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Why most people don't like their work?
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Some cool input, Dan, especially since backed by your own experience!I'm also pretty proud of having tried a variety of brief, temp and simply jobs in my late teens, early twenties, like cleaning a basketball stadium, dishwashing, pool boy, teller/bouncer in a night club and operator of embroidery machines -:)
Is being a lawyer better than any of the above? I'm not sure -:)
Dan wrote: "Like hell that wasn't staged lol it was stressful but I adapted quickly and had the time of my life. Did I get the job? Like hell I did! The manager's nephew didn't like me hahaha..."Time of your life is worth more than such a mundane thing as a job -:)
Some corporate big shots just dream to abandon stressful life, make an early exit and become a street food vendors, while food vendors envy the comfort of air-conditioned high office towers...
To be content with what you do seems more important than what you do
Dan wrote: "They see what they're missing and how soulless it can be at the top and they want to be outside on the ground floor with real people...."These are exactly the things I try to tackle in the books I write..
I think that many people don't like their jobs exactly because they are their jobs. When you have to do something every day, you start to dislike it and complain about it. If you're deprived of it, you'll complain again. It's human nature.
I would srongly but kindly caution against the sexism comments articulated above. Thanks, everyone.
I deal with sexism on the job constantly. If I'm not the pretty face of the company (super tough to smile and stay positive when customers keep asking stupid questions ) then I'm doing grueling labor for less pay to 'prove' I can 'handle' the job. I hate it but I have bills to pay. I see why folks drink/get high once they clock out.
KPInteresting comment. Just to clarify, I'm drawing a distinction between sharing a personal anecdote and using a personal anecdote to make a wider, and potentially inflammatory, generalization about whole sects of people. Thin line and all that.
For some reason we're expected to decide what we want to do and prepare for that career many, many years before we know ourselves well enough to make an informed choice. Once we're on an occupational track it is considered detrimental to keep switching horses midstream, regardless of personal fulfillment. These days prepubescent children are being funneled into certain career tracks and the time and money invested in them make it nearly impossible for them or their families to realistically determine if that is what is ultimately best. I read once about a woman who finished her residency and became a doctor at the age of 70. She had been a teacher all her life but dreamt constantly of becoming a physician. One day she just decided to go for it! She was certainly the exception to the rule that keeps many of us unhappy with our careers.
Dora wrote: "I think that many people don't like their jobs exactly because they are their jobs. When you have to do something every day, you start to dislike it and complain about it. If you're deprived of it,..."This implies that a job is always something unenjoyable, while it's not always correct. Actors, football players, astronauts, wine tasters -:) (?), etc usually cherish what they do. It's an ideal combination to earn from something that you like doing, but this privilege is available for a relatively small percent of people. Many writers, by the way, strive to make money from writing in order to quit their day job and concentrate on writing. Here too only a small percent achieves this goal...
No, it doesn't imply that or maybe I didn't explain it well. What I meant to say, and maybe I'm wrong, is that you don't always appreciate what you have just because you have it. It might have started as very enjoyable. And it doesn't apply to absolutely everybody - my father for example has always loved his job - just to many, many people. It's the daily grind that gets to them and sometimes it affects even actors and football players. I don't know about wine tasters ...
Dora wrote: "It's the daily grind that gets to them and sometimes it affects even actors and football players. I don't know about wine tasters ... ..."Yep, the grind wears everybody out. Football players and actors also complain and wine tasters probably get fed up with wine sometimes -:)
The topic is why people don't like their work, and the issue of sexism is something we're dancing around. Please hear me out, and I hope this comes out as I intend (but likely it won't so I apologize in advance if I offend by wording something poorly), but everything about sexism in the workplace is BS.You can't paint women with a single brush as you can't do with men. I've worked with a lot of women over the years who worked harder than a lot of men I've worked with, and I've worked with a lot of women who earned my respect more than many of the men.
