To have hated every job ive ever had?

I was an academic researcher doing my dream job. I was excelling in my PhD research which was getting a lot of recognition and I was publishing way before the end of my PhD. I loved it, and the topic was the passion of my life. I wolfed so so hard at it and then submitted my phd and had a horrific psychotic breakdown from which I have barely recovered and now have disabilities becasue of he damage I caused ot my body. in psychosis. I had jobs I did Leo before too always but ive barely worked for eight years and I miss my old works od very very much. I dont know what to advise you but id find it unbearable to do a job I didnt like. I was the opposite of what people say and my work was one of the most important parts f my life and it consumed me too much really becasue I loved it. I didnt really make tiem for hobbies but being os consumed also broke me and my life is now in utter tatters. its so hard to get the balance. im thinking of setting up a very small floristry business. im totally dependent on my husabnd.

Yes I did

I used to feel this way so I retrained in something more suited to my skillset. Now I'm paid well, work remotely and don't have to have many interactions with other people which is just how I like it. The days go by quite quickly now with the freedom to take out time for myself throughout the day. Workouts, home cooked meals, dog walks, etc. Would you consider retraining if you found something that might be a better fit?

I used to love working and especially working in a team. Now I'm out of that career and I hate working for other people.

I used to feel part of a team, valued, and that the work I did helped us all to achieve something. Now if I go contracting it's endless levels of management, no say, lots of responsibility, and completely unvalued. Of course I know I've never been indispensible but I did feel valued. I'm just another number and achieving nothing nor helping to achieve anything worthwhile.

But I still go, as Terry Pratchett once said;

“Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.”

I'll make it easy for you.

Fact - someone (or multiple someones) has called something essential.
Opinion - whether it actually is essential or not.

YANBU. Work sucks, even if you like your job. I like and even have a 'passion' (bleurgh!) for mine, but I hate the long hours, lack of recognition. And most of all the way companies expect to keep you working ever harder and harder, for what is effectively lower and lower pay due to inflation and lack of pay rises... it sucks. Simple as that.

And in the end, what is it all for? I don't make enough to expect a decent pension or comfortable retirement. Living for the weekend is not a life. I feel like I'm wasting my time, just lining the pockets of shareholders.

Working 9-5 (or 6.... 7...) Mon-Fri to me seems outdated and pointless. I have no idea what the solution is, but people telling you to organise your time better or take antidepressants are missing the point.

Sigh. Not someone. Everyone. Everyone calls essential services essential. There's even a UN list of what essential services are, in some countries they're legally defined.

Yes, you continue to miss the point.

I've done "essential" jobs and most of the time it felt like going through the motions doing things to please management that had nothing to do with providing the service. Sometimes even doing things that made it harder to provide a decent service.

Horses for courses and I think whatever motivates people or gives them enthusiasm is great it just can't necessarily be applied to other people.

Just because someone has called a thing 'essential' doesn't mean it is a fact - that is just an opinion (though probably a widely held one I'll admit).

So no, I don't miss the point.

I'm with you, OP. I have a job which is technically 'essential' but actually the essential bits of it get drowned in a sea of pointless bureacracy and corporate bullshit. Add to that the constant requirement for a level of daily enthusiasm that borders on toxic positivity and you have a recipe for turning an interesting and 'important' job into a soul-destroying one.

And I'm one of the lucky ones: public sector, highly qualified and experienced, decently remunerated, nice colleagues (on the whole) and with a 'purpose'. It's still mainly bollocks.

Read David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs, campaign for UBI, and maybe think about whether life could actually look really different if you want it to. That's what I'm currently doing - not there yet but getting there!

You miss the point. It doesn't matter if you think they're essential or not... because they are. It's a fact, opinions are irrelevant. They're literally called essential services.

I too hate working and have job hoped over the years.

I work in Education now (not teaching) and I hate it. It’s an unpleasant atmosphere, very cliquey and bitchy and lots of responsibility is put on your shoulders, whilst management belittles you at the same time.

Its compounded by the fact I used to work for myself, which I liked but which become too insecure and I used to have a really respected and responsible job, I’ve struggled a lot now with the fact that I am treated like a child and that past experience doesn’t seem to count for much.

i too hate the fact that this is my life for the foreseeable

Nobody needs to judge, but it is up to me whether I think something is essential or not - not you. If you don't want give me the info to make that judgement then fair enough.

"I have SOOO many emails today! I was here until 8:30 last night just finishing everything I needed to do!" (proceeds to flap around achieving nothing for the next hour)

I don't think I've ever enjoyed working!
But what massively improves my ability to not hate my job is my colleagues.
Good colleagues make any job better in my experience!
Disinterested or bad colleagues make for a much more miserable experience.
Which is why I haven't tried WFH roles yet, I like meeting my colleagues in person.
Ah, just seen an update where you say you struggle to make friends at work, that does complicate things.
I am generally quite shy too around new people, most places I've worked I've been in a small team or small company, so its a bit more close knit but I think that can also go either way if there's a bad egg.

No you don't, nobody needs you to judge whether they are essential. They are, whether you think so or not (and you'd be some fool to think not)

I'm the same, just constant anxiety about going into work. I work as a domiciliary care worker and spend most of my days in a funk with worry about it. Last year I started training to do something else and attend classes every week which means that in almost 2 years I'll be qualified to work in another field entirely. I just hope that I don't find that work as anxiety inducing! Maybe try and think of something you're passionate about and go from there?

I was like this. I worked in journalism for 10 years, then the civil service for about 15 years. I was successful and got promotions. Hated all of it.
3 years ago I moved into the arts and absolutely love it. I work at my local theatre and it's bloody brilliant. Pay isn't great but I've never been happier at work.

I think we would need to know what you (and they) do before we can judge whether they are essential or not.

Finding a job with a point may not be impossible but finding a well paid job with a point, when you have no experience in that field and when you are a single income household with three kids to support definitely is.

We'll go on then...

Yes, everybody gets their own. And everyone else gets to tell you they're horrible

Most of us have kids, we still change jobs.

What I do isn't pointless at all, it's essential. As is my partner's job, my siblings jobs, and most of my friends jobs. It's not really that difficult to find a job with a point.