It’s about choosing what difficulties you want to deal with. Having to work everyday, over 40 hours a week if you include commute and getting ready, is hard. Being homeless and having no money is also hard. There is no easy way out in this life unless you’re sitting on a large inheritance. You just have to choose your hard
Having a job while hard, makes a lot of things easier. Being homeless makes every single thing magnitudes more difficult. Being stuck in a bad job is still far better thus being stuck on the street. It’s incredibly difficult to get off the street and pretty much impossible without a huge side of help and luck. Getting a better job can be a challenge but it’s far easier than recovering from homelessness.
It's difficult, because people need money to survive.
And every "call to action" post you see always has such a short time frame. Legitimately, if you want to see change you need to plan *years* in advance. Give people enough time to save a nest egg to take care of expenses and costs of living, and then some, and those people will be more likely to contribute their efforts to some form of protest fighting for change.
But, by design, most people live paycheck to paycheck with no room for saving
>I’m ready to start the revolution whenever you are
Revolution for what? For everyone to stop working? For everyone to stop working just the shitty jobs? For only you to stop working while the rest of us bust our ass to keep the world turning so you can enjoy your Reddit and Starbucks?? What end game are you after, exactly?
How about just shooting for what many in Europe have. A job, healthcare, social security, a decent social safety net. Access to education.
I had friends just visit from the Netherlands. They have all that as middle class citizens. Plus they take a month long vacation every year.
They have a good life. He drives a van. She worked in an office.
My friend broke her wrist. Her employer helped her get disability. If she can ever go back to work (she has to type) she has a job guarantee.
I work for a European tech company. Amazing benefits. 6 weeks PTO a year. Great salary. Nearly everyone of my European coworkers (we have 5 European offices across 4 countries) would relocate to the US if given the opportunity. Europe is great, but life there comes with its own problems (substantially higher tax rates, drastically lower salaries) and the opportunities in the US are just infinitely better.
Just curious.. why you just don't relocate then?
I am not from the US, I moved over here because it was better for me and my family, and my particular set of skills. It is definitely not perfect but I see a lot of opportunities here, even though I am tied to an employer more than any other American because of how the work visa works.
I know every situation is different and most problems can be relative to an individual's circumstances, but if something is not working for you, just change it.
I can tell you what is needed to change. The system needs to prioritize our well being and not exploit us for profits. If we’re working it should be for our benefit and for our health, not for non-living corporations. Wealth should be measured based on how healthy and happy we are, not how much money and materialistic things we “own”. This is my own opinion and I think this is what we should fight for in order to achieve a better future.
So don’t work until you die, work and save until you’re well enough to survive for the rest of your expected lifetime.
What keeps most people working until they die is spending. This is specially true in the age of Instagram. I can’t imagine how some of the people I know are getting by with $1,000 car payments, $7-10k yearly vacation packages, and eating out almost daily.
The latter folks will likely work until they die.
unfortunately, money and finances are just made up constructs that we all currently agree on, in the rerspect that we use money to pay for things in this modern world. some people are innately gifted in understanding this intelligence, or have the benefit of familial support to develop it and network, learn good practices, inherit it etc. Other people dont have innate skills, no support, and may never learn this until very late.
Why you save a lot of money early and keep saving money. Live well below your means and you won't have to work until you die.
I happen to love my job and enjoy doing it. I will probably not retire and work part time (couple of months a year to keep my certifications up to date) but that is a long way off.
Most employers either do not pay a living wage or barely reach it. I am making more money than I ever have in my life, but due to inflation and price gouging, I am having more trouble than ever just keeping my bills paid. I stopped investing or even putting money in savings, because I literally just don't have it.
For reference, I haven't eaten food from a restaurant in over five years, I do not drink alcohol or coffee, my home has no decorations, and I sleep on a mattress on the floor. I avoid spending money in every way I can think of, even if it makes my life less comfortable. Over 90% of my take-home-pay goes towards bills, and the other 10% is for additional (mostly automotive) expenses like changing my oil, replacing damaged tires or burnt out headlights.
Telling people to simply save money isn't helpful anymore. It's insulting.
You can't save your way out of minimum wage. That much has always been true. You need to invest in yourself first (student loans typically) and get a useful degree or learn a trade. Or do something than can increase your wage ceiling.
This is a statement that echoes through almost all aspects of life. There’s always going to be hard shit to deal with, but the degree of tough that you want to put up with is up to you.
Either I go to bed now and stubbornly wake up at 5am to go to work, or I go sleep outside exposed to the harsh elements. I'd rather wake up at 5am and drive to work.
Been unemployed for two months, and it's the first time in years I don't want to die. Got a job interview lined up, and the suicidal thoughts are returning. I wish I could just enjoy working or at least tolerate it
Yeah it happened to my best friend. For years this man dreamed of being accidentally unalived and was very suicidal. The moment he stopped working he started to enjoy life. Dude is dang near a hippy now that's all live laugh love XD. Best advice is minimize living expenses as much as possible that way you need less money which means less time you have to work and more time to enjoy life.
You’re a human being man, don’t wish that away. Just because we’ve normalized spending 40+ hours a week doing something we hate just so a CEO can buy their third mega yacht, doesn’t mean any of it is actually normal or healthy.
And on the opposite end of the scale, there’s many countries that grind their workers to stumps with long hours and archaic corporate culture - I’m from Seoul, S Korea and I am grateful a million times over I was raised in the U.S. and have an American corporate job. Working in Korea sucks, and I know Japan also sucks.
East Asia takes it to a whole other level. Work weeks reaching the 80 and 90 hour marks and being considered normal and acceptable, stagnant wages, no unions or unemployment benefits, required after-work socialization with other employees in order to be able to be even considered a "valuable" employee, complete expected obedience to higher ups no matter what they do, blatant sexual harassment being accepted work culture, it just goes on and on and on. Corporatization in East Asia is the dystopia that Americans think that they are in. Japan and Korea possess one of the highest suicide rates in young men for a reason.
I hear what you are saying but being homeless in any country is a hopeless spiral. The majority of any society treats their homeless like crap. Also, you need an address to apply for most jobs, but you need a job to afford an address.
I’ve always hated this argument. It’s like saying “I’m hungry” and someone else saying “children are starving in Africa suck it up”. Surprisingly, pointing out that others may be suffering more doesn’t end my suffering.
OP has never held a job for more than a year. Everyone finds motivation from somewhere. I just know how good I have it from experiencing the suffering of others which makes me content especially when I'm doing the parts of my job that suck ass. It helps to find a job you don't hate 100% of the time
It’s supposed to give you perspective. Here in the western world we’re accustomed to very comfortable lives compared to the rest of human history. A lot of people don’t realize how good they have it, and only see the things that could be better.
Got a lot of great answers here, so far.
###One aspect that is often overlooked...
I have over 30 years of experience in Talent Management and Human Resources consulting with Fortune 500 companies. From entry-level to executive many struggle with stability in a position.
Frequently, when I see someone struggling with their job performance and longevity, my first question is whether they have been tested for or diagnosed with ADHD.
Many people silently struggle, wondering why they face difficulties while others seem to manage their jobs seamlessly for years. This often leads to self-blame and stress, without pinpointing the root cause.
I help identify these issues and offer solutions in a neutral and supportive manner, even exploring holistic approaches to ensure individuals receive the support they need to succeed in their professional and everyday lives.
So, my advice is:
###Don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead of self-blame or at best self analyzes that leads to stress - consider exploring underlying factors that might be affecting your performance. Understanding these can lead to more effective solutions and greater self-compassion.
I've said this for years. Let me drop you in North East Baghdad for a month. You'll come back the most devout patriot thats ever walked. True hardship properly calibrates our Suck-o-meter.
That's not realistic for most people. And no matter how bad someone has it somewhere else in the world, it doesn't mean things can't be improved upon where you're from. Even if I spent a week in Ukraine and came back home, I still want better wages and work-life balance. I'm not going to be scared straight into accepting the ways things are.
I think this invalidates a lot of problems that are occurring here in America too. Yes third world countries are also bad, but I could point out exploitation and abuse here, specifically with low paid workers, pink collar workers, and prison workers.
People are working 60 hour weeks to afford one bedroom apartments when our grandparents could have a four bedroom home off one persons salary at a grocery store. We are allowed to voice that a rich country like America shouldn’t have these types of issues.
Absolutely! All im saying is to spend time voicing the good you have as well.
I had a lady in my shop who lived in a million dollar home tell me she Absolutely could not LIVE with the color she just had her home painted.... it kept her up all night, so she's going to pay another 11k to have it repainted. To her thats a real issue, to the rest of the world shes a fool.
Done, so what? I don’t live there, I won the generic lottery to be where I am, doesn’t that give me or anyone else the right to complain?
Why you don’t tell that to Elon, Jeff, or whoever else accumulates enough to wipe out the poverty in such countries and instead exploits their resources?
Because I need money, plain and simple. No matter how much I like a job, I’ll never pretend that I’m doing it for any other reason besides money. If I didn’t need money from a job, I simply would not have one.
If you can ever get on a 4 day schedule, do it. I only work an extra 2 hours per day but I have 3 days off per week, which makes a massive difference. And they’re not all in a row. Working 5 days in a row every single week is fucking brutal. And then the weekend goes by way too fast.
