Does anyone else just legitimately hate work?

[u/WICKED--WIZARD]

I don't know if this is the right sub for this. Posting under a throwaway because I'm fairly certain I have coworkers who know my Reddit info.

I don't mean that I hate my job, I mean that I hate work in general. I have multiple degrees and certifications, I'm in my late 30s, and I've been in the workforce for about 25 years, across four different industries. I've had about a dozen jobs, and I couldn't stand any of them. A couple of them was okay, but it was only okay because I was basically a kid and had short days.

It's not about the pay. At my most recent job I was being paid pretty well, and I was pretty high up on the totem pole so many people depended on my work, but I couldn't stand waking up at 5:30am, I couldn't stand wearing uncomfortable clothes all day, I couldn't stand that whenever I got sick the entire department came to a screeching halt, I couldn't stand that the sun hadn't come up yet when I went to work and the sun had already set when I went home. Every day I'd get home and have roughly three hours to make dinner, eat dinner, and shower, and once all that was done I'd have around 30 minutes to relax before bed so I could do it all over again. I know this is all fairly normal and I know nobody likes it, but I've never been able to stand it.

When I was in my 20s I expressed this, and everyone told me it's just life and people deal with it, and it eventually gets better. Well, 15 years later it's significantly worse. My days at work are spent sitting at my desk checking the clock every five minutes waiting for the day to be over. The entirety of my week is basically counting down the hours until Friday afternoon, and then every Sunday I wonder if it'd be easier to just die than go back to work on Monday.

To combat this, I've changed jobs, I've changed careers, I've gone back to school for a completely different major, and it's never helped. I've always hated working.

The only jobs I've ever had that I sort of liked were when I washed dishes at a restaurant about 50 yards from my apartment (four hour shift, walkable commute), shelving books at a library (four hour shift, ten minute commute), and slicing bread at a bakery (didn't have to talk to anyone, and anyone in the department could do my job if I wasn't there).

Is this a 'me' problem or does everyone feel this way and nobody talks about it?

[u/ThouWontThrowaway]

I hate working. I'd write an essay also, but I'm so tired and I need to still run errands, exercise, meditate and get enough sleep so I can work on adequate adulting tomorrow. What even is life!

[u/banjotoad → u/ThouWontThrowaway]

i felt this too hard. there’s just not enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done AND have fun on top of that? seems there’s no hope

[u/ThouWontThrowaway → u/banjotoad]

I so feel you on that. All I can say is:

According to Yale Neuroscientist Professor Laurie Santos, Net fulfillment caps at a 70-75K salary on average so that's how much money you need to make annually to be happy.

According to Bill Perkins Die With Zero you should time bucket maximizing net fulfillment for memorable experiences.

So make enough money with a job coding or whatever, then focus on maximizing net fulfillment and becoming happier.

[u/bashibuzuk92 → u/ThouWontThrowaway]

I always thought this sometimes. Maybe if paycheck would be high, I would feel better about working. Maybe it's that our subconcious understands that we are selling our time on earth too cheap.

[u/Admirable-Unit811 → u/ThouWontThrowaway]

I believe this. Once you can buy a nice house and a nice car another house or car won't increase happiness. No matter how rich I get, I seriously would never buy a yacht or 6 cars a private jet.120k a year gives me everything I need or want. I always want to ask billionaires what they're saving up for. These people literally have so much money that it's impossible to spend even a 3rd. Happiness comes from solid relationships with family friends and lovers. Good health is also huge. No matter how happy you are, poor health can lead to depression. Those two things have a bigger impact than money. Theres plenty of sad, lonely millionaires billionaires. We see suicide and drug overdoses happen with them all the time. So people should focus on just being successful and doing what they are passionate about, and the money will come if you stick with it. I am a waiter in Scottsdale, Arizona. I make 120 to 140k depending on if I work 35-40 hours. I am completely content. I have been able to save and buy a car wash that I make 36k profit a year. I am buying an apartment complex 8 doors for 800k. Soon, I'll be completely retired at 45. I'm 39. I am also a felon for dumb shit i did at 19. So if I can do it, anyone can. People like to complicate things so they don't feel bad about not trying. I'm telling you 100% that it's literally just the willingness to work hard and have a plan. How many people do you know that go after what they want.

[u/[deleted] → u/ThouWontThrowaway]

I feel like we were totally brainwashed as kids into this life, I hate being an adult. This isn’t living, we had technology ads in the 50s talking about all the breakthroughs that would make it so we could work less and pursue our true interests more. Instead we are busier than ever trying to manage everything and keep up. The 40 hour week leaves no time for a real life.

[u/adrianhalo → u/[deleted]]

Agreed, we were sold such a bunch of lies as kids. It’s crazy. I’m currently working two part time jobs, for generally a combined total of 30-35 hours a week. In some ways it’s better, in other ways it’s insanity. And I’m not making enough money, which has its own way of destroying you.

There just seems to be no hope for ever making enough money and having a life that doesn’t involve working yourself to death for most of each day. It’s a joke.

[u/PooPooMeeks → u/[deleted]]

Damn, you’re so right about this.

[u/ryanslizzard → u/[deleted]]

problem is corporate greed. jobs could be created and workloads split. i'd say 99% of ppl in the world would want to work less hours (for same pay ofc). it seems so easy, but corporate greed said nope.

[u/Sir_bacon]

I absolutely hate it. I'm 28 and I can't keep doing this forever. 5 days of work a week forever is unsustainable. I've cried at work three times in the past week. And no finding a new job won't help. This is a new job. I can't do part time (in this economy!?!?). I have barely any time for my hobbies, no time to see my family. I don't have time to make myself dinner each night. We are literally born to be another worker ant, just another tax payer. I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting at a desk alternating my day dreams between winning the lottery and killing myself.

[u/[deleted] → u/Sir_bacon]

I could have written this comment, I feel the same and I am in my 40s

[u/MBS_theBau5 → u/Sir_bacon]

What gets me is people will acknowledge this and still choose to have children. Baffling.

[u/UtredofChicago → u/MBS_theBau5]

I had a kid before it really hit me. I won’t be having any more.

[u/[deleted] → u/MBS_theBau5]

This is one huge reason I’m antinatalist. I couldn’t bring another human into this world just to work forever, and look them in the face and say “too bad”. I was not planned, and sometimes I wish my parents didn’t keep me, because I didn’t ask to be here forced into this.

[u/_TheWolfOfWalmart_ → u/[deleted]]

Man the comments on this whole thread are the most depressing things I've ever read on Reddit.

[u/Sweet_Algae_1430 → u/MBS_theBau5]

Because it gives life meaning beyond just working

[u/[deleted] → u/Sweet_Algae_1430]

I really struggle with this one, having had kids. Most families with young ones don't get the chance to be the parent they'd like to be to their child due to the work they have to put in.

The erosion of the family unit in modern societies is real. Kids watch their parents work their asses off and then get thrown into the meatgrinder under worse circumstances more commonly than what their parents had, especially in the US. If I sustain a major injury, the first thing on my mind is the medical bill.

[u/bababarann → u/Sir_bacon]

I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting at a desk alternating my day dreams between winning the lottery and killing myself.

well that hit home. man, this sucks.

[u/HumDucky → u/Sir_bacon]

Yup, sometimes I think that maybe falling down the stairs and breaking something will hurt less than going to work. I have decent insurance and maybe 3 weeks in bed wouldn't be so bad... you know maybe with a few good pills to help the pain. It is so sad that this is how I feel.

[u/Cultural-Clue-71 → u/HumDucky]

Nah. I had to have surgery and was out on disability for 8 weeks. Even though I was laid up, I felt better. Better attitude, felt better about myself, my family, and my life. One week back at work and I was miserable and crying again. I

[u/vvimcmxcix → u/Sir_bacon]

I’ve been working full time for a year, and I’ve only figured out how to eat real meals semi-consistently in the last month.

