Anyone else just hate working, no matter what the job is?

[DrSheppard]

I'm in a pretty good job right now - the people are nice enough, the pay is very good, the subject matter is relatively interesting and it's flexible (can mostly work from home). But each and every day I struggle. I've felt like this in every job I have, and I've had a fair few! I dislike the routine of work. I dislike meetings and emails and workshops. I hate going into the office especially - I hate the glaring lights, sitting at a desk all day and the feeling of being boxed in. Even in the best of jobs I've had, this feeling never goes away.

I just don't care about work, frankly. I do what I need to do and always get great performance reviews, but I have zero investment in the outcome of what I do. Every day when I log off I breathe a sigh of relief, but the thought of doing this for the next 30+ years is awful. Sometimes I think about retraining but I really don't know if that'd 'fix' it, since I'm already in a well-paid and comfortable role and I've already dabbled in a fair few types of roles. Does anyone else feel this way?

Trust me... I would not hate my job if I got paid £140/hr 😮🤣

I really enjoy my job. But I've felt that way about other jobs. Would going part time be a feasible option financially?

I love my job for the variety and the people I work with. My wage makes it even more enjoyable. I hate having to get up and go to it though.

I felt like that for a very long time, I got into my trade at 18 when I joined the Forces, left there after a decade and moved about roles (within the same company) with my current employer, from shift to management and back (workplace closure).
It took me till 40 to figure out no matter what ‘role’ I was in, it wasn’t fulfilling. So even though I was 23 years in and had more qualifications than I could ever need, I made the choice to re trade and retrain.
I am currently 6 months into training and it’s the best choice I ever made!
Keep looking and you’ll find something you enjoy that makes the next 30 years bearable

I think I just hate the monotony of the daily grind. Who knows, I can’t say I hate my job because I get paid far too well to do very little day to day.
I just don’t seem to have the passion my colleagues/managers do? I literally do not give a shit yet also give a shit. i just can’t embrace the extra woop factor they all seem to have.

Exactly. It’s supply and demand: if people are willing to do it for free, it’s never going to be a money maker.

The jobs that are most like the things you used to enjoy as a child are precisely the ones where countless thousands try to ‘follow the dream’ but only about 0.1% ever earn enough to make a living. So: actor, filmmaker, musician, novelist, professional sportsperson. Any qualification in these fields is likely to be an expensive lottery ticket.

Then there are the ones where you definitely need to be the right sort of person: nurse, doctor, nanny, teacher, police officer, armed forces. Many people try these and find they’re not cut out for them.

Then you get the vital ones like cooking, farming, building, infrastructure and maintenance.

Then there are the jobs that nobody wants to do but they need doing, like cleaning loos or emptying bins or clearing fatbergs. Nobody dreams of these but life without them would be unspeakable.

The rest is just nonsense and politics and bullshit.

Have you ever had time off work OP? I feel like most people get depressed without the routine of work (or a strong hobby/something to replace it!)

Every job has this bit, the past that sucks.
That's why it's a job and not a hobby.

I am a corporate drone but quite sure I earn more than a window cleaner, hair dresser or dog boarder.

Sounds like you’re not suited to sedentary office roles??

Yes.

You could try to fill the void with taking on some time for a charity - sharing your skills with no pay.
Do you like care dogs?
Would you feel able to become a mentor?
Work in a soup kitchen?
Help poor people with their budgeting?

Also you could unleash your creative side and take up an artistic hobby... paint, resew old garments into fashion, jewellery making, photograph pets, propigate new rose varieties, stain glass creations ...
You could engage in something joyful every day after work.
Do you like meeting friends, bubble bathing, swimming etc.

I love my chosen field of work.
I love what I do.
Dont love my current job (I like it, though), but, in general, I do love most jobs I have.

But I hate working. I hate having to be somehwhere for X amount of time. Having to leave the house at this time, to be at work for that time.

Not being able to do whatever the hell I want, because I have to work!