Conversely, I've worked with women who embody the stereotypes. I cannot get one out of my mind who used to flirt with certain men just to get them to do their work for them. Every time I'd see her, I'd mentally shake my head thinking "you personally set women's rights back a hundred years.
But individuals like that are no different from the men who treat the workplace as their own personal dating service. I worked for a male store manager who would flirt with the women in the bakery, not for sex, but for free cookies! Seriously, is that somehow better than the woman above just because he's a man?
To say women are weaker in the workforce or somehow inferior, then deny them opportunity isn't just a disservice to them, but to a much lesser extent, the men that get stuck working with inferior coworkers because their bosses use that gender excuse in their hiring decisions.
But the gender issue is just one in a blanket of issues...the reason that workers are so unhappy is because in general, actual, measured performance is not used in hiring decision, promotional decisions, or pay decisions, because I think we we paid based on performance, you'd see a lot of men making 77cents for every dollar many of their female coworkers make instead of the other way around.
I'm probably in the minority here, but I love my job. I'm a general accountant for a multi-national corporation so you can imagine that the position holds some of the aforementioned causes of dissatisfaction (like repetitive tasks for instance) and yet I love it.Maybe it's the way I'm wired (I do love Excel spreadsheets!) but I think it has more to do with respect. At the end of the day isn't that what we all strive for at work? Everyone talks about compensation as if they had more then they'd be happy but...I don't think so.
No matter how much an employer pays you, you'll always want more or think you deserve more. That much is programmed into us from our prevalent consumer culture. After all, no matter how much you have you can never have it all.
But if you're respected, if your opinions matter, and you're treated as an equal, you'll be far more likely to be happy at work. I can relate though, as I was miserable for years at my former job where I was underpaid and under respected. I know what it's like to be the proverbial "pay cheque player" and now I know what it's like to love going to work.
The latter is much preferable :)
Eldon wrote: "(I do love Excel spreadsheets!)..."Don't know whether you are in minority here on the group, but on the global scale you seem to be, as polls recurrently show that most people aren't happy with their work. I bet with your fondness for Excel, you belong to a selected few though -:)
Most of us, spending 5-12 hours a day at work, dedicate to it the biggest part of our lives, so, in my opinion, it's paramount for anyone to strive to look for and do something enjoyable, even if it means a sharp career change. Great that in your own case you've managed to trade misery for something you love. Some look for respect, some for money, some others for adrenaline, it doesn't matter what does it as long as you spend the better part of your life doing something you are content with...
Another Excel junkie here. I never paid any attention to it in college but was forced to learn it at work. After the mental resistance dissolved and the learning curve flatlined I realized how much I loved it. Excel is a beautiful thing and can make organizing data actually rewarding.
I've never used Excel, but I do like filing things. Currently in a job I enjoy - underpaid and overworked, but I've managed to avoid the parts I really hate. And there is coffee. No promotion unless I kill the Boss, and since he brings cookies...
Having a job you really hate, though, does teach you to be grateful when you get a better one (even if the pay is worse)!
Tara wrote: "Another Excel junkie here. I never paid any attention to it in college but was forced to learn it at work. After the mental resistance dissolved and the learning curve flatlined I realized how much..."Feel exactly the same way ☺ Queries, pivot tables, VBA, and those wonderful formulas allow me to make tasks fun and challenging while exploring my creativity!
Filing is relaxing!If you love your work you are fortunate. It can and does happen. If you like your work but have some bad days that is normal as well. Then there's the mixed bag where you may love your work and not like your co-workers or vice versa. But if you truly hate your work you have to somehow find a way to change your life. That level of stress and unhappiness is bound to damage your life exponentially.