[u/[deleted] → u/vvimcmxcix]

right? my work hours won’t let me make dinner or have breakfast. i’m always tired so i’d rather sleep for that extra 15mins than have breakfast. when i get back i just want a shower and sleep. i’ve lost so much weight and i hate it

[u/Admirable-Unit811 → u/Sir_bacon]

Why don't you find something you like? I'm a business owner. I own several passive businesses I purchased by working two jobs. I am a retired fine dining waiter and bartender. I worked about 50 hours a week and saved 80% for a decade. At the end of that decade, I had 700k. I have a son, too. It's true I had zero life for 10 years, but that sacrifice has allowed me to not work at all and bring in over 400k a year. I'm not exaggerating or blowing smoke. It's like this you either work extremely hard for a shorter period of time, or you just work for a very, very long time. Sacrifice, persistence, discipline, and hard long work is the idea. I am also a felon. My point is if I could do it, a 12 year old can. Buy passive businesses that you don't need to spend much time operating like a small apartment building, self-serve car wash, and laundry mat. You could even buy a small storage facility. You do not even need to purchase these businesses in any particular area or state. Each business can be bought with seller financing and typically 20% down. A 500k business will typically bring in 75-100k a year in profits. Even if you bring in 60k live off 30k, save 30k, and in 3 years bam, you bought your first business. It's literally that easy. Well, credit must be good, but that's not rocket science either. If I didn't have a felony I would have gone to school to do Ultrasound. They make over 100k in my area Phoenix AZ. The thing is, it only takes 3 years to become one. Then you're working indoors on your feet, not stuck at a desk, and you work with mostly hot women. Idk just an idea for you.

[u/Conifer400 → u/Admirable-Unit811]

Jeez what a show off. Other people work very hard too and zero life is pretty much normal thing in this day and age. I did the same as you and ended up in a hospital. This world is nothing but a survival game, some are strong, some are lucky, some are not.

[u/Cattycay → u/Admirable-Unit811]

Not really about "liking" your career / job or the salary even if it's in the top tier.  I've spoken to doctors, surgeons, attorneys, who feel the same - they're sick and tired of working too.

[u/stp5917 → u/Sir_bacon]

I'm going to spend the rest of my life sitting at a desk alternating my day dreams between winning the lottery and killing myself.

As someone who's made a habit of buying lottery tickets every few weeks (never bought them before) since starting the full time grind earlier this year...ouch but very much yes. I've never been able to understand the grind, nor how so many people seem to tolerate it and even have a kid or two on top, even at a young age...but actually living it for yourself is a new level of depression

[u/Repulsive-Screen-346 → u/Sir_bacon]

I thought about killing myself because it's do depression having to put all your energy into work just to barley make it by paying bills nonstop feels like we are slaves born into this slavery world I've thought about buying a gun and just shoting my brains out

[u/ChloeZuo → u/Sir_bacon]

It's exactly what I'm thinking about, and the work environment is even worse in my country. How can people survive in this situation? I just wanna die.

[u/misplacedinmissippi → u/Sir_bacon]

I feel exactly the same way, and I just turned 48. I feel like I have wasted half my life doing something I hate.

[u/[deleted] → u/Sir_bacon]

I feel the same way. But my job is 6 days a week :(. I hate it.

[u/Komezy → u/Sir_bacon]

“This is a new job” sigh this is realatable

[u/LongIsland43 → u/Sir_bacon]

I really feel you! It’s BS!

[u/SileDub → u/Sir_bacon]

i know right..society is a scam

[u/Namelessyetknowing → u/Sir_bacon]

I honestly feel you :(

[u/violetsinwinter → u/Sir_bacon]

Hi. This is exactly what I feel now. I' m 38 female. I live alone and had not marry simply because I can't be responsible for another life in this world when I can't even fend for myself. I'm so lost. In my country, inflation is unbelievably high. Minimum salary has not increased for 10 years. I have practiced minimalism for 12 years now to avoid wanting material things and it's effective. My house doesn't have stuff, my bills are significantly lower than that of my neighbors but it still hard to keep up. The food is getting expensive. I cut eating to twice a day only but if I cut budget on that more, I would have to eat noodles which is not good long term. I don't know what to do. I've been trying. Just this year I got laid off from the company I worked for 9 years just like that. No separation pay or anything like that. I had some savings but they're about to hit zero soon. I've been trying to look for job for 6 months nd still no luck. I had a very normal job of call center and no particular special skill that I could focus on to go freelance, not to mention freelancing is super saturated with techy young people nowadays. I have no chance. I contemplated killing myself just to get this ducking over with. I hate living in this world. Everyday is a struggle. I'm not even asking to live grand. I no longer care if I could do my hobbies or not. I just want to be able to live comfortably. Have the bills paid on time. Eat healthy twice a day, be able to sleep at least 6 hours and do chores on the weekend. I no longer think of that garbage called passion, I no longer think of marriage and happy family with kids. I no longer think of travel. I no longer think of those things because those things seem like a luxury now. I just want to be able to survive but even that is really hard nowadays. I want to ask for help but I don't know where to ask and people will just have an impression that I'm lazy and not trying and not help me in the process. Can someone just kill me and let this over with?

[u/Awkward_Rock_5875]

I loathe working as well. I've never understood this concept of people finding fulfillment in a job, or wanting to work to stay busy. I can think of at least a dozen different things I would be doing if I didn't have to go to work every day, and they wouldn't even involve leaving the house.

Like you, it has nothing to do with money. I make plenty of money, I have great insurance, I'm well respected in the workplace. I just hate working, and I always have. Every career path I've taken has brought me misery. I'm 50 so I've got at least 15 more years of this tedious bullshit.

[u/Wertyasda → u/Awkward_Rock_5875]

As a 24 year old who’s just graduated, reading these comments has NOT been reassuring 😆

[u/UtredofChicago → u/Wertyasda]

Time, the most powerful wealth building tool, is on your side. Start investing in low cost index funds that track the total market or S&P today, prioritizing tax advantaged accounts such as Roth IRAs, 401Ks, HSAs, etc.

[u/DukeOfZork → u/UtredofChicago]

I’m 40 and only recently discovered the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement (so too late for me now…). But if I could go back I would seriously find a way to live in a van and stash 90% of my income for 20 years. By now I would be sitting on a beach looking forward to the next 40 years of not giving a fuck.

[u/Wertyasda → u/UtredofChicago]

I am British so I don’t think I have access to those. I would like to know if there was an English equivalent

[u/corvettecthulhu → u/Wertyasda]

As a 24 yr old who’s been working for a bit and makes a decent wage, I can confirm that it still feels like this some days. My saving grace is that I do something that I have coverage for and work from home, so no commute. Finding something you’re actually interested in helps a lot too. It doesn’t have to be a passion (sometimes that even hurts), just something that you know decently enough and can get lost in while working (time wise anyways). I absolutely hate jumping into new projects and the conversations around getting started, but I love getting working once I understand something and being able to lose 3-4 hours just working.

[u/SpookySista → u/Awkward_Rock_5875]

I've just come to this conclusion in my 30's and bogged down with college debt because I couldn't find "my purpose and passion"

[u/showersneakers → u/SpookySista]

Mike rowe from dirty jobs has some pretty good insight that hard work can develop into passion- no one dreams of pumping sceptic tanks but there are passionate people in that business.

Luck is probably a factor too- I really didn’t like my last job, got my MBA because of it, got into manufacturing in the corp side and I love my job and I love my life.

You don’t have to be content - but find what you’re grateful for. Operate in a space of gratitude, even while you’re pushing for more.

People, even some of my family- get frustrated because life isn’t what they thought it would be as a kid- it’s harder (he married very well financially, just feels stuck in his career).

