Which is harder - a labour job or desk job?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

At least there is the option for commission and bonuses for you office guys. We barely get a thank you at the end of the year. Also try doing your office job outside in the winter when it's -40.

When I worked construction overtime at double time was always rewarding.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I was thinking about this today, and realized that my answer that labour was harder was actually wrong.

If I spend 4-5 years getting a degree, busting my ass off in school to get to the point where I am at now, to be able to sit in a desk to do my job, that counts for something. It really is part of how hard my job is.

To be able to mindlessly hack apart a dead cow is actually pretty simple compared to the work I put into getting where I am.

*disclaimer: My education isn't really totally required (read: complete overkill) for what I do and plan on doing in the near future, but there are many people who this does apply to.

I've spent days on end picking rocks out of a field on hot, dusty summer days for a few bucks an hour and, more lately, immobile for hours on end behind a desk. Both are tiring but at least the desk job is interesting for the mind.

But I do like going running for a few hours at a time on lonely country roads or taking a hoe out into the field to whack thistleheads on a hot day or shovelling our hundred foot driveway free of snow for no reason in particular. Just the mindlessness of those physical tasks is refreshing and energizes me.

Cowperson

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

When I worked construction overtime at double time was always rewarding.

Unfortunately, my company does not give overtime, banked days or any type of compensation for working extra hours. It's actually quite common in the industry. Alberta is too pro-employer rather than pro-employee.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Unfortunately, my company does not give overtime, banked days or any type of compensation for working extra hours. It's actually quite common in the industry. Alberta is too pro-employer rather than pro-employee.

Yeah, I was lucky I always worked out of the union. Still the government and big business tried to destroy the unions in the 80s with their spin off companies and "right to work" bull.

[Kybosh]

I've got a desk job right now and have been renovating my house at night/weekend for the past couple of months. I find the work I'm doing at home much more rewarding and I have been sleeping pretty well, but I'm sure that if I was doing the same work for pay in other people's houses I would hate it. I think that this debate is the ultimate "the grass is always greener" argument.

Also, people seem to think that trades guys have a lower salary than white collar guys (not necessarily this thread, but life in general). In my experience, this does not seem to be true (at least with the guys who are half decent at managing their money). I know guys who have no student debts, have been working since they were 18 and are very well off. Learning and mastering a trade is a great career choice in my opinion. Hell, some of the trades require pretty extensive book learning as well (like electricians).

[bc-chris]

which is harder.... as others have mentioned they are both challenging in their own respects.

immediately out of high school i did concrete & framing for 9 years. the first few years it was just in the summers as i was getting my degree. once i was done with university i did it full time for a number of years becuz i really enjoyed it. we got to travel around bc and eventually i was sent to calgary for about a 6 month stint which was a blast!

11 years ago i started my own biz and became a 'desk jockey'. one thing i did notice is that my back sure felt better once i got out of the physical work.

i must confess that there are times when i'm sitting in my office, looking outside at the blowing snow in the winter or the stupid hot okanagan summers and i'm quite thankful i don't have to work outside! mind you... spring and fall - when the weather is 'just right' i would love to get back outdoors

[Save Us Sutter]

I've worked retail, worked in cubicles at call centers, tree planting, restaurant server, fast food, drove a taxi, worked with adults with scizophrenia, children with FAS, ran my own convenience store/gas station in a first nation village in the Yukon, been a landscaper, a dry waller, a painter, a courier driver, a tourism consultant... I know I'm forgetting some but yeah... I like to change things up and experience everything I can....

Right now I just turned 30 and I'm landscaping 3 days a week and working with a kid with Autism and his Mom the other four. I love doing both jobs and might actually stick with this situation for a bit!

Hardest job I've ever done was running a restaurant. It was me and one other guy for a summer in the Yukon and I have never worked so hard in my life. We did everything, and it was awesome but man was it exhausting.

As for labour vs desk. I would think labour is harder on your body, but I also enjoy it more. Depends where your head is at and what makes you feel good. I would never go back to working 9-5 behind a desk, ever. It's just hard on your soul!

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Save Us Sutter

Hardest job I've ever done was running a restaurant. It was me and one other guy for a summer in the Yukon and I have never worked so hard in my life. We did everything, and it was awesome but man was it exhausting.

I've never done it, but it seems like cooks and chefs work crazy hard and long hours, and that to be successful you need both physical and mental stamina and acumen.

[Hack&Lube]

Desk jobs that also have some kind of trade/craftsman/hobbyist/building/electronics/tinkering/problem solving/manual labor type component to the job are the best. I know that's something I will always be looking for. The best I can do is IT for now. Build and troubleshoot all the hardware by hand. Sit at the desk to make it all work. Unfortunately, there's way too much of the latter when I prefer the former.

[ma-skis.com]

I remember looking between two career paths when i was about 22, one being white collar and the other a blue collar position and I just remember asking myself which job could I see myself doing when I was 45 or 50.

I've seen my dad work as a cook at 55 and the way he comes home some days makes me think that is no way to treat your body at that age.

Office jobs are tough in there own way, but at least you can mentally be sharp for most of your working life verses tough labour jobs.

[Azure]

Well, they say that sitting at a desk 8 hours a day is a lot like smoking. So, ask yourself.....what is actually harder on your body? Desk job, or physical job?

Because a physical job may be tiring, and you're sore....until you get used to it at least. But you tend to be in better shape, you're a lot more flexible because you're constantly moving around, and your heart actually loves you. Unlike a desk job where people will always complain about back pain, which is almost always the result of sitting too long, which creates flexibility issues with your hip flexor, which leads to back problems.

Of course, people that work hard physical jobs most of their lives will usually have muscle problems too, but that comes from not looking after your body properly.