Denise, that was an amazing article! It struck me that the ways in which employers are encouraged to treat their staff are the same ones in which parents are encouraged to raise their children - make them feel validated, give them room to make mistakes and grow, show them what they are worth, give them oversight but also autonomy. Interesting. The article also made me wonder: do attitudes about work correspond to socioeconomics? Culture? Generational quirks? My best friend's dad own's a lucrative company but is never as happy as when he was on the ground floor, driving trucks. My mom found it odd that people sought fulfillment at work - work was where you earned the money you needed to do things with family and friends that gave you fulfillment. She felt you were fortunate if your job was rewarding but she found it odd that a breadwinner would consider leaving a job simply because they were unfulfilled.
Denise, your breakdown is absolutely spot on. I would also propose a link to the educational experiences of these respective generations. For example, teaditionals learned absolute deference to teachers and authority figures while millennials called their teachers by their first name, were encouraged to explore their feelings and got trophies just for participating. I can see a correlation between these environments and attitudes about employment - and it's not surprising because outside of family, school is the single most pervasive socializer. It's the training and proofing ground for our eventual role in society.
*rant* I hate it when excel is used as a database. Access is for databases! Excel is for spreadsheets! Why can't folks seem to remember that?? Augh *end rant*I actually went to secretary school (I doubt those are still around) and got a degree in business management because I figured sectaries were always in demand and work will always be there (lolz nope). So when that didn't work out I went into programming. That didn't fare well either (I get out of school and my skills are instantly outdated wtf). So what to do? Find work some kind of way. But as companies downsize and send your work to drones overseas to pay them less after awhile you run out of things to do that you tolerate and start sucking it up to do work you hate to pay the bills (yay factory widget building or grueling farm work ).
So while you plan to burn out/go postal/grind away hoping something better opens up, you put up with other folks who either don't want to be there or the few who love it. And write on the side hoping something breaks through.
Dealing with sexism from coworkers and bosses suck (no matter your gender). Dealing with out of touch executives suck. Dealing with the changing landscape of office politics suck. It all sucks. But if you need your lights and food you put up with a lot of bs because it sure beats being on the street.
KPCommon and true for many. I hope your writing serves as a stimulating challenge and a refuge as you navigate the work force.
Denise wrote: "If you have time, here's a 2013 Forbes article I found interesting: I'm Outta Here! "Interesting data, interpretation and recommendations
Tara wrote: " employers are encouraged to treat their staff are the same ones in which parents are encouraged to raise their children - ma..."A cool parallel, especially when some or many feel they 'just want to be a kid again'.
Indie Ken Bator wrote a pretty enlightened book about the key to business success in which he stresses the importance of corporate culture. Many (not all) successful tech and start-up firms understand this and offer perks such as flex hours, catered, healthy lunches, Arthurian conference tables, open door management policies, profit-sharing, bring your children to work days, telecommuting, retreats, mobile spa sessions, meditation niches etc. some companies really get it.
I don't know why, but in the context of the proper employer-employee relations I sometimes imagine a situ, involving a billionaire and his driver, spending much of their time practically side by side and at the same time living on different planets. One runs multinational corporations, has packs of subordinates, cares to be immune towards existing or potential creditors, while the other - worries to repay his loans, to polish the hood and to run fast enough to open the door for the boss when the car stops. I find it kinda grotesque. I guess I'm not the only one, thinking in this direction. The relations between the two can be so different: from the extreme hatred, as Adiga explored it in his The White Tiger or of close friends, as featured in the French film 'The Intouchables'.
Tara wrote: "Many (not all) successful tech and start-up firms understand this and offer perks such as flex hours, catered, healthy lunches, Arthurian conference tables, open door management policies, profit-sharing, bring your children to work days, telecommuting, retreats, mobile spa sessions, meditation niches etc. some companies really get it."All very true - a drastic difference between the 'old' tech and high-tech
Another 'retro' thread for your kind attention and input..
It's never failed...jobs I've hated have lead to migraines, joint pain and general anxiety. Sometimes it's so subtle you don't even notice it.
I'm very lucky with my job. Excellent company, great co-workers, really good conditions and supportive culture.