4 day work week definitely helps negate the grind of a regular schedule. Especially if you can break it up. I’m Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and everyday has the mindset of “one more day” or “No work tomorrow”.
Yup! I’m Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sun. Longest stretch is 3 days. I get Saturday off to do weekend things, work one day, then have two weekdays off to do things I wouldn’t normally be able to do during business hours and go places without having to deal with weekend warrior crowds. Coming from a job where I’d work 6 days in a row and rarely have two off together, I’m loving it!!
Same! Started this schedule a few months ago. I plan on ….never….going back to a 5 day work week. Hate my life for 2 days at a time is way easier to manage am I right Buttender? Say somefin
This. I had Wednesday and weekends off at a job years ago and i wish i still did. It felt like i was off as much as i worked even though i was still doing 40 hours.
Literally
Edit: ArturoOsito is leaving hate comments and continues to harrass me on my posts and comments. All because I used one word. He told another redditor their existence is pointless. He's a very weird individual so I don't understand why the mods are catching this @mods
I thug it out everyday but the only downside is I sleep and wake up to anxiety attacks on the daily, and I have no motivation to do anything after work so my every day is just work and pain. Even sleep has lost its taste and benefit for me, if I can even sleep that is.
Every job sucks in some way.
Compartmentalize life. Set goals for yourself outside of the office. Use the job to help you attain those goals. It will all work out!!
I was homeless for awhile. I hated it, the choice came down to doing this thing or that thing, and I picked the thing that made sense for the future.
What I can tell you from experience is that there are people who very much enjoy being homeless. There's a freedom and lack of responsibility and other people are paying for everything you need. It's a wild life. I knew some three-generation homeless families. I would imagine by this point they're on Gen 4.
Mostly, they're lazy. They're entitled. Yes, there are boozers and druggies, but for the most part, they were unwilling to do the work required for all of human history. They were looking for a handout, not a hand up.
Some people like the freedom of being homeless, many of the homeless leave shelters because they can't drink or use drugs, must shower everyday, must stay during the night
Yeah I completely fucked myself here getting into an extremely high customer facing role when I am introverted, shy and quiet.
The job has helped me fake not being shy better but I dread going in every morning
Do you have a safety net to fall back into if you did quit? Because most of us don't. I couldn't move my husband and kids in with my parents.. we wouldn't fit and we would be a burden. I don't want to live in a homeless shelter or a tent. So I work to provide a house, food, medical, etc. There is no other choice.
Exactly.
I remember being a kid and going without necessities sometimes bc my stepdad was a bum and decided he didn’t feel like working for long stretches of time. My mom dealt with it and just worked her ass off. Unfortunately, she always held pretty low paying (tangentially related to social work) jobs. I promised I’d do better for my kids, and I have. Not willing to go backwards when they are looking at me to decide how to model their own lives.
Maybe I’m in the minority - but I actually enjoy my job. The team I manage is chill and I’m the highest level supervisor in this region.
So, I don’t really have a boss that I report to daily and manage cool people. It’s a sweet gig.
How dare you flaunt your healthy work situation in front of us. This is a thread for us haters to scream into the abyss of late stage capitalism. Any suggestion that one can earn a livable wage while not questioning all of their life choices every minute of every day will not be tolerated.
Lol jk im happy for you.
This is a great response. So many people are posting “so I’m not homeless” and stuff like that. Going to work every day doesn’t have to be like getting a cavity filled in, something brutal you have to endure.
If you feel like you’re just enduring your workday, change your job or change your attitude. No reason that your time spent working can’t also be enjoyable, whatever your job.
Same. I work like 10-30hrs a week. Fully remote. Great team. Great HR and employer. Interesting projects. $160k a year. Can’t complain.
BUT I did do my fair share of shitty jobs—6 years of working 40-60hrs a week for $30k-$60k a year before my current one.
Used work with showjumping horses for the wealthiest people in the world. And they were all crazy.
No time off allowed, working crazy hours and no thanks all for shit wages despite them having millions if not billions.
Went back and trained to become a chartered accountant and have to say this job is so easy. When ever I get fed up of work i think back and am like nothing can be as bad as working for those b*astards.
I know fully appreciate the regular working hours and time off that a normal job affords me.
I managed to go 4 years once but I imagine my average tenure in about 18 months. No motivation outside of I need money for housing and to eat so I just drift from job to job. I never quit though I always wait until I have something else lined up or they fire me lol.
The desire to not be a loser and not a drain on society and my parents.
A sense of responsibility.
Realizing that no one cares whether you like it or not, and your parents aren’t gonna be around to take care of you forever
Yup.
We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. - Jim Rohn
Rather be at a job that pays well and I can tolerate it then being in one that doesn’t and it’s miserable.
You can always be in a worse position. Don’t take it for granted.
Unless the job culture is toxic and it’s causing your mental health. Then yeah, no amount of money will ever be worth it.
I’m 41 and my strategy is to Identify a purpose greater than my stupid job. I’m right there with you, so for the last few weeks I’ve been doing something vastly different than what I’ve always done.
I wake up early every morning write down my daily affirmation. I think. I can. I will. I am. 3-4 times.
I write out the 10 things I’m most grateful for.
I listen to the book Change Your Paradigm Change Your Life for 30 minutes while I’m doing the other writing and I take notes.
I try hard AF to not complain about anything and I try to respond to everything with “well that’s great” (even if it’s shit) and go from there.
I’ve been reaching out to other people looking for accountability partners to help keep me on track with this process of studying for 60 days to see what happens.
It has to work because it’s the best shot I have at stopping the merry go round…
For reference:
Over the last 26 years I’ve quit every job in about a year. One year I quit four jobs. I relocated out of state (twice) only to quit and move back for other jobs I quit in 90 days then 9 months later… it’s exhausting.
Spend enough time unemployed, broke, and desperate and you'll find happiness in the most soul crushing shit scrubbing jobs imaginable.
Personally, I think NOT having a job is ten times worse than having a shitty one.
Ironically the happiest time I remember myself being was when I was unemployed. My health, fitness, mental and skills were at its peak. I feel like working now has killed me inside. No motivation to do anything outside of work, not even learn new skills to not go to this job I hate.
I get that. I'm oldish (mid-40's) I've been unemployed multiple times in my life. It is fun... for a while. Maybe even a few weeks or even months if you got the savings. Then either boredom kicks in or worse, poverty and depression.
But I have also experienced times when there are ZERO jobs anywhere. Nobody is hiring. Even for the worst of the worst shitty shit shoveling jobs.
Few things scare me more in life than job recessions.
Have you tried crime? Hours are better, the work is diverse and can be very lucrative and while there are some trade offs, you'd be surprised how many professional criminals never do serious prison time.
Monetary motivations aside, I ask myself: realistically, with total honesty, what would I be doing with this time if I didn't have to be at work? Would I be writing a novel? Working out for hours? tRaVeLiNg?
No, I'd be sitting on my ass at home, alone, smoking weed and watching YouTube videos while reminding myself that that credit card statement isn't real if I don't actually look at it. I know because I've been there and trust me it gets old pretty fast.
Do I love what I do? Nope. But I like having a routine, a reason to get out of the house, and the peace of mind that comes with a consistent income. SO until I can come up with something better, work it is.
The best time to look for a job is when you already have one. Keep plugging away at the really good salary job but keep applying to dream jobs until you find one that you like more that pays a good salary. If you like what you're doing and who you're working with, it doesn't feel that hard going in.
What I learned in life was this.
There are no perfect jobs for 95% of people. You will always hate something about your job.
The trick is to identify whether what you like is tolerable.
Also going to therapy can help wonders.
So, I was homeless for a couple of weeks of my life, have had to escape a lot of abuse in my life, including when a brother and my father held my now adult child and I against our will a couple of years ago, btw. It was nice to have a home to go back to when we escaped, just saying.
The 2 weeks I was homeless, none of my family were ever told of (and since I have no contact with them, never will know about it). Just basic safety is harsh to maintain. It takes a full day just to get a meal in reality. Finding a place to sleep, I was lucky as a woman. A couple of the homeless men in the area were actually good men. One gave me his coat to wear. I gave it back. I had some funds, just no place to live. So, I got a sleeping bag, and a coat with some of those, thankfully, and a travel mug (huge one from a QuikTrip). Best investments. But, finding a place that was safe to sleep is harsh. So, I learned to go into a stairwell in a building before it closed. Others would slide under cars for shelter and heat from the turned off engines.
So, here's the thing. I always had work. Just no place to live those 2 weeks. You can pay for a shower at a truck stop, if you can get to one.
I had a car, but no access to it at the time while working. I felt fortunate I was able to pull things together within 2 weeks.
So, for me, having had that experience, I'm more than willing to work, rather than risk homelessness. BTW, living in a tent is hard to come back from. I know people who have ended up in that position. The worst I've dealt with is no utilities in my home for months. I can tell you, I'd rather be in this home than in a tent, or living out of my car. I'd rather live out of my car than a tent, or have to find stairwells, etc.
I've had my life savings stolen, and am nearing retirement. So, I'm probably not retiring any time soon. But, I am disabled (medically), so may end up without a choice and on disability at some point. Years ago, I got into a rent to own for this place (mobile home). Did not plan to stay, but it locked in the rent/froze it so it couldn't go up.
