To ask... how many of you honestly care about your work

[karmacoma1]

... and see it as a career. Or at least a stepping stone to where you want to be.

And how many of you just see it as a nessicary evil - to get paid, at the end of the day.

I ask because I’m in a fairly new job. Something happened today meaning our day to day roles were impacted. All of my colleagues were up in arms, even ones I had considered pretty passive.

I however just feel ‘meh’ towards it... I was so engaged in my last job. This can’t be a good sign for my new role, can it?

I'm about half way through my career. I loved my job at the start and was enthusiastic. But now it is just my job. I don´t hate it, but I'm not passionate about it any more. I don´t get worked up about new initiatives, etc. because I don´t really care enough any more. My job suits me, I do it well, it pays me well. I don´t plan on changing job as I don´t think there is anything else that I would enjoy more and I am sure nothing would pay me as well. My pay enables me to travel, and live a good life in general. To me it is a fair trade off for doing a job that doesn't really engage me any more. I suspect a lot of people end up at this point in their working careers. Being inspired and enthusiastic about your job for decades is probably unrealistic for most people.

I absolutely love my work. I have great colleagues, a super manager and I know I make a difference to my clients " lives. I have no time for the few staff in our services who do the minimum to earn their money. In my opinion they have no place here and the sooner they fuck off the better.

I love my job. It's very stressful, but I'm passionate about and care.

• about it

Before kids I cared about it loads. After DS a lot less so. Now I'm pregnant with number two and struggling to give the slightest fuck.

However, the managing partners of the company are very decent people, so I'm trying to keep my end up for their benefit.

I love my work, it is part of who I am.

I love my job. I think it's meaningful and it's a big part of who I am. It's also quite interesting to people in general so I find social events much easier than I used to (previously very socially anxious)- I just let people ask me about my job and then can relax while I answer their questions and they think I'm interesting!

I think because it's tax-payer funded I also have a sense of responsibility to do it as well as I possibly can. People who skive / avoid tasks really annoy me.

I've been training for / working towards my role since I was about 15. I sometimes dream about having a nice easy job where I stopped thinking about it the moment I left the house but I quickly snap out of that!

I think it sounds you were forced from a job you enjoyed and now have home concerns to prevent You from fully engaging in the new work place. The place will grow on you as your baby gets older, you make stronger friendships with colleagues etc.

I enjoy my job and do put energy into helping the business but it is low paid and sometimes I wonder if I will need to move on money wise as tax credits stop for my oldest children (I am a single parent). Jobs are a means to an end for me as I’ve always had to work around the children and never had a chance to build a career. I always end up in entry level roles that then get boring and I move into something else to find challenge. I never seem to get the chance to get into higher roles although I’d like to now my children are older (youngest is nearly 9). I never went to uni and got a degree even though I’d have been capable of doing so (did A levels and open uni courses) which I regret now as it is hard to do the more interesting roles without one.

My perfect job would to be a paid writer (I write novels) but there is such an element of luck in that being a sustainable way to earn money that I’ve always had to play safe.

Wasn't really bothered when working in advertising and marketing but absolutely LIVED work when I opened my own business. Sadly I got seriously ill and had to get rid of my business. Still makes me super angry and sad.

I was really into my job when I was younger (lawyer). In around my mid30s I started giving less of a fuck. I'm now early 40s with a young child and not really enjoying it, although I still care deeply about the clients I work with. The job is a lot more management and admin now I am more senior. I'd like to get out but there are not many other things I could do without a huge salary drop.

"
Stuff changes when you have kids.."
It did for me, I became more ambitious and focused

I do. It's a field of work in passionate about and I see positive change on a daily basis.

I'd progressed through a company for 7 years, worked up to senior manager level. While I was on maternity leave, they didn't get cover for me and the people in my team ran riot and essentially ran the department in to the ground.

We restructured about 6 months after I returned and I opted to not apply for my own job and took redundancy. When I returned, I tried my hardest to get everything back to where it was when I left but the team had really caught on to bad habits. I can honestly say redundancy was a relief. If it hadn't been an option, I'd have still been there and miserable.

