To absolutely HATE corporate life/work?

[FishOnTheTrain]

Humans were never meant to work as much as they do. I feel totally trapped in the constant cycle of waking up, going to work, rinse and repeat. It’s so so so boring and I don’t feel I’m living any kind of interesting life.

I work to buy all this crap I don’t need. And to impress people I don’t care about with said crap I don’t need.

the corporate lingo really makes me
cringe. The way we sit in a grey office all day with no natural light looking at a screen. It’s just awful and so unhealthy. The way we feel anxious in meetings.

anyone else? I would love to start my own business one day but need money behind me to do that. Problem is, I’m so unfulfilled that I keep spending my spare money on STUFF just to feel something.

and I do realise how, on paper, lucky I am to have a job and an income. I am truly, truly grateful for that. But my physical and mental health is suffering.

“I work to buy all this crap I don’t need. And to impress people I don’t care about with said crap I don’t need.”

this has nothing to do with your job or “corporate” life. This is a choice that you can choose or change. Maybe that will help you make other decisions that suit your life better.

Yep. I HATE corporate life. I have been working for 32 years and I am over it. So much BS. I have never loved working, but I feel like now I am just about done. I don’t want to keep doing this. I am trying to think of a job I want to do that is less stressful but the problem of course is getting paid less. I am 49, so still a number of years left.

Mmmm disagree. Yes, I have control of this, but honestly I am so miserable that I shop (some people drink/drugs etc).

I’ve noticed that when I have periods of feeling more fulfilled - like when I travel or have a long lunch and a walk on a sunny day with a friend, or visit family for a few days - I don’t constantly search for things to buy (the adrenaline rush) because I feel genuinely fulfilled. But after a day at the office, I sit on the sofa and buy stuff online to feel happiness.

I don’t know how you’ve done it for 32 years. Honestly, it’s awful. Do you think it’s gotten worse and more intense in those 32 years?

I’m not being flippant, genuinely, I hated it with every fibre of my being but stop buying stuff. The only thing that kept me going was squirrelling it all away to make it stop. I retired v young.

Yep. I know I need to. Unfortunately I’ve been sucked into the capitalist cycle of working and buying. But I know I need to stop and take some
control back.

I think I was ok with it but now I’m getting a bit bored. I worked in education for a decade and left that to get more pay but I did enjoy working with the young people so much!

I also have a creative “side job” which I am very fortunate to have and think I may have snapped without that lol

Maybe my best best is to marry rich so I can focus on the creative stuff fully …joking…kind of 👀

Seriously though I’m actually looking into the possibility of a 6-12 month career break to pursue that and also to see if I can find remote flexible work which allows me to live abroad.

I got all the buzz I needed from being extremely tight, watching my mortgage go down and my savings go up. I was probably at the extreme end of not spending and it became a bit of an obsession but I wouldn’t change a thing. Try it! I honestly get a reverse buzz from a bargain or beating last months grocery budget.

the corporate world has definitely got worse, I honestly just couldn’t stand it any longer, it was soul destroying.

anyone else? I would love to start my own business one day but need money behind me to do that. Problem is, I’m so unfulfilled that I keep spending my spare money on STUFF just to feel something.

Can you start applying for grants and of course working on a business plan before that?

If you had the exact same amount of money salary provides now, but you didn’t have to work your job, what would you be doing instead?

Anything in the world with no limits to where and what I could do? I’d open a little beachwear shop on a beach somehere sunny - France/Spain/Italy perhaps. Maybe have a little
cafe attached - that’s truly what I dream of and the lifestyle I crave.

Realistically though - I’d like to go freelance and have more flexibility to travel and actually live. I’d like to have more control of my life and my schedule.

It is still your choice, no one needs to do it and i don't see how your job is to blame

I get that same craving to "Shop" for items that make me feel better. It sounds a bit silly but I started playing video games that have in-game shops I can go browse in and buy things there and it hits the same feeling for me. No real money is spent - you earn the in game money by playing.

Stuff like animal crossing and Dreamlight Valley where you get a shop full of clothes and furniture that changes every day so there is always new stuff to look at are good for it. And playing the game helps de-stress too.

Is your current career/skillset something that you could freelance with?

You don’t say what your occupation is, but if you’re in, say, graphic design, financial advising or HR then that’s a lot easier than if you’re in something like customer relations, procurement or law.