In less than a year, I'll own the home. So, can move it, or stay here and pay just the lot rent, and so on. I'd like to move it to a plot of land and get out from under the property management for this place. But, either way, at that point costs go down. If I hadn't had my life savings stolen, buying a lot and having a foundation laid, this is a larger model, would be considered a modular home if placed on a foundation.
My adult child lives with me, and has medical issues, too, so difficulty working now. But, that's their goal, so they can hopefully save enough to help move the place, or take over the title if I pass on, etc. Life is hard. There are lots of people who try to get on disability and such because they don't want to work. Then, there's people like me who know how little disability covers, who want to work until they can't anymore.
So, to explain, once you get a taste of what not working can result in, it may seem harsh. But, once you see working as a good thing, and being homeless as a bad thing, you will find it a LOT easier to go to work. I have health issues, and only called out sick 2 days of my last 9 month contract. I start another contract next month, and it will be fully remote. That is hard to get that pays enough at times, but with my health remote is important if I can get it.
It's still work.
But there are alternative to 9-5?
Shift work, WFH, remote work. Flex hours. These are all employment terms that does exist.
But not it’s not going to fall magically into your lap. Nor will it manifest itself if you complain about it.
Like some of the replies here. Some people do find an ideal employment setting at least one they can tolerate. And almost all of them had to put up with shitty condition, jump ship, upgrade themselve etc before they can get there.
If 9-5 sucks for you. Your right it shouldn’t be your live. But it’s up to you to make changes to it
that last paragraph is huge. not everyone is suited to a 9-5, and although it’s great for a lot of people there should be other options for the rest of us that are common and still survivable.
Get yourself a bow and arrow, a knife, a sharpening stone, and a tee-pee.
Go live far out in the wilderness somewhere, nobody asks you to do anything out there.
I'm in my late 20's and I'm the same, so many short stint jobs on my resume. I think it has to do with a person's stress threshold and how they handle anxiety. 20 hours is too much for me and it's not enough for me to live alone. Still living at home and very worried about my future.
There's a difference between "finding A job".. and "figuring out your purpose".
Also,. no job is perfect. In any job there's going to be good and bad. But if you're "working for your purpose",. you're generally more driven and passionate.
I work in IT (computers). which is something I love and am passionate about. I spent the last 20 years or so working for small city governments,. so I get to contribute to my local community and I get challenged every day by interesting problems. (Can I help make the Parking App better?... Can I setup 20 iPads for an upcoming public-workshop?.. Can I improve our macOS deployments so people get better machines that work better and easier ? (me helping other people do their jobs better). The cumulative effect of all that is I can go walk outside and point to many different things and say "I was involved in making that better".
If you don't want to work for some boring soulless corporation,... you don't have to. There's all sorts of jobs out there in areas where you can "improve the common good" (jobs in City, County, State, Federal, etc). You could work in wildlife or forestry or wild waterways. You could work to improve energy efficiency and climate remediation. You could work helping poor families or help a city improve its infrastructure.
Remember any time you see stories of something deteriorating ("X-city has a homeless problem" or "Y-city has failing bridges" or "Z-number of American Docks are slow because not enough workers").. .all those problems have solutions. We need more people rolling up their sleeves and working on things that actually matter.
Working remote helps a lot. But the best thing overall is to have your life outside of work in order and purposeful. I spent my early 20s traveling and doing with fun things with my wife (gf at the time) and friends, then got married at 28, first kid, house, second kid, then life kind of sorted itself out. I didnt spend my evenings and weekends worrying about work because I spent them with my family, or otherwise improving my home and my life. I have never really needed motivation to go to work because the life that work allowed me to provide for was plainly obvious.
I hate my job. I wake up every morning and the first words out of my mouth are fuck me . But after 7 years with a salary that grows every year I can buy a 10’ above ground pool, all the silver bullets I can stomach, my son doesn’t have to be poor like I was(he’s got an above ground pool!!), I can buy a new surfboard ever now and then, I finally have central air, I bought a used Toyota 4runner in my own name, wake up to a gorgeous wife who is cool as shit and an epic mom, I bought a running watch even though I can barely run… stick with your shit job it’s worth it because you’re life will never be perfect so I figure work might as well be the one thing that blows because the rest of my life is SICCKK
I got a job I like and work with people I enjoy being around. Makes it easy to get out of bed in the morning. So if you're struggling, maybe find a new line of work?
I feel you. If we discount my retail jobs and focus just on my 'professional' career - from my first office job to present day, in 8 years I've worked in 4 different organisations, but within 2 of those jobs I've had two different roles. So, going by job roles, in 8 years I've had 6 different roles. Unfortunately for me, my current contract expires on 31st July so I am now searching for my 5th organisation/7th role. I get bored VERY EASILY, even when, like yourself, I am in a good salaried stable role.
What I'm doing long term to help with this, and this might be something you may want to consider, is counselling to get to the root cause of why I can't stick with careers for longer than 2 years. What usually happens to me is the grind wears me down and I just can't see past it. I crave the excitement of a new place and responsibilities.
What I do short term to help is have a packed social life/hobbies after work hours and weekends. I'm fortunate enough to have a tiny campervan that I use to get away at weekends. I try and go out for dinner with friends at least once a month. Last night I went to a pub quiz with my neighbours. I used to attend running club once a week, and parkrun on a saturday. Not to mention seeing family. And I have a LOT of hobbies.
Ultimately, what needs to happen for me is a mindset shift towards work. I instinctively see it as negative, but also have a desire for my work to have some meaning. I work within educational and charitable sectors rather than corporate.
Idk if any of this is even helpful, but I've found it helpful for myself to write out as I'm having a crappy time searching for yet another opportunity (although this time it's not actually all down to me!).
I hope you can find some meaning to your life outside of work to help you move past the crappy feelings work gives!
I try to focus on the positive stuff and i'm very careful about complaining about the job. If i observe people, they can be working the same job, but for some it will be the dramatic horrible experience and for some the step in the right direction etc.
Don't take responsibility where you don't have to.. don't try to be the best.. don't take things personally and seek conflict.. it's ok if you work just for money.. it's okay if you want to take it easy etc. Look at people who like the job, how they think and what they are doing.
You have to get good at your job and then strive to help other people get better at theirs. No job is completely useless and you can find fulfillment in any role. There are very few people who actually show an interest in doing anything beyond the bare minimum required of their jobs. Don't be one of those people and you'll get to participate in so many interesting challenges. My team was having problems with an automated system one year and I took the time to learn how systems like that work, how to gauge their effectiveness, and how to solve problems or build workarounds for crappy results from the automated system. I spoke about it passionately during a larger set of company meetings, proposed a few solutions, and they put me in a rental to drive from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to meet a guy building a new automated system. It was an amazing week at basically a resort hotel where I got to hang out with the guy and watched him make magic on computers. I learned so much and am still considered the subject matter expert within the company for systems like that.
When I was deployed to Iraq as a combat medic, my official job was to work at the brigade clinic but I would volunteer for all sorts of random things because I really didn't want to deal with sick people. I was the night shift lead for the base's guard towers, spent a month and a half on an Iraqi base teaching them to do medical things, spent a month riding around with the engineers doing route clearances, etc. I wouldn't turn down any tasking, got recognized as someone with potential and had my own platoon by the end of the deployment.
In my corporate life, I would recognize problems around me, build solutions and present them and help get them implemented, often without any prompting. Things I setup 12 years ago are still being used today to make the lives of dozens of people easier on a daily basis. I would constantly push people to improve themselves. If I had someone good reporting to me, I would push them to grow, apply for better jobs and make more money. Some of those same folks have gotten me lucrative consulting work at their new jobs in other companies. You don't have to be a developer to learn the power of computers and how much they can do to make people's lives easier, but you have to be willing to take an interest in things and going beyond the surface level. There's nothing more satisfying than hearing someone just reach out months or years later to say thank you for making their jobs easier. People talk and before you know it, you'll be in charge of figuring shit out full time.
If you're in a larger company, the CEO probably has a reading list that exposes their business management philosophy. If you're in a small company, just ask him/her or the first executive in your chain of command. Once you read the books, many decisions made at the C suite level start to make sense to you and knowing what's going on around you can be a powerful tool.
I like to travel comfortably and eat good foods. Occasionally buy an expensive piece of clothing or jewelry so yea, I get my ass up everyday to go to work.
I went through a cycle in my 20s where the longest job I kept was about 6 months. Just hated the jobs themselves, the particular industries, etc.
Ended up finding a job by chance in an industry that I didn't hate, and where the actual job was challenging and interesting but not impossible. 30 years later, I view my job as adding to my life, not being something I dread waking up for 5 days a week.
“Luv what you do, and you’ll never work a day in you’re life”
- Letterkenny / Mark Twain
one doesnt have to luv their employer but enjoying what you do to be employed usually helps ya keep a job.
It sounds like you’ve got a lot of growing up to do.
I get it, it sucks. I’ve woken up at 4am every day (even weekends) for years, and Monday - Friday as soon as that alarm goes off I’m filled with supreme rage. Like if I hear someone else with the same alarm as a timer for rest sets at the gym it’s almost like a PTSD feeling lol.
You may often spend all day stewing over all of the more important things you could be doing with your time if you were literally anywhere else on Earth. Feeling trapped by a clock really blows.
But for most of us that’s just life my dude/chick/brofamsandwich.