I now work in a small team in the construction industry. I leave my job behind once 5pm strikes and I can honestly say I absolutely love it. But I realise now it's because I'm helping people all the time and that's what fulfils me. I never thought taking a job with little to no responsibility would be my bag, but it really is. I'm responsible for me and my workload and no one else.

I care, I'm passionate about it and tbh if it wasn't for the kids if work more. DH and I are currently thinking about how we make this hereby as it's my 'turn' (10 years of me taking a back seat: retraining, taking time out and then working part time to fit around the kids). I read material about my week in my time off (but it gives me pleasure...)

I was very committed to my work. Did a huge amount of unpaid overtime in order to ensure deadlines were met. I was rewarded with promotions. Would start at 07.15 after a 45 minute drive and sometimes would not leave until 22.00. Huge amount of pressure to hit deadlines, but I enjoyed it. I work with the public and more often than not am considered to be the bad guy, so developed a thick skin and certain amount of empathy.

Have been on maternity leave for 10 months now. None of it matters anymore. Saying that, when I go back, I might get my mojo back, but if I'm being honest right now, I'd rather be a SAHP.

Love work and genuinely really enjoy my time there. I'm shocked at how many people don't!

You spend so much time there, I'd hate to hate it.

I alsmost care more now that I have had a baby - no idea why but I have a brilliant boss.

I used to work for a big company. Slaved my guts out, worked above and beyond, got promoted a couple of times. Sacrificed time with my young kids to spend at work, constantly thought of work, was proud of my job. Then got made redundant.

Made me realise that old saying “ why kill your self doing a job for a company that would replace your ass in a week if you dropped dead “.

Worked for a shit company for 3 years, now in a new job with a good company. It’s boring, I can’t get motivated, I don’t care. My colleagues are clique twats that don’t mingle with us newbies.

I just want to stay at home.

I like my job a great deal. I travel a lot, the industry is good fun, the business is doing brilliantly, I get on well with my colleagues and I'm paid a decent wage.

But that's enough. I don't want to progress any further, I'm happy where I am. It's just a job, my 'real' life is outside of work. I have a new boss and he wants to talk about my career progression and where I want to be next. I am trying to work out how to tell him I'm completely lacking in ambition

My job is definitely a job rather than a career

There have been times when I cared too much and it affected my mental health (I have depression and anxiety anyway). Now I’m older and slightly wiser I try to not get so invested in work stuff. I’m not paid enough to spend my weekends worrying about work, and what I do is not important enough to wreck my health over.

I do still care, I realise how much when I’m trying to sort something and I hit brick walls, but fortunately these days that’s pretty rare because the business culture, in my team at least, is pretty good so not many brick walls. But these days I care for like an hour or until whatever i was trying to sort is sorted.

I do care about my job because I help people. I don't have a career since having children but i have a sense of responsibility for the people i work with and for.

I have been less “invested” since having DC due to the responsibilities and “mental load” but I get stuff done better and faster and get less stressed.

Dislike many aspects of my occupation and don’t think the organisation is at all well run. I try to do a good job and improve things, but the scope to influence things is small.

I once had a job in a publicly funded organisation that I thought was pointless (the organisation, and the job). The people were great at working hard but the function wasn’t logical, it was set up and kept for political reasons rather than necessity. I saw this quote: “If a job’s not worth doing, it’s not worth doing well”. Decided to leave!

Exactly what Franny said.

I've been out of work for the best part of a year because of mental health issues. I do badly miss working, though I didn't really enjoy my job, but it's the stimulation and getting out that I miss, not to mention the money.

I'm hoping to work towards getting a career that I enjoy, once I've recovered, but if I won the lottery I'd never work again. I'd study and I'd volunteer but I'd never take paid employment again. Work is drudgery to me. If I didn't have to do it I wouldn't.

I love my job but it's my business so do what I love and can take time off when I choose (within reason). Had plenty of jobs that I've not really liked in the past though, it's not good for you but needs must.