Is workplace boredom 'the new stress?'

[icecube]

Originally Posted by fotze

Most people I hear who "love" their jobs, I kinda think they are full of crap.

Ya, mutual funds, real interesting stuff.

Ya, agonizing over what font to use in the Glaxosmithkline ad is really pushing your creative limits.

I think saying you love your job is an admirable coping mechnism though.

I think I have the greatest job in the world. The day goes by in the blink of an eye and I get summers off.

Being a teacher doesn't pay a whole lot though. Everyday is different and the good days FAR outweigh the bad.

[GGG]

I have to cycle back and forth between really busy and slow to keep me happy. I can go flat out for 6-8 months before starting to burn out and i can do nothing for 3-4 months before i need more work to do. By nothing i mean have an hour of down time a day while working at a slow pace as opposed to having to work flat out plus some ot o get ork done.

My current job allows me to do this quite well as most of the projects are based around yearly plant outages.

[sergei_makarov]

Careful what you wish for.

I've had jobs in the past where boredom was an issue (most when I first started my working career), and I agree - it's painful to go into work, have nothing to do, only to look at the time and find out it's 1:30PM.

Nowadays though, I haven't had a "bored" day for over 4.5 years. I keep reminders on my Outlook calendar for tasks and I find myself extending these tasks to the next day every day at EOD because there just isn't enough hours in the day to get to everything. When you spend 80% of your day sitting in meetings, when the hell are you supposed to get to your actual work?

My team is also mostly offshore in India, so when I get off, they start sending emails my way.

Something in between the boredom and what I do now would be nice.

[Montana Moe]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Yes, Steve, everyone should keep looking and find their dream job. I can't wait to find who has found their place in life working Taco Tuesdays for $9/hour, and the man who takes great pride wiping the piss off the floor from around the urinals at work.

Most jobs are crappy, but we need people to do them.

Originally Posted by Judge Smails

Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by blankall

Steve Jobs always seemed like he'd be a total dick to work for. A total ego-maniac that you could never satisfy. I could see him prone to unprofessional outbursts.

His attitude to me is one of never being satisfied and always being unhappy with what you've done. It's the kind of attitude that will take you far in the business and consumer world. However, I wouldn't describe the man as seeming overly happy or satisfied with anything.

Apparently, I'm not far off the mark:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...vity-of-anger/

I suppose, that "love what you do" can have different meanings. It could mean actually be happy. Or it could mean being totally miserable, dreading work, and putting up with a tryrant of a boss in pursuit of some downstream success/goal.

I think in Jobs case it was the latter.

He would have been more miserable had he not done something he loved. That's the difference. It brought him a measure of solace to at least be able to create and build something even if he was never satisfied with it.

[hmmhmmcamo]

nm

[sun]

A little off topic, but along the same lines as "do something you love and you'll never work another day blah blah". I'm not quite sure if I buy that sentiment.

I'm a professional photographer, and I don't shoot for fun anymore. While photography used to be one of my favourite things to do, turning it into a job turned it into a grind. I thought that getting paid to take photos would be the best job ever. In reality, I preferred photography when I wasn't getting paid. I guess maybe that's just me - other photographers obviously love their work. I shouldn't really complain, since it still is a pretty great job - just not quite what I thought it was going to be. Things could be better, but they could be a hell of a lot worse.

Though being a pro photographer, I have learned what I value and what I will look for in future business ventures. Personally, I don't think it actually matters what your job is. What's most important to me is dollars/hour. Time !=money. Time > money. I would rather work 4 hour days and make 60,000/year than 8 hour days and make 120,000. I want to make as much money as possible while putting in as little time/effort as possible. Is that too much to ask?

This is why I don't like photography as a career - it is all sweat equity and it can't really be scaled. I'm not sure if I like the pressure to perform either. Even though I am fairly confident I can deliver, I still stress. Selling an art is tough because art is subjective.

I guess I don't really know what I'm trying to say here... Maybe this is wrong thread for this post, but I am slightly drunk right now, so you'll have to forgive me.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by fotze

Most people I hear who "love" their jobs, I kinda think they are full of crap.

Ya, mutual funds, real interesting stuff.

Ya, agonizing over what font to use in the Glaxosmithkline ad is really pushing your creative limits.

I think saying you love your job is an admirable coping mechnism though.

I love my job.

[Yasa]

Originally Posted by fotze

Most people I hear who "love" their jobs, I kinda think they are full of crap.

Ya, mutual funds, real interesting stuff.

Ya, agonizing over what font to use in the Glaxosmithkline ad is really pushing your creative limits.

I think saying you love your job is an admirable coping mechnism though.

I really enjoy my job when I have something to do. But in the oil field, I have nothing to do. Non-oil field is much better.

[JohnnyB]

My job right now is very easy for me and allows lots of free time. Some of my colleagues actually think I'm part time because I only show up for about 25 hours a week, which is no problem as long as the work is done well. In many ways it is not as enjoyable as my last job which was full of challenge and kept me working non-stop every day, but it is nice that I have way more time with my wife, that I have way more time to be involved in other projects and that I face much less stress. My life is not just my work now.