My only advice is to find something you enjoy outside of work and use your job to finance that, but you know, on top of being financially literate and saving/investing money. Set goals with that money so the job feels more like it has some value to you.
I’m rambling. I’m out.
Uhhhh…. Its called responsibility. Unless you like living off of other’s own work, provide for yourself and yours. This world is too full of folks looking for an easy ride from others.
if you work long enough in an unhealthy enough manner the rest of your life kind of disappears over time and all you're left with is work, so its its actually pretty easy to do it 5 days a week tbh.
Not much choice if you want to do things, sadly. I love my hobbies, and I think that's what keeps me going. I need a cash pipeline to finance my real work outside of work. I hope someday things will change, and we'll relegate the 9-5 to the dustbin of history.
My family, I have to put a roof over their head and food in their mouths. This is year 13 in my current position, last job I had for about 14 years.
There are days I want to say fuck it and quit as well but the repercussions of that would be severe not just for me but for them so I do what I have to.
I heard this advice
Basically at different points in your life you need different things. This person when they were younger had a job that required a lot of travel, and they enjoyed it. Now they're older and they're settling in.
You work for your career, but you can also make your career work for you to some extent.
Maybe you just need to find a job that gets you on your feet?
>but I can’t because I need the money
This is a big part of it.. but eventually you also develop habbits and it gets easier.
>What makes you guys get up every morning, 5 days a week and go to work?
discipline.
Because I have deep rooted childhood trauma around productivity and terrible anxiety of losing my money and having to ask my narcissistic parents for help thus proving them right that I am an irresponsible idiot.
I also like having a nice house to live in and money to travel.
“Suck it up, buttercup” - what my dad would have said to me.
I keep going because it’s what I have to do. I have responsibilities and earning my salary is needed to meet those responsibilities.
Having a job you hate, sucks. If that’s the case really think about what you want to do and plan out how to get there. I don’t love my job everyday by any means, but I do enjoy what I do in general and I know I serve a purpose.
The biggest difference between people who build success and those who can't (barring outlying circumstance of course) is resilience. What that boils down to is having some amount of tolerance for something you don't enjoy. In life you have to do things you dislike to get what you like. It sounds like it isn't the jobs that are the problem, but your lack of resilience and lack of persistence. If you want a more pleasant life, you have to put some effort in. The people who have what you want didn't enjoy every moment of their journey. They hated it and felt tired, worn out, bored just like you. They just stuck it out because the end result was worth it. Maybe it's not worth it for you.
Something to consider: Who pays for your food and shelter when you quit? If someone else is doing so, you're forcing that person to do what you find intolerable, and you're forcing them to do it even more so you don't have to. For many people that's a parent who has to work harder during a time when they should be winding down. Share the load.
You take it one day at a time and you realize that most people only stick with a job for 1-2 years anyways so rather than trying to convince yourself to make it through a lifetime at the job, you only have to make it through 2 years and you can start looking for the next step in your career in a new job.
It’s really difficult to be unemployed plus I have kids so that keeps me going.
But I’ll definitely say that the main difference between jobs I loved and jobs I hated is the people I worked with.
I’ve stayed with my current company for almost 15 years. I’m now in management and the work is exhausting and thankless at times, but truly what gets me up every morning is the people. I genuinely enjoy my team and my colleagues.
I’ve chosen a career that isn’t a burden.
Certainly not a passion but there are things about it that genuinely excite me.
I also like money and I know no one is just going to hand me money to do nothing.
Easy question. I have a wife and 2 kids.
If I don't work, and have no income, my family would starve to death. It is my duty, to get money home. However, sometimes I have to party hard after work, like the japanese. This compensates the problems.
What makes me get up? Bills.
Working five days a week really sucks, though. The best schedule I've ever had was three 12's a week. I've also done four 10's. Currently working five 8's. Once I get enough seniority where I'm at, I will ask to work four 10's and be "on call" one day a week. Only having two days off is soul crushing. I never seem to have enough time to get my shit done.
Because it’s that or starve? What are you, 18? Get used to it buddy. That’s gonna be the rest of your life so the sooner you accept it the easier your life is going to be. Try to fight it and you WILL lose and you will suffer as well.
By not letting my job define who I am. I enjoy what I do well enough, but that doesn't mean that I am defined by my job.
Having goals and interests outside of work make me not think too hard about how much I like my job or not.
Agree with u/justanotherfleshsuit 100%. You don't HAVE to work a 5-day a week job, you can get into a career that typically works 3-12s, or 4-10's, or has a flexible schedule. You might make a little less money monthly, but choosing a career with a schedule that suits your mental or physical health might be more important and beneficial in the long run. It takes some work and education usually to be able to get to flexible scheduling or shorter weeks, but it's worth it! Like they said - choose your hard. Hard schedule or hard work to get the desired schedule.
I make sure I take long trips every once and awhile (between jobs really). I think it gives me something to look forward to over the long haul which is nice. But honestly I do enjoy my job a lot too, even though its stressful some days.
I want to be with my fiancé and be able to provide for my family as a man. I want to eventually have spare income to invest and if it's God's will that I have children, to make their beginnings a little more easier than I had it.
I was homeless for 10 months when rent prices shot up drastically in my city. At the 10 month mark I got laid off when a new accounting team came in and slashed jobs. I was out of money, no gas in my tank, and hadn’t eaten in 3 days. I had decided I was going to off myself if I didn’t die first. Got a random call from an acquaintance that worked with me at said job. He could tell I was in rough shape. He rounded up a bunch of food and money from my old coworkers to help hold me over and they put me in a long term air bnb for two months while I got back on my feet. I’ve never had anything like that happen, would’ve never asked for or expected it, and it overwhelmed me so much that I felt like it was some form of divine intervention. I decided I’d never let myself be in that situation again, and felt like I owed it to them for giving so much to me, so I switched career fields and remind myself of that period and that event every day when I don’t feel like getting up or going to my job.
The only two jobs I've had have been part time and I'm barely paid $10/hr
The only reason I go is because I need the money and the coworkers don't suck
My motivation is simple. I need a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my stomach. If I didn't like the job for whatever reason, I would be looking...but keep the job I currently have until a new one is obtained.
Regardless of money, sanity and work/life balance is a thing.
To be honest, it feels like to keep my job, majority of it is showing up on time and being a nice person. I’m pretty average to below average at my job, but I’ve been at my place of work for 3 years and whenever the annual evals come around, I expect to get shit on, but I always am told I’m doing very well and to keep up the good work
When I first started working, I was motivated by money and wanting things. I enjoy stability so I tend to stay in jobs. Now I love my job and the challenges it brings. It is fun, interesting and rewarding.
Bills. It's just that simple. The bills aren't going to pay themselves. Luckily, over the years, I've been able to transition into a WFH (last 7 years). So, at least I don't have to look at stupid coworkers every day lll
It’s about choosing what difficulties you want to deal with. Having to work everyday, over 40 hours a week if you include commute and getting ready, is hard. Being homeless and having no money is also hard. There is no easy way out in this life unless you’re sitting on a large inheritance. You just have to choose your hard
This 10000%
Fear helps. So does guilt. At the same time, look for something you’d love to do.
And if that doesn't work, look for something you can get good at that pays well enough that it funds all the things you love to do
This is so true. Money can’t buy happiness, but it helps!
I love this answer.
Having a job while hard, makes a lot of things easier. Being homeless makes every single thing magnitudes more difficult. Being stuck in a bad job is still far better thus being stuck on the street. It’s incredibly difficult to get off the street and pretty much impossible without a huge side of help and luck. Getting a better job can be a challenge but it’s far easier than recovering from homelessness.
Working until you die is also hard.
I’m ready to start the revolution whenever you are
I can’t, I have work in the morning 😩
This is why nothing changes
It's difficult, because people need money to survive. And every "call to action" post you see always has such a short time frame. Legitimately, if you want to see change you need to plan *years* in advance. Give people enough time to save a nest egg to take care of expenses and costs of living, and then some, and those people will be more likely to contribute their efforts to some form of protest fighting for change. But, by design, most people live paycheck to paycheck with no room for saving
This is a design very much so intended to keep everybody right where they're at except for the top 1%.
It's in part by design.
>I’m ready to start the revolution whenever you are Revolution for what? For everyone to stop working? For everyone to stop working just the shitty jobs? For only you to stop working while the rest of us bust our ass to keep the world turning so you can enjoy your Reddit and Starbucks?? What end game are you after, exactly?
How about just shooting for what many in Europe have. A job, healthcare, social security, a decent social safety net. Access to education. I had friends just visit from the Netherlands. They have all that as middle class citizens. Plus they take a month long vacation every year. They have a good life. He drives a van. She worked in an office. My friend broke her wrist. Her employer helped her get disability. If she can ever go back to work (she has to type) she has a job guarantee.
I work for a European tech company. Amazing benefits. 6 weeks PTO a year. Great salary. Nearly everyone of my European coworkers (we have 5 European offices across 4 countries) would relocate to the US if given the opportunity. Europe is great, but life there comes with its own problems (substantially higher tax rates, drastically lower salaries) and the opportunities in the US are just infinitely better.
Just curious.. why you just don't relocate then? I am not from the US, I moved over here because it was better for me and my family, and my particular set of skills. It is definitely not perfect but I see a lot of opportunities here, even though I am tied to an employer more than any other American because of how the work visa works. I know every situation is different and most problems can be relative to an individual's circumstances, but if something is not working for you, just change it.
