How to Find a Job That’s Good for Your Mental and Physical Health
I have worked a lot of strange and often unhealthy jobs. My parents were extremely insistent on the idea of a job throughout my life, so I often took the first job I was offered because I wanted to get them to stop yelling at me. This led me to some… not so healthy situations.
As I’ve attempted to reset my life and tried to get healthier I realized there were things I needed in my jobs that I didn’t have before.
For older generations a job was a paycheck that allowed you resources for building a family, job, business, career or whatever was important to you1…. but my generation and younger often don’t view work that way because the paycheck they were getting didn’t cover the bills. It wasn’t because they were spending inappropriately - it was just the money didn’t stretch. (And this was before the inflation of 2020 and beyond.)
When I got sick at twenty-nine and was forced to quit my job for health reasons, I was not planning on staying unemployed. I figured I’d got to school, get a different degree and find a job that fit me better. What I didn’t count on was this being a terribly long process that still hasn’t come to completion yet.
What I’ve discovered about jobs and mental health…1. The job needs to be more than a paycheck.
2. If it costs you your mental health or physical health - no paycheck is worth it.
3. A job should be something that puts life resources back into you. You should enjoy it - you will be spending most of your week there.
4. If it’s a toxic environment, you will bring that home. Even if you live alone, you will carry that toxic environment home with you.
5. A job can very easily become an abusive situation… especially if your needs aren’t being met by people who’s literal job it is to answer your questions and meet employee’s needs.
6. Know and pay attention to the signals of a company going under. Here’s the article that saved my sanity and confirmed I needed an exit plan at one of the jobs I worked. I consult it frequently: https://www.wisebread.com/10-signs-your-company-is-going-under)
7. Know and pay attention to how they manage finances and emergencies, as well as security issues. Also, how the CEOs and higher ups interact with people - all people, including and especially the maintenance, security and administrative teams.
8. Pay attention to your body’s signals. If you start getting sick or you’re counting meals until the end of the week because you’re that desperate to leave the workplace… leave and get another job.
9. You are not required to give soul sucking loyalty to the company that writes your paycheck.
10. There are other jobs out there. If you learn the signals of your company’s behaviors, and pair them with your body’s needs and your mental health - you will be aware and potentially have enough time to leave with a plan instead of a pink slip. (This means that you’re walking out on your own terms, instead of letting their bad decisions show up on your future resume.)
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1I was doing research for the Red Trouble series and ended up asking my mom, “So, my character, Hawk could get a job and feed a family of five kids? All on that one job?” Mom replied, “Yeah. Your grandfather did the same thing.” (Grandpa was The Greatest Generation, World War II era - Mom grew up in the 1960s and 1970s.) And I had to sit there and think about things for awhile because all my friends have worked multiple jobs and have had to take out loans for housing and car repairs or something to help them pay off college and cover basic needs. And this was often while living with their parents or a significant other with two or more incomes coming into their bank account.