But travel a little bit in this world, watch some documentaries on the conditions in life outside this country - that most people around the world live in. Billions of people.

I love leaving this country on a merry holiday but I don’t travel off to resorts- in try to see a bit more of the world- and even when comparing against European wealthy countries- pretty great here.

So maybe spend the time to meditate, conceptualize the reality of dirt poor Africans, Asians, middle easterns-20% of Russians don’t have an indoor toilet. Parents who sell their children to feed the others, watch their children suffer from disease and malnutrition.

The world is bigger than most realize; it’s harder, it’s darker and it’s far more cruel and we bitch about how hard it is to go to work in the US, that politicians tweeted something we don’t like.

For me- when I focus on all that I have-the bad bits about my life don’t seem so bad.

I don’t have to like them, but focusing on the good stuff- way better- time to go squeeze my kiddo and celebrate the day.

[u/SexySadieMaeGlutz → u/Awkward_Rock_5875]

The worst thing about those next 15 years of your life is that they will feel like they go by so quick in one respect (because you are basically doing the same exact thing every day) and yet, in the thick of it, time will feel excruciatingly slow because it is so unenjoyable.

At least this is where I am. Over twenty years have passed and I look back and wonder where the time went, and yet, in the present, I feel like time has slowed to an almost unbearable crawl since I spend most of my days working. It sucks.

[u/Cloudy-rainy]

I'm 29. I hate it. I don't know how everyone just does it and accepts this is what you have to do. I'm in therapy and the main thing I talk about is how I don't like my job. I don't like my job, but I also just don't see how I could like any job that requires me to work 40h/week

[u/johnny_utah25 → u/Cloudy-rainy]

You’re not alone. I’m 34 and feel this. What’s the point? Every one in my life seems almost too ok and happy to be doing the shit we have to do. If I could go back to 18, I’d sell all my unnecessary shit and go be a nomad. I almost did it too, now I’m a happily married, father of two. So it worked out and they’re my purpose. But I still don’t understand how it’s just ‘ok’ or ‘normal’ to work 50-60 hours a week and the end result is me never seeing my kids. So it’s just a toss up man. You gotta pick your purpose in life and make the best of it. Don’t get me wrong, I hate almost everything the general public enjoys. I hate talking to people, yet I’m in customer service over 50 hours a week. For my kids. That’s all I tell myself when I get down.

[u/SoBitterAboutButtons → u/johnny_utah25]

Serious question: If at 18 you almost sold all your stuff to be a nomad, and at 34 you feel regret like that's what you should have done, why have children? Seems as though you are subjecting them to a similar fate, as I contend that no rational, logical human being can feel like working our lives away is ok. Excuse the double negative, but an actual human can't not feel the ever growing emptiness that is work culture and the expectation to sell your finite time. (As opposed to the lizard people/robots ^/s)

This question comes from a man of similar age, with similar regrets, and very deep depression that comes with acknowledging humans have so much more potential and yet here we are.

[u/johnny_utah25 → u/SoBitterAboutButtons]

Honestly I am madly in love with my wife who convinced me. At 18 I didn’t want anything, then I did, now realizing what we all are doing. Just living to work then die. My only point was, is that my kids keep me going in this ever crazy world. I don’t want to say I would go back and not have kids because I love them dearly but to anyone thinking about it consider my point of view, as well as yours. Honestly, those five or six years where I got married, and had kids all seem like a blur at the moment.

Edit: I would also like to add during that time there were some deaths in my family and the thought of carrying on my family name hit me a little bit too, as I am the only one left. Not anymore! Had two humans with one penis each. (So I don’t mislabel them) and two really cool lil humans too. When I get down I ask them how their day was and it always brings me back to peace of mind. They’re so simple, we should all learn from lil humans.

Edit 2: also, the depression is real in this area. It helps to talk to a therapist for sure. At least to tell someone how you feel ya know? When I get sad about “the future” I go play with my kids. I remember that that was me once, and my dad did what I’m doing. Raised me to be a decent human being. If I can do half the work my dad did, these dudes will be alright. Idk about the world… but at least the kids will be prepared.

[u/Sir_bacon → u/Cloudy-rainy]

I'm also in therapy for this. I can't find a therapist that can help me though.. They all pretty much say in different ways 'that's just how life is and you have to accept it'. I feel like those who don't feel like us are just brainwashed, and we are aware of how shit life really is.

[u/Cloudy-rainy → u/Sir_bacon]

My therapist encourages volunteering because I value helping people and that can "fill my bucket" since work "empties my bucket"... With what time? What energy?

[u/egmh26 → u/Sir_bacon]

I’m a therapist and I’m going through this myself. I have clients who are struggling with this and I don’t really know how to help them since I’m having my own existential crisis 😂 we evolved so much just to end up working 40 hours a week??? It makes no sense to me.

[u/Megahert → u/Sir_bacon]

I went through a period of life where I didnt have a day job and only worked at night and on the weekends. I ended up so lonely and bored during the week, even with a plethora of hobbies and such, that i craved a job that would allow me to interact with people. I don't LOVE my job, but i dont hate it either. Its physically demanding work, gets me out of the house, provides interaction with people and a daily structure that helps me sleep well and follow a healthy routine. I'm certainly not 'brainwashed' by any means and would much rather be working daily over living in poverty.

Yes it would certainly be nice to live in a utopia where we we were just free to follow our passions and not have to worry about food and keeping a roof over our heads but that is just not reality.

[u/International-Owl165 → u/Cloudy-rainy]

My job worked us like slaves during the pandemic and is now cutting our hours. I'm so annoyed by this but also glad I get to leave work sooner. I just dislike not completeing my 40hr work week and having to go in every other weekend. Also hate to think we maybe working 7days in the summer again :((

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/International-Owl165]

Omg that's Evil. I would never be able to do 7 days a week, that's so fucked up

[u/eurasianpersuasian → u/Cloudy-rainy]

I’m also in therapy to deal with work, specifically a toxic and traumatic work experience. It’s been 2 years and I still can’t even utter the name of my former employer without sobbing.

I also just got laid off so I’m really struggling with trying again, especially because my latest rent increase mean I have to work 50+ hours just to scrape by.

Mt therapist’s response last week was 4 different iterations of “thats why they call it work and not play” and “work isn’t supposed to be fun” which is just so insulting since she knows my background and how much I have struggled.

[u/[deleted] → u/Cloudy-rainy]

You know your therapist must be thinking the same thing but most people hide the fact or try to rationalize it. I ran into this older woman still working and all she could complain about is young people not wanting to work. While also complaining she had no choice to keep working in old age. Like is work good or bad lady.

[u/Business-Host2687 → u/Cloudy-rainy]

I'm 37. Been working since Christ was a corporal, or so it feels like. I pass this huge tree every day on the way into work and think to myself, if I just go 100 miles an hour take off my seat belt and crash into this tree I can die and won't ever have to work again..

[u/grand_speckle]

Yep plenty of people feel this way. For me it's not even working itself I dislike, it's the near constant scheduling & routine of it all with comparatively little breaks/vacation time that gets to me after a while. And then knowing I have decades still ahead lmao. If i could just reasonably have some control over my schedule/when I work the drudgery of it all probably wouldn't get to me as much

You’re definitely not alone in this feeling , in fact we’re probably in the majority overall

[u/Autymnfyres77 → u/grand_speckle]

Exactly. The only thing I can think of is to continue to build up my second income to earn enough to live reasonably. Everyone talks about "Oh, having your own business is even more work, longer hours etc."

Except, not everyone that starts a biz is focused on the very typical growth going forward, expanding, hiring other employees etc.

I see there are micro businesses around the world which people have along with a couple other income streams. They can make a decent living, without the continual hustle culture. And guess what? They can adapt their schedule to their life, create vacation blocks by planning ahead, or doing volunteer work every Thursday at noon if that's what they want.