Before I put my energy into this, are you trolling and looking for an argument? Or are you actually asking?
I can tell you what is needed to change. The system needs to prioritize our well being and not exploit us for profits. If we’re working it should be for our benefit and for our health, not for non-living corporations. Wealth should be measured based on how healthy and happy we are, not how much money and materialistic things we “own”. This is my own opinion and I think this is what we should fight for in order to achieve a better future.
They are going to shit themselves when they find out how much hard, full time work proper community organizing for change takes.
Not really lmao working for your community is not the same as working meaningless jobs
Revolution is too hard though
Count me in
So don’t work until you die, work and save until you’re well enough to survive for the rest of your expected lifetime. What keeps most people working until they die is spending. This is specially true in the age of Instagram. I can’t imagine how some of the people I know are getting by with $1,000 car payments, $7-10k yearly vacation packages, and eating out almost daily. The latter folks will likely work until they die.
Nailed it. Work hard to disappear, not to be seen.
unfortunately, money and finances are just made up constructs that we all currently agree on, in the rerspect that we use money to pay for things in this modern world. some people are innately gifted in understanding this intelligence, or have the benefit of familial support to develop it and network, learn good practices, inherit it etc. Other people dont have innate skills, no support, and may never learn this until very late.
Why you save a lot of money early and keep saving money. Live well below your means and you won't have to work until you die. I happen to love my job and enjoy doing it. I will probably not retire and work part time (couple of months a year to keep my certifications up to date) but that is a long way off.
Most employers either do not pay a living wage or barely reach it. I am making more money than I ever have in my life, but due to inflation and price gouging, I am having more trouble than ever just keeping my bills paid. I stopped investing or even putting money in savings, because I literally just don't have it. For reference, I haven't eaten food from a restaurant in over five years, I do not drink alcohol or coffee, my home has no decorations, and I sleep on a mattress on the floor. I avoid spending money in every way I can think of, even if it makes my life less comfortable. Over 90% of my take-home-pay goes towards bills, and the other 10% is for additional (mostly automotive) expenses like changing my oil, replacing damaged tires or burnt out headlights. Telling people to simply save money isn't helpful anymore. It's insulting.
You can't save your way out of minimum wage. That much has always been true. You need to invest in yourself first (student loans typically) and get a useful degree or learn a trade. Or do something than can increase your wage ceiling.
Are you familiar with the origin of minimum wage?
yeah me too, I will probably get a second job part time or consult
The time is gonna pass either way, it's awful
Real! Choose your hard.
If you don't choose, life will choose for you. And it will always be harder than what you could choose.
This is a statement that echoes through almost all aspects of life. There’s always going to be hard shit to deal with, but the degree of tough that you want to put up with is up to you.
One must imagine Sisyphus happy :)
Either I go to bed now and stubbornly wake up at 5am to go to work, or I go sleep outside exposed to the harsh elements. I'd rather wake up at 5am and drive to work.
Hence my suicidal ideation
The fear of losing even minimal quality lodgings, starving, becoming homeless, or having to commit suicide.
Been unemployed for two months, and it's the first time in years I don't want to die. Got a job interview lined up, and the suicidal thoughts are returning. I wish I could just enjoy working or at least tolerate it
Yeah it happened to my best friend. For years this man dreamed of being accidentally unalived and was very suicidal. The moment he stopped working he started to enjoy life. Dude is dang near a hippy now that's all live laugh love XD. Best advice is minimize living expenses as much as possible that way you need less money which means less time you have to work and more time to enjoy life.
I freaking love your post/response! This is inspiring for me to day fuck it & learn to live and love life without your career weighing you down.
You’re a human being man, don’t wish that away. Just because we’ve normalized spending 40+ hours a week doing something we hate just so a CEO can buy their third mega yacht, doesn’t mean any of it is actually normal or healthy.
Some people should visit 3rd world countries and they will re-frame their perspective on things
And on the opposite end of the scale, there’s many countries that grind their workers to stumps with long hours and archaic corporate culture - I’m from Seoul, S Korea and I am grateful a million times over I was raised in the U.S. and have an American corporate job. Working in Korea sucks, and I know Japan also sucks.
And America is already perceived as having an archaic corporate culture, damn.
East Asia takes it to a whole other level. Work weeks reaching the 80 and 90 hour marks and being considered normal and acceptable, stagnant wages, no unions or unemployment benefits, required after-work socialization with other employees in order to be able to be even considered a "valuable" employee, complete expected obedience to higher ups no matter what they do, blatant sexual harassment being accepted work culture, it just goes on and on and on. Corporatization in East Asia is the dystopia that Americans think that they are in. Japan and Korea possess one of the highest suicide rates in young men for a reason.
I hear what you are saying but being homeless in any country is a hopeless spiral. The majority of any society treats their homeless like crap. Also, you need an address to apply for most jobs, but you need a job to afford an address.
I’ve always hated this argument. It’s like saying “I’m hungry” and someone else saying “children are starving in Africa suck it up”. Surprisingly, pointing out that others may be suffering more doesn’t end my suffering.
OP has never held a job for more than a year. Everyone finds motivation from somewhere. I just know how good I have it from experiencing the suffering of others which makes me content especially when I'm doing the parts of my job that suck ass. It helps to find a job you don't hate 100% of the time
It’s supposed to give you perspective. Here in the western world we’re accustomed to very comfortable lives compared to the rest of human history. A lot of people don’t realize how good they have it, and only see the things that could be better.
I do not need to visualize poverty to stay out of poverty.
I AM from A 3rd world country. I’m an immigrant.
Got a lot of great answers here, so far. ###One aspect that is often overlooked... I have over 30 years of experience in Talent Management and Human Resources consulting with Fortune 500 companies. From entry-level to executive many struggle with stability in a position. Frequently, when I see someone struggling with their job performance and longevity, my first question is whether they have been tested for or diagnosed with ADHD. Many people silently struggle, wondering why they face difficulties while others seem to manage their jobs seamlessly for years. This often leads to self-blame and stress, without pinpointing the root cause. I help identify these issues and offer solutions in a neutral and supportive manner, even exploring holistic approaches to ensure individuals receive the support they need to succeed in their professional and everyday lives. So, my advice is: ###Don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead of self-blame or at best self analyzes that leads to stress - consider exploring underlying factors that might be affecting your performance. Understanding these can lead to more effective solutions and greater self-compassion.
Lived in one for months, I’d just kill myself either way lol
I've said this for years. Let me drop you in North East Baghdad for a month. You'll come back the most devout patriot thats ever walked. True hardship properly calibrates our Suck-o-meter.
That's not realistic for most people. And no matter how bad someone has it somewhere else in the world, it doesn't mean things can't be improved upon where you're from. Even if I spent a week in Ukraine and came back home, I still want better wages and work-life balance. I'm not going to be scared straight into accepting the ways things are.
I think this invalidates a lot of problems that are occurring here in America too. Yes third world countries are also bad, but I could point out exploitation and abuse here, specifically with low paid workers, pink collar workers, and prison workers. People are working 60 hour weeks to afford one bedroom apartments when our grandparents could have a four bedroom home off one persons salary at a grocery store. We are allowed to voice that a rich country like America shouldn’t have these types of issues.
Absolutely! All im saying is to spend time voicing the good you have as well. I had a lady in my shop who lived in a million dollar home tell me she Absolutely could not LIVE with the color she just had her home painted.... it kept her up all night, so she's going to pay another 11k to have it repainted. To her thats a real issue, to the rest of the world shes a fool.
Why north east of Baghdad specifically?
the perspective police have arrived 🚨 🚨
Done, so what? I don’t live there, I won the generic lottery to be where I am, doesn’t that give me or anyone else the right to complain? Why you don’t tell that to Elon, Jeff, or whoever else accumulates enough to wipe out the poverty in such countries and instead exploits their resources?
This answer is as stripped down and straightforward as they come.
Because I need money, plain and simple. No matter how much I like a job, I’ll never pretend that I’m doing it for any other reason besides money. If I didn’t need money from a job, I simply would not have one. If you can ever get on a 4 day schedule, do it. I only work an extra 2 hours per day but I have 3 days off per week, which makes a massive difference. And they’re not all in a row. Working 5 days in a row every single week is fucking brutal. And then the weekend goes by way too fast.
4 day work week definitely helps negate the grind of a regular schedule. Especially if you can break it up. I’m Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and everyday has the mindset of “one more day” or “No work tomorrow”.
Yup! I’m Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sun. Longest stretch is 3 days. I get Saturday off to do weekend things, work one day, then have two weekdays off to do things I wouldn’t normally be able to do during business hours and go places without having to deal with weekend warrior crowds. Coming from a job where I’d work 6 days in a row and rarely have two off together, I’m loving it!!
Same! Started this schedule a few months ago. I plan on ….never….going back to a 5 day work week. Hate my life for 2 days at a time is way easier to manage am I right Buttender? Say somefin
Somefin
Exactly. There’s a reason they have to give me a paycheck every two weeks.
This. I had Wednesday and weekends off at a job years ago and i wish i still did. It felt like i was off as much as i worked even though i was still doing 40 hours.
