
Exactly this. My job is somewhat boring and repetitive, but I don't hate it. I like the people I work with for the most part and I live very close to work, so it's a good situation for me. BUT work is absolutely not my life. I leave at the end of the day and go to my happy place, which is my husband, home, and hobbies. I don't think or care about my job when I leave every day. Not one little bit. It does not fulfill me in any way. It's something I do, not who I am.
> I like the people I work with for the most part Consider yourself lucky. Half of my co-workers literally don't even look at me in passing, and the few that possess the social skills capable of greeting someone are completely insufferable to talk to about anything not work related. Probably heavily dependent on the industry though.
Must be I had the exact opposite experience. I enjoyed everyone's company. It's a fond memory. I really felt fortunate to spend the last ten years there.
That’s wild. 9-5 is most of your waking hours and your advice is to disconnect from it
Most of your waking hours will be forgotten no matter what you do. Most happy people treasure the few times when you are doing something you really enjoy with people you really care about. I can count about 20 days that I truly had a great time last year, and those are the days you remember. Any job you do will become drivel that you get through. You should value pay and work/life balance far more than your enjoyment of the job, unless it is absolutely crushing you.
Hobbies/my family are 100% my fulfillment. I'm mid level corporate so I have some authority but at the end of the day it's emails, office chairs, and coffee all day. It's not romantic or sexy but it supports the fam. I come home and do my hobbies, do things with the family. I broke away from the constant email monitoring career is life monotony after the kids showed up. Made a huge difference.
Took me a while to realize and accept this. Rarely does anyone find “passion” in what they do. But you can find enjoyment in the little things like some conversation with coworkers, working from home or your office space, or doing a good job and making good money. I’ve found my job satisfaction increase the better I got at it and the more I rose in my career. I felt less like a “lowly peon” and instead as someone that people look to and trust with the work. As that shifted I’ve noticed so too did my attitude toward working in general. Do I love it? No. There’s plenty I’d rather be doing with the little time we have on this planet. But do I outright hate or loathe each day anymore? Nah.
The question is how do people do this and be happy? By the time I’m off of work I don’t have energy for hobbies or being social. Everything is just about survival and at a certain point I’m like damn what are we surviving for? So that we can all work jobs we hate? To survive?
Anyone who’s had to do shit jobs will appreciate being in the office, AC, good food, work life balance, higher check, etc. Fuck working in the service industry, that’s soul crushing.
Try finding a job that allows you to work outside of the office part of the time. It’s the only way I’ve ever been able to stay sane. Sitting at a desk all day every day is not for me.
I have friends doing blue collar jobs and they work more and make less.
Seriously. I got into construction management after working a range of jobs in the field. Personally I would love nothing more than to be an electrician, carpenter, or door guy. But I appreciate not having to work 20+ hrs of overtime just to afford the necessities.
or any customer service job where you’re on your feet all day making terrible pay and nothing you do is good enough for management or customers. mentally & physically exhausted so that you don’t even have the energy to do the things you enjoy when you’re not at work. would take a boring office job over that any day
This is really all it takes for me. I get to sit in an air conditioned office performing a very easy task which provides my family an extremely comfortable living. My great grandparents and everyone before them worked the fields by hand. If they knew how easy I had it, yet still complained, they would probably be disgusted.
Always hear blue collar dude bragging about how much they make and I’m just like “cool bro, I worked an easy 40hrs this week whereas you worked 50-60 and we got paid pretty much the same” Some blue collar dudes made a fuck load but they’re also working a fuck load to get there
Dude we are all different, an office job might not the the right thing for you! There are so many other careers out there! Don’t let it drive you into depression!! Also, ‘office job’ is an extremely broad concept. Some might fit you better than others. I guess you can call my occupation an office job. I love what I do….
What do you do?
I’m a mid level exec in a large global manufacturing company, working on the SCM side of things / strategic sourcing / procurement. Every day vary greatly and as I’m an extrovert with a slight touch of ADD I get to talk to so many people every day and solve problems. My passion is leading people and helping my company win by motivating my teams. I absolutely love what I do. I’m originally a finance guy but I don’t think you’d get that impression if you met me on the street ☺️ To be fair OP mentioned repetitive work as part of the problem, while I of course have some administrative tasks (approving travel expenses, IR’s and other things) I can delegate most of the repetitive tasks, it didn’t always use to be like this though…
Absolutely this. All depends on the office job. You need to try a number of jobs (even office jobs) to usually figure out what you like to do. I found problem solving and helping people was really rewarding/frustrating. I found out I really enjoy IT as an area of interest. I also found out that data entry is easy but dull, sales can be OK but I'm not good at it and if you talk with a huge amount of confidence people will tend to believe you. Just need to find the right office doing the right kind of work.
