To find it a bit performative when people say “I love my job?”

[MyQuaintQuoter]

I’m not saying people can’t enjoy their work but when someone says “I love my job!” with a kind of breathless enthusiasm (usually on social media or in a work meeting), it often feels more like branding than truth. Maybe I’m jaded but most jobs come with stress, bureaucracy, and annoying people. Loving the mission or being grateful for the flexibility makes sense but loving the actual job? Day in, day out? Really?

AIBU to think it’s more about appearing passionate and impressive than anything else?

It really depends.

I’ve said YABU because in my last role, I did love my job. The work was pretty meh, but the team I was in made it incredible. I adored them.

I say it. I love my job - there are lots of bits that are stressful and some people who are annoying, but mostly I look forward to working and I find it satisfying. Same as my children, really.

It's probably performative for some people, but not necessarily.

I do love my job, although I don’t breathlessly exclaim it on social media, I’m sorry you’ve not experienced that. I mean sure, many days are stressful etc. but I do overall really ehjoy my role. Maybe try to focus on what you do enjoy and try to move in that direction?

Why would it be performative? I absolutely love my job. Yes it can be stressful, the emotional load can be high, there are hard days and moments, but overall I absolutely love it and feel very lucky to do what I do, with (almost exclusively) fabulous people. Why is enjoying something performative?

Hate my current job. Have had many in the past that I have loved and have lived and breathed. I think it makes the current shit show even harder...

When I stopped loving my job I stopped telling people I loved it, so judging by my own experience I disagree with you @MyQuaintQuoter

Social media and work meetings are inherently a bit performative, if not a lot performative.

Thanks, I don’t doubt some people genuinely enjoy their work. I guess my post is more about the performance of loving your job, especially when it’s loudly or repeatedly stated. There’s a difference between quietly appreciating your role and using “I love my job!” as a kind of self-branding or status signal. That’s what I’m questioning.

I love my job.

I hate how it impacts my health and I have to do it all the time and set my alarm and I'm tired and want to play in the woods.

But I love the work I do and find value in it. I enjoy the important moments. I'd do it for free, if I could work to my own time schedule and play in the woods sometimes (and had enough money to live).

That’s great to hear and as I’ve said, I don’t doubt that some people genuinely love their jobs. The performative part I’m referring to isn’t about quietly enjoying your work or feeling grateful, it’s about the loud, polished declarations that often show-up in public spaces like LinkedIn or all-hands meetings. It can start to feel less like honest enthusiasm and more like image management or subtle power play, especially in environments where passion is used as currency. That’s what I’m questioning, not sincere satisfaction but the curated way it’s sometimes presented.

This.

Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean you can’t love it. My job is really quite high stress, pressure etc but I knew that going in & love it!

I do love my job but I don't post about doing so on social media/go around announcing it to everyone, so I do see what you mean. People can love their job without telling the world repeatedly.

There are days when my job can be stressful, exhausting, emotional and the workload is high, but I do really enjoy what I do (teacher).

You keep saying you are questioning, yet you don't seem to be questioning anything.

Christ – why is Mumsnet SO OBSESSED with things being performative?

I love my job. Yes, I genuinely do love it. I would continue to do it if I won the lottery. Yes, I know others who genuinely love their jobs too.

Stop being so suspicious of people's intentions. People are allowed to display high outward emotion and enthusiasm without it being 'performative'.

Ironic, your comment’s doing exactly what you’re accusing me of. Not sure what you’re trying to add here.

I tended to say it in reply to a statement from others. I taught secondary school for 30 years in a pretty deprived area and lost count of the number of people who told me 'I'd hate to have your job'. My reply was usually along the lines of 'I love being in a classroom with teenagers, they are brilliant'.

I love my job.

There is also stress, bureaucracy, and annoying people but that doesn't get in the way of me absolutely loving it (most of the time).

I say it all the time, but I work with children and I genuinely love it.

You seem really defensive. I didn’t say no one can love their job, just that sometimes the way it’s expressed feels more like performance than reality. That doesn’t mean everyone’s faking it but we’re all allowed to notice patterns and ask questions, especially when we see the same tone pop up again and again in curated public spaces.

I love my job, and I say it a lot. My job makes me feel good about myself because I know I am good at it, and I am actively enjoying it for the majority of my day. I feel very grateful for it. Why shouldn't I say it? We're not all obligated to dislike our jobs.

I've never seen anyone jump up and declare that they love their job in an all-hands meeting.

LinkedIn on the other hand...ignore it, it's not real.

I don’t hate my job…

It's beyond boring that there are multiple threads on MN daily about outward emotion being 'performative'.

I do not feel defensive, as I don't do any of the behaviours that you have listed.

I have no understanding and see no justification whatsoever in multiple posters continually berating displays of emotion with the claim or insinuation that, when displayed in a way that you simply as an individual wouldn't, it is in someway harmful, ridiculous, embarrassing, or whatever negative adjective you want to put on it.

Let people be.

I think you’re reading more into my post than was there. I haven’t berated anyone or said outward emotion is harmful or embarrassing. I raised a question about how some expressions of loving work can sometimes feel performative, especially in certain professional or social media settings. That’s not the same as saying no one can genuinely feel that way. But it’s okay to notice trends, reflect on them, and open up space for different perspectives, even if they don’t align with your own.

Seems to me you're saying that some people, sometimes are gushing about their job.

Perhaps they are.

Doesn't mean that all people who say they love their job are performative.

"Maybe I’m jaded but most jobs come with stress, bureaucracy, and annoying people. "

Some people enjoy the challenge of dealing with those things and it's a part of their job that satisfies them.

I was a gardener in my last job. No stress, bureaucracy or annoying people.