Does anyone else hate working no matter the job?

I love working — the actual practise of working — and I’ve never been unemployed, even through uni, pregnancy, surgery… But I hate having a boss.

One weird thing I’ve found is, most things become significantly more enjoyable when you put MORE effort in. So the more bored you feel, the more you should throw yourself into it. Give it 200%. It sounds like it’d be even more boring but actually it becomes way more engaging.

Yeah I absolutely hated every job I’ve had and I’ve had a fair few some paying quite well. So I quit this year and have mentally retired. Sure we’ve got less money but god the whole family is a damn site happier and we probably live healthier because I’ve time to prep/plan/grow and do most routine house jobs through the week so weekends are all about fun (admittedly free or cheap fun but so far so good!)

Not sure I can be any help at all but I have found myself asking what is work and why do we do it, or have to do it? An animal just walks around, eats and sleeps, has sex, tries not to die. I enjoy watching Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild because people lead an alternative existence, often off grid. If no job suits you, have you considered a different lifestyle? I've enjoyed a good career but I've never really rated work.

haha, I want to be a racehorse trainer but I have zero skills... the excercise isnt really about that though, its more about if you imagine where you would wake up, what you would be doing and the types of things you would be doing to be happy... but obviously not pie in the sky impossible things, but more like, I would love to wake up in Bali, and spend the morning sipping coffee on a beach and work with animals, then that is not impossible, might not be possible today, but you can work towards it. or I would like to wake up in the country and spend my afternoon working on my novel.. then walk amongst the hills before cooking a lovely homemade dinner... for example,,, its about realising what lifestyle it is that you are dreaming of and what you need to change to achieve it. For example if you are a city nurse and you hate where you live and hate your job... OK but what actually would make you happy? Is it moving to the country and working in a cafe by day and taking an evening course in fashion design.. so you can eventually start a business doing that? Or something else.. like what's the end game that would actually make you think, yes I am enjoying life right now and how do you get there.

I like the social side of working, but not the drudge and get bored after a couple of years - then there’s nowhere to go in terms of promotion as I’d hate a management role (of people).

I’m mid-50s working for DH’s business mainly from home. Not much social side now but I’ve got my friends and am happy with that. I don’t drink anymore and have to be careful about what I eat as well s it wouldn’t be the same.

Annoyingly the one job I really liked i was made redundant.

It’s not so much work as adult life and responsibilities.

ALL I want to do is backpack around Asia and do exercise, yoga, read books, eat fresh fruit, go to beach parties and meet interesting people from around the world etc. I’m at my happiest in this ‘form’.

But I have responsibilities (not as much as others admittedly - I don’t have children or elderly parents), so can’t just jack everything in and leave on a one-way ticket like I used to do in my 20s.

I quite like my job, but I struggle with the demand to be somewhere at a certain time.

Every morning I seem to have a negative mindset. I talk myself into how shit the day is going to be. And then the day happens and it's not so bad.

What I really hate is commuting. Spending minimum of two hours of my life each day racing to be somewhere while the clock seems to be laughing at me.

I also hate having to be out of my home more than in it to pay for it. Seems mental to me!

And then there the general expense of living. A modest salary doesn't seem to stretch for anything nice in life.

I'm a casual worker so don't work all year round.

And I couldn't give a shit what anyone thinks.

I was a SAHM when DC were young and I absolutely loved it. I think I could have happily been a "housewife". Life didn't work out that way though so I needed to work.

I was lucky and got the job I wanted but boredom set in. Luckily I was able to move around the organisation and do different roles. That's the only way I managed. Now I wfh and it couldn't be much better, but I still long for retirement! (10 years to go!).

I do like having my own money but if someone just gave me the money without needing to work, I'd be very happy. I hate routine of any kind and work makes routine necessary.

I am happy in my job. I am a manager of a small team. Unfortunately my manager above me rides my ass and makes me miserable. She tells me when I phone her that I ruin her day by phoning if I end up quitting, she will be the reason.

Not sure if this will make you feel better or worse! But I provide after school care for someone who has all the things you mentioned, VERY high earner, regular travel for work and lots of perks, and when I arrived at her house yesterday she was finishing up a call, and when she hung up she turned around and said to me, “I wish I could retire!” shes 45, so no chance! And she says this to me regularly and sometimes seems sad that I’m the one that gets to go to the school gate and to the park to hang out afterwards. However, her lifestyle is a whole lot fancier than mine, but she works hard for it.