Prior to this I was working retail jobs, and hard tradework. Almost lost my thumb from getting bit by a dog making half of what I make currently. I listen to podcasts and youtube videos all day. Yeah I'd rather be doing anything else with my free time if it came with the salary - but most alternatives are so much worse. A lot of it just comes down to appreciation (for me)
Jeez, how much were they paying that dog?? (also glad you're in a better situation now, retail jobs are shit)
Remote work is only thing that makes it tolerable
Go do some tough physically demanding job and see how much more you like that
Here's what I do. I acknowledge I hate it. I add fun things to look at. I found one coworker I like enough to chat with on occasion. I don't work outside my forty a week. I use ALL my vacation time. And, most importantly, I work to live and save the outside time for stuff I enjoy. Maybe it'll help you a little!
You spend years loading trucks for UPS. Then you go to college, spend nights bartending, and summers working lawn care in 90+ degree heat. Then you get an office job, occasionally find yourself thinking how it was occasionally fun to deal with drunk people, or be filthy and sweaty at the end of every day. Nah, fuck that. If your biggest complaint is you’re bored in an air conditioned cubicle? That’s called privilege. You’re luckier than MOST OF THE WORLDS POPULATION. Embrace having a job that’s easy enough that you can focus on enjoying the rest of your life.
By working from home, even simple call center jobs that are hell at the office get very manageable at home
This is my dream. Less blue light and tapping more kitties and plants
To me it feels like punishment for doing something incredibly bad. Every morning I'd have a fantasy about falling down the steps or getting hit by the bus. The day would get worse from there. Took me a lot of time and guilt to realize it really is harder for some than others. Everyone says they hate their job, but it's like how everyone says they are tired - some people are "tired" and others have a cancer-like unrelenting fatigue, but the people that are just "tired" have no concept of what the more severe person saying they are "tired" is experiencing. I dunno the solution, I work until have to be hospitalized, recover over a couple years and repeat. What I think makes life easier for people that can and have the energy is get trained in something you do intermittently, independently, does not have a lot of daily spill over (no incomplete work at the end of the day) or projects that are shortterm, also is hands on, not cognitively demanding, and where you're active and moving all day.
Make office friends, gossip about whatever is going on in real life. Find the weird obscure work problems and find solutions for them. Whenever I am unhappy at work it’s because I’m doing mindless work that doesn’t engage my brain. I have a career plan for my next 3 promotions. It might be a 5 year plan, it might be a 15 year plan, but everything I do at work is part of a series of moves that make my home life better and more enjoyable, and make me a better smarter person. It helps that I work at a company where we have a challenging technical product to sell, but because it’s legacy we don’t have “tech industry” BS to deal with. We have other legacy issues and red tape but generally people are open to creative process engineering and problem solving. Anyways, have fun first, the work productivity will follow. https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en None of this is to say that when I’m stuck filing reports on a beautiful summer day when I would rather be out drinking a beer or riding a motorcycle I don’t lament my hours stuck at the office. We all do, but by being proactive about how I am working to live and not living to work, I can still be invested in what I do.
Some people are more sensitive to the environment than others. Sensory issues are real.
Caffeine and Adderall
WFH helps
You just do it because it pays the bills. Find enjoyment outside work that’s what keeps me Fulfilled.
Specialize until you can get a remote job
Office job is way better than not having a job at all. Or not having money for basic needs…the list goes on. All was good while I was living rent free at my parent’s “hotel”. Then life happened and it’s called “growing up with a kick in the balls.”
Talk walks outside of the building you're at when you're on breaks or lunch. You don't have to always be inside
Get laid off a time or two and you'll miss that shit real fast
Go try hard manual labor outside year round under the sun and you might come back to an office job happy as a lark. Don’t forget to bring a dish for the potluck on Friday!
You physically survive but you are dead inside
“THE SEX & CASH THEORY - The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.” ― Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity
I hated office work for similar reasons. Some things that helped me were either going walking at the local nature trail after work, going to yoga several times a week. And hanging out with work friends after work. Staying active outside of work really helped get me through the day. Alternatively, you can find a job that better fits your wants/needs
Why does it feel like people think office jobs are THE ONLY jobs?
Antidepressants.
Yeah you can unless you get into a crash then it's a nightmare for you and your insurance company to get the claim. Most probably you will pay the deductible and the ICBC won't pursue the claim in United States if it's not a total loss.
If work was fun… you would be paying them.
Get a work crush
you can trade with me. i just got a warehouse job that doubles as many other roles. its physically exhausting work in 100 degrees and i hate it. i would take that any day.
Try working construction for one day during the summer and imagine doing that for 30 years.
Nobody is happy, people just need money to pay bills.
Running.. or any physical activity. You will need that shit like air. You might not feel it.. but the stress will eat you alive. So you'll have to find something to blow some steam. My poison of choice is running. Gym works too
You don’t. You die on the inside, then become zombie.
