Hate having a full-time job

MalcontentHero,

I'm right there with you on this. What bothers me is that adults are expected to spend a significant portion of their lives pursuing paid work. Everyone needs something constructive to do with their waking hours and time was that each family or individual's work was a source of pride. Now I think that most people's dissatisfaction with work centers around two things: people don't feel as though the compensation is a just amount for the labor provided and, feeling as though what you do for work really doesn't matter all that much.

Many people often complain that work is the central focus of their lives due to long hours or necessary overtime. While it may be necessary in order to pay the bills, the trade off is one's spiritual and mental well being.
I wish it wasn't so hard for people to find meaningful work where payment is commensurate with labor provided and downtime (time away from work) is respected and understood to be as important as medical examinations and routine visits to the dentist.

lol i know this is not really funny but i think this is something a lot of people feel to some degree or another.for you it has really impacted your life. I feel the same way to a lesser degree. i work because, like most of us, i have to. i need food and shelter to survive and the little comforts to make live bearable and no one will provide those for me but myself. I'm a groomer so my schedule is pretty flexible. i work 4 days a week, anywhere from 6 to 9 hours each day and make enough to live on. as much "fun" as it is to work with dogs all day i can't wait to leave the second i get there. i power through each appointment, skipping any breaks, most of the time not even using the bathroom just so i can get out of there that much faster. I just want to go home!

You are so right on this one. I love my daughter but I think that with my mental illnesses maybe I'm an inadequate mother, because I can barely handle my full-time responsibilities (cleaning the house, two pets, a full-time very stressful deadline-based job). Add a pregnancy , a premature baby for no explained reason, though I suspect stress), and extreme post-pardon depression (during which I was hospitalized due to an allergic reaction to medicine intended to treat my severe cystic acne). It was the darkest point of my life. Anyway, all of this is to say that you are correctly assuming how trying this life choice can be.

I too, am another person who googled, "I hate my job/Working" and found this thread. I know for a fact that my severe depression and anger mostly stems from being "forced" too go to an office everyday and work for a living. I am right there with Malcontent, I literally "hate" that we as a society have made our lives like this. It makes me so angry that to survive if I don't go to a horrible job dealing with people that I mostly don't like but having to be "political" and fake is torture for me as well. With my mental health issues like depression and anxiety it is so hard for me to go to work everyday but I do it because I have to, I have a son to support, and I know if I don't I will be homeless and on the street. It is so hard for me to deal with stress and people on a daily basis and like someone else said, all the different personalities you have to deal with that comes with a job. It also makes me angry that I am at my bosses/organizations mercy and if they don't like what color underwear I'm wearing that day, they can fire me. Organizations and companies today give no value to human lives and feelings, you are expendable and replaceable, if you mess up or don't perform to their standards they will find someone who will. I just hate, that life is like this. Also being overworked and underpaid is my life story. Yes, I have a college degree in Social Work and if I would have know the crappy pay Social Workers receive when I was 23 and in college I would have gotten my MBA instead. I have no money to start my own business, although I have been looking into dog sitting because I love animals. Organizations and upper management and corporations only care about themselves, are greedy and the money. It makes me so angry and sick how our society has become placing no value on human lives and feelings only money. It has really helped me to read this thread and know that I am not alone in how I feel. This is the main cause of my depression and anger and it seems there is no escape from this daily grind of being forced to work everyday. I try to be positive, and be thankful for having a job, but somedays it is so hard. Thanks for letting me rant!!!

Ok, let me just start off by saying that I am also one of the users who found this site/thread by typing in "I hate working full time" into the google search engine.

What everybody has said so far in this thread has hit the nail right on the head. I have schizoid personality disorder, so working a full time job is even more painful for somebody like me. I'm not using that as an excuse, it's just the way it is. I am a physically hard worker and have received rewards throughout my job life (the last 10 years). But I just don't have the mental capacity to care about a stupid job for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I worked for a full year working 55+ hours per week. My "easy" weeks were 40. I wanted to kill myself. If you're a workaholic, that's great for you. But not all of us are like that, and it's not fair to be grouped into the same camp as such. Some people have a more creative aptitude than others, and if they are stuck doing menial tasks for 40 hours per week without having some time to rest or with some time in which to employ their artistic outlets, their brains are gonna scream... and ten ultimately snap. At least that's how it happened in my situation.