I derive I’d say 70% of my purpose and fulfillment from my career. I love it. I do sit in an office every day but I’m genuinely excited to go to work every day because I’ve worked very hard over the past 20 years to get here. I often joke that it’s a good thing elder Millennials won’t get to retire because I see nothing to look forward to about retirement.

I love holidays too, and make sure I go on a couple plus a few city breaks a year but that’s definitely where I spend my money rather than ‘stuff’. Holidays and decent food and drink.

If you love coastal/beach life, can you freelance and become a digital nomad? Work from different places for 2-3 months at a time. I know people who do that. One is a translator and one is a UX designer for a large corporate multinational. I’m not sure what your family setup is but a thought if your DC are grown.

I feel this too. People say that without work you’d be bored and depressed but that hasn’t been my experience.

In my late 20s I was off work for over a year and it was the best time of my life. I wrote. I read. I learned. I exercised. I felt like it’s the only time I’ve had energy to really enjoy life and experience it properly as usually I feel like I’m running on survival mode.

I had no issue getting out of bed and doing things each day. I love being off work. I love learning new things and doing hobbies. I love creating and I love having no deadlines or pressure. I didn’t get bored once. My mental health was the best it’s ever been.

It was a unique situation leading to that happening and it won’t happen again but if I were to win the lottery I’d 100% quit work. I’m absolutely capable of filling my time with things I find fulfilling without it being something I’m forced to do.

The job I have now is by far the best I’ve ever had and I no longer get the Sunday dreads but if I had unlimited money I’d do my work skill as a hobby and work on more fun things. I could especially do without the Teams meetings and the corporate games and the professional goals and the buzzwords.

Agree. You’re not a victim. Each and every day is a choice.

Honestly you've got to make your life work for you. Assuming you work fairly regular hours, get out and do something in the evenings. Exercise gives you endorphins, which makes you happier. Or if you dropped the shopping for shite could you drop half a day of work? I don't work Wednesday afternoons, so yesterday I went for a lake swim at 2pm, then dinner with my friends. After tax I lose 300quid a month for working .9 and every week, mid week I do something outside and enjoyable and it really helps knowing I'm only ever 2 days away from something fun!

Have you thought about reducing your hours and getting some balance?

That was me about 15 years ago, not the buying of crap, but I HATED the corporate world. Not the job, but all the bullshit. Stupid rules which made no sense and didn’t benefit anyone, backstabbing, cliquey crap where you are just a number. So I left and set up my own business. Can’t lie, the first few years were actually terrifying and if COVID had happened a year or two earlier we wouldn’t have survived. But, we did and now we are thriving. It’s still stressful and a lot of pressure but I make the rules now. We employ some fantastic people and treat them well. Consequently I now spend far less time actually in the office and have more time and flexibility for other things. If you’ve got a marketable skill, go for it.

I hear you. I chased the money and not the passion and I’m so unfulfilled I WFH to and sit on teams all day questioning my life choices.
i have set up a little Etsy shop as a side hustle/distraction.

Totally agree. I had 5 months off recently after redundancy. Then started a new job and while it's new people and it's all a bit of a novelty at the moment, the bullshit is creeping back in. I'm on a countdown though. Two years of saving hard and then I can retire.

Could you find something fulfilling to do in the evenings like joining a choir or doing charity work so that you don't come home and just "recover" from work but instead have something to look forward to?

You need exercise and a hobby you can start to monetise.

Something you can put energy into.

I feel the same way about my corporate gig but since I got fit and started my side gig too, I am a happy person.

Dump TV, shopping and alcohol and you'll find that you do have time.

Exercise and sociable hobby such as a choir are a good shout. There’s a lot of bullshit around life coaching, but maybe find a good coach who can help you make your escape plan!

I currently freelance, which, granted, is a million times better than my previous corporate job, but honestly, I just view the hours I work as a waste of time when I could be doing numerous things I love instead - reading, gardening, walking, exercising, cooking, etc.

Like a PP, instead of buying crap to make myself feel better, I pay as much as possible into my pension and my ISAs. Say I've have a rubbish day and automatically want a takeaway or to buy clothes to feel better, instead I log into my ISA and I transfer the cost of that takeaway or clothes into there instead. This gives me regular moments of joy at seeing my fuck-off funds grow.