Also, to add to what icecube said, working in education is great for the fact of doing meaningful work. Although it's not a lucrative career field I am happy knowing that my job is to help people. That feeling became more distant in school administration when politics entered the picture more, but it was still tangible. Being a classroom teacher is wonderful for that though. Also, if money is really a problem it is still a career field where you can start a business in your extra time.

To me, meaning in work is more important than the day just zipping by. I don't feel rushed to fill up every hour of my life until I kick the bucket so much as I am concerned with feeling that the time has been well spent.

[zukes]

I love my job when it is busy (independant property and liability adjuster) but when it is slow like it is now, I am bored out of my mind!! I get a decent, easy to reach salary and then commission above that. When it's slow like it is now, it is still easy to reach the salary obligations, but there is not a lot left to do after that.

Basically, I work for 3 or 4 hours these days, about half of that on the internet, and then there is nothing left to do. I have tried to go out and market, but my industry, at least at the big insurance companies, have realy cut back on what they let their employees do, so I am stuck going home to play video games or golf by myself. Don't get me wrong, days like that are great for a while, but I am used to having more to do at work, and the extra money is great.

However, even in the busiest times, I find myself surfing the net to read about sports, or checking my fantasy teams, but that isn't from boredom, more to give myself a mental break.

[zukes]

Originally Posted by fotze

Sure you do.

This wasn't directed at me, but I also said it. I suppose you are right. It should be, "I have to work to make money, and I could be doing a lot worse things than I do"

To me, when I say I love my job, that is what I mean.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Rather than find a job you love, I think the key is to find a job that pays well and learn to love it.

I've been in my job 25 years now . . . . pretty soon, I'll have to start calling it a career.

At first, it wasn't a lot of fun - because it doesn't pay very well as you're getting your feet on the ground - but these days I generally only deal with people I like, that I've known a long time and it pays very well to do so. Through time and experience, I've learned to separate the emotional rollercoaster aspect - highs and lows - out of the emotional satisfaction.

When I have free time at the office I fill it with work in a senior organizational role in a non-profit. That's been very rewarding.

On the other hand, I came in this morning only to learn one of my clients, a truly great guy, died in the last hour from a terminal illness. Another two are also terminal and not expected to last long. And two others died in the last six months. These are all people I've known and worked with for decades.

Time passes, the years fading one into the other. I wouldn't say I'm bored though. Every day is different.

Cowperson

[Regular_John]

I've had one job I loved. It was with a great group of people & we were doing exciting work. I legitimately enjoyed being at work each day.

I've had a few jobs I hated. I didn't enjoy the work, I didn't always care for the people I worked with & I didn't have a healthy work/life balance.

Many of my other jobs have fallen somewhere in the middle.

At this point I've adapted a "life is too short to do something you hate" mantra.

While you don't need to jump out of bed each morning with a shot and a smile, if you dread leaving the house every day than it's time for a change.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

While you don't need to jump out of bed each morning with a shot and a smile, if you dread leaving the house every day than it's time for a change.

This is where I've been at for the last couple years, I don't look forward to work, but most of the time when I get there, I am surrounded by good people and I make the best of the day and generally have fun at work anyways. A lot of the people I end up working with are pretty funny people though, which helps a lot.

In my own experience, it generally doesn't matter what the job is as long as you enjoy the people you work with. Very rarely has the literal "work" of a job been the part of the job I look forward to.

But speaking to this, I think I have been lucky to find good people in most positions I've taken. Sometimes in different fields of work, you are stuck with a very narrow group of people to work with.

[Rathji]

Since this has turned into the liking your job thread:

I have worked in 4 different major fields in my lifetime. Ranging from semi-skilled labour to office job.

The one that was the worse was the one where the environment was confrontational. Even the same job at another company was like heaven since the management were not down your throat every second of every day.

Now, I am working in a place where I have the full confidence of the management. I have the ability to direct policy and have a large role in shaping the goals of our department. The people I work with are awesome and there is very little stress. The work the organization does is worthwhile and not solely motivated by finances. Even if I didn't love the field I am in, I would love this job.

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I have worked in 4 different major fields in my lifetime. Ranging from semi-skilled labour to office job.

The one that was the worse was the one where the environment was confrontational. Even the same job at another company was like heaven since the management were not down your throat every second of every day.

Rathji, may I ask what type of job this was?

[Bill Bumface]

Hand

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by normtwofinger

Rathji, may I ask what type of job this was?

Meat Packing Plant - On the "disassembly line"

[macker]

For most people the perfect job is the one that takes the least amount of time. Avoid W4W (work for works sake) if you can free your time and location your money is worth 3-10 times as much. Using this criterion the investment banker who works 80 hours per week is less powerful then someone who works 20 hours per week and only makes $40,000 per year but has complete freedom of where and how to live.
-Taken from The 4-Hour workweek

33 Must read books for Entrepreneurs :
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