AIBU most workplaces are awful?

[IWorkInDilbertsOffice]

Really fed up with work at the moment. I've been working for 20 years. In that time I've worked at several places, and apart from a few exceptions they have all been horrible places to work. Bitchy colleagues, bullies, psychopathic bosses, unfair practices etc. Aibu to think most workplaces are awful?

I'm not saying work should be constant fun and everyone has to be lovely all the time. I'm a good employee and get on well with people. I simply want to go to work, do a good job, maintain good working relationships with colleagues and go home. Talking to friends, a lot of them are also having similar problems at work,

Hopefully I'm being unreasonable and my experience is the exception. Rant over!

Andromeida59 I really hope you are successful. Taking that decision must have been hard especially with an organisation that's set up to help people.

I think it's fairly evident that most people have a variety of experience. There are miserable workplaces out there but happy ones too. I think you're lucky if you never encounter the former but there are plenty of the latter about still.

I must have been lucky, I've had a lot of jobs over the years but none like you describe.

I worked in five different small town chartered accountancy practices. All were very different to work in, sometimes due to the owners, sometimes the managers, sometimes the other staff. In 1, it was the owners who were awful, but brilliant staff as we had a common interest (hatred of the owners). In 2, the owners were brilliant, but there were "cliques" amongst the staff who all seem to have been there since leaving school and very set in their ways, not keen at all on new/young blood. In 2, the staff and owners were fine, but my direct managers were controlling and manipulative. So a mixed bag really and I don't think you can generalise. The answer is just to move on if you don't like it and sooner or later you'll find your niche.

I'm old. Ups and downs at work. Nothing like you describe, op. My current job has its stresses but it's a pretty nice place to work. People are generally ok.

I work for various clients, some of whom demand brutal hours, or don't pay well, or are simply rude. But some of the jobs are fantastic. Right now, anything that takes me to Scotland via the A69 is really worth getting out of bed for. Rainbow over the Forth Bridge, and getting paid to look at it: priceless.

I'm underpaid but my colleagues are fantastic. Helpful and encouraging, funny and accepting of the fact I'm sometimes late due to medical appts (or random acts of God).
We're a team, and we work well together. I live my job.

Both places I've worked I've had nice colleagues. In the first one, there was a lot of camaraderie as the work itself was really stressful.

But in both places there has been one person who was very pleasant to talk to but somehow nothing you did would be good enough, until your self esteem was in the basement. But in defence of the second one, at least he deemed the work of people of both sexes to be inadequate.

In my early 20s I worked in an awful company with some horrendous backstabbing colleagues. If your face didn't fit that was it. My boss was like a female Jekyll/Hyde. Nasty bitch. I became depressed and suicidal. Eventually I was signed off with depression and luckily got a new job soon after. Quite a few others left around the same time, lots of people hated it there. Things got better for me although my depression plagued me for years and I was always scared of ending up in a similar situation. I had no confidence.

The company I work for now is completely different. If you make mistakes you don't get a bollocking. You can talk through things, people are understanding and supportive. It's a breath of fresh air and I know I'm lucky to have the job that I do. I intend to stay there as long as I can. I'm a lot more confident now and don't take any shit from people. I know I'm good at my job and I was promoted recently too, which was great.

I'd say, life's too short to be stuck in an awful job. Keep your eyes peeled and look elsewhere.

A lot of jobs are basically bullshit, and only exist because of the ridiculous fetishisation of 'work' as in paid employment and obeying someone. Some jobs are fun, some are genuinely rewarding (though they all have their off days), some are mucky and/or dangerous but you can feel you are doing something that is socially useful... but too many of the cubicle-mouse type jobs are horrible for anyone who isn't a witless conformist.

Thanks for your replies. I would say out of 7 jobs, two have been fine, three have been dire and two have been somewhere in between, but erring on the awful side. Hence the "most" in the title.
Definitely agree it only takes one person to ruin a workplace!
At the moment some of the people I work with are great, it's the team I directly work with who are arseholes.
But it sounds like maybe I'm the arsehole? Who knew!

I remember in my first job after school, making a small mistake in a labels mail merge, leaving out the tile so instead of saying Mr Joe Bloggs it said Joe Bloggs. Not such a big deal really. My manager made me call the 20 people in the mailing list to apologise to them. It was the only way I'd learn apparently.

I remember finding out in conversation I'd be made redundant rather than being told formally.

I remember working for a psychopath who would sack people in the office randomly and gloat about having won x amount of employment tribunals.

I could go on, but I won't! It's wonderful to hear people have positive experiences. I hope to soon be in a job with mostly nice people and mostly ok work!

South Lakes today, being everybody's twat as I dragged a container over the A66. 39 tonnes uphill soon gathers an entourage.

I've had a real mixture. My first job was definitely the best - fullmof nice people who worked hard and played hard. I think the workplace has changed in recent years though. I've noticed even in nice offices people are more guarded (maybe just cos I'm older as well though).