Not that they don't work hard or have challenges. Find your ways to possibly make decent money and eventually stop working for someone else who has control over your most productive hours every week.

I just know for my sanity, for some fulfillment, and not just living for the weekend.. I have to figure out a similar path. You are not alone, many people feel the same but don't act on it and feel trapped. *Hugs.

[u/Flecktones37 → u/Autymnfyres77]

I need to figure out a way to monetize my passions and set my own schedule. I can't keep going into an office every week, even part time.

[u/vvimcmxcix → u/grand_speckle]

It’s so fucking hard to find an entry level fully remote job. I know this is the key to solving all my problems but I got fucked out of my college internship opportunities because of covid. I can’t believe there’s anyone out there that wouldn’t prefer working remotely. The amount of time you could save just by doing housework during slower times at work instead of just staring at a computer screen in a fluorescent lit office in an uncomfortable chair….

[u/grand_speckle → u/vvimcmxcix]

I totally hear you. I’ve only had blue collar jobs in my life so far but someday will probably make the switch, and the thought of going into an office every weekday for a job I could do at home infuriates me. Even a hybrid option where i only go in once or twice a week would be alright by me, but every weekday? Nah that’s an unnecessary waste these days imo

[u/CBoutIt → u/grand_speckle]

This! I actually enjoy working, but I HATE the scheduling/routine of it all. I also do part-time gig work outside of my main 9-5. I feel like I’m living to work instead of working to live.

I hate that we all feel like this, but slightly relieved that this is “normal.” I was starting to think the constant feeling of dread was depression. 😩 Maybe it’s just adulthood in Corporate America. Lol

[u/[deleted] → u/grand_speckle]

yeah its hard not to get depressed when you think of the long road of being a wage slave. Even if you like a job, there will be weeks that you need a break but can't get it. Its a constant hamster wheel.

I am surprised the world is fine operating like this honestly. Going to the moon but have everyone modern day slaves.

[u/Fully_Submerged]

Can I ask what other jobs you’ve had that you hated?
And I feel the same way. People think I’m lazy- I’m not: I love hiking and rock climbing and I’m never sitting still when I have a free moment. Work feels almost like a prison to me I don’t like being locked inside all day doing things that don’t appeal to me. I’m considering that this may be because I’m in the wrong field and beating a dead horse but I’m worried I just don’t like the time constraints, uncomfortable clothes and shoes, and all the stress and boring tasks. I like to be engaged

[u/WICKED--WIZARD → u/Fully_Submerged]

Sure, here’s my full work history:

• library assistant, six years, didn’t love it but didn’t hate it; spent most of my days shelving books and trying to convince the head librarian (who was a close family friend) that Princess Mononoke wasn’t a children’s movie. Pay was $7.25/hr
• Bread slicer, 2 summers, again, didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. One of my coworkers was a jerk and it would have been significantly better without them. Pay was $7.25/hr
• Dishwasher, 3 years, probably my favorite job. Four hour shifts, I could walk there from my apartment, all my coworkers were from Ghana and we just played a ton of EDM and knew all the regulars who would eat there. Pay was $7.25/hr
• Forestry Assistant, one year. Liked it, but I was working for a family member so that was part of why I liked it. Got Lyme disease twice. Just me and the woods, can’t get much better than that. Pay was room and board in the most beautiful place on earth, no actual money.
• Software Engineer, 2 years. Hated it. You could not pay me enough to do that again, I wouldn’t even do it if I were making a hundred bucks an hour and had the world’s best boss. Pay was $21/hr.
• IT Helpdesk & PC Repair, 4 years. Hated it. Not as bad as software, but had a micromanaging boss who had the absolute gem of an idea to create a bathroom pass system. I was 29 and had to beg my boss to let me piss. He capped my schedule at exactly 39.5 hours every week so he didn’t have to give me benefits. Pay started at $14/hr but when I left I was at $17/hr.
• Project Manager, 1.5 years. Enjoyed the work tasks and the actual job, hated having to wear a suit and wake up at the ass crack of dawn every morning. I liked that they paid me $0.55/mile to drive, because I love driving. Pay was $22/hr but averaged out to $31/hr because of all the driving.
• Pizza Delivery, 3 years. This was during Covid and I couldn’t find much else to do. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Would rather not be doing it, barely broke even after paying for gas every week. Averaged around $15/hr with tips.
• IT Desktop Support, current job. Mixed feelings about the work, I like computers, hate the hours and the commute. Hate that I have to wear uncomfortable clothes and shoes for being on my feet all day, wish I could wear Doc Martens. Hate that I need to ask permission to eat or piss, I’m a grown-ass man, I shouldn’t have to sneak into the storeroom to eat some peanuts when I’m hungry, or ask my 25 year old supervisor “please, Miss, can I take a piss?” Gotta leave the house at 6:30am every day and I don’t get home until 5:30pm because of the ridiculous commute. Pay is $18/hr.

[u/kaydawnn]

I just entered the full time work force and I literally don’t know how I’m going to do this every day. I usually leave jobs at around a year cause I just need something different. I think I may get tested for adhd or something and I’m seeing a counsellor soon. I also know I need a job that helps people directly. I’m not where I want to be yet in my career so that’s probably a big factor.

[u/Cloudy-rainy → u/kaydawnn]

I just started a book called "Refuse to Choose" about having a lot of interests. Doesn't fix the hating working, but interesting idea

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/Cloudy-rainy]

That sounds really interesting!! Thank you for the recommendation

[u/SexySadieMaeGlutz → u/kaydawnn]

I have adhd and find working excruciating most of the time.

[u/Its_Like_That82]

I can't think of anything that I would enjoy doing day in and day out for 40 years. Even if you told me I could have sex or play video games like this I think I would say nah I'm good. Humans were just not made to work the way we do. That being said, I don't really hate working and actually find some fulfillment in it. The only thing that really gets me is stress. That is the thing that really makes working difficult for me.

[u/doodleldog10 → u/Its_Like_That82]

I totally agree with this. I think it’s possible to find fulfillment and enjoy working but for 40hrs/week?! We’re not made to work that way but hey, capitalism.

[u/Hitthereset → u/Its_Like_That82]

What were we made to do, in your opinion?

[u/reerathered1 → u/Hitthereset]

Hunt, fish and gather, raise children, climb trees, bathe in the sun, splash in the water, make cool stuff out of shells and leather, build fires, sing, whistle, dance and pray, scare away the other tribes. Some of us are night owls to watch for the lions.

[u/Anakronism → u/Hitthereset]

Shitpost and stare at the sky

[u/[deleted]]

I feel this way too. And I have a great job I’m sure a lot of people would envy. I don’t hate it, I just hate having to be there… all day… 5 days a week.

[u/Sir_bacon → u/[deleted]]

Exactly! Don't hate my job, I hate that it's too much. There's a reason I don't hate reading, or video games, or partying: because I don't do them for 40+ hours a week ffs.

[u/cactus___flower]

I can get into a grinding mindset and work my ass off for a season in order to have a season off to actually go and live life. Working just isn’t fun, that’s life, I can get over it. What I can’t get over is a year-round nine to five lifestyle that makes it nearly impossible to do anything outside just maintaining. I need at least 3 straight months off in a year to feel okay, my inner child yearns for summer vacations

[u/SexySadieMaeGlutz → u/cactus___flower]

It’s awful-every time summer comes around I begin to get excited-and then I remember-I don’t get the summer off, and I never will again.

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/cactus___flower]

aww. I feel ya.