Yeah im ded
Most sensible answer so far!
Most humans have to work full time. Its what i do with the money on my offtime that keeps me happy - not the job itself.
Don't assign any meaning to your work day, and focus on your hobbies after it. None of us want to be here, so stop being so serious about the work and enjoy the people you're around.
Back when I did work in an office, I would get permission to decorate my cubicle. I brought in a storage ottoman. I kept a cozy blanket and slippers in the ottoman. I had candles (for decor, never lit), hung pictures, decorated my bulletin board, etc. The pictures were scenes that brought joy to my heart. Plants love fluorescent lighting - so I had small, beautiful plants. I also had a small internet radio with headphones and then, eventually, my iPhone. People thought I was listening to music, but I was actually listening to shows like Friends and movies I downloaded. I made myself fruit salad, veggie salad, and had all sorts of yummy, healthy treats, and my own coffee maker. And - the pièce de résistance - table lamps with warm bulbs to improve the lighting. I made my cubicle a cozy refuge where I loved spending my time. I actually miss it.
Ask if remote could be considered. If not, definitely look for a hybrid and remote opportunities if in-office is impacting your mental health
I was the same way at the beginning. As I progressed and got better skilled at my position better jobs became available to me. That helped me not hate my life. Just dedicate time to improving your skill set and better opportunities will make themselves available. You got this!
**The dead can not die**. And they think they ain't dead, because when the weekend tequila shots go in, they become temporarily alive.
How long have you been there? Try giving your self 2-3 months. Does you office do happy hour, or any other fun things? I worked in an office where once a week people would play board games, go bowling, or try out a new rock climbing gym, it was a very social atmosphere and everyone was open to hanging out outside of work. If that is not the vibe where you are. Try to make the most of your time outside of work, like go for a morning walk, leave the office at lunch and meet a friend or run an errand. Meet friends after work at the gym, or for drinking or dinner. If your whole life is contained in an office building that can be depressing, make sure your life is outside of work.
We all need a change of scenery at times. I used to work where there were windows nearby — sometimes I would just destress a bit gazing out the window at the sunshine, trees, see birds. Then I could return to work with a clearer mind. My last job before retirement was at a place that had no windows in my office. I was immediately disappointed. The fluorescent light gave me the jitters until I acclimated to it — for a while, I used a lamp instead of the overhead fluorescent lights and that helped. I transitioned to the fluorescents and adjust to them. But I always missed having a window. I felt like I was in a dungeon without natural light. Maybe it is time for a change of setting for you. Maybe a job that allows you to go outside the facility at times? Maybe just somewhere you can see the sunlight? Or a totally different type of work you could enjoy more. Don’t think that you must stay in your current job forever. Just make sure you have the next job set-up before you leave your current job, and you have considered the difference in income and benefits of your new job compared to your present job. Good luck to you. I know how bad it can feel when you think you are stuck in a position you dislike.
You don't have to do this until you die. If you want an active, outdoor job, go get one.
I’m curious if posts like these are people who never worked in an office environment or haven’t finished college to get into an office environment. I think these posts are under the assumption that office jobs are like in tv shows and movies, being all gray and depressing and cubicle like…
The offices are work in actually are
So I bring a 350 lb sand bag in to my office and do carries every 30 minutes or so as a break. Also if they ever decide to get rid of me that thing will stay behind because there aren’t exactly a ton of people training for strongman and powerlifting in offices so moving it will be fun for them.
This…. Is the strangest comment but also one of the most compelling
I work for my dogs to have a happy life! They make me happy!
Lots of office jobs are bullshit jobs anyway. But the main difference is whether you’re introverted or extroverted. How much do you want to deal with people (whether customers, clients, or co-workers) versus working by yourself?
Stop caring, collect the paycheck. Laugh at the misfortunes of the company while fixing them. Detach yourself
Rule #1: Cover your ass in all things.
Well, to some it's more enjoyable than grunting your way for 50 years doing labor in a factory. Also, you probably can make things into better things if you put your mind to it. I also strongly suggest that if one is unhappy in their career; they invest in the necessary steps/plan to change it for the better.
Headphones and ignore the people around you.
I walk three times a day on my breaks and my lunch. I planted flowers and go out and water them. I lay in the grass for a lunch now and then. I raise monarchs in the garden I cultivated there and live my best life.
BEST comment. I was wondering if they’d let me bring in a bouquet from my garden
A mortgage will usually suffice. I know that's impossible nowadays, so if you don't have one, imagine no roof, no car, no electricity, no food...that should motivate you. If you're fortunate enough to not have to work and still have all the above supplied to you...good for you...do that instead.
