I Hate Working

    Ladies and gentlemen of the personal finance blogosphere, I hate working.

    I hate working.

    I HATE it.

    I always have. My first job, I was a camp counselor in this camp run by Brooklyn College. The kids basically took classes like art, comic drawing, swimming lessons and remedial math and we went on field trips to places like the Bronx Zoo. It was more summer school than camp.
Anyway, I was one the high school students they hire to take the kids from class to class, watch them during lunch and supervise them on field trips.

    It was fun. I was so nervous my first day and by the time I got home, I was jazzed to go the next day. I had my favorite kids and teachers and I enjoyed being outdoors and earning money.
    That feeling lasted the first two weeks.
    Then the alarm clock went off and I'd lie in bed wondering what would happen if I just didn't show up for work.

    This pattern repeated itself through my entire working life. I'd be all jazzed about a new opportunity or job for about a week, a month, three months, maybe even six months, but, eventually, the alarm clock goes off and I lie in bed thinking of reasons to call in sick.

    Naive silly child that I was.

    But I still hate working.

    I think I hate working because I know I have to work. As in, there ain't no trust fund. I'm not working because it's stimulating. Because I'm contributing to society. I'm working because I have to eat. Because I don't want to be homeless. Because I don't own anything so I owe everyone.

    I think if I was wealthy and knew that I could waste six weeks watching paternity tests on Maury and still be as rich and comfortable, then I think I would love to work.
    But no, after a few months on a new job, I'm just working because I gotta. I DON'T want to be unemployed. I'm not crazy. But, I resent having to work because, sometimes, I'd like to go see a movie in the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes, I'd like to take in a museum or got to a lecture or just do something I've never done before. I don't want to wait for the weekend, when I'm usually tired and just want to veg out.
    Sometimes I want to take a huge chance at something and know that if I fail miserably, I won't be living on the street, eating out of dumpsters.

    I want... I want... hmmm? What do I want?

    Security? Well, that ain't NEVER going to happen because there is no such thing. I mean, think about it, you can prepare and save and plan, but life happens. You can plan for everything and have all the emergency fund in the world -- but if someone flies a plane into your office, well it wouldn't have saved you.
    And it doesn't have to be some terrible catastrophe. What if you just want to do something different? How much will you have to change your plans? How much will that desire thwart all your plans? Will you have to just let it go and stay on course? That doesn't sound like fun.
    Don't get me wrong -- you'd better plan and save! You don't want to be vulnerable to stupid things (include your own bad choices), but, don't kid yourself into think that planning is going to hold back the universe, because it won't. There's a super cliched old joke: If you want to make God laugh, make plans. I sometimes think that the more I have things together, the more the universe tries to tear my stuff up. I can't tell you how many times I've lined up all my dominoes and then there's an earthquake...

    So, if I can't have security, then what do I really want?

    I don't know.

     But, since many of you are smarter than me (and I'm pretty dang smart so feel complimented!), maybe you can tell me.
    Have you ever felt this way? What do you think it is?
    What do you want

Comments

[Twiggers]

I don't know what to say...I personally LOVE what I do and that is why I am doing it and going to school for a PhD. The pay will suck, but I'll still love it.

My husband is like you though...he hates working. He'd love to watch Maury and Cheaters all day. I told him that he just needs to find something he loves. He'll be able to start looking once I finish school.

Maybe at some point you can quit and try something new...there has to be something you'd love to do!

[Debt Dieter]

I confess I'm in the same boat as Twiggers, I love my job & would do it for less money (don't tell my boss that).

Don't get me wrong though, I've worked in jobs before this one that I could barely drag myself out of bed for on weekdays.

The job I have now though is one that fits with who I am, what I'm passionate about & the main thing is what I do has a direct impact on the business, which is a really valuable motivation for me.

Have you thought about what you would do if money was no object?

[sense]

whoa, what jobs are these, the ones people love to work? I wish i loved to work, but sadly, i secretly think i'm just freaking lazy. work? nope, not really. maury and playing on the internet and yoga classes whenever i want? sounds blissful. i also think that i just hate that i HAVE to be somewhere at a certain time, and that it takes up so much of my waking hours...if i made my own schedule, i think work wouldn't be so bad, after all.

i mean, once in a while i get motivated and amped to organize and be productive, and there are rare days where i have a feeling of accomplishment from my job, but mostly, i hate it. i'm right there with you, sister.

i upped and moved to new zealand, i hated my job so much. there was just nothing there for me. i am hoping that in the next few weeks i will start a job in the career path that i've been thinking about for about 5 years now. we'll see...i still don't expect to love my job/waking up at 7 am, but if i can just not hate what i do, that'd be enough for me, til i retire!!

Yay retirement!

[Val]

The last time I worked a job I hated I was in a position where I was overqualified. Being overqualified made me: 1) recentful because I wasn't being challenged and 2) question the skill-set of others who were above me in position/title. Now such superiors above me (in my opinion) should have been working elsewhere - not even under me as a subordinate in the same offce/company, just working the hell somewhere else!