[Ulchie]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Desk jobs are easier for sure. One reason why is pay.

In an everyday office job, would your boss ever hold back some of your pay because he/she doesn't think you did enough work to earn it? We get held back hours of work all the time, on a whim of the boss.

Some construction companies don't pay proper overtime and vacation/holdiday pay. And it's easy to say, report them and go find another company to work for, but there is not much choice right now with the economy. Would this happen in an office job? No.

You have no idea how wrong you are. It happens often in the restaurant industry and it DEFINITELY happens in office jobs. They don't do it outwardly or anything, but they basically force people to work extra hours by the amount of work they put on them combined with performance reviews. My mother regularly works 3 extra hours per day without any extra compensation. Such is the life of salaried jobs. You lack an incredible amount of insight if you think this only happens in labour jobs.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Azure

Well, they say that sitting at a desk 8 hours a day is a lot like smoking. So, ask yourself.....what is actually harder on your body? Desk job, or physical job?

Because a physical job may be tiring, and you're sore....until you get used to it at least. But you tend to be in better shape, you're a lot more flexible because you're constantly moving around, and your heart actually loves you. Unlike a desk job where people will always complain about back pain, which is almost always the result of sitting too long, which creates flexibility issues with your hip flexor, which leads to back problems.

Of course, people that work hard physical jobs most of their lives will usually have muscle problems too, but that comes from not looking after your body properly.

I kind of see that in some ways. Not that I'm trying to compare it to the worst blue collar jobs (there are def some I know I couldn't manage) but I don't think desk jobs are as "cushy" as everyone thinks.

[calgaryred]

Labour jobs are way harder, do that for 20 years its going to destroy your body you can't do that forever. Desk Jobs are not all easy but if you have the smarts you can do it for 40 to 50 years.

[freedogger]

I was a treeplanter for eight years with a few stints of heliportable drilling, log peeling for log home builders and landscaping mixed in. All except the landscaping was paid on a piecework basis which tended to make those jobs feel more like a sport. Been writing custom software for the last twelve years.

Physical labour is great in that you never really take the job home with you. On an IT project, I will often be fully engaged on a problem or feature every waking hour until it is finished. I can relate to others that comment that the physical labour is less appealing as you get older. Working with your brain is not a given either as you age though.

The quality of people you work with has a bearing on how hard a job is. On the seismic jobs it was mostly criminals and alcoholics. This wore me out more than the physical labour did. I would choose a stressful, mission almost impossible job any time over a safe and boring experience. Going through hell and back with a group of people is a beautiful thing. You really see a person's true character. The relationships and bonds last for life. This kind of thing can happen with office work, but it is rare. Jobs that require real skill and working with passionate people are the most rewarding. Working with people who don't care, who just show up to log time, or worse, who play games and rely on politics -- these things are the most taxing and will suck the life out of you before you know it.

I haven't really answered the OP's question about which type of work is harder. I think those who have only ever experienced just one of these types of work are missing something. If you are lucky enough, try to at some point do both.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by Azure

Well, they say that sitting at a desk 8 hours a day is a lot like smoking. So, ask yourself.....what is actually harder on your body? Desk job, or physical job?

Because a physical job may be tiring, and you're sore....until you get used to it at least. But you tend to be in better shape, you're a lot more flexible because you're constantly moving around, and your heart actually loves you. Unlike a desk job where people will always complain about back pain, which is almost always the result of sitting too long, which creates flexibility issues with your hip flexor, which leads to back problems.

Of course, people that work hard physical jobs most of their lives will usually have muscle problems too, but that comes from not looking after your body properly.

This is easily fixed by walking or biking to the office and preferring the stairs over the elevator. Too far to the office? Drive and park in a cheap lot and walk the last X kilometres. Going to the gym or having a sport for a hobby is another option. The amount of exercise needed to extend your functional years isn't nearly as much as a real physical job requires. In fact, the hard-core physical jobs typically lead to disability of some kind.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I've spent days on end picking rocks out of a field on hot, dusty summer days for a few bucks an hour

That was my first job at the age of 10 years old! My mother paid me 10 cents for every wagon load of rocks I took out of her garden. Losing my entire weeks wages because I loaded up the bottom of the wagon with dirt was priceless.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by freedogger

This is easily fixed by walking or biking to the office and preferring the stairs over the elevator. Too far to the office? Drive and park in a cheap lot and walk the last X kilometres. Going to the gym or having a sport for a hobby is another option. The amount of exercise needed to extend your functional years isn't nearly as much as a real physical job requires. In fact, the hard-core physical jobs typically lead to disability of some kind.

Except it isn't. Doing all those things will certainly help, but it doesn't compare to being active and constantly moving around throughout the day.

I have such a job, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. You just feel so much better at the end of the day compared to sitting at a desk.

And overwhelming amount of people who have desk jobs have back problems. Maybe they still are functional, but to a large degree they don't have a good quality of life physically. Nevermind that many are overweight and get very little exercise.

You can keep from being overweight from eating right, but you can't fix the back problems that arise from sitting all day.

[GirlySports]

I went to University because there's no way I could do labour.

I think the only job I could do is dealing cards :P

[Igottago]

Sitting behind a desk looking at a computer for 8+ hours a day, 5 days per week is unnatural, period.

I do it as a necessity but there's no doubt there's a challenge staying healthy. Even sitting around all day can make you tired and makes it tough to keep a good workout routine. Not to mention people eat a lot of junk food throughout the work day.

Not sure if its tougher than a labour job as I've never had one, but I also don't really see the results of my work in a tangible way very often...its just numbers and reports. There's something to be said for the satisfaction of seeing what you've accomplished at the end of a day.

I am convinced that the way we work in most of the corporate world right now will be laughed at in 40-50 years.