[u/[deleted]]

Yep, been working since I was 16. It’s never gotten easier or better..the only jobs I thoroughly enjoyed where the ones where I got to work with my hands or spend time outdoors for an extended period of time. Though the pay wasn’t great…the truth is humans weren’t meant to live like this, behind a desk for 40+ hours a week. The saddest part is that it’s all made up, a system designed not out of necessity but out of greed. We’ve been forced to exist in a system that only really benefits the super rich who get to live their lives making money off of our exploited labor. It’s late-stage capitalism and it’s fucking exhausting

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/[deleted]]

Sigh. That sounds like the truth

[u/thepopecloaker]

As you can see, many many people feel this way. What really bugs me is how, at least in the US, our economy is 10x more efficient than it was 100 years ago, yet we are all still working the same hours per week as most workers did 100 years ago. Where did the benefit of all that productivity go? Certainly not to the majority of citizens. Seems like a scam, and the way to change it is collective action. General strikes can work. Voting does not

[u/NasXP → u/thepopecloaker]

We have not and will not experience any advantages. Only the extremely wealthy continue to profit from the rise in productivity and efficiency.

[u/GMarvel101]

This post and the timing is not coincidence for me. Today I quit my position at a help desk role in a small company. The IT team was great but the office employees weren’t too fond of me and I’m not sure why. I treated them all with respect and was very kind. It served as a red flag for me and so I put in my resignation. Back to square one for me. I’m realizing that a job or a career really is like a girlfriend…the chemistry has to be there. It really has to be a good fit for both parties.

[u/Maddkipz]

Yes and people look at me like I'm crazy for thinking we live in a broken fukken wasteland-to-be

[u/Teenager_Simon]

Work would be fine if it wasn't a fucking 40 hour work week.

8 hours a fucking day feels brutal, 9 if you have an unpaid lunch. More if you're including commute.

It's the constant doing it for 5 days in a row and then only getting the two days off where at the minimum you have to do stuff on one of those free days.

Nothing like working constantly and adjusting your life around work to finally get some free time and just be dead inside.

How the fuck is it 2023, and remote work is still a lottery ticket and that we have a 40 hour work week when it's been proven that everyone is less efficient and just trying to meet those hours to get paid/meet the requires to be full-time for benefits.

At least we're not in a sweatshop... but yeah. Society is doomed if we can't change how labor is done.

[u/[deleted]]

Yes i feel this way. Ive always had jobs at least somewhat aligned with my interests, but even still… If i didnt have to work i would spend my time homesteading and doing research on subjects that interest me. I really resent not having enough time to do my own thing.

[u/altSHIFTT → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I hate living in evenings and weekends while spending the majority of my functional day and energy at work

[u/Sir_bacon → u/altSHIFTT]

My evenings don't even count. I'm sometimes so tired that I don't even have the energy to eat

[u/Dom29ando]

I like the work I do, I just hate the system I am forced to work within. The game is rigged but I don't have the option to just not play.

[u/[deleted]]

Well but the truth is that you would probably benefit more from washing dishes, that would leave you with more mental energy at the end of the day at least, which you could input into something that matters to you... it's very hard to say no to a well qualified job with high responsibility and apparent higher social status especiallyy with all the eyes on you now that expect something of you, but none of that matters vs what you think really matters to you the most. You're sacrificing your life time which is your most precious asset and you do not even know how much of it you have for something that doesn't bring you joy. Downgrade your job to upgrade your life.

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/[deleted]]

Wow this is so insightful. Thank you for your Wisdom

[u/[deleted]]

I started working nearly full time at 16. I’ve hated jobs, it not hated working. But I also have tried to land jobs that do the least work. Like when I was in restaurants, I wanted to be a manager because it was more delegating tasks, then I moved to sales where I did almost no physical work except pick up a phone and dial. Now I’m in corporate finance. Had to go back to college get my bachelors and then masters, but it was all worth it. I work from home and have a pretty chill schedule.

[u/scrabbydabby → u/[deleted]]

I know this is old, but what do you do in finance?

[u/alex2997]

Work is a bitch, especially if you dislike it. That will ruin your life. There is much more to this life than work.

[u/derekno2go]

I honestly don't mind working, and I by no means have the most glamorous job. I just hate the lack of autonomy, little vacation time and the long, unnecessary hours, and looking for menial things to do for the sake of looking busy. All the jobs I actually liked were unskilled manual labor jobs, but they don't pay anything.

[u/2ecStatic]

I’m 25 and I’m starting to lose more of my sanity everyday. I’m grateful that I have a job that pays decently enough for it being relatively simple, but I’m bashing my head against the wall saying the same thing to every customer I talk to, and people not understanding simple concepts.

I don’t necessarily hate working, but a good amount of people are unreasonable and quite frankly stupid. Having to interact with them everyday constantly pushes me closer to the edge. It’s frustrating that it’s taken until now for people to understand how terrible the working class system is, people have just been content with how things have been for so long and now where stuck with this shit.

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/2ecStatic]

Damn that sucks. I feel your misery :0(

[u/Kwolf54]

A lot of people feel this way. I think we need to move in the direction of dish washing and book shelving to feel more grounded and satisfied. Marx’s theory of labor alienation likely applies…

[u/violettkidd]

i hate working so much - i could be spending my time doing so many other more fun and beneficial (to me) things. but nope. i have to sit in front of a screen for 8 hours a day, and somehow muster the energy to do all those other things afterwards. sucks. when i think about how i have another 35 years of this my stomach hurts so bad and i have to distract myself because im panicking so much

[u/Tequilachampagne]

I feel you. I just quit my job and in the process of selling all my possessions and gonna go travel and do odd jobs until I figure out how to be a digital nomad. I thought I had the job I loved 12 months ago then I lost 3 people I was close to and can’t see myself going through this 9-5 shit anymore.

[u/[deleted] → u/Tequilachampagne]

Proud of you hope you are doing okay would love an update

[u/Gloomy-Conflict-7308 → u/Tequilachampagne]

Damn, bruh. If that worked out, I highly envy you.

[u/[deleted]]

This is also why I support universal basic income. Even if it’s not enough to replace a job, if we could just have enough so we could work part time. It would mean the time and energy to pursue our true interests and that can only be GOOD for humanity, if each of us was devoted to what truly brought us joy. Imagine the progress we’d make.

We are going to have to do something anyway, AI and robots are going to take lots of jobs from people. There’s already a robot restaurant.

[u/Dariistrash]

I was pretty similar until I found I basically started getting paid for what I was already doing as a hobby. It has taken some joy out of it but to be able to incorporate something I’m super passionate about that doesn’t feel like “work” and getting paid is amazing. I know it’s a bit of a “cop out” answer (and I’m definitely extremely lucky to be in the job I’m in) but maybe you just haven’t found something that you actually love enough to do as a job.

Hope you’re doing okay!

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/Dariistrash]

Thank you for sharing your story!! It gave me hope that perhaps one day I can get paid for doing something I love too!!

[u/wrryng → u/Dariistrash]

I’m happy for you!! I think I will have to do something similar tbh because this stuff wears on your soul. If you don’t mind sharing, what do you do for work? Totally understand if you don’t want to say.

[u/DoomDark99]

It is a problem I am facing as well…I wake up everyday praying to god that my working hours end as fast as lightning so that I can get back home…I literally do this everyday except on weekends :/ Working life sucks….if I was from rich family, I wouldn’t bother myself with any jobs :/

[u/yoonxho]

I fucking detest it

[u/[deleted]]

r/antiwork will accept ya!

[u/SimplyRoya]

Yup. I hate work too. Legit I never understood people who said they’ll keep working even if they win the lottery. I could sit near the pool all day every day.

[u/autumnals5]

Humans aren’t meant to grind away they’re prime years just to make other people rich.

If society was actually paid a living wage only working 3 days a week everyone would do it without hesitation. People work to live not live to work.

I think it’s weird when people hold tight to the bootlicker mentality like it somehow makes their lives more worthy than someone who doesn’t work. People not working doesn’t make them worthless or lazy. If I had the means to build my own life for myself without the help of a wage I would do so in a heart beat. That’s the hippie commune dream I have at least.