In fact, I found I was most productive during my part-time years as a teenager. I worked part time for nearly 7 years (in the realm of 15-25 hours per week) and it was the happiest time of my life because it comprised of a very good work-life balance. I was also more hard-working when I WAS scheduled into work because my time off in between allowed me to have sufficient rest (not just physically, but mentally as well) . I think "mentally" is a key word that gets lost in translation when people put other people down for not wanting to work like a slave for 35+ hours per week, touting them as "lazy" and 'asking for handouts". Let me tell you something.... I've never ONCE received a handout in my entire working life. Every dollar I spend, is accounted for in my savings account... because I live very comfortably within my means, unlike most people who charge everything to their credit cards and fill their houses and cars with materialistic items they don't actually need. This is why people work more hours... to buy **** they can show off to other people. When things become more expensive and they want the latest gadgets, they wonder why they're so exhausted from working so hard. I can't understand that for the life of me. If you learn to accept less, life is way more affordable and enjoyable. I will never let anybody ever call me lazy for opting not to work the slavery schedule that is 40 hours. Furthermore, there is no reason for a young person with no house, car, wife /husband or kids, to be forced into working 40 hours as the expected norm. That person should have the empowerment to do whatever they please.. to work as much or as little as they please. The fact that we are anchored to a society that doesn't employ this freedom is absolutely soul-destroying.

Work politics/drama, disciplinary action where you get "lectures" fromyour supervisor on how ****** of a job you did but never any positive feedback, low wages, long hours/long commutes. Why would anybody enjoy a life full of this? Then you pay into your retirement all these years with the endearing hopes that you will live to see your first payment and be in good physical/mental shape to enjoy it.

This can't be right. There's more to this life than that, and if there isn't, then I don't know what to say.

I have worked full time for 34 years. With no down time.
I raised three kids had a wife and a house and a dog and all that stuff.
All the time dealing with bipolar, anxiety, and add.
I finally crashed and I know I can no longer do it.
I was injured on the job a year ago and have been awaiting surgery ever since.
I am done emotionally exhausted and its all I can do now to get through my day
even without working. The depression is all consuming and life will never be the same.
Working is no longer something I can do.

Also one does not have to remain entirely inactive if they do not have a full time job...I myself am on disability currently and yeah I don't work, but I don't remain inactive either. I mean for one if I ever do expect to maybe hold a job some day I cannot let myself stagnate like that...and well allows depressive/anxious thoughts to fester.

But yeah I had a part time job when I was still in highschool, mostly because I wanted some spending money and got fired pretty early on for not being able to keep up, getting off task and just a bunch of stuff I really couldn't live up to despite my best efforts. Had a work study position in college, and did not get fired since its more financial aid but did get criticism of all the same stuff as well as not being very 'passionate', trouble with interacting, trouble remembering verbal instructions and having to ask for them repeated.

Then my last attempt at some form of work was when I was staying with some relatives in another state and got hooked up with a job at some kind of wood-working place where I stained wood, put together coat racks, and put mirrors together like had the mirrors and the frames and had to put them in the frames. I thought I was doing well and was putting in my best effort...well I was not keeping up enough I guess. But yeah that and numerous very stressful experiences with just even looking for work or getting interviews so my anxiety level effects it to...also effects my demeanor around co-workers and I am apt to get over-whelmed and not handle it well.

But also I still have people in my life and interests to spend time on...not even sure I would ever be able to function at a full time job so at best I can maybe hope for some kind of alternate employment or something otherwise it'll be 733$ a month for the rest of my life...unless the government decides to start cutting disability.

There are SOME part time jobs that offer very decent wages (over 2k a month) if you look into the right companies (usually state or government jobs). I was looking at jobs awhile ago and on a website I saw a part time office job that paid a little over 2k per month, it was a state job. So there must be other part time jobs out there similar to that. Maybe someone would be able to survive on a part time job rather than a full time one, if it meant just taking a small pay cut, comparatively speaking.

I hate the idea of working full time for someone else also. Particularly in a corporate type environment. Seeing lots of people in an almost robotic state commuting to and from work each day really disturbs me and so I decided to start my own business about 5 years ago. This was going well until about a year ago when it got shut down for a variety of reasons which I believe are totally unfair - so now Im back having to face up to the reality of either selling my house or working for someone else again and it utterly disturbs me....I am looking into other options - maybe teaching as the corporate world in particular disturbs me. I played by their rules for a while but got eaten up and spat out so f****k them I say!!!
also - I dont think a lot of posters on here are lazy coz they dont want a full time job, its more of the way society is structured and functions that disturbs people I think. Sure there are some great jobs out there and some people like the so called 'security' of having a job...but theres got to be more to life than this.....