1. Managers who make poor business decisions.2. Managers who don't value or respect their employees.
3. Managers who create a dysfunctional workplace and destroy morale.
4. Co-workers who "stir the pot" and find fault with their co-workers rather than work smoothly toward a common goal.
Management can make or break a work environment.
Hi PJ,A couple of metaphors for bad managers.
The Chrome Turtle: Their shell is bright and shiny, and they excel at reflecting back a wonderful image to those who are above them, while underneath, they are just another smelly reptile.
The Corporate Vampire: Produces nothing themselves and excels at draining value from your career to promote their own.
One fine place where you will find tons of mismanagement and bad/incompetent managers with big egos: the Pentagon.
i tend to think of it in more existential terms- it's dispiriting to be doing something every day that doesn't seem useful or meaningful. and then- while possibly this is simply expecting too much of life- very few people seem to be able to align their work with their hobbies or passions.
I had a friend a long time ago who was a maniac about war games and military RPG. He was also a retired soldier. Then, he got a job as a counselor to help run play military map wargames for the Army. Has he said to me then: 'And I'm paid to do this!'
Mike wrote: "very few people seem to be able to align their work with their hobbies or passions ..."very true - a lot play football, guitar or write books, but very few actually see money out of it -:(
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Hi PJ,A couple of metaphors for bad managers.
The Chrome Turtle: Their shell is bright and shiny, and they excel at reflecting back a wonderful image to those who are above them, while underneat..."
Lol...I'd not heard of those before. I especially like the chrome turtle. I think I worked for one of those once. Ours now just makes bad decisions, makes decisions that make it harder for us to do our work, disrespects the employees, and destroys morale. We're still working on a software conversion that was started about 9 years ago, and another that began in 2002. Unbelievable.
I used to work in a factory assembling auto parts. It was monotonous and soul-sucking. The conditions were garbage and you HAD to stand on a concrete floor in work boots the whole nine hours because the customers they had parading through the place "didn't like to see the workers sit." To make things worse, I was working there through a temp agency, so they kept laying me off for no reason other than to keep me from working long enough at a time to become a full-time employee. Then I developed an ear infection from the "protective" buds they have you shoving in your ears every day. Inevitably I ended up homeless for a while because of it (and other things), and quit them altogether.With that being said, when I finally got another job, I got back into stability. I work in a hotel now. It's strange that an introvert like me works in customer service (and enjoys it), but I like its environment and my fellow staff members and supervisors are very nice people. This hotel is the first job I've had in this town (or ever) that hasn't pissed me off.
But that factory was the worst. Good God.
Tara wrote: "It's never failed...jobs I've hated have lead to migraines, joint pain and general anxiety. Sometimes it's so subtle you don't even notice it."Sciatica. I stopped driving and struggled to sit. A physio gave me some exercises to do. The sciatica left when I left work.
I did like my jobs. But a change in management changes everything. I never thought I'd work for myself, yet, here I am editing from home and I love it. I did enjoy the big career years though, however tough they were, have to be honest.
Any new insight on this ever actual theme? Can't people just be robots and do the damn work instead of complaining all the time? -:)
I did the work and didn't complain because I was a single mother with a son whose father didn't pay child support. I took all the stupid shit my work could throw at me and kept going. Oprah told me I should follow my bliss.
Im partly a humble self absorbed egotistical bastard when it comes to my own writing. I say if I don't like or enjoy it how can I expect anyone else to?
Which word is not like the others? Humble.
I like my job. I'm a physiotherapist as well as a writer, and one of the best bits of my job is seeing someone walk out, knowing they're fine now. It has its frustrations at times (paperwork, mostly) and occasionally there's a person who drives me nuts, but generally it's a good, worthwhile job.
And it's varied. I get to do heaps of different things. Tomorrow I'll start with two hours in the pool, and then move on to the practice, where I'll see everything from CRPS, to post-op rehab, pelvic floors and sports injuries.
