Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is it just a job?

43 replies

Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 17:18

Just posting here for a bit of traffic

I hear this comment often, even from colleagues. I am a passionate person and take pride on what I do, so worry when things go wrong, and take things to heart when I get criticised.

I noticed most people just seem more relaxed about it, have the it is just a job attitude and play the game, just go along with it. I work in a very corporate environment and I think this attitude will probably help coping with this job better.

Is it just a job for you or a career that you are passionate about it?

I think my husband has a career and I have a job.

OP posts:
Iamallowedtodisagreewithyou · 24/02/2025 17:31

Depends. What do you do for fun when you're not at work?

GandTtwice · 24/02/2025 17:33

I have a career now but have worked in what people consider to be jobs. For me work stops when I leave the office. If I left I'm sure they would be able to replace me.
I (generally!) enjoy my work and am enthusiastic about it. I'll do my best work in the time that I'm paid for whether it's a job or career. I'll work late if needed but will always take my Flexi/lieu/holiday time.
I think you can be passionate about work without it being all consuming in your life. It is just a job at the end of the day that enables my life outside of work.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 24/02/2025 17:35

I'm a teacher. I think it's healthy to regularly remind yourself that it's just a job, especially if you work in a sector where overworking is the norm.

LittleRedRidingHoody · 24/02/2025 17:44

I think it's good to remind yourself it's 'just a job' on a regular basis - but I wouldn't really be voicing this or demonstrating it amongst colleagues!

For example: I'd tell myself that if I'd screwed up a presentation etc, to go easy on myself and get a bit of breathing room.

I would not take the attitude of 'well it's just a job/other things are more important' to minimise responsibilities at work or to laugh off a problem.

Ahsheeit · 24/02/2025 17:46

It's a career, but it's still just a job. Yeah, replacing me would be a hassle for a while, I'm not completely indispensable. I'd leave in a heartbeat if I won the lottery.

BendingSpoons · 24/02/2025 17:50

We had a wellbeing session at work where they talked about work being a calling, a career or a job. Mine is a career, it is an important part of my identity and I wouldn't want to stop working completely even if I didn't need to financially. Saying that, I do try to remember I can be replaced at work but not at home, and make sure work doesn't take too much out of me so that it overly impacts my family.

Original poster
Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 17:52

Iamallowedtodisagreewithyou · 24/02/2025 17:31

Depends. What do you do for fun when you're not at work?

Travelling, yoga, mindfulness, reading, go out with friends and family, watch tv

OP posts:
MyUmberSeal · 24/02/2025 17:53

Just a job for me. Pays the mortgage. If I could afford to, I wouldn’t work at all.

FlipFlopsSpots · 24/02/2025 17:57

I have a career. It's taken a degree, a masters, a doctorate and 20 years to get here. I don't like it though! I treat it as a 'job'!.

If I wasn't so reliant on the wage I get, I'd rather have a 'job' that I just went to, worked hard at, then went home and could forget about each evening! I'd like to work in a factory or picking fruit or as a post person or something like I did in my twenties. Something where I felt I'd put in a hard day's work and then could switch off from at the end of the working day. But I can't afford it.

Cattreesea · 24/02/2025 17:59

I have two different jobs:

  • a part-time office role 3 days a week as a head of communications & marketing
  • freelance career in a creative field.

The office job is just a job.

The freelance work is a passion and a big part of my identity.

Original poster
Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 18:05

I have a career too as it has taken a long time to get to where I am, a degree in my home country and qualifying again in the UK; however I am not climbing the corporate ladder.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 18:19

FlipFlopsSpots · 24/02/2025 17:57

I have a career. It's taken a degree, a masters, a doctorate and 20 years to get here. I don't like it though! I treat it as a 'job'!.

If I wasn't so reliant on the wage I get, I'd rather have a 'job' that I just went to, worked hard at, then went home and could forget about each evening! I'd like to work in a factory or picking fruit or as a post person or something like I did in my twenties. Something where I felt I'd put in a hard day's work and then could switch off from at the end of the working day. But I can't afford it.

Agree; it is difficult to switch off when you have a mental career; I guess if it is something physical you don’t think about it once you finish,

I try to switch off but my job does occupy my mind often even if I am not working

OP posts:
Original poster
Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 18:22

LittleRedRidingHoody · 24/02/2025 17:44

I think it's good to remind yourself it's 'just a job' on a regular basis - but I wouldn't really be voicing this or demonstrating it amongst colleagues!

For example: I'd tell myself that if I'd screwed up a presentation etc, to go easy on myself and get a bit of breathing room.