I agree with everything you wrote here! Especially as you described the "robotics" of it all. I just cannot fathom how all these people are so intent on being mindless drones. I understand that there comes a time for some people to be required to work these excessive hours if they have large families to support with multiple cars, properties etc. But society should run based on how much you want. If you want fancy luxuries, working hard for them should be a requirement. But month by month, week by week, day by day, we are seeing the system slowly collapse on itself making it hard for even the average person to make enough money to fund their basic necessities for survival. A basic car, a basic apartment, and groceries/clothing should NOT constitute a 40 hour workweek, in my opinion. Those commodities should be EASILY be obtained within the scope of a 20 hour workweek.

It doesn't help that our system thrives on credit either. How many people out there are driving around in above average cars? Now, how many of those do you think are financing those cars with their cold hard cash? Probably only a small percentage. People want what they can't afford right away which always keeps them spending outside their means. This makes it harder on people like me who just want to lead a simple life, because now a social stigma is created whereby we ALL must work harder and longer.
It all boils down to what each of us want individual. The problem is, like you touched on, society groups all these people together.

Sigh, I am also starting to feel the same way with my current contract job, it's getting more and more dreadful working here, staring at the computer screen for 12 hours monitoring without much rest time since the job is related to cyber network security and we are required to be on heightened alert at all times.
Although its a 4 days shift work, the job requires me to make & handle phone calls which I feared a lot and barely got a hang of it.. the workload, the workplace restrictions also leaves a lot of space for me to wander and dwell on negative thoughts as well.
This 40 over hours workweek is really taking a mental toll on me. I'm starting to feel like throwing the resignation letter and live on my own terms.

At least after work you can get a little non pain time, I usually find that anything painful after work seems so unfair.

The recurring point that I so strongly agree with and have felt for so many years is the hatred of "having to be" "at" work. Due to my disability, I encounter no shortage of difficulty performing most any task and working long hours (10+ hr days) completely fries my brain and makes me useless. Even a standard 40 hour week makes me absolutely miserable.

As I said though, it's not even the work itself that I hate so much as having to physically be there. Going through the motions of having to wake up early, drive to/from work, and rot for 8 hours behind a desk while barely making more than minimum wage is hell. I busted my *** all through school to get As and always put in my best effort, but, due to my disability, the only kind of jobs I can get are ones that I could've had if I dropped out of high school.

Even if I were more successful and had work that paid more, I may be less depressed, but I think I'd still hate the condition of being at work just as much. Eating away at me the whole time I'm there is the thought of better things I could be doing with my time - hiking with my dog, spending more time at the shelter where I volunteer, or just catching up on some good reading or sleep. I know it's not realistic to be able to just do whatever you want all day, as earning a wage is part of being an adult. Knowing that it's normal and knowing that it's compulsory doesn't make me despise it any less though.

The thing that I dislike the most about being at work, is how cold and weird the actual buildings or offices are. It feels so uncomfortable, sterile, impersonal. Every office or building feels this way, whether its a business, a store, hospital, department, office, everywhere (unless you have an outdoors job). There's just this very boxy vacant feel to these work places. Makes me feel on edge, like I can't fully relax. I think this plays a big part of why I really don't like being at work places. Not just the people, its the environment.

The initial going from non-work to work is a very hard transition to make. I remember after I graduated school and went to work and just the realization that there'd be no summers off or real vacations was depressing. It did not help that I worked retail and in the basement of a building and got to work before it was fully light out in winter and left after dusk was well established. It is hard not to focus just on working but if we're working at least 8 hours a day and sleeping 8 there's still 8 hours out there that are our own and that we can do stuff. You have to get an interest/hobby and start following a dream in those hours, get to know yourself better and what you want and learning all the stuff you didn't learn coming up with perhaps not very useful parents, siblings, or friends.

The last time I had a full time job, it did make me suicidal. I ended up having to quit. I've tried to keep two part time jobs after that, and I couldn't handle those either. I don't know why, but the feeling of being trapped somewhere, doing something I end up hating, is nearly impossible for me to deal with. Maybe I'm just not good at handling stress... I quit my last job this week after having a panic attack that made me physically sick. I only worked about 15 hours a week, and had that job for a month and a half. Now I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I CAN do without this happening, because it seems like this always ends the same way.