I spend my daylight hours working in the equivalent of a "special forces," IT team.There are no junior or intermediate staff in my team - everyone is a top operator, small team, tight-knit, empowered, effective.
I love my day job.
I also love writing stories.
Dan wrote: "A.) Lowering standards because "a job is a job"! ..."
During the "tech-boom" of the 90s, we saw workers (not just those in the tech industry) willing to jump ship for the smallest of raises. Workers today complain about the loyalty of companies and how the idea of working for one company no longer exists, but it's a 2-way street. I don't hold the companies blameless and maybe it's their attitude that bred it, but a lot employees hold no loyalty for the company they work for. My own seemingly contrarian points of view come at this from two sides...if workers want the company to be loyal to them, they have to show the same loyalty. However, leadership begins at the top. These employers are the leader in the workplace, meaning the have to demonstrate the behavior they want from their employees. If they want loyalty, then they have to show it.
Dan wrote: "B.) Playing dumb!
..."
You see this in minimum wage workplaces like McDonalds where the interviewer has the standard sheet of interview questions, only half-attentive to the responses. It's obvious they as the boss aren't looking for anything special because they're not asking questions that get to what they personally are looking for in a worker. On the other hand, I did hiring at one time, and I already knew from the application if I wanted someone or not, so the interview felt almost foolish. I mean, what do you ask someone to influence your decision when the application was thorough enough to tell you everything you wanted to know?
Dan wrote: "C.) Sexism!
..."
For what it's worth, this comes from a man, but I can say I've seen it from the other side. My background is retail, and it's an industry where the jobs are still somewhat segregated - there are jobs mostly women do and those mostly men do. There is no question when men crossover into traditionally female roles such as cashier, but there is a lot of eyebrow raising and trash-talking when you see a woman in a typically male role like stocking. Thing is whenever I've seen a woman in those roles, they can heave freight like any man, but they still have to work twice as hard to prove themselves...funny thing is, a lot of men I've encountered are lazy as hell. I worked briefly in a union shop where the men in full-time stocking jobs literally did nothing for 8 hours. Freight arrived on their shift and it sat in the back room still wrapped by the time their shift ended. Not even backstock got worked. They would just sit in the back room talking sports or whatever, drinking coffee, occasionally stepping onto the floor or looking busy if a supervisor walked in. We had a woman working full time who usually took the 2nd shift, and she did more than then entire 1st shift. I'd say it was the union culture, but I've seen it in non union shops as well, where the men just want to stand around and drink coffee...sometimes hang out in the break room watching Jerry Springer and Maury Povich all day.
Then you see a whole new brand of sexism when women end up in management roles. Some of the best bosses I've worked for were women. I feel like a rare breed in that I like a boss who's no nonsense, all business, but recognizes the employees who are their biggest assets. I see this one a little more now than I did maybe 15-20 years ago, but a lot of men in management either want to be the employees' friend, afraid to take a tough stance when needed; or they just just coast through the job, thinking because they have the title all they have to do is sit back and let the employees do all the work. Those in the later are usually incompetent, working against the efforts of their employees, and unable to make a decision when they're called upon. Women I've admired have been tough, not afraid at all to call out employees for not doing their jobs or screwing up their jobs; but they know their own and they're not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty when called upon. Difference, nobody will question the men that can't do the job, and the criticism toward those who who do usually borders on the mild, when it comes to women, they're either the B-word, or they must be gay because they don't act like women or whatever.
But, that's not to say all men and women are like that, certainly I've encountered men who are excellent in their jobs, and women who are the stereotypical backstabbing, conniver, but too often I've encountered the opposite.
Dan wrote: "D.) Long-term Temp Work.