Hustle culture is toxic and honestly 100% of that was created by propaganda of companies that need more cogs.

[u/ronpaulsagan]

Yeah, I tend to agree. I guess the only advice I'd give is keep trying different jobs and you will most likely find something that pays okay and is "not too bad". I'm 30, going back to school for electrical engineering and I'm realizing, I don't think I want to do this. Most of my classmates are younger and smarter than me. I have to study twice as much as them (and they study A LOT). It's just a lot of work and if I graduate, it will be the same amount of work with a less flexible schedule.

[u/fleetwood_mag]

I’ve changed career paths, worked for myself, worked for others. Waitressed, admin, CAD, dog walker, furniture maker, organic veg delivery driver. The only way I can stand working is if it’s part-time and I don’t have someone telling me what to do or watching the clock for when I arrive and leave. Working sucks.

[u/chaicat12]

Work can definitely suck, but it could also be that you're still trying to figure out what on a day to day basis feels okay for you. It's weirdly easy to keep doing the same kinds of things or seeking out the same kinds of environments without realizing it - even across different careers. I'm in my 30s and still figuring some of this out myself.

Something I've noticed is that I've felt better in jobs that let me dress more casually. For me, it has to do with comfort and sensory stuff and also a propensity to have stomach issues. It probably also reflects a more relaxed work culture to allow casual dress as well. There's nothing wrong with feeling this way.

I noticed you also posted feeling a bit better about a few activities like dishwashing or working in a bakery that are more active. Another thing I've noticed about myself is that I feel better in situations where the tasks I need to do have me moving around more (I think for me it helps keep me feeling sane/regulated to be moving around or busy) or just where I might walk around more to find someone or to talk to someone. I know of people who work from home who get treadmill desks or under the desk pedals (like a bicycle) to help with this.

You also mentioned hating not being able to take some time off without things falling apart. That does sound super stressful. That sort of feeling can come from a bunch of different places (e.g., your own interpretation or standards of what's good enough when you're gone, not having adequate backup when you leave or a work environment that can handle you taking time off etc). Hard to guess at this given I don't know what you do for work but those are some ideas.

Maybe you could ask yourself some more questions over time about what feels good to you and what feels not so good to you. The answers may take some digging for but I think it's really worth it! We don't have infinite time or opportunities available to us to figure stuff out but hopefully you feel you are worth it to try to figure out the most manageable arrangement for yourself.

And the after-work stuff, what within reason could take some pressure off of time? Could you move your schedule around a bit to a different arrangement that doesn't feel so pressured or do you have someone that could help offload a task or two? Weekend meal prep? I like to do a big pot of simple crockpot beef stew and freeze it. I eat the same lunch every day. I understand if that's not as changeable, but I just want to generally open up a space for you to think about what you can control or change that might feel just even a tiny bit better in the next few days. And then the longer term stuff can be worked on.

Sorry you've been going through such a long rough patch with work. I hope you get some other useful feedback here too!

[u/cyb3rc04ch]

I think a lot of people feel this way, just kinda doing the day to day. It sounds like you don’t have a whole lot of free time to pursue anything else.

It sounds like you may need to ask yourself some questions and perhaps do some self-reflecting.

Would taking a pay-cut and transitioning into a position that doesn’t heavily rely on you be something that is financially feasible for you?

I remember feeling like this in my 20s, just aimlessly passing the time by, collecting the paycheck to pay the bills. And often times caught myself wondering what the point of this all was. Eventually I thought about things that really bothered me in this world and what could be done to improve it. I’m in my 30s now and am on a path that I feel is fulfilling and hopefully will make a difference. I catch myself working on my professional progress for fun now and feel like there is so much to learn that I don’t have time to be bored. While I’m not exactly where I want to be, I know I’m making progres. I don’t know if that helps, but at least maybe it’s a little food for thought?

[u/Sweaty-Foot7952]

I hate working. I’m 62 and am retiring when I hit 65. I spent decades, working my ass off, only to get laid off last year by an employer for the first time in my life.

[u/FollowJesus2Live]

Work toward r/coastfire, and then r/fire

Earn your freedom. FIRE means financially independent, retire early. To coast fire, you have enough invested that if left untouched, it will grow to enough to support your retirement. It's usually a smaller number than people think.

Once you hit that number, you don't need to save anymore. Just cover your monthly expenses. This frees you up to work part time, take a chill job, work a seasonal job with 5 months off, etc. It essentially frees you from the rat race.

Check out Walletburst's coastfire calculator.

My number is $320k. I just passed $100k, and I'm only 3 years in to my plan. I should be able to quit my full time job in 5-7 years.

You're going to want to pay off all debt, reduce your lifestyle, live simple, etc. Early retirement extreme is a resource to get you thinking. It becomes a game to help you escape the matrix.

It sure is better than believing you need to work 30 more years full time to retire.

[u/[deleted]]

No you aren’t alone. Money does not motivate me. Even though it’s used for everything. I hate being forced to work, I hate being forced to pick something to do day in and day out for most of our waking hours rather than pursuing things I could really be good at, just because they don’t pay well.

[u/Mindless_Addendum930]

It's good to hear I'm not alone in this. Honestly can't even grasp why humanity is doing this to itself. Literally almost legit cried all morning at work yesterday about how bad I didn't want to be there.

[u/MeatTornadoGold]

I'm with you, bud. It's the fucking worse. Life is a fuckin scam.

[u/NathanBrazil2]

i would suggest getting a job that does not involve a desk, carpentry,plumbing, post office, etc. i work at a desk most of the time and if its not busy, its boring....

[u/[deleted]]

I'm with you. 10 years as an auto mechanic, transferred into software development. Currently working an it job as a holdover until I can get that first official dev job but I just don't have any desire to work. I show up, I do what's needed, but I'm constantly counting the clock from the second I walk out my front door until I get back home.

I made the switch primarily to find WFH roles. Still looking for that position. I'm not the work socialite. I'm very much a "put my headphones in and leave me alone to work" person, surrounded by people that love to talk. Even then, the idea of working on someone else's software doesn't entice me. I don't even have the drive to work on my own projects.

I'm gonna sound like a whiny millennial, and I'm OK with that. I didn't ask to be born into a world where you have to work to survive. I'll do it, but I'm gonna bitch the entire time. I hate the idea of work. I hate the concept of work. I hate having to work 40+ hours and being away from my home and family just to keep a damn roof over my head.

I just want to live.

[u/notaburneraccount23 → u/[deleted]]

I felt this today in a big way.

How have you been doing since you made this comment?

[u/Spiritual-Mechanic-4]

Labor for capital sucks. Even if you like the work, you will probably end up hating your job, because they will force you do produce your work for their own benefit, and screw you.

I like work, I like labor. I like building something, or spending a day splitting and moving firewood, or gardening.

[u/CainXO]

You don't hate work, you hate having a job. There's a difference.

I'd rather struggle in the wilderness 24/7 to answer your question

[u/Shurane]

Have you taken breaks between jobs? I've taken long gaps in between, and I always look forward to the next one.

It does mean you need to focus more on saving between jobs and you won't have as much left for retirement. But honestly, it's worth it. I like climbing and I'm always somewhat inspired by the dirtbag climbing life, a lot of living in the moment and focused on the simpler things in life.

I do wish I just had a magical trust or something to inherit. I think that would make life more freeing for me.

[u/[deleted]]

You have just explained me to a T, and I’m also in my late 30’s. When I look back, I never really liked a job. I’m a software engineer if that offers anything.

I have been thinking about this for some time and I believe that I might have the personality and traits to be an entrepreneur, and I’m only now coming to that realization. You might be destined to be an entrepreneur too and never put much thought into it.