I have mostly quite enjoyed my childcare jobs. Low stress, decent pay, time for my own kids,

You're not wrong OP. I took redundancy a couple of years ago from my bog-standard office job as it felt too good an offer to pass up and I was bored and it was only a matter of time before someone realised I had very little to do post-covid as so much had been automated, gone online or just not required anymore.

I thought I'd take a couple of months out then look for something more interesting. I didn't appreciate how much the job market had changed since last time I hopped jobs and It took me nearly 9 months, countless applications and about a dozen interviews to get another job so I wasn't in a position to turn it down but I HATE it.

The organisation's OK but It's a front-line post and I hate having to be "on" all the time. To keep sane, I regularly review my options but I'm also 58 and very unlikely to get anything better in the current climate so I'm gritting my teeth and sticking with it in the hope I can retire sooner rather than later.

Yep I did too. Hated everything until I got a job in the arts in my early 40s. I absolutely LOVE it. I’m really busy but I’m away from all the corporate bollocks such as unnecessary meetings, sucking up to management, pointless training and workshops etc etc. My new job isn’t perfect but SO much better than before.

I'm actually considering getting a Christmas retail job even though I hate being customer facing just so I can stash some money away and pack it all in earlier.

I like my job but I hate working. My children are now teenagers and I find that they need me so much more than they did as young children. I wish I could quit and be a stay at home mum.

I don't mind my job. It pays OK and the people are nice. It keeps me challenged whilst allowing some flexibility. It's not too high pressure but I feel competent and skilled.

It's taken me years to find the right thing for myself as I am a bit like you, OP. Generally I don't like working for someone else, or having to be in a certain place at a certain time. But working for myself would be too much pressure for me and I lack the motivation.

I feel like I've found my ideal job, given that I do have to work... but I still wish things were different.

If I could leave tomorrow and have financial stability (not from a man), I wouldn't think twice.

Oh yes. I automatically think all bosses are completely incompetent arseholes.

I quite like my job (TA) but currently not liking being in education due to behaviour in school and lack of staff to deal with it all.

I find getting out to work helps me stop worrying about stuff at home.

I have discovered a surprising amount of ex-teachers in the smallholding/farming world, on the grounds that animals are much less stressful to work with than large groups of other people!

I like the animal side of my job. A few of the humans the ones that think that they are superior to the rest of us could be improved, and the work hours less so that I could have more of a life, but I know that I couldn't manage on a part-time wage.

I can’t say I do hate working. I have never been as miserable as the couple of years I spent unemployed. I need people, community and mental stimulation. It probably helps that I have long teaching holidays, but even by the end of those I am ready to go back to work.

I loved working ( also qualified as teacher, but burnt out within 10 years!)

Mid 50’s now, am struck with cancer, can’t work and wish I could!

I don't hate it but I'd rather not do it. If I didn't have to work I definitely wouldn't.

I work largely self employed now in a way that suits me, which is also a way I couldn't do when my kids were young. That is, intense bursts with lots of time off in between, and a different working pattern every day even during the full on times. I find that keeps me just about enough on my toes to make it interesting. But, most jobs aren't like that so most of my working life I've been bored to fucking tears, ground down and in reality a bit listless even outside of work. For thirty years!

One job I liked was in a factory working 6am-2pm. The job itself was boring but the people I worked with were a good laugh and finishing at 2 meant it felt like I had a lot of time to myself. Getting up in the morning was brutal though.

I do enjoy the satisfaction of earning money but I think the 40 hours/5 days for 45/50 years model is a poor bargain for most employees, overall, so it's a bit dispiriting.

I used to think we were all nuts for thinking working was something worthwhile and being sniffy about people who would prefer not to work. I thought it was something sold to the working and middle classes to keep us occupied while the rich enjoyed life and never worked if they could help it. I still feel a bit like that but I love my job nowadays, I work for a lovely firm remotely with flexible hours and we have a small team that really support one another - there's none of this management bollocks where we have to do stupid things to prove we're part of a team either. I do think it depends on where you work. I like to have my own money and feel my brain is being used for good. Would I give it all up tomorrow if I became really rich? Possibly, but I'd still do something else to be useful and I'd miss the people I work with.

I never liked work even though it was well paid. I’m early retired now & have never been happier. Free to spend my days how I please. Get a plan in place to retire as soon as you can!