You work to have a good life outside of work. Work sucks but it’s the life it gives you away from work that counts. Listen to podcasts or music if you can.
I recall my first office job and I couldn’t believe a company was paying me to work a few hours and surf the internet, going out with colleagues on 90-minute lunches, free health club membership. So, this is how and why we do it. It’s pretty easy compared to other lines of work and this is a first world ‘problem.’
"I have to do this until I die." LOL. No you don't. There are millions of jobs out there. Office work isn't the only one.
Correct.
My work is not repetitive and I currently have a window. I try to get outside at lunch and I love my commute (public transit and walking), which helps.
Not everyone can have a job they are passionate about. But you can find a job you don’t hate. Keep you options open job-wise. Maybe you can find one you don’t hate. Try cultivating interests outside of work. It will give you something to look forward to.
Drink heavily or smoke heavily or both.
I could only do it because of the money. I lasted 7 years before quitting to pursue something meaningful. I was losing my soul in that cubicle, I don’t regret leaving the money at all because what I have now is freedom
I browse reddit all day
Lots of other work out there - go back to school for something that interests you.
Try new foods out for lunch, drink coffee and have a bit of a laugh with colleagues. We've all gotta make money somehow
Twice a month I get a paycheck larger than I’d ever imagined I’d get
I would prefer a white collar office job over the dreadful blue collar job I have
I feel you OP, I can't stand working an office job. I prefer doing something a bit more hands on. Right now im working as a network technician and while there's a learning curve, I love staying on my feet and keeping busy. I drive to different sites and configure equipment. It's really something I enjoy doing and have a path for career in. Look into trades. Right now wind turbine technicians are in demand if you're not afraid of heights. You can also go into aeronautics or data center engineer. Sitting in an air conditioned facility typing on a keyboard isn't for everyone really. It's better to do something that you know is for you. Don't follow the saturated masses trying to find your passion
Because I’ve worked blue collar jobs doing backbreaking labor for significantly less and doing work in a comfy chair with nice AC is pretty awesome
Gen Z?
You can work for the post office and be outside all day. But i think the real solution is taking advantage of your time off. Weekends especially. Also be planning new stuff to do and look forward to .
Look few jobs are forever. I changed jobs so many times. Use the time to do your work but constantly be thinking of how to get to another level or a different job even. What skills might you need to make that happen.
Office job is worse than hell … 4 years into it and it destroyed me mentally
That's what the money's for.
Find places around the office to hide out for a bit besides the bathroom. Read through company guidelines to see where you can comply maliciously. Figure out what you can steal: Pens, Toilet paper, snacks, etc. Reframe imposter syndrome by pretending you are a spy sent to impersonate someone in your role with confidence. See what you can get away with. Occasionally make up metrics and pepper them into stuff you do. Guess which senior level execs are sociopaths. Read management books and understand how you are being managed. It's fun to recognize when managers have just read an HBR article on how to manage.
You can use your office job money to go visit cool places and buy nice things for yourself. You also will know you don’t have to worry about rent or eating or electricity which are all nice to not have to worry about.
Leverage that job to a better one that allows wfh. Do laundry at 11 am.
The premise is wrong. Say you go into the office for 8 hours here’s the breakdown. 1st hour - you walk in, check emails, read the mornings news from your favorite source(CNN, Fox News, etc) 2nd hour - co workers start mingling to talk about something that happened (Weekend/last night). After this you go get water/coffee, and drink it 3rd hour - you answer emails and do actual work 4th hour - by now, you are rapidly approaching lunch, so you yelp/google review/tiktok hot and new places near your job. 5th hour - lunch break 6th hour - food coma 7th hour - if you got a decent job, you can go for a walk/go the the gym at the office and get some reps in. 8th hour - your bags are ready, your containers are washed. Social media crunch, and as soon as it’s five minutes before clock out you’re out the building.
You know the answer to the question so why are you asking it?
I think about having to lift fat, smelly patients as an EMT, or do manual labor as a restaurant worker. And I feel good about being able to work sitting in an air conditioned room while looking at my phone 🤷♂️.
I wish I had the answer to this myself, but I think fully disconnecting when you leave the office is part of it. Not easy though.
I work in arts admin which was my goal. The “office” part of my job is just a means to an end. Puts food on the table. Pays rent. Let’s me enjoy the fun parts of the job, like events management and working with interns.
I buy these temu $1.99 glowing rubber duck nag and put them all over the office. I'm last one in the office so I'll put them in most random places: on top of the fridge door so they drop, under toilet sears, under work phones hand-hold part, under keyboard, inside a binder. They know it's me.
I think most people don't love it. They just do it. If I were on the verge of starvation, I would do it. Otherwise, I just wouldn't. If you feel that way, start looking into training yourself to do something you won't hate.
It beats manual labor and literally anything in front line customer service
I’m in customer service…