Is it normal to hate your job?

[Fuschia657]

Trying to work out whether I’m just being a moaner or whether this is not normal. On a day to day basis, if you have a job (full time really), do you like it? Like, really, do you feel happy on a day to day basis?

I’m finding more and more than I’m struggling for any motivation whatsoever - it’s boring me to death but at the same time I feel overwhelmed with demands and stress, could work evenings and weekends and still have more to do (senior level corporate job, for context). Working from home probably doesn’t help!

So AIBU - is it normal to hate your job? Am I just being pathetic?

I hate my job. On paper it sounds perfect but I dread turning up every day and pretending to be interested in something I'm not. I've loved jobs in the past that involved way longer hours and were much more stressful so I have no doubts about how I feel. I've niched down so much that I can't even get back to those roles and there's no point moving for the same situation.

To make it even worse, I spent the last five years building up my own business and I always said I'd quit when I got to 6 figures. I was due to hand in my notice this summer and the covid effect just slashed my income by 90%. Now, I've no choice but to stay indefinitely until things pick up. At this point it feels like they never will.

Hate my job Yanbu

I love my current job but I have had jobs I didn't actively hate, but found boring and just saw as a means to an end. I have a friend who made the conscious decision to give up a really interesting, badly paid job in the arts and do a monotonous office job that paid enough for her to have a great time in her free time, mostly doing things to do with the arts. Because she carefully weighed up the pros and cons, she's happy with her lifestyle - work causes her a bit of stress sometimes but nothing she can't handle, and she always has something to look forward too. I totally understand (I've been there) that the same job could be mind-numbingly boring for someone who had just drifted into it out of need. And I have a lot of sympathy for people who do hate their jobs, because it's not always as simple as "if you don't like it leave" - what if you don't have the skills or the confidence to move into your dream job, or there just aren't any suitable jobs going in your area?

I have always enjoyed starting new jobs but I know I start to hate them when I get bored so I aim to change jobs/roles/teams every 3 years or so.
It works well for me but I have a generic healthcare role (NHS) so I have lots of opportunities to move about if I'm happy to extend my commute or change my specialty.

I don't hate my job but I'm quite bored of it. I'm not interested in climbing the ladder any more since having my daughter. I work for a really nice company, lovely people that I enjoy seeing (pre Covid), good benefits, good work/life balance. If I didn't have to work I wouldn't, but I appreciate the pros of where I work. Unfortunately 'interesting' jobs come with a lot more pressure and givng up more of my personal time, which I'm not prepared to do any more. I've come to terms that.

Fuschia657 you've pretty much summed up how I feel. If we could afford for me to give up my job then I would without a second thought. I would love to be able to take time off to retrain and do something I really love but unfortunately I'm the main earner so don't feel I have a choice but to stick it out and hope it gets better.

I hated all but one of the jobs I had. I always did clerical/admin type work and it made me miserable. I never had the confidence to apply for anything different, though. In the end, I became too ill to work and had to give up.

I miss seeing a couple of my colleagues every day and that's it.

I worked as.a PA for most of my working life and loved it. With one exception (which was the only time I’ve ever hated my job) I had great bosses. But then my boss left, I applied to work for his successor but didn’t get the job (blessing in disguise, she was a nightmare who went through several PAs) and got a job in more general admin in a team role. I found it very difficult to adapt from being in a one to one. I now suspect I have Adult ADD and possibly on the spectrum as well.

@EnergyCreatesReality me too. I find it very stressful being the main earner, and notice that all the women I know who are main or sole earners do a ton more around the house and/or of the 'mental load' than the men do, and that's a big part of why my job is so overwhelming sometimes.

I think I could enjoy it more if I had the same role pre-kids and could throw myself into it, but when I then spend the evenings doing homeschooling /childcare /house and life stuff, it's too much. To be fair, even if I had a DH who was a SAHP extraordinaire, I'd be very jealous - the reality is that my job and I are just not a fit any more, but I'm stuck.

I agree with the above. I hate my job but it's a job. I'm a lone parent so I cant afford to leave without another job. Sadly there are no jobs out there.
Like someone else, I had a first interview the day before lockdown and other jobs applied for. None going ahead now.
The thoughts of going back to the office are nightmarish.

I do love my job, but it's stressful so I go without things others have in order to work part-time. You get one life, don't waste it doing something you hate to buy shit you don't need.

I've really hated two of my previous jobs. I worked for a sociopath in one that made me ill. The other I was just overworked to the point of tears. My current job plays to my strengths, is interesting, I feel valued and I love my team and I really like the work but there is no progression. It's so important to at least like your job.

YANBU OP. I haven't truly enjoyed any of the jobs I've done previously. I've always liked my co-workers and have made some great friends from previous workplaces but as for the actual job itself - no.

I always find it baffling that so many people on MN seem to absolutely love their jobs and have their lives entirely revolve around their careers. I believe you should work to live, not live to work.

I hate my job... i hate my mostly ,rude disrespectful work colleagues..i feckin hate them

I’m finding more and more than I’m struggling for any motivation whatsoever - it’s boring me to death but at the same time I feel overwhelmed with demands and stress, could work evenings and weekends and still have more to do (senior level corporate job, for context).

I could have written this

Sometimes I hate my job sometimes I don't. It's certainly not my dream job or anything I ever thought I would do (mortgage underwriting) but it pays the bills and I have to work so I just try ignore the fact that I don't really like it. My hours are pretty good and work around family life so right now I'm just going to put up with it. Maybe when my little boy is older and the country isn't in such a state I might look for another job. Trouble is only thing I know how to do is underwrite mortgages haha if I did something else I'd have to start from the bottom on a lower salary

I mostly like my job (though Covid/wfh has made it less fun) but experiences like yours and other posters' are why I am happy in middle management for now and not trying to get promotion.

I Don't hate the job, but I do hate that I have to have a job. It's a pretty dull, repetitive job, but it pays the bills etc and if I'm needing to work, then this will do.

Normal for me - most jobs are wank IMHO.

I hate working for someone else. I can’t stand office environments and I really despise routines. I was funnelled into admin work and have never had a job I loved. I had one I liked okay as it had aspects of public speaking/attending events (but I hated the office parts) and the rest have been soul crushing and depression inducing. (I have temped in probably 80 jobs and had about 6 one year contracts along with one job of 3.5 years). When I worked I used to drink a lot at weekends to block it out and not sleep on Sunday nights dreading the next day. I’d cry on the way to work and have a hiding spot in store rooms to cry if necessary. It’s mainly because I was just simply rubbish at it and find it really hard to learn, so everyone treated me like I was an annoying idiot because I kept asking how to do the simplest tasks.

I know a few people who like their jobs but they tend to have careers rather than ‘jobs’. H would do his job for free I think. He loves working and gets lots of validation from it.

I’m not lazy at all and love being busy and getting things done. I like physical work and should have been a self employed painter and decorator- but it wasn’t a possible option for me years ago and I’m now too old to train for it.

The only work I’d consider doing atm is self employed cleaner.

I loved my job but detest the corporate bollocks it's set in.

It became more so as I got more senior in the organisation - or maybe it just got worse anyway. But the reporting requirements increased, plus more meetings with senior management and stakeholders increased the workload and changed the nature of the job.
Lockdown and wfh hasn't helped.
I'm now looking forward to retirement, and hope that the government doesn't move my retirement goalposts again, as they have done twice so far.

MrsKoala I feel the same- I don't think I could fit into a workplace environment very well- I haven't tried since my first baby was born 23 years ago!
All that timekeeping, having to get on with colleague that you don't really like. It's not for me.