I know the struggle. I too started working on a full-time job even though I am studying in university now. I was a musician before, and at one point I startrd hating it too.
I think, that the best way is to start your own business, where You'll be able to control your time and be financially stable.
In any case this is what I want to do in some nearest future

I agree with just about every word everyone has posted on this thread. I am mid-50s and I've been working since the day I turned 16, eligible to work. For the majority of these years it's been secretarial-type work, and I have been saying practically since the beginning "I don't want to be a secretary my whole life" and "I don't want to work in an office my whole life." 30+ years later, here I still am,, not the same exact job but same work. I've changed jobs nearly 20 times, some were better than others, some I think could have grown into something more, typically I was miserable overall and quit, thinking the next job would be better... which it was, for a while, then same ****. What it boils down to is that I don't have any other skills, I am very good at it, never have a problem getting a job, and with very good companies and very good pay.

I have struggled with depression, anxiety, bi-polar for most of my adult life. I get bored at work easily and then the depression increases. I take a lot of "sick" time (I call it "mental health days") which my employers of course are not happy with me about. Several times over the years I've even taken short-term disability because my depression has gotten so severe, I simply could not cope and frankly did not care. About five years ago I was so bad that I went to the ER, fearing that I'd try suicide, and they sent me to a psych hospital for a week followed by outpatient therapy for a month. A few months after that I had a near-fatal illness and was hospitalized two months and had home health care for four more months. HERE'S THE REALLY SAD THING: I now look back on these two terrible episodes with near-fondness. Being that sick, being hospitalized, meant no work, no responsibilities at home, nothing to do but take care of myself. I swear, I have moments that I try to figure out to get that sick again. It's frightening and pathetic.

It's not that I don't want to work at all. What pains me is that I get absolutely NO satisfaction, meaning, fulfillment. These corporations and what they do means nothing to me. Other than a job well-performed, I go home each day thinking "well, damn, there's another 8 hours I'll never get back." Plus 1.5 hours each way commute... so 11 hours, poof!, gone.

If I could do anything in the universe, I always say I want to be a recluse. Stay home, never leave. Read books. Do crafts and sew. Watch movies and TV. Play with my pets. Garden. Travel--for that I'd leave the house. In truth, though, I know I'd get bored eventually, in which case I would get some little part-time job doing something that strictly was enjoyable. Or I'd volunteer at the animal shelter or library.

But what I am truly struggling with now and cannot figure out, and what perhaps brought me here today, is what to do about it? I look ahead to the next 10-12 years (at best) until I can retire, and I wanna slit my throat. I feel angry at the world. I hate myself for my poor choices, that I ended up in a career I loathe. I am resentful towards my husband--why can't he make more money so I don't need to work? Recently our finances went down the drain, so there is no way we can survive without my pay.

I've read this entire thread history and agree with so much of it. But didn't find much in the way of actual advice. It's important for us to talk but answers/advice would be helpful too.

Oh God, I've gone on long enough, sorry. But it feels good to vent and put it on 'paper.' Thanks for listening.

I tried working full time jobs but all the family drama makes it hellish, can't just relax after work and be myself. I am trying to start a business but not that successfully.

I agree. Full time employment sucks especially when your job doesn't have you doing something that you're passionate about.

Call me childish if you want, but I wish to spend my life doing whatever I want rather than what some prick upstairs who makes twice my wages for a fraction of the work wants.

Humans are evolved to follow their passions, grow intellectually, and guide and protect nature and the other animal species, yet we do the exact opposite. Many of us work boring grunt jobs in which do little to challenge us and help us grow physically and intellectually that we hate while the rich get richer and the poor suffer more and we destroy the environment rather than protect it like we were originally were evolved to do and people wonder why I hate society as much as I do.

Theres actually some people who work like 2-3 days a week. I know three people that do this, who make above average money. One is a correctional officer who works 3 days a week on a flex schedule which means hes working 12 or more hour days. Another one is a marriage family therapist who works 2 days a week, 8 hr days, charging $60 per hour per client. Another one is a dentist who works Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and takes the rest of the days off. So there are careers out there that can have this type of schedule. Self employment, selling things online, that's another very flexible career. So far those are the only ones I know about, but I'm sure there's more.

Have you tried the lottery?

I love this article. I think it applies here.

The SECRET to making money while you sleep | Split Mentality

Hey there, thanks for the kind words about the article .

Best,

Dave
SplitMentality

One of my friends has handled this work vs personal time issue quite well. He keeps his expenses very, very low through living in a warehouse with others or caretaking and not accumulating other expenses. He takes on jobs he likes such as pet-watching and some fabrication in his workshop. He has mastered it. It's impressive.

He doesn't have health insurance though, and I'm not sure how he is going to handle his elderly years.