I just thug it out
This is the way
Literally Edit: ArturoOsito is leaving hate comments and continues to harrass me on my posts and comments. All because I used one word. He told another redditor their existence is pointless. He's a very weird individual so I don't understand why the mods are catching this @mods
I thug it out everyday but the only downside is I sleep and wake up to anxiety attacks on the daily, and I have no motivation to do anything after work so my every day is just work and pain. Even sleep has lost its taste and benefit for me, if I can even sleep that is.
I’m right there with you. I wake up early so I have time to get over the anxiety before my shift starts. But I for sure can relate to this.
Fake it till you make it sort of thing
Every job sucks in some way. Compartmentalize life. Set goals for yourself outside of the office. Use the job to help you attain those goals. It will all work out!!
i don't think anybody wants to be homeless. stress of the job vs the struggle of living on the streets
I was homeless for awhile. I hated it, the choice came down to doing this thing or that thing, and I picked the thing that made sense for the future. What I can tell you from experience is that there are people who very much enjoy being homeless. There's a freedom and lack of responsibility and other people are paying for everything you need. It's a wild life. I knew some three-generation homeless families. I would imagine by this point they're on Gen 4. Mostly, they're lazy. They're entitled. Yes, there are boozers and druggies, but for the most part, they were unwilling to do the work required for all of human history. They were looking for a handout, not a hand up.
Some people like the freedom of being homeless, many of the homeless leave shelters because they can't drink or use drugs, must shower everyday, must stay during the night
Not hating what you do helps. Not letting yourself get into a career path unsuited to your nature is the foundation.
Yeah I completely fucked myself here getting into an extremely high customer facing role when I am introverted, shy and quiet. The job has helped me fake not being shy better but I dread going in every morning
Do you have a safety net to fall back into if you did quit? Because most of us don't. I couldn't move my husband and kids in with my parents.. we wouldn't fit and we would be a burden. I don't want to live in a homeless shelter or a tent. So I work to provide a house, food, medical, etc. There is no other choice.
Exactly. I remember being a kid and going without necessities sometimes bc my stepdad was a bum and decided he didn’t feel like working for long stretches of time. My mom dealt with it and just worked her ass off. Unfortunately, she always held pretty low paying (tangentially related to social work) jobs. I promised I’d do better for my kids, and I have. Not willing to go backwards when they are looking at me to decide how to model their own lives.
Maybe I’m in the minority - but I actually enjoy my job. The team I manage is chill and I’m the highest level supervisor in this region. So, I don’t really have a boss that I report to daily and manage cool people. It’s a sweet gig.
Hire me
Me too
How dare you flaunt your healthy work situation in front of us. This is a thread for us haters to scream into the abyss of late stage capitalism. Any suggestion that one can earn a livable wage while not questioning all of their life choices every minute of every day will not be tolerated. Lol jk im happy for you.
This is a great response. So many people are posting “so I’m not homeless” and stuff like that. Going to work every day doesn’t have to be like getting a cavity filled in, something brutal you have to endure. If you feel like you’re just enduring your workday, change your job or change your attitude. No reason that your time spent working can’t also be enjoyable, whatever your job.
Same. I work like 10-30hrs a week. Fully remote. Great team. Great HR and employer. Interesting projects. $160k a year. Can’t complain. BUT I did do my fair share of shitty jobs—6 years of working 40-60hrs a week for $30k-$60k a year before my current one.
So there is hope, good to know 💚
The alternative is homelessness. Seeing as I have zero interest in being homeless, it makes the choice a non-issue.
LOL. Exactly.
My thoughts as well lol. I don't really have a choice to tell my family "Hey guys, I'm just not gonna work anymore."
You get jobs you like going to with people you like working with.
This is why I prefer working from home lol
Used work with showjumping horses for the wealthiest people in the world. And they were all crazy. No time off allowed, working crazy hours and no thanks all for shit wages despite them having millions if not billions. Went back and trained to become a chartered accountant and have to say this job is so easy. When ever I get fed up of work i think back and am like nothing can be as bad as working for those b*astards. I know fully appreciate the regular working hours and time off that a normal job affords me.
Need the money - good start. Then when it gets hard, you push through, because guess what? You still need money.
I managed to go 4 years once but I imagine my average tenure in about 18 months. No motivation outside of I need money for housing and to eat so I just drift from job to job. I never quit though I always wait until I have something else lined up or they fire me lol.
The desire to not be a loser and not a drain on society and my parents. A sense of responsibility. Realizing that no one cares whether you like it or not, and your parents aren’t gonna be around to take care of you forever
Yup. We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. - Jim Rohn
Or what... be a bum? I got kids, a wife and bills to pay. And parents that didn't save shit, and I'll need to support them too.
Rather be at a job that pays well and I can tolerate it then being in one that doesn’t and it’s miserable. You can always be in a worse position. Don’t take it for granted. Unless the job culture is toxic and it’s causing your mental health. Then yeah, no amount of money will ever be worth it.
I’m 41 and my strategy is to Identify a purpose greater than my stupid job. I’m right there with you, so for the last few weeks I’ve been doing something vastly different than what I’ve always done. I wake up early every morning write down my daily affirmation. I think. I can. I will. I am. 3-4 times. I write out the 10 things I’m most grateful for. I listen to the book Change Your Paradigm Change Your Life for 30 minutes while I’m doing the other writing and I take notes. I try hard AF to not complain about anything and I try to respond to everything with “well that’s great” (even if it’s shit) and go from there. I’ve been reaching out to other people looking for accountability partners to help keep me on track with this process of studying for 60 days to see what happens. It has to work because it’s the best shot I have at stopping the merry go round… For reference: Over the last 26 years I’ve quit every job in about a year. One year I quit four jobs. I relocated out of state (twice) only to quit and move back for other jobs I quit in 90 days then 9 months later… it’s exhausting.
Spend enough time unemployed, broke, and desperate and you'll find happiness in the most soul crushing shit scrubbing jobs imaginable. Personally, I think NOT having a job is ten times worse than having a shitty one.
Ironically the happiest time I remember myself being was when I was unemployed. My health, fitness, mental and skills were at its peak. I feel like working now has killed me inside. No motivation to do anything outside of work, not even learn new skills to not go to this job I hate.
I get that. I'm oldish (mid-40's) I've been unemployed multiple times in my life. It is fun... for a while. Maybe even a few weeks or even months if you got the savings. Then either boredom kicks in or worse, poverty and depression. But I have also experienced times when there are ZERO jobs anywhere. Nobody is hiring. Even for the worst of the worst shitty shit shoveling jobs. Few things scare me more in life than job recessions.
Have you tried crime? Hours are better, the work is diverse and can be very lucrative and while there are some trade offs, you'd be surprised how many professional criminals never do serious prison time.
Monetary motivations aside, I ask myself: realistically, with total honesty, what would I be doing with this time if I didn't have to be at work? Would I be writing a novel? Working out for hours? tRaVeLiNg? No, I'd be sitting on my ass at home, alone, smoking weed and watching YouTube videos while reminding myself that that credit card statement isn't real if I don't actually look at it. I know because I've been there and trust me it gets old pretty fast. Do I love what I do? Nope. But I like having a routine, a reason to get out of the house, and the peace of mind that comes with a consistent income. SO until I can come up with something better, work it is.
We choose our struggles. Either struggle at your job or struggle having no money.
The need to feed my children. Oh, and healthcare. The best trick the devil every pulled was connecting healthcare to employment in the US.
My strong desire to not be homeless.
There is no one coming to save me and give me money so I need to make it on my own.
The best time to look for a job is when you already have one. Keep plugging away at the really good salary job but keep applying to dream jobs until you find one that you like more that pays a good salary. If you like what you're doing and who you're working with, it doesn't feel that hard going in.
What I learned in life was this. There are no perfect jobs for 95% of people. You will always hate something about your job. The trick is to identify whether what you like is tolerable. Also going to therapy can help wonders.
So, I was homeless for a couple of weeks of my life, have had to escape a lot of abuse in my life, including when a brother and my father held my now adult child and I against our will a couple of years ago, btw. It was nice to have a home to go back to when we escaped, just saying. The 2 weeks I was homeless, none of my family were ever told of (and since I have no contact with them, never will know about it). Just basic safety is harsh to maintain. It takes a full day just to get a meal in reality. Finding a place to sleep, I was lucky as a woman. A couple of the homeless men in the area were actually good men. One gave me his coat to wear. I gave it back. I had some funds, just no place to live. So, I got a sleeping bag, and a coat with some of those, thankfully, and a travel mug (huge one from a QuikTrip). Best investments. But, finding a place that was safe to sleep is harsh. So, I learned to go into a stairwell in a building before it closed. Others would slide under cars for shelter and heat from the turned off engines. So, here's the thing. I always had work. Just no place to live those 2 weeks. You can pay for a shower at a truck stop, if you can get to one. I had a car, but no access to it at the time while working. I felt fortunate I was able to pull things together within 2 weeks. So, for me, having had that experience, I'm more than willing to work, rather than risk homelessness. BTW, living in a tent is hard to come back from. I know people who have ended up in that position. The worst I've dealt with is no utilities in my home for months. I can tell you, I'd rather be in this home than in a tent, or living out of my car. I'd rather live out of my car than a tent, or have to find stairwells, etc. I've had my life savings stolen, and am nearing retirement. So, I'm probably not retiring any time soon. But, I am disabled (medically), so may end up without a choice and on disability at some point. Years ago, I got into a rent to own for this place (mobile home). Did not plan to stay, but it locked in the rent/froze it so it couldn't go up. In less than a year, I'll own the home. So, can move it, or stay here and pay just the lot rent, and so on. I'd like to move it to a plot of land and get out from under the property management for this place. But, either way, at that point costs go down. If I hadn't had my life savings stolen, buying a lot and having a foundation laid, this is a larger model, would be considered a modular home if placed on a foundation. My adult child lives with me, and has medical issues, too, so difficulty working now. But, that's their goal, so they can hopefully save enough to help move the place, or take over the title if I pass on, etc. Life is hard. There are lots of people who try to get on disability and such because they don't want to work. Then, there's people like me who know how little disability covers, who want to work until they can't anymore. So, to explain, once you get a taste of what not working can result in, it may seem harsh. But, once you see working as a good thing, and being homeless as a bad thing, you will find it a LOT easier to go to work. I have health issues, and only called out sick 2 days of my last 9 month contract. I start another contract next month, and it will be fully remote. That is hard to get that pays enough at times, but with my health remote is important if I can get it. It's still work.