Also, in this particular position I felt bad, physically. Coming into work made me tired when I was well-rested, snack when I wasn't hungry, and develope edema in my feet (which wasn't pretty for someone with size 6 feet that swelled and resembled freshly baked bread loaves). I didn't know my body was telling me to quit early on instead of many months to almost a year later. Recently on the Oprah Show, there was the rebroadcast of the show on The Secret. An excellent point made by Martha Beck reminded me of that job: Martha Beck said she knows when she isn't in alignment with the universe - her body aches with pain until she takes her mind and body in the opposite direction of where she is at the time of her discomfort.

Where was Martha Beck when I needed her? Oh well, if you are blessed to live and learn, you do so and keep on stepping!

[mapgirl]

There are days I love work and other days I hate it. The trick is to find something where you have a greater number of the days you love work.

It's all a mixed bag, but perservere and you will be alright. Remember what your real goal is and what it takes to get there. (High net worth, ability to quit whenever you want, etc?)

[Debt Hater]

Well I think the point is made by Twiggers and Debt Dieter -- they know they may not make much money doing the job they want, but they WANT to do that job. So, perhaps I just have never really done something that I would do even if the pay was poor...

I really liked being a reporter mostly because they days were rarely routine. I almost never stayed in the office all day. I was forced to go to places I hadn't been to before and talk to people I normally wouldn't talk to and then sit down to put it all together into a compelling story.

Some days, I wanted to stay home because that's just how I am. I swear the sun shines brighter and the sky is bluer and the air is crisper and the people are prettier when I am out and about in the middle of the day and NOT at work. A day off in the middle of the week just because it like a precious gem.

So, hmmm, maybe what I want is flexibility. If I could spend two or three days working really really hard and then take a day or two here and there to just goof off or hang out, then I'd be happier. Maybe it's not the jobs that bother me, but the routine. If I knew I had no set schedule -- or I could make adjustments to a set schedule at my discretion, I'd feel better.

Or maybe I'd feel better if I were Bill Gates and knew I could shoot skeet from here until I die and never run out of money BUT, instead, I dedicated my time to saving children's lives and fighting disease. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[Early Retirement Extreme]

Maybe you should consider early retirement? ;-)

[claire]

Yes I understand completely. In my late twenties I had a quarter life crisis/breakdown because of this issue, I HATE WORKING FOR THE MAN - its a fools game - security is not working the job for 30 years with a big bank account by in the opinon of vandweller it is "the ability to withstand change that is going to happen ANYWAY".

I am on a mission to escape the 9 - 5.

Good luck

Claire

[L@spillingbuckets]

You need to read "The Four Hour Work Week"

[Kim]

Wow! This is exactly how I have been feeling lately - I've been at my job for a year. It's exactly what I have always wanted in a job, but I still HATE working. I have to force my sleepy body out of bed to go to work. I feel moderately guilty because I can't say what would make it better - outside of being on my own schedule and coming and going at my discretion.

Could it be a generational thing?

[debthater]

Kim, I think it might be a generational thing. I know that the "good ole days" weren't always good, but there were certain things you could count on, like pension and two weeks vacation and, often, a single salary financing an entire household. But not any more. So it sometimes seems, to me at least, busting your hump isn't really going to get you anywhere... or it will, but it will take 30 years. Yeah, I really want to enjoy my net worth and years of labor when I'm 65! Whoopee, not. LOL

And L@spillingbuckets, I will check out The Four Hour Workweek. I heard of it, so now that I've been complaining, I guess I should see what the author has to say ;-) I feel like such a whiner lately!

[BK]

Ok I hate my full time but love my part time job!!!! which is why I'm getting another certification to make my pt a full fledged business!!!! but I digress..

I say put those fingers to the keypad and get to pennin that novela.. yup.

[Fiona]

Add me to the list of people who love what they do. There are days that I may not be happy with here and there, but I feel lucky that I've found just the right niche for me.

The people I know who are unhappiest in their work seem to fall into two camps. One group knows that they're unhappy but can't figure out what job or field would make them happy. They talk about becoming architects or bakers or they-don't-know what. The other group is unhappy because they took jobs that were easy to get and thus were way, way below their abilities. They usually talk about how they're afraid that they couldn't get a better job if they looked for one.

And for both groups... I think they devalue themselves and they don't realize what good job candidates they could be if they would only set their sights on a specific job and go for it. I often wish there was something I could do to help when they talk about how they feel about work... I know that I could easily have been one of them.

[Escapee 4 Life]

Add me to the list of people who hate what I do... yup, work sux... so what to do?

Here's how I escaped from work hell.

Saved Money
Moved to Mexico

Cost of living in Mexico:
3 Bedroom Apartment in Puerto Vallarta $300/Month
Food $100/Month
Transportation $30/Month
Utilities: $10/Month

I HATE WORK... can you guess what I do in Mexico? I sit and play Playstation 2 with my girlfriend and surf. I'm not wealthy, I just worked for 2 years, saved all my money... lived on kraft dinner and peanut butter sandwiches and now I can afford to live really well and have kids... I'm retired probably for the rest of my life. I'm 30.