I would not take the attitude of 'well it's just a job/other things are more important' to minimise responsibilities at work or to laugh off a problem.

Makes sense

OP posts:
Meadowfinch · 24/02/2025 18:27

Realistically I am in my last job before retirement. I still care about the outcome of initiatives and campaigns very much but if the job disappeared tomorrow, that would not give me an issue. I no longer rely on my employment and so I can afford to be more relaxed.

ginasevern · 24/02/2025 18:29

For me it's hard to think "it's just a job". Most people spend more of their lives engaged with their work than anything else, so it's bound to become ingrained on some level as part of your identity.

Original poster
Bumblebeebumbl · 24/02/2025 18:46

ginasevern · 24/02/2025 18:29

For me it's hard to think "it's just a job". Most people spend more of their lives engaged with their work than anything else, so it's bound to become ingrained on some level as part of your identity.

This is true; we spend do much of our lives working so have to find enjoyment on it.

It is good to know you can have a career, enjoy what you do but not let it consume your life outside work and to be kind to yourself when things go wrong

I want to do a good job on my working hours and happy to work extra if there’s a deadline; but like to disconnect in the evenings, weekends and holidays. Glad to know you can have a career without having to work all hours.

OP posts:
Ohshutupdavidyoutwat · 24/02/2025 18:48

Have worked FT as a Nurse for over 25 years and it is just a job. I give my all when i am there but ultimately the stress makes it unbearable and I would quit tomorrow if I could. I feel no passion for it just knackered and sick to my hind teeth of working under such pressure.

ExtraOnions · 24/02/2025 18:52

It’s just a job .. I do it so I can have nice holidays, if I won the lottery I wouldn’t do it.

it doesn’t define who I am. I do my job well, and I work with nice people, but, I don’t kid myself that the organisation has any loyalty to me .. if they had to get rid of my if be gone in a heartbeat.

I don’t get stressed, I don’t take it home, when I turn my computer off I’m done. I work the hours they pay me for.. and that’s it. M

i have met way too many people along the way, who feel defined by their role, who are emotionally invested, and they end up miserable and burned out.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 24/02/2025 18:53

ginasevern · 24/02/2025 18:29

For me it's hard to think "it's just a job". Most people spend more of their lives engaged with their work than anything else, so it's bound to become ingrained on some level as part of your identity.

I don't think those things are mutually exclusive though. I am a teacher through and through. I decided on my career when I was 12 and I've been doing it for 30 years. It's a huge part of my identity. But the job I'm actually employed in at any given time, in any given institution, is just a job. And jobs come and go - I've had lots!

TheChosenTwo · 24/02/2025 18:56

My job could be a career if I wanted the progression but I don’t so it’s just a job to me. And I enjoy it for what it is. I don’t work above and beyond what I’m paid to do, I don’t worry or think about when I’m not being paid to and it is the perfect work/home life balance at the same time as paying a very good wage for what I do.
I don’t want the progression because it would
tip the work/life balance unfavourably and I don’t need the extra money. I have no desire to be chasing my way up the ladder, I don’t want any crappy stress in my life that I don’t need.

steff13 · 24/02/2025 18:58

I'm passionate about my job and the people I serve. If I were independently wealthy I wouldn't work because I like my time to be my own, but I would volunteer to help the same population of people I serve now.

GrainneIsAinmDom · 24/02/2025 19:00

Mine is just a job to me. But I do take pride in doing it well. That doesn't mean I'm never allowed to make mistakes though. I don't lose sleep over my job and I will call in sick if I am sick

JLou08 · 24/02/2025 19:23

I have a career I'm passionate about but I also have the attitude of it's just a job. I came very close to burnout and my attitude needed to change. During working hours I am very committed and put in 100% effort. I may occasionally work extra if it is absolutely necessary, but I avoid it as much as I can and accept that what I can do within work hours isn't always as much as I would like. I do my very best to switch off from it all out of hours because it is a job and being present for my family is much more important than a job.

Catza · 24/02/2025 19:31

I love my job, I am very passionate about my career and yet, I close my laptop at 5pm and get on with my life. Worrying about it is not going to change anything except make my performance worse.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 24/02/2025 19:54

I am a passionate person and take pride on what I do, so worry when things go wrong, and take things to heart when I get criticised.

This was me. Then I had 8 weeks off work sick when I was pregnant. The world didn't stop. Then I was actually promoted on mat leave. Some years later I was freaking out about my workload and my boss gave me a proper "it's only a job" talk and reminded me that I was only paid for 8 hours a day! That, combined with the demands of a young family, made me step back a little. I'm still professional, enthusiastic, thorough and all those things. Just not after 6pm.