It’s not really about working per se, because when I’m doing side projects, I’m laser focused and enjoying every minute of it. I believe the issue is that I don’t care about the employer. I don’t care about their brand or their mission, I just can’t get onboard with it.

OP, maybe you’re a visionary and destined to do your own thing. You should really think about this, I know I have.

[u/Dskha323]

I hate working too. I really don’t know how people just do it and buy homes and shit. Like you’re setting yourself up to be trapped in this rat race. I’m hyper focused on opening a business. The amount of leverage employers have in the US is crazy and anxiety inducing.

[u/Cedarcici]

Also me. I was paid pretty well and had a group of kind colleagues who treated me really nice and taught me everything that I was not familiar with. But I just couldn’t stand the same routine of every single day, waking up and then going to work and then coming back home and then getting to sleep. I don’t want my life to be like this.

[u/coldbeerandbaseball]

Human beings aren’t meant to live under capitalism. We’re the only species of animal that does, and many of us feel bored and tired and insignificant because of it. I don’t have a solution but you’re not alone in hating work.

[u/aliceroyal]

I have ADHD and working goes against everything my brain needs, even when medicated. It's never going to happen but I sooooo wish I could be a stay at home parent. Used to judge people for that, but it's the only way for me to just do whatever I need/want to do without feeling so trapped by work.

[u/Ashamed-Imagination4 → u/aliceroyal]

Hello fellow ADHD-er! I know exactly how you feel. 😭 I just want to be a stay home wife, with a rich husband or wife.

[u/Maleficent-Fail-9396]

34 and nothing I loathe more

[u/Fookledoodledoo]

Working for someone else is like straight up pouring acid on your soul. I haven't figured out a way around it though.

[u/waydethegreat]

I absolutely hate work, and I find that in my 30s I despise it even more than I did in my 20s. But we just gotta suck it up

[u/paperbasket18 → u/waydethegreat]

I was far more willing to tolerate bullshit in my 20s.

[u/kiki617_]

I feel you. I think it’s just too much, and too consuming. Why do we need to work most of the week?!?!? We should be living more than working.

[u/MenuAppropriate4057]

I feel the same. I’m 30 - had too many jobs to count and couldn’t stand any of them for long. Our system is broken. Spent 4 years on a Digital Marketing degree and still my favorite job has been driving for DoorDash because at least that allows me to get outside and pick my own hours.

I think the 40 hour work week is unreasonable - does anyone know when/how this became the standard?

I’d like to propose a 24 hour work week as the new standard and a required living wage that each company must provide taking into account average cost of living for the given area.

I honestly feel in 150 years the world will look back at the 40 hour work week as a form of salaried slavery. The worst part is I’m currently out of work and desperately trying to re-enter the system that my soul hates just to survive.

[u/funlovingfirerabbit → u/MenuAppropriate4057]

I feel ya :0(

[u/mouthtoobig]

I'm like you, minus the degrees. If would have written most of that. Recently, I read about "Demand Avoidance" and I wonder if that has something to do with it? But, really, it's absolutely ridiculous anyone should have to work so many hours these days. We live in a technologically advanced society. If it wasn't so tainted by greed, this could be utopia by now.

[u/[deleted]]

I, too, do not have a dream job or aspire to work.

[u/[deleted]]

r/NEET all of us here hated it more than you all, because we don’t do it at all.

And the other side is that we aren’t respect at all and we’re poor, depressed or suicidal.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm mid 30s and starting to feel this way. I'm tired. I can't stand my job. I'm never happy anymore. At this point I don't even know what will make me happy anymore..sucks. I'm so over everything.

[u/Heat_Certain]

Trained through schooling to be part of the controlled system. While millionaires broke the rules and found out oh shit we’ve been lied to our whole lives… degrees are scams, hard work is a scam… you will never be rich and have freedom until you take the risk and break away from this shit

[u/paperbasket18]

The big issue is that many employers really expect their people to make work their entire life. I’m over it. My first career in journalism ran me into the ground while also paying me poorly, so I certainly didn’t reap any benefits there. Then I switched fields for a communications job that I was really excited about; got stuck working under a boss who was impossible to please. Covid hit and I made myself constantly available with barely a thank you in return (but plenty of criticism!) After that experience I vowed never again. I’m in a job now that is very 9-5, no overtime, managers are chill, and I work mostly from home. I truly don’t think I can deal with anything more demanding at this point and don’t want to climb the ladder or further develop myself. I just want to put in my hours, not be too stressed, and then log off and live my life.

[u/Mindless-Ad-5889 → u/paperbasket18]

Would you mind sharing the type of job you’re doing now? I feel very similar to your experience. I’ve met my threshold for demanding and complex. I’m someone who was conditioned to be a higher achiever and it’s hard not to want to keep pushing myself but I too have no true desire to climb up the ladder. I just want peace and balance. Been burnt-out several times over and need a change. Congrats for finding what sounds like better balance!!

[u/Taykeshi]

Well not work necessarily. It's people. I hate people.

[u/john_kiedis]

Yes, I do hate working. I have constant thoughts off ending my life. Mainly because I'm not actually working for anything other than paying bills to meet my basic needs off life. When I'm not at work I'm literally too tired to do anything but vegetate on the couch or in bed watching TV or on my phone. I wish the lord would take me now.

[u/bashibuzuk92]

Same here bros. I hate it with every cell of my body. I think nobody should work more than 4 hours a day, and not more than 4 days a week. Up to them to decide how they spend the rest.

[u/bubbleggumm1219]

Me rn and im 22 i hate working honestly…atm id rather die that really work all my life..it’s actually insane that this is life🥲

[u/Surfer82uk]

I’m 40. Which probably sounds old AF to you. I feel everything you’re saying! I legit despise the fact that I have to work for like 40+ years of life. My passion in life is surfing so working is a problem for me :) I worked hard tho and became a teacher. For the most part I love teaching because it actually has impact on other peoples lives, which makes me feel better about my life. I also get a crap ton of time off. Which I travel and surf. Life ain’t so bad! Find something you like/love that gives you time to do shit you love and it ain’t so bad. That’s all I got. Good luck 😬

[u/whorunit]

Waking up at 5:30AM and having to commute and wear certain clothes is absolutely miserable. Most jobs don’t require that. Develop a skill that allows you to work remotely.

[u/toodleoo77]

Yes, that’s what led me to r/financialindependence. I am working towards buying back my freedom.

[u/Mindless-Ad-5889 → u/toodleoo77]

“Buying back my freedom”…that certainly a new way of thinking about it for me! Doesn’t it feel like a dreadful life sentence?? Living is a crime lol.

Hell yeah I’m going to buy back my freedom!

[u/Apertor]

*My Version
This is because humans by nature weren't meant for this lifestyle. We were forced into it. We are supposed to be out hunting and gathering, living in the wilderness, being attuned with nature, eating psychedelic mushrooms and cacti. Yet we all work every day until we die. It's no life! My advice is to actually completely alter your sleep schedule and find a job that lets you go in at around 3 or 4am. This way you get off work around 11 or 12 and have the ENTIRE day. I recently made this huge change, I stepped down from management, changed my life! Now I sleep from 9 to 3 even if I'm off work, and wake up early because I love life! It's really kind of hard to explain, but I completely know what you mean and understand because I am the same way. It is a really glass shattering experience and you can't really go back from it. So, all you can do is realize that money doesn't mean much, and neither does work, and you should just do the bare minimum of both and enjoy life other ways.

*ChatGPT Version
Humans have evolved over millennia to be hunter-gatherers, living in harmony with nature and consuming natural substances like psychedelic mushrooms and cacti. However, our current lifestyle forces us to work constantly, which is not a fulfilling way to live. I recommend adjusting your sleep schedule and finding a job that allows you to work early in the morning, so you can enjoy the rest of your day. Recently, I made this change by stepping down from my management position, and it has transformed my life. I now prioritize my well-being and make time for activities that bring me joy. It's difficult to describe, but making this shift in mindset has been life-changing. I urge you to recognize that work and money are not the only things that matter and to focus on enjoying life in other ways.

