To not care about work?

[Polarbearflavour]

I’ve had quite a few jobs and never found my niche. For the past few years I’ve had a variety of office roles.

My problem is, I just really don’t care about work! I turn up and do my allocated hours, I do what’s expected of me, no overtime. But I’ve never found a job I actually care about. They have always been “just” a job to pay the mortgage. I mostly get on okay at work. I generally get on fine with people, I’m content with getting a “Good” in appraisals.

I clock watch at work and get so bored! I’ve had so many bullshit jobs that don’t contribute anything. See: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/25/bullshit-jobs-a-theory-by-david-graeber-review

The only work related passion I have in my life is volunteering at a primary school. I really enjoy it, so much so that I’m thinking of becoming a teaching assistant and possibly doing a PGCE next year.

Does anybody feel the same way about working?

I have never had a job in my life that I have enjoyed. They have just been for financial necessity. i wish I knew what it was like to enjoy working.

I think finding a balance is important. I'm now in a job where, if I couldn't be arsed, people would suffer. What I do directly affects them. I never turn up to work thinking "I can't be bothered today" or "what's the point?" because the point is obvious: alleviate the distress of the person in front of you. Sometimes I turn up thinking "I don't feel very well" but I never feel like my job is pointless.

On the other hand, it is very easy to let your boundaries slide and end up doing a lot of (unpaid) overtime, making yourself ill in the process. Which doesn't help anyone. So a paradoxical part of my job is to know when to stop, when to say 'no, sorry, can't do that', because in the long run that means I can stay healthy and help more people.

When I first started this job I worried I would get compassion fatigue and not be caring enough but it turns out it's the opposite difficulty - knowing how and being able to say no to the person who is right in front of you because you must consider the needs of all the other people who don't happen to be there right now. And then tell yourself you did the right thing. And then forget all about it when you leave at the end of the day because you need to relax.

But then again I've done meaningless jobs before and I totally could do it because I needed the money, and if you have to pay the rent then there are much worse ways than stacking shelves, and tbh in those jobs you can make your own meaning out of it.

I do enjoy being a care assistant at a hospital as I know I have made a positive impact on people's lives even in small ways.

I do get fed up with some parts of the job & with certain colleagues & I am over qualified for the role as I have a degree.

My secret is I used to be a Staff Nurse but had to stop when I became very unwell & developed Schizo Affective Disorder.

I can only work part time hours with limited stress as I get very tired due to the meds & I get easily paranoid, over invested & obsessive about things which could lead to becoming unwell again.

So you definitely can't do what you want to do in this life. For some of us it's just not possible.

I do 'work to rule' since I was told I could no longer be a Nurse.
I take my breaks & finish on time. I never do unpaid overtime.
Yes, I'm still bitter about it all.

Work to live, don't live to work.

I thinka lot of people feel the same, work to live.
I work in IT and whilst i don't mind my job and i do take pride in doing a good job but i don't work extra hours (unless the shit really hits the fan and i have no choice) and once my foot is out that door i forget about it till the next day. Tbh i have fell into jobs since i left school, all in the same industry but never consciously chosen.
Looking back I wish i had been a lawyer working court cases but the younger me did not have the grades nor the confidence. At 50 i am not planning to start that now

I think life is too short to be in a shit job, yes of course not everyone can get a job they love, but whose to say that means YOU shouldn't? Only you can decide what you want to do with your life, it's ultimately in your control, go get it, if you think teaching would be your dream job, go get that pgce.

I work to live, because I have to earn money. If I won the lottery my first action would be to hand in my immediate notice. I do care, but not necessarily about my job itself, I care about my colleagues, and my lack of motivation or if I don't do my bit, affects them negatively and I don't want to do that to them. You end up wierdly close with people in hospitality that you'd probably never form a friendship with normally, because it can be pretty intense at times. It's them I don't want to let down, and the ones in turn that have my back. I honestly couldn't give a shit about the owners profit margin, if you don't want to take a hit now and a again then don't run a business dependant on the weather and time of year, and expect me to do twice as much to save money for your profit margin.
Most companies demand loyalty and you being as invested as them but refuse to be loyal to the employees. I'm loyal to my colleagues. They're loyal to me, we're all just trying to do our best to keep our jobs and the money flowing in personally to live, I'm not doing it because I care about the company.

I don't care about my job either :)

Sometimes I feel satisfied when I fix something ... That's so rare though. I have gone from private sector to NHS. Everything is broken. Most people are institutionalised and can't imagine doing things a different way or are even highly offended and upset that you might suggest (for example) emailing someone a request rather that printing out two copies, one to take to the persons desk who you think can help with the query, the other to keep for yourself and write on it "asked ChikiTIKI on 14.02.19"

Yy Chiki

I was always like this. I had a few jobs I didn't mind but never anything I really liked. I always clock-watched, was happy to be good but not great at my work, etc.