My work has also mostly been anti social, in terms of hours, which means not being able to do loads of socialising that takes place in the evenings.

If I wont the lottery tomorrow, id never work again! Id find ways to entertain myself. Even if that was to watch the whole Netflix catalogue! Id consider it time well spent!

I love my job, my team is great, the work is interesting and I get paid to go skiing. I would work in some capacity if I didn’t need the money. My job only takes about 20 hours a week. I’d probably feel differently if my job took actual full time hours!

I wonder if a job that changes every day would help? Temping or locum work or something similar.

£140 an hour! Ever thought of sub contracting the bits you don’t like ( to me maybe).

It's extremely obvious that you've only restricted yourself to 'well-paid' jobs. There are plenty that keep meetings/emails, pointless BS to a minimum.
Manual jobs, being a farmhand, forestry, etc. Beautician, hairdressers.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity...

×oops I meant well paid office jobs.
There are plenty of OTHER JOBS I meant to say

I just don't care about work, frankly.

I completely relate to your dislike of offices and a normal 9-5 (even if it's a cause you care about).

But if you think about what 'work' means, it's literally just doing something productive. It doesn't mean having a manager, it doesn't mean getting paid, it doesn't mean being in an office.

The definition of work is just "activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result".

If you hate that, in its entirity... I'm really interested to hear about what you do care about?

I guess I just think you should think about work, and what you might want from life, in broader terms than the 9-5 office job. That's a box that many, many people don't fit in, and I've learned that it's really not healthy to try and force yourself (obviously unless you absolutely have to for financial reasons).

But 'work' is so much more than that... I really don't know anyone who hates all work. I mean, you have a passion project, so that is work, it's just a different kind of work.

If you hate your job then you need to really reflect on what is actually meaningful to you and where you might go with it to create a more rewarding life. It's not easy, but I don't think you really hate work, I think you just hate jobs.

It doesn't sound very 'meaningful' for you on a daily basis. It also seems like salary is an important factor. Perhaps you need to accept you are doing it for the salary only? No job is going to be paid well, stress free, meaningful, loads of independence, WFH etc Be realistic about what compromises you are prepared to make? Maybe get some coaching - an approach like acceptable and commitment therapy might be helpful to help you work out what you want and how to live with the challenges of that.
I work in health care and, yes there are stresses, but the role is hugely variable and it's tangible meaningful.

I don't hate working but I hate working for other people

I need to be self employed but it's too scary to take the plunge. If the mortgage was paid I'd love to do something like open a little gift shop as a hobby business.

I think for some people work gives them structure and a sense of self worth and identity or they just love what they do (that can be anything, actress, accountant, lollipop lady). I’ve only ever worked for money but when I left my last job I felt at a complete loss about what to do with myself, even though I loathed that job, I had never had that much free time before.

Dh on the other hand loves his job, but thats because he fell into a new one by luck that he finds really interesting. I think with the last one if he had won the lottery he would have dropped it, this one I think he would carry on working.

I think you nailed it, I have one of those bullshit jobs. It takes all my power to come across like I care. The people around me are high achievers who love their job and thrive to always do more. I feel like such a fraud! I just want to take the money and go back to my family and things I actually enjoy doing thank you very much.

It seems a lot of people on this thread are 30 or so years away from retirement (including me) so I do wonder if it's partly an age/stage of life thing.

I think in your 40s a lot of people realise that the 'run rabbit run' up the corporate ladder is just more and more bullshit, albeit better paid.

I tried hard for 5 years to get a managerial position, when I finally did it was one of the worst experiences of my career. A lot of that was the company but I missed being one step removed from the 'action' on the front line and having to do boring random shite like sign off invoices for things I knew nothing about.

Yeah I can just about tolerate work, but would infinitely prefer to spend my days baking, walking and tracing my family tree! I don’t understand people who say they’d keep working if they won the lottery, I think they need better hobbies 😂