to think if your first office job is in your 30s its too hard to adjust

[spegal]

Hi,

I've started an office job in my 30s, its been a month and still just finding it a miserable and boring existence. Such dull conversations and other people seam to delight in pointing out minor mistakes or picking arguments over little things. To be honest I really don't care about it all, I'm just like whatever its not like anyone is going to die if something isn't perfect.

I'm coming to the conclusion I'm just not an office 9-6 kind of person. Maybe if I had started in my 20s I could of coped. But now I've had such a great life not sat in offices it makes it so hard.

Am I being stuck up or does anyone see my point of view?

Might just stick it out till Xmas for the cash

And really, 2 degrees and you still typed 'I could OF coped'?

I suspect the nit picking you are being subjected to is well justified!

What did you study for your two degrees?

Ilovesooty - obviously not English Language eh?!

Gosh you girls can be so bitchy and mean.

I'm not saying I'm special, I've just gone down the German route of getting two degrees and getting my first full time job in my 30s.

Now finding office work a miserable existence and was just looking for some advice.

Of course I don't want to work, who springs out of bed saying yippie time for work and yes I don't work lunchtimes and overtime for free in order to give perfect work. I have an ethos to not work for free.

I'm trying to say this in the kindest way I can, but get over yourself. Nobody wants to be there, everybody dreams of doing something more exciting, or creative or fun. I know when Sunday evenings come around, I'm not bouncing with excitement at the thought of getting back to my desk. Sometimes, you've just got to suck it up and do whatever you can to pay the bills.

In a lot of office jobs, one person's work impacts on the work of other people, so perhaps what you may see as other people's pettiness is actually their frustration at having to fix your mistakes and, if you aren't hiding your thoughts very well, some annoyance at your attitude towards them.

Seriously some of you have nothing better to do than nitpick on grammar rather as a way to have a dig at someone rather than be helpful?

who springs out of bed saying yippie time for work

I do. But then I get paid quite a lot, and I take pride in working hard and making a difference.

remember OP that during first 2 years of your employment you aren't protected either so if they can't stand you as much as you can't stand them then you're out. normally no warnings either.

Yes I did read the contract before signing it ffs.

Man the fuck up, princess

Love it!

I generally look forward to work and put in quite a lot of time unpaid, but I take a pride in what I do and my ethos has seen me through two redundancy processes. I don't earn a lot though. Most of my team are very much the same, but I like working in our office.

OP, I'm not surprised you're getting flamed, but I do get it. Not everyone can deal with offices. My husband can't, I'm not that great at it either. We both work extremely hard and have good work ethics but find long-term office work kind of soul-destroying (we are both introverts which I think accounts for much of it).

I think where you're going wrong though is putting the blame on your age or on your coworkers.

Thanks for that,I'm probaby wasn't in the best mood when I posted the topic, I guess the age and coworkers should have been worded better. It is probably me, but this office job doesn't seam like living, its existing at best - two hours travel a day stuck in traffic, 9 hours in the office with people I would never socialise with and by the end of it I'm so exhausted I just want to go home.

i have two degrees, got my first fulltime job at 24, not sure how relevatn that is

the thing that people are getting at op, is that because it's your first "proper" job, you don't know that it's being in an office that you don't like. it might be:

• the particular people you work with
• the particular industry you're in
• the particular type of work you're doing (specific tasks)
• the culture of that particular office
• the location of that office (i work on a business park and i hate it - nowhere to go at lunchtime)

or it might be working in an office in general, where you'd be better out visiting clients, or working from home, whatever

the point is that you don't know yet because you haven't given it much of a shot. so look for other things, or plan how to get to where you want to be. think about what you enjoy and work towards that

in the meantime do the job you're paid for to the best of your ability, because to do otherwise is unprofessional and won't get you a good reference out of there

actually OP hang on a sec - so you have 2 degrees but have spent your twenties diddling around studying/internships etc...

Do you actually NEED the money? (sounds as if you don't really). Reality check or what. Having said that my inlaws' family are/were similar but now BIL teaches. He has to. due to finances.

I do agree sort of that it could be hard to adjust. If you really don't think you can adjust then you need rethink your career and fast. You're not getting any younger if you're in your 30s and will become less and less employable if you don't retrain. You can do it later but it's harder.

Yes I do need the money, else I would of quit on day one, I'm lucky in some respects but still need money to live off.

Retraining is the last thing on my mind, I've done nothing but train and its been amazing but sometimes studying something for years makes you aware you don't want to do it anymore.

I'm not suited to office work, so I don't do it.

I worked in a nursery, then as a nanny, then as a 1:1 aide in a school. Now I've stay home with my DC and manage a cinema part time in the evenings.

I

you can retrain on the job. is there any way you can make it your own? get involved with other stuff going on in the office that you do enjoy?

Ugh. I stay home with my DC.

the point is that you don't know yet because you haven't given it much of a shot. so look for other things, or plan how to get to where you want to be. think about what you enjoy and work towards that

Yes that's very true, I have given myself till Xmas, but that seams like so far away to be living a life this grey.

What have you actually been training to do?

5foot5
Whatever you are doing I think it is important to do the best possibly job you can for a number of reasons, one of the most important being your own self esteem. If you can go home thinking "I did a really good job of that today" then you will feel better about yourself than if you just think "Yeah, did some shit, whatever"

If I didn't hate tattoos, if I had enough space on my arm, I would get this tattooed on it.

That there is a manifesto for living.

spegal you're 30, not 21. You have two degrees. Come on, you should know yourself by now. At least stop killing your soul hating what you do or wanting an easy life handing out cheese for twelve quid an hour.

i do understand. i hate my current job (have been in it nearly a year), and the idea of continuing for another six months makes my heart sink.

I work 3 days a week and I prefer the days I don't work in truth but I used to work in an old people's home and that cured me of thinking that I didn't want to work in an office. I'll never have any crazy ideas about wanting to help people ever again

You haven't endured true horror 'til you've worked in an old people's home. (and the one i worked in was run beautifully and they were very kind to the residents and there was a schedule of activities, it was just awful though)

Some people just don't like office or admin type work. But if you need the money then you will have to stick it out till something better comes along or you train for something else. There are a lot worse jobs than office work.

I'm not suited to office work, so I don't do it.

Ha that is a good point. The problem is its pretty well paid (higher rate tax payer) and its a toss up between doing something like this for a short time to save money up or do a nmw job on a faction of this but do that a long time. I haven't found a nmw that I've been that interested in yet, thought about as support worker for people with mental health. But you had to have a car and it was only on 14k, and on shift patterns.

Managing a cinema sounds good cheerfulyank!

spegal you're 30, not 21. You have two degrees. Come on, you should know yourself by now.

How does that song go,baz lurman sun creme, the most interesting people I know still don't know what they want to do, there is a few lines in it on that subject. You may hate me all you like, but that's how I feel. I feel its a waste sat in a office.