I’m glad I’m not the only one who believes in the pointlessness of a lot of jobs!

I’ve had around 10 jobs including temping. 2 have been of the resigning with nothing to go to because they were awful type. 6 have been okay - nice people, actual tasks fine, decent working environments etc but did I ever ENJOY them? Meh. I would rather be at home - surely most people would?! Another 2 I actively disliked but not hated.

The thing I’ve enjoyed the most is volunteering in a primary school classroom.

I have worked for 33 years. In that time I have had 8 jobs, 4 in one type of role and 4 in another. I can't say I have every really 'loved' any of them but I learnt a hell of a lot, in particular in the first 15 years or so and that kept things just interesting enough for most of the time.

With one exception, I have always had managers that I got on with and respected (though some more than others). The people I have worked with have varied but the vast majority of them have been nice, normal people who I was happy to work with/for; so I have been lucky I think.

I agree though that most 'office' based work is pretty pointless and l and I am finding it almost impossible to even pretend to be enthusiastic at work nowadays. I keep seeing the same things suggested or changes come round again. 9 times out of 10, if someone makes a suggestion about something, I have seen it/heard it before ; if a change is made, I have experienced the exact same change in the past at some point.

I obviously don't say this as otherwise, I become the ' old negative one' but I certainly think it.

It all seems very deja vu, yet at the same time, the technology to do the job is constantly changing and I am finding it harder and harder to want to stay on top of those change as I have so little enthusiasm for the job any more.

So in my experience, workplaces are not awful but the jobs done in them often are

I’m always accused of being negative on these posts about bullshit jobs. Of course an lot of jobs do matter such as healthcare roles, emergency services etc.

But an awful lot of jobs, mainly office based don’t really matter. I worked in retail as a student, part-time. It was okay as jobs go, low pay but a pleasant enough working environment. Did that job actually matter? Could they have replaced me with a self check-out till? I turned up on time, smiled when needed and did all the tasks to the required standard. Did I actually care? Nope! Did I enjoy interacting with customers, some of whom were miserable/rude? No. Did I have a passion for selling overpriced goods? No.

Most of my jobs have been like that. I do what’s asked of me to the required standard and of course I don’t indicate at work that it’s a bullshit job.

When I’m asked in a job interview why I want the job I make up a lie about passion or team work. In actual fact, like most people I am solely there for the pay so that I can put it towards my mortgage.

If I haven't loved my job, I've loved the people I've worked with. Or I've loved both. Generally it's been both, though. I think, for me, part of it has been adjusting my expectations, and finding ways to communicate with others so that we meet on common ground.

The only place i never had this was when i worked it a factory with the majority being men. No problems enjoyed the work.
I now work in care with nearly all women and 2 male carers its a nightmare. The bitching, cliches and the way they treat new starters is appauling. I've never known anything like it its very much if your face doesn't fit your screwed. One woman basically runs the show and everyone just goes along with it shes been very clever with the people she mixes with so you can't say a bad word about her. I dread being on shift with her as she gets away with murder and the underdogs take the slack and get no recognition. Its got to the point where i've purposley isolated myself as a way to cope. If you can't beat them join them imo.

I think I lack the career / caring about work gene.

I like lots of other things in life such a travelling, reading, art etc. But I’ve never actually liked, loved or particularly enjoyed a job. I’ve worked with some very nice people. But I always clock watch. I don’t have any passion for sitting in an office writing emails, going to meetings or working on Excel spreadsheets.

My most recent job involved doing audits that got filed away and never read and typing up committee meetings that nobody looked at It was pointless and I found it all really demotivating. It made no difference to anybody.

The only thing is like about work is the monthly salary!

If anyone works in office jobs like admin, PR or marketing and loves their job, I would be genuinely intrigued as to why.

There can be so much shit about my job and times i am so stressed but the people are fab.. lots of giggles and made some amazing friends. 7 years I've been there and despite ups and downs.i do enjoy my job on the whole! Love my team!

It's that thing about the three main purposes of work and the fact that they are often all broken - that's the bullshit jobs thing.
(The three main purposes are:
To complete necessary tasks eg producing food, maintaining infrastructure, looking after those who are dependent.
To distribute resources (which encompasses trade as well as wages)
To contribute to the community.

These days a lot of jobs serve NONE of these purposes: they are low-paying, do no one any particular good and have no discernible point to them.)

I really like my job. I don't get to see my colleagues for much of the day. Only in my break. And then it's always different ones. We always have a good chat and a laugh though.

We always help each other out, at work and outside of it too. It's almost like a little extended family.

When I moved house recently it was work colleagues who offered to help and came over and did flat pack, helped with lifting etc.

We socialise together a fair amount, as we have odd days off when normal friends are at work.

I could have written the first reply.

I'm also inclined to think that if you've worked at several places and most have been awful, it does begin to look like you are the one common denominator.