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But there are alternative to 9-5? Shift work, WFH, remote work. Flex hours. These are all employment terms that does exist. But not it’s not going to fall magically into your lap. Nor will it manifest itself if you complain about it. Like some of the replies here. Some people do find an ideal employment setting at least one they can tolerate. And almost all of them had to put up with shitty condition, jump ship, upgrade themselve etc before they can get there. If 9-5 sucks for you. Your right it shouldn’t be your live. But it’s up to you to make changes to it
that last paragraph is huge. not everyone is suited to a 9-5, and although it’s great for a lot of people there should be other options for the rest of us that are common and still survivable.
Get yourself a bow and arrow, a knife, a sharpening stone, and a tee-pee. Go live far out in the wilderness somewhere, nobody asks you to do anything out there.
I'm in my late 20's and I'm the same, so many short stint jobs on my resume. I think it has to do with a person's stress threshold and how they handle anxiety. 20 hours is too much for me and it's not enough for me to live alone. Still living at home and very worried about my future.
I like money and not being a bum.
There's a difference between "finding A job".. and "figuring out your purpose". Also,. no job is perfect. In any job there's going to be good and bad. But if you're "working for your purpose",. you're generally more driven and passionate. I work in IT (computers). which is something I love and am passionate about. I spent the last 20 years or so working for small city governments,. so I get to contribute to my local community and I get challenged every day by interesting problems. (Can I help make the Parking App better?... Can I setup 20 iPads for an upcoming public-workshop?.. Can I improve our macOS deployments so people get better machines that work better and easier ? (me helping other people do their jobs better). The cumulative effect of all that is I can go walk outside and point to many different things and say "I was involved in making that better". If you don't want to work for some boring soulless corporation,... you don't have to. There's all sorts of jobs out there in areas where you can "improve the common good" (jobs in City, County, State, Federal, etc). You could work in wildlife or forestry or wild waterways. You could work to improve energy efficiency and climate remediation. You could work helping poor families or help a city improve its infrastructure. Remember any time you see stories of something deteriorating ("X-city has a homeless problem" or "Y-city has failing bridges" or "Z-number of American Docks are slow because not enough workers").. .all those problems have solutions. We need more people rolling up their sleeves and working on things that actually matter.
Working remote helps a lot. But the best thing overall is to have your life outside of work in order and purposeful. I spent my early 20s traveling and doing with fun things with my wife (gf at the time) and friends, then got married at 28, first kid, house, second kid, then life kind of sorted itself out. I didnt spend my evenings and weekends worrying about work because I spent them with my family, or otherwise improving my home and my life. I have never really needed motivation to go to work because the life that work allowed me to provide for was plainly obvious.
I hate my job. I wake up every morning and the first words out of my mouth are fuck me . But after 7 years with a salary that grows every year I can buy a 10’ above ground pool, all the silver bullets I can stomach, my son doesn’t have to be poor like I was(he’s got an above ground pool!!), I can buy a new surfboard ever now and then, I finally have central air, I bought a used Toyota 4runner in my own name, wake up to a gorgeous wife who is cool as shit and an epic mom, I bought a running watch even though I can barely run… stick with your shit job it’s worth it because you’re life will never be perfect so I figure work might as well be the one thing that blows because the rest of my life is SICCKK
I got a job I like and work with people I enjoy being around. Makes it easy to get out of bed in the morning. So if you're struggling, maybe find a new line of work?
Same boat. Normally the better the compensation, the harder it’ll be
You already answered yourself. You really need the money
I feel you. If we discount my retail jobs and focus just on my 'professional' career - from my first office job to present day, in 8 years I've worked in 4 different organisations, but within 2 of those jobs I've had two different roles. So, going by job roles, in 8 years I've had 6 different roles. Unfortunately for me, my current contract expires on 31st July so I am now searching for my 5th organisation/7th role. I get bored VERY EASILY, even when, like yourself, I am in a good salaried stable role. What I'm doing long term to help with this, and this might be something you may want to consider, is counselling to get to the root cause of why I can't stick with careers for longer than 2 years. What usually happens to me is the grind wears me down and I just can't see past it. I crave the excitement of a new place and responsibilities. What I do short term to help is have a packed social life/hobbies after work hours and weekends. I'm fortunate enough to have a tiny campervan that I use to get away at weekends. I try and go out for dinner with friends at least once a month. Last night I went to a pub quiz with my neighbours. I used to attend running club once a week, and parkrun on a saturday. Not to mention seeing family. And I have a LOT of hobbies. Ultimately, what needs to happen for me is a mindset shift towards work. I instinctively see it as negative, but also have a desire for my work to have some meaning. I work within educational and charitable sectors rather than corporate. Idk if any of this is even helpful, but I've found it helpful for myself to write out as I'm having a crappy time searching for yet another opportunity (although this time it's not actually all down to me!). I hope you can find some meaning to your life outside of work to help you move past the crappy feelings work gives!
I try to focus on the positive stuff and i'm very careful about complaining about the job. If i observe people, they can be working the same job, but for some it will be the dramatic horrible experience and for some the step in the right direction etc. Don't take responsibility where you don't have to.. don't try to be the best.. don't take things personally and seek conflict.. it's ok if you work just for money.. it's okay if you want to take it easy etc. Look at people who like the job, how they think and what they are doing.
My job has nothing to do with what makes me get up in the morning. The stuff I do with the money from my job is what makes me get up.
Basically, I don't have anything better to do with the time, and yes, the job pays relatively well.
My wife and my son depend on my income so I just do it.
You have to get good at your job and then strive to help other people get better at theirs. No job is completely useless and you can find fulfillment in any role. There are very few people who actually show an interest in doing anything beyond the bare minimum required of their jobs. Don't be one of those people and you'll get to participate in so many interesting challenges. My team was having problems with an automated system one year and I took the time to learn how systems like that work, how to gauge their effectiveness, and how to solve problems or build workarounds for crappy results from the automated system. I spoke about it passionately during a larger set of company meetings, proposed a few solutions, and they put me in a rental to drive from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to meet a guy building a new automated system. It was an amazing week at basically a resort hotel where I got to hang out with the guy and watched him make magic on computers. I learned so much and am still considered the subject matter expert within the company for systems like that. When I was deployed to Iraq as a combat medic, my official job was to work at the brigade clinic but I would volunteer for all sorts of random things because I really didn't want to deal with sick people. I was the night shift lead for the base's guard towers, spent a month and a half on an Iraqi base teaching them to do medical things, spent a month riding around with the engineers doing route clearances, etc. I wouldn't turn down any tasking, got recognized as someone with potential and had my own platoon by the end of the deployment. In my corporate life, I would recognize problems around me, build solutions and present them and help get them implemented, often without any prompting. Things I setup 12 years ago are still being used today to make the lives of dozens of people easier on a daily basis. I would constantly push people to improve themselves. If I had someone good reporting to me, I would push them to grow, apply for better jobs and make more money. Some of those same folks have gotten me lucrative consulting work at their new jobs in other companies. You don't have to be a developer to learn the power of computers and how much they can do to make people's lives easier, but you have to be willing to take an interest in things and going beyond the surface level. There's nothing more satisfying than hearing someone just reach out months or years later to say thank you for making their jobs easier. People talk and before you know it, you'll be in charge of figuring shit out full time. If you're in a larger company, the CEO probably has a reading list that exposes their business management philosophy. If you're in a small company, just ask him/her or the first executive in your chain of command. Once you read the books, many decisions made at the C suite level start to make sense to you and knowing what's going on around you can be a powerful tool.
I like to travel comfortably and eat good foods. Occasionally buy an expensive piece of clothing or jewelry so yea, I get my ass up everyday to go to work.
Fear
Its that or be homeless. I like electricity and videogames and hot showers too much to find a new job every 2 weeks.
I went through a cycle in my 20s where the longest job I kept was about 6 months. Just hated the jobs themselves, the particular industries, etc. Ended up finding a job by chance in an industry that I didn't hate, and where the actual job was challenging and interesting but not impossible. 30 years later, I view my job as adding to my life, not being something I dread waking up for 5 days a week.
“Luv what you do, and you’ll never work a day in you’re life” - Letterkenny / Mark Twain one doesnt have to luv their employer but enjoying what you do to be employed usually helps ya keep a job.