..."It's strange, but going back to what I said earlier, being in the situation of hiring, I would seriously have considered "temp-work and low wage, fast food jobs. People might look down at McDonalds as a job, but they're demanding, and anyone who sticks with them for more than say a month is someone worth considering. When the news breaks out the stories about McDonalds or Wal-Mart workers wanting more money, they always find some single mother who's been there for years, still making minimum wage, and I'm thinking what are they still doing there? If I was in a position to hire today, that is someone I want working for me without question, and I'm thinking what is wrong with our society when they can't find an employer who recognizes the value in that kind of loyalty and work ethic.
Denise wrote: "In my opinion, I believe most people hate their jobs in the U.S. due to company mentality and horrible management. During the traditionalists' lives, you dedicated yourself to a company and they to..."Well said Denise! Nothing has changed since this post either. Actually I have seen it happen when I worked as a legal secretary for a law firm. The firm let go a woman who had become older and could no longer keep up with the days activities. They just let her go without much explanation. She had been with the firm for over 25 years and was let go at a drop of a hat.
The more you are loyal to a company here in the U.S. the more they don't care about loyalty as all they care about is what they can get out of you and if they cannot get anything out of you up to their expectations, they will drop you as soon as look at you.
Over here it just seems to be the way of work life. Thank goodness I no longer have to deal with any of it since I have retired! :)
Of course some workers just are working to earn that extra dollar not caring how they do their job as there seems to be lots of screw ups on things as people just are working not caring about the actual work ethic.
Not sure if that is everywhere or just here in the states, but it would be nice if people would do their job and care about how they perform their jobs. Here in the states it seems to be all about bringing home the paycheck whether the job gets done or not.
Oh....did I do a rant? Oh well...at least I said my peace on the matter. :)
Some of the frequent causes of dissatisfaction, in my opinion, are the following:
1. Feeling exploited and/or inadequately rewarded. People feel exploited inadequately with the reward. They think they worth more and being underpaid, or they feel the employer makes lots of money from their work, but doesn't pay in line with the profits. If you take a small bakery, for example, where a proprietor performs similar tasks with the hired employee, the latter would probably be much less happier than the owner, because while the owner does the same work for himself, the employee in his mind does it for the owner. Some employees with this mindset would eventually leave and open their own place, while some others would stay forever brewing, but being unable to make the next step. And what subordinate doesn't think he/she knows better than his/her boss?
2. Repetitive tasks/routine. The first time may not be the best, but is always the most exciting. First kiss, first .... well, doesn't matter . First bungee jump, sky diving, whatever. There is a huge difference between the 1-st and 500-th. The routine erodes whatever excitement or simply indifference you once had. The highly professional and trained specialists won't perform that greatly when their battery (physical or mental) runs low. You may not know, but statistics show that, for example, medical error is the third frequent cause of death in the US after only heart disease and cancer:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...
Yeah, in medical dramas all look focused and motivated, but in real life - the difference in the hospital between the anxious family and patient and indifferent personnel is often striking. It's for a reason they mark the limb they are going to operate with a marker, because the surgeon is unlikely to read the papers before he/she takes the scalpel. Can exhausted, unmotivated employee feel happy? You know the answer.
3. Growing awareness. I remember some TV program from eighties or nineties, where they featured Japanese industries, where most employees had only one job their entire life. They started at, let's say 20 at Toyota or Yamaha and retired at 60 something from the same corporation. The mobility was close to zero. Lifetime employment what they call. But I think even there the mentality starts to change a little both for employees and employers. Manual jobs are being replaced by mechanization, while people on their part feel less dedicated to work as opposed to other things in life. What felt quite ordinary to work 8-12 hours a day, becomes less attractive when people look for more creative/less restraining forms of income or employment.
4. Limitation of free will. Doesn't matter whether I want to play football or have a scotch with a friend, I need to bring money home. Doing something because you must rather than want, especially in straining conditions, often something unpleasant, causes a great deal of stress. No wonder, many use shrinks to cope with everyday life and demanding job.
5. Life is a b..ch. General dissatisfaction with one's life projects onto local dissatisfaction with one's job.
What do you think? What else?