To really not like working

[Mammylamb]

I really don’t enjoy working. I need to work to earn money; but I really don’t enjoy it; I feel anxious most days, even though I work in a relatively nice office with nice colleagues. I just spend every day worrying that I’m not doing a good enough job. Or that I’ll make a mistake.

When I look on MN, loads of women have senior roles and sound like they really enjoy work; Aibu to really not enjoy work?

Universal basic income.

Either that or the 1% live in luxury surrounded by armed guards and everybody else is poor and farms the land. But is that really that different to what we have now?

Automation could lead to utopia and time to persue the arts and creative venture.

You’re right. I have been looking recently at various admin jobs at different salary grades in the NHS. It seems obvious from reading some of the job descriptions that these were jobs that were previously a grade higher. Some of the job descriptions even for the very lowest grade job are HUGE with quite difficult tasks on, nearly all requiring some degree of previous experience and qualifications. Years ago those roles at the lowest grade I’m sure would have been done by school leavers, and they certainly wouldn’t have come with all the responsibility listed on the current JDs.

If intelligent graduates are having to take jobs like that for shitty pay, where does that leave the rest of society?

A relative works at a higher grade biosciences job in the NHS. Has done for years. She is disgusted st the things that her band 2/3 colleagues on £17.5k a year are having to do these days. She has tried to help campaign for those roles to get regraded, to no avail.

It’s not work per se that posters on here are complaining at, but the sheer demands of even basic jobs, for shitty pay.

We are going backwards. Back to Victorian times where there were 2 tiers of society. The wealthy landlords and the rest, who toiled away for a pittance just to afford to pay to live in the houses of the landlords.

ITA @CurlyhairedAssassin. 😡

THe sad thing is that for many young people who only started their working life in the last 10 years or so, they won’t have known how things used to be in work. A very stressful working life just to avoid the basics in life will be all they’ve ever known.

That will either make them more resilient or burn them out, I guess.

AFFORD the basic things!!!

Yes, there was a point where relatively unskilled/lowish-paying jobs still meant you could afford stuff like a weekly night out and an annual holiday, along with an adequate house.

Interesting how the powers that be be are ramping up the surveillance of us all whilst running society into the ground...wonder why?!

@CurlyhairedAssassin

You make a very good point. I used to generally really enjoy my job. Then the cuts started coming in. Workloads grew to unmanageable levels. Pointless paperwork grew and took over. When, inevitably, people couldn’t keep up they were told that their time management was bad. When they were close to breakdown they were told they needed to be more resilient. The job it is now is not the job I trained for 20 years ago.

I have now seen many experienced colleagues, who were absolutely fantastic at their job (honestly much better than me!) throw in the towel and pursue other less stressful options. I myself have now taken a job at a lower grade than the one I’m qualified for because it can be done from home and the workload is manageable.

So yes, I agree with what you’ve said 100%. It doesn’t bode well for the future. As our upper management learned, you can only push people so far before they break.

I work from home and still hate it and get stressed! I'm ok most of the time but at this time of year I have a big audit and have to actually deal with people as well as paperwork and vegetables and that is just not worth it. My cat also agrees as it takes more time away from serving his every whim. (Girl cat couldn't care less tbf)

I’ve always started new jobs with gusto. Straight in there, really keen to get the job done, but the sheen fades after 6 months. The main job I had for 15 years, I loved with a passion with lots of travel but gave it up because we were moving to Oz after having dc. We were there only 2 years and wish I hadn’t bothered. I miss that job.

Could it be the job you’re in? Or your anxiety is magnified?

It’s nice to read this and see there are people like me out there! I hate going to work. I don’t mind my job, I like my colleagues, but I resent HAVING to be there every day, HAVING to get up early and get on a packed train and make my way there. I sit there sometimes thinking about how fucking pointless it is - I think about the books I could be reading and hobbies I could be pursuing...I feel like I spend way too much time fantasising about winning the lottery but the idea of never working again (or never HAVING to work again) is utter heaven to me. On the other hand I feel guilty about not being super ambitious. I earn £16,500 in central London which makes me all the more resentful but yeah...I would love not having to work. Love it.

I like a couple of pps am I senior HCP in a very rewarding job which I love. However, I still have huge imposter syndrome and the stakes are high if you do make a mistake in healthcare. I feel like my colleagues all think I am incompetent. The demands in most jobs have changed so much in the last decade, squeezing employees for all they can, cutting paybands. It was a much nicer working enviroment 10 years ago.

I also acknowledge though that if I switched jobs to a less demanding one, I'd still feel imposter syndrome - it's a confidence thing!

Fluffy. My job doesn’t have as high stakes as yours; it’s financial issues that would occur; not lives at stake. But he anxiety I feel is disproportionate to the actual things I’m worried about. I know that. But still feel awful. It’s been getting worse over the weekend to the point I feel sick today x

I'm a Primary school teacher and intend to retire at 60- only 8 more years to go. I can never understand colleagues who say they get bored in the holidays. I never get bored at home. I feel giddy with happiness on Fridays, knowing that the weekend is just around the corner. On Thursday, we had a flood in school so we're closed for the day and I loved having time to myself. I can't say I hate going to work, and my job is okay once I'm there but I'd rather not have to do it.

yes yes yes! all the time. I'm actually really good at my job but still worry every time my boss calls in case I'm in trouble. It's utter madness and totally out of proportion.

my very good mate is a qualified professional coach and has offered to help me combat 'my demons' and to work out which self destructive power is at work. I don't have any answers but share your pain.

Who else has the Sunday night blues? I really do not want to go in tomorrow, thinking of going in and resigning and walking out after that!

I have this horrible feeling that no matter what job I do, I’ll feel the same

I know this feeling, was the same when I worked. Put it this way: I had the best possible job for me (although not much money) and it took being on antidepressants for 20 years to be able to live and work. Once I gave up working, I gave up the "mad pills". And haven't gone mad. On the contrary, I'm so happy I could not even imagine it's possible.

You’re not alone. My job would be ok were it not for all the people who think work is the only thing in life (I suspect some of the ones you look at on here as having high powered jobs they love). It wouldn’t be so bad but although a well paid prestigious profession when it boils down to it it’s bloody pointless, most of the stress comes from pointless shit that makes the bosses feel good or helps someone to further their career. Surrounded by people you wouldn’t trust as far as you could throw them, everyone is always looking for an angle. Where I’ve got to is I’m part time using some of my day off for something that is actually worthwhile. In the next 18 months or so looking to retrain. I can’t carry on like this, I highly suspect our firm will be making redundancies soon, I really hope it’s me

I have this horrible feeling that no matter what job I do, I’ll feel the same.
This is me, too. I may as well stay where I am as it is under 2 miles from where I live and I like most of my colleagues. Moving to a similar role with a different organisation would just make me as miserable but with a longer commute.

Currently making small cutbacks in my spending as I am determined to go part time this year. I have just had work and all that goes with it. I have good interests outside of work and also enjoy time on my own and work is really starting to feel like it's getting in the way of my life. I can't afford to reduce my hours by too much but even an extra day to myself a week would be great.

I also agree with a previous poster re more flexibility around working from home. With modern technology there are many jobs that no longer require people to be physically present in the workplace between set hours Monday to Friday. Mine would certainly fit this category. I sit in a room on my own at work and rarely have to speak to people about my work as it's quite self contained and niche.

I could easily do about 80% of it at home, but our Personnel Director is not very accommodating re people working from home.

It would make my working life so much easier if I could do a couple of days at home, without impacting negatively on either the quality of my work or my colleagues.