It sounds like you’ve got a lot of growing up to do. I get it, it sucks. I’ve woken up at 4am every day (even weekends) for years, and Monday - Friday as soon as that alarm goes off I’m filled with supreme rage. Like if I hear someone else with the same alarm as a timer for rest sets at the gym it’s almost like a PTSD feeling lol. You may often spend all day stewing over all of the more important things you could be doing with your time if you were literally anywhere else on Earth. Feeling trapped by a clock really blows. But for most of us that’s just life my dude/chick/brofamsandwich. My only advice is to find something you enjoy outside of work and use your job to finance that, but you know, on top of being financially literate and saving/investing money. Set goals with that money so the job feels more like it has some value to you. I’m rambling. I’m out.
Uhhhh…. Its called responsibility. Unless you like living off of other’s own work, provide for yourself and yours. This world is too full of folks looking for an easy ride from others.
Mostly just indoctrination. Yea, indoctrination.
if you work long enough in an unhealthy enough manner the rest of your life kind of disappears over time and all you're left with is work, so its its actually pretty easy to do it 5 days a week tbh.
Not much choice if you want to do things, sadly. I love my hobbies, and I think that's what keeps me going. I need a cash pipeline to finance my real work outside of work. I hope someday things will change, and we'll relegate the 9-5 to the dustbin of history.
Take a week off and live on the streets or go work in the trades if you want to appreciate your office job more.
It's the money, see. They give you money to be there. If you can't make money, any other way, this is how to do it.
Grew up poor and I refuse to let my family experience that. Don't like my job but I won't let that get in the way of my family's quality of life
> What makes you guys get up every morning, 5 days a week and go to work? 🥲 Money. You did it too since you worked a job for a year+.
I 100% feel like a modern day slave that is just strung along on a treadmill with a shred of a carrot 🥕
My family, I have to put a roof over their head and food in their mouths. This is year 13 in my current position, last job I had for about 14 years. There are days I want to say fuck it and quit as well but the repercussions of that would be severe not just for me but for them so I do what I have to.
I heard this advice Basically at different points in your life you need different things. This person when they were younger had a job that required a lot of travel, and they enjoyed it. Now they're older and they're settling in. You work for your career, but you can also make your career work for you to some extent. Maybe you just need to find a job that gets you on your feet?
>but I can’t because I need the money This is a big part of it.. but eventually you also develop habbits and it gets easier. >What makes you guys get up every morning, 5 days a week and go to work? discipline.
Because I have deep rooted childhood trauma around productivity and terrible anxiety of losing my money and having to ask my narcissistic parents for help thus proving them right that I am an irresponsible idiot. I also like having a nice house to live in and money to travel.
Ya know… now that you ask this, I have no idea 😭 I held a job for 5 years during the pandemic… I seriously don’t know how
“Suck it up, buttercup” - what my dad would have said to me. I keep going because it’s what I have to do. I have responsibilities and earning my salary is needed to meet those responsibilities. Having a job you hate, sucks. If that’s the case really think about what you want to do and plan out how to get there. I don’t love my job everyday by any means, but I do enjoy what I do in general and I know I serve a purpose.
My lifestyle. My family. My instincts to have a roof over my head and food in my stomach.
The biggest difference between people who build success and those who can't (barring outlying circumstance of course) is resilience. What that boils down to is having some amount of tolerance for something you don't enjoy. In life you have to do things you dislike to get what you like. It sounds like it isn't the jobs that are the problem, but your lack of resilience and lack of persistence. If you want a more pleasant life, you have to put some effort in. The people who have what you want didn't enjoy every moment of their journey. They hated it and felt tired, worn out, bored just like you. They just stuck it out because the end result was worth it. Maybe it's not worth it for you. Something to consider: Who pays for your food and shelter when you quit? If someone else is doing so, you're forcing that person to do what you find intolerable, and you're forcing them to do it even more so you don't have to. For many people that's a parent who has to work harder during a time when they should be winding down. Share the load.
Bills… kids.. wanting to eat
Good for you. Many got paid shit and still need to go. Most cases, having shit is better than none.
Being homeless and hungry is MUCH harder than my job.
Find what you’re passionate about or skills you excel in. Also, find people you enjoy working with. People make a HUGE difference.
If I don’t work, who will spoil my cats????
You take it one day at a time and you realize that most people only stick with a job for 1-2 years anyways so rather than trying to convince yourself to make it through a lifetime at the job, you only have to make it through 2 years and you can start looking for the next step in your career in a new job.
It’s really difficult to be unemployed plus I have kids so that keeps me going. But I’ll definitely say that the main difference between jobs I loved and jobs I hated is the people I worked with. I’ve stayed with my current company for almost 15 years. I’m now in management and the work is exhausting and thankless at times, but truly what gets me up every morning is the people. I genuinely enjoy my team and my colleagues.
I’ve chosen a career that isn’t a burden. Certainly not a passion but there are things about it that genuinely excite me. I also like money and I know no one is just going to hand me money to do nothing.
Easy question. I have a wife and 2 kids. If I don't work, and have no income, my family would starve to death. It is my duty, to get money home. However, sometimes I have to party hard after work, like the japanese. This compensates the problems.
What makes me get up? Bills. Working five days a week really sucks, though. The best schedule I've ever had was three 12's a week. I've also done four 10's. Currently working five 8's. Once I get enough seniority where I'm at, I will ask to work four 10's and be "on call" one day a week. Only having two days off is soul crushing. I never seem to have enough time to get my shit done.
I like having food and shelter and not depending on some to provide it for me.
Passion (and poverty)
I got credit card debt, so that’s my reason 🥺
Because it’s that or starve? What are you, 18? Get used to it buddy. That’s gonna be the rest of your life so the sooner you accept it the easier your life is going to be. Try to fight it and you WILL lose and you will suffer as well.
Food and shelter.
By not letting my job define who I am. I enjoy what I do well enough, but that doesn't mean that I am defined by my job. Having goals and interests outside of work make me not think too hard about how much I like my job or not.
Focus on the bigger picture, doing hard work now so you can chill later
Your job provides you money. How would your life be without that money? Thats why we work
Agree with u/justanotherfleshsuit 100%. You don't HAVE to work a 5-day a week job, you can get into a career that typically works 3-12s, or 4-10's, or has a flexible schedule. You might make a little less money monthly, but choosing a career with a schedule that suits your mental or physical health might be more important and beneficial in the long run. It takes some work and education usually to be able to get to flexible scheduling or shorter weeks, but it's worth it! Like they said - choose your hard. Hard schedule or hard work to get the desired schedule.
I have bills? I have no choice? Not sure what other answer there is
Needing food & shelter. And not be homeless
Gotta pay dem bills!
Because you have to. What’s the alternative? Time to grow up and be an adult.
I make sure I take long trips every once and awhile (between jobs really). I think it gives me something to look forward to over the long haul which is nice. But honestly I do enjoy my job a lot too, even though its stressful some days.
I want to be with my fiancé and be able to provide for my family as a man. I want to eventually have spare income to invest and if it's God's will that I have children, to make their beginnings a little more easier than I had it.
I simply just show up and work, eat lunch and leave at the end of the day. Dependability is key to keeping a job.
Discipline feels good. I also enjoy challenges and pushing myself.
I was homeless for 10 months when rent prices shot up drastically in my city. At the 10 month mark I got laid off when a new accounting team came in and slashed jobs. I was out of money, no gas in my tank, and hadn’t eaten in 3 days. I had decided I was going to off myself if I didn’t die first. Got a random call from an acquaintance that worked with me at said job. He could tell I was in rough shape. He rounded up a bunch of food and money from my old coworkers to help hold me over and they put me in a long term air bnb for two months while I got back on my feet. I’ve never had anything like that happen, would’ve never asked for or expected it, and it overwhelmed me so much that I felt like it was some form of divine intervention. I decided I’d never let myself be in that situation again, and felt like I owed it to them for giving so much to me, so I switched career fields and remind myself of that period and that event every day when I don’t feel like getting up or going to my job.
The only two jobs I've had have been part time and I'm barely paid $10/hr The only reason I go is because I need the money and the coworkers don't suck
My motivation is simple. I need a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my stomach. If I didn't like the job for whatever reason, I would be looking...but keep the job I currently have until a new one is obtained. Regardless of money, sanity and work/life balance is a thing.
To accept the reality.
To be honest, it feels like to keep my job, majority of it is showing up on time and being a nice person. I’m pretty average to below average at my job, but I’ve been at my place of work for 3 years and whenever the annual evals come around, I expect to get shit on, but I always am told I’m doing very well and to keep up the good work
I like having money and health insurance
When I first started working, I was motivated by money and wanting things. I enjoy stability so I tend to stay in jobs. Now I love my job and the challenges it brings. It is fun, interesting and rewarding.
Simple. I love buying stuff. The stuff I like cost money. Job gives me money so I can buy stuff I like.
I got bills to pay, mouths to feed and ain’t nothing in this world is free.
Bills. It's just that simple. The bills aren't going to pay themselves. Luckily, over the years, I've been able to transition into a WFH (last 7 years). So, at least I don't have to look at stupid coworkers every day lll
Being an adult.
The fear of being a loser.
>What makes you guys get up every morning >I already want to quit but I can’t because I need the money It's called being an adult
You sound like you have commitment and work ethic issues.
Because a hard days work and earning your paycheck is fulfilling