What changed for me was when I started working for myself. I still don't LOVE doing my job (like, I wouldn't continue doing it if I won the lottery!) but I don't mind it, and what I do like is that

a) I can work whenever I want and don't need to do that fake show of being super busy all the time when people are around

b) how much I earn is directly linked to how much I work. That stopped me from being so content to just do the bare minimum. Knowing I can work a bit harder or a bit longer and make some extra money.

Interesting thread. A couple of years ago I went abroad for a short holiday with some female relatives. My auntie literally did not switch off from work. She was doing reports on the on the plane, had her laptop out around the pool and her phone never stopped ringing. She was on official holiday time.

we got talking one night and I said that I have zero ambition. She is 10 years older than me and is pretty much at the top of her game and is on megabucks. She loves her job so much and is bloody brilliant at it.

Got me thinking to where I've gone wrong. I have a good education, have been to university and then didn't know what to do and life got in the way.
I also have several health conditions and do not work. My dp and I are happy with the situation as it is but we are financially affected to a degree. I am just not reliable and I have no desire to work.
Writing this has been tough to be honest. I was so clever as a child and everyone thought I would have a brilliant career. When people ask what I do I never know what to say!!
I do envy those who love their jobs though and have a vocation of sorts. I keep hoping that i will wake up one day and have that lightbulb moment but ultimately my health really does limit me and not everyone around me understands that.

I was signed off work recently for a couple of weeks. By the second week I was feeling much better but still fatigued. I’m at stage one of the informal sickness absence process now but I really don’t care! I knew I was actually sick and needed the time off. Once I started feeling less sick, it was bliss to lie on the sofa watching old Call the Midwife episodes. Much better than working!

I really did not care a jot about being off and it was very hard to go back in.

@Brilliantidiot definitely sums up my thoughts about working in hospitality!

we got talking one night and I said that I have zero ambition

One problem is that many people think ambition only refers to a career. I am an extremely ambitious and driven person. But I don't have a high-flying career. Because I don't care much about "work". It's very possible to be ambitious in other aspects of life though.

I very much work to live. That said I do like my job. The days go very fast, there's certainly no time to clock watch! It doesn't pay big bucks, but enough for me.

I'd hate to work in an office where I just don't give a shit and I know arts how I would feel with just about any office job.

lightofday
First paragraph is my life story.

What do you do if don't know what your "dream job" is?

I work to live. No other reason. I don't care about my job because I've been doing it too long and I'm not too far off retirement.

As DH told the kids today, work hard at school so you can get paid well for a relatively easy job when you are older.

I seem to be in the minority here. As much as I work to live I really enjoy my job. I am a nurse in the NHS 😃
Yes, we are stretched in a broken system. Yes, the hours are unsocial. Yes, it's sometimes stressful. But I generally feel I make a difference to the patients I care for. And I have worked for the NHS for more than 20 years

Hiddenaspie about the narcissists yeah? I swear those evil gits are everywhere these days. Wish jobs would test for cluster b personality disorders before hiring!

I used to love my job but no longer. I turn up, do the basics and go home. I clockwatch from Mon to Fri and have no qualms now about taking maximum sick leave.

I work in a very niche area of mental health, I am the most qualified in our team and the most experienced...
Since I challenged my Line Manager about something fairly significant and this has since evolved into a grievance, I have been totally ostracised by my employer. I've been pretty much outcast awaiting the investigation into my grievances and haven't spoken to any of my colleagues in 2 months. Thankfully I am not office based and don't have to witness the backstabbing and empire building.

The work I do has become hours to be invoiced, not about making a difference to people's lives which is what it used to be about.
Coupled with a new pay system which will mean I won't now get an annual increment yet new recruits without my qualifications will get a substantial rise without doing the CPD... it's no wonder I am only there to collect my salary.

I used to teach, I now work in law. When teaching (adults at a college) I couldn’t believe I got paid for it I enjoyed it so much. Now I enjoy some parts of my job but if I won the lottery I would definitely teach again but somewhere education was in short supply, and probably to girls who don’t often get educated

On the whole I enjoy my current job; I like most of my colleagues, feel fairly well supported, each day is different and I learn something new most days. I'm a nurse and care about my work, but as I get older I'm trying to follow the "work to live" motto instead of "live to work". I've done a few different jobs, but the only one I didn't care about and clock watched in was when I used to temp in a warehouse packing tools for 8 hours a day, those days dragged!

Sounds like you are suffering from "bore out" OP!

I love my job and I would do it for free if I had too. I struggle to switch off from it because its in an area I am passionate about it. Its only part time, which probably helps but the pay is shite! I have had a few really shit jobs but mostly get really into them and like to do it to the best of my ability. I would be shit at running my own business however.