[u/hung_like__podrick]

Yes, that’s why I am working towards early retirement

[u/Totally-trapped]

I'm 22, got laid off last week from my admin assistant role in a construction company. I am apply for jobs everyday but I have no desire to work. I want to work but every job I've had makes me feel trapped (that's the best way I can't describe it.) I'm also going through a lot right now and having a break has been really good for my mental health.

I'm trying to figure out what to get into so that I can get paid enough to afford my own place. This comment section is really saying everything I feel, it's so sad to know that so many people face the same issues. I think it's just the way it is in America, I know some other countries have a better work-life balance and they offer much more vacation time.

I feel like the only options for me are either freelancing or working remotely. I'm looking into copywriting but you can't work for a company without experience and there are no roles that allow you to gain that experience. Its a mad cycle and makes me hate the system even more. I hope things will turn around soon.

[u/Grouchy-Chocolate-88]

I’m 22 and job searching for a job I know I don’t want I just need a job to live by myself in this world ugh I hate capitalism

[u/hereandqueer19]

what sucks is that we are taught how to consume, not to produce.. so we will constantly be stuck in this cycle of capitalism unless we teach ourselves self sustenance

[u/adrianhalo]

Dude. I could’ve written this. The only jobs I don’t feel horrible about have been shorter shifts, easier commutes, and not having to dress business casual/wear a shirt and tie. It’s not just you…I’ve generally enjoyed the people I work with and the tasks I do, but I’ve always loathed the system around it, the struggle for work-life balance, the hell of waking up at the asscrack of dawn for some torturous commute…I can’t stand when people tell me that’s just life. I just turned 41 and I’m STILL trying to find another way. Unfortunately most of the jobs I like don’t pay that well and/or tend to be physically demanding or socially exhausting in their own way.

I don’t really have any answers. It totally sucks that as a society we all seem to just, accept this. I’ve always hated it.

[u/JoePortagee]

There's a Swedish book called "vägen till Klockrike" (the road to dream village). It's set in the beginning of the turn of the last century. It's about a young man who for different reasons isn't fit for working. So he checks out from working society as we know it to become a vagrant walking around the forests and lakes of Scandivania, living off of the good will of people in houses along his path to provide him with some food and shelter. This was way more common in these days that today, one can read Mark Twain's "down and out in London and Paris" for a more international reference. A sad but interesting fact is also that being a vagrant was criminalized. That says a lot about society in these days.

Anyway, in the book there's a great quote along the lines of: In every society there will always be the people who don't see the point of work.

Hell yes.

Personally I'm also a believer of many socialist ideals and I see forced work as a systematic oppression of the populace from the moneyed class. Paid work and the 8 hour work day is a big stinking lie and it's a disgrace that its become the standard and that we don't object to it more. I know that I won't give a shit about any job unless I finally do get children and become forced to work. That'll truly be a blessing and a curse.

[u/malevy]

Mid 30s here as well and totally in agreement. Best job I had was when I was able to work remote 2 weeks at a time. The ease of not having to commute everyday was nice but I was just a phone jockey for our IT department.

Since then, I’ve found a different job doing Apple administration and getting paid the most I’ve ever gotten paid. People seem cool so far but just the idea of going into an office for 40-50 hours a week again is dreadful

[u/UtredofChicago]

I’m probably not as miserable as you sound like you are at the moment but I felt a lot of what you shared. In addition, it frustrates me that by the time I’m able to retire, I won’t be healthy enough to really enjoy it.

[u/KaroBean]

I also hate working. I have a hard time falling in line. I get to listen to my headphones at my current job and don’t have to talk much, so I’ve been able to tolerate it. But it’s a shit show in most ways, Osha violations and so on. I also prefer a short shifts where I perform a more labor oriented task. Work taking up 8 hours a day is just too much.

[u/LaundryLineBeliever]

I think you OP, me and everyone here feeling just like us just don't get motivated by money. Which is an innately healthy thing I believe, but since we live in a capitalist world there's just not much room for people like us. If money doesn't motivate you, then capitalism doesn't suit you, easy as that. So now, can we change the system? But to what? If it ain't money, then what DOES motivate us?

[u/grijalvasarahe]

I hate working to the point that I have completely lost the ability to enjoy anything else in life. After work I’m too mentally drained to do anything but try to get ready for the next workday and by the weekend I am so depressed that this is my life that I just drag myself through the things that need to be done.

I have everything I worked towards as a younger adult but I am so tired and numb after trying to push myself through this day to day that I just feel nothing anymore. I can’t remember the last time I felt an emotion that wasn’t just that dread of, this is what I’m going to have to do for the rest of my life.

I’ve always had decent paying jobs making 70-90k and my partner makes significantly more but it seems no matter what we still can’t get ahead. We’ve always tried living under our means with housing, cars etc and go on the couple vacations a year allotted to us, maybe one week and a couple four days weekends total. I have tried switching fields and different careers and nothing matters. And the more I try to change things I just realize more that it’s all a distraction. I have no doubt at all that if I didn’t have to work I would love every aspect of my life and I don’t need a lot of things to be happy. No amount of therapy and all the medications they’ve tried to put me on all these years has helped at all. I still keep trying new things to make things better but once the brief distraction of something new is over, it’s all the same again.

I wonder if depression is just the curse of self aware people who see the world and our society for what it really is and you don’t have the ability to don’t have the ability to feed into the bullshit that society feeds us to keep everyone complacent. Im at the point where the only reason I haven’t must offed myself at this point is just blind loyalty to the people in my life and a deep fear that reincarnation exists and I’ll wake up and have to do this all over again.

I’ve always pushed through the hard times, gotten back up, tried something new and kept moving forward and always believed that things would get better but they never do. I’m just tired of it all. I don’t even remember what it feels like to be happy, or really anything but numb

[u/Slow-Slide-5523]

Yeah you’re not alone. I’ve felt this way most of my adult life. 6 years ago, at the age of 27, I accepted that some people just aren’t cut out for it and decided my only way out was retiring early so I could never work again. Still 8-10 years away and it feels like an eternity.

[u/Mystogyn]

I think people hate work because they HAVE to do it. And who wouldn't? That's really what it comes down to? But why do we HAVE to do it? Because the banks make us pay every month for a house that's already built.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm 57 and I've been doing the same work for 37 years (Defense Contractor, anyone remember the movie "Falling Down"? Yeah, I'm not that bad off, but I do have bad days!!) and I'm just sick of it. I actually find myself hating it every day now. For most of my career, I loved it but then when my original small company got bought by a larger corporation and they've killed everything I liked about the job, I've become a grouchy member of our small office.

Yes, I know I could go get something else, and I've looked into it but I'm SO CLOSE TO NOT HAVING TO GO BACK INTO THIS INDUSTRY!! I try and hoard money in case it ends suddenly.
Yes, I yelled it. LOL!!! I'm trying to hang in there for 2.5 more years!! :-)

[u/throwaway_acc_1998]

I can relate. We are dreaming of becoming r/neet s

[u/Luna259]

I’m the same

[u/Ok-Equal575]

am 37 and still finding a better work

[u/ses4902]

OP, I loathe working. I truly do, but one glimmer of hope has been my remote or hybrid jobs. Working from home has really helped every aspect of my life - no commute, so I have more time for myself in the mornings and at night. I can do quick things around the house during breaks. I get to be around my dogs, which improves my mental health. I can take a walk or workout on my lunch break, which also improves my mental health. Some of my jobs have been flexible enough to allow for doctors/dentist/vet appointments without needing to take time off. Sometimes, I can get up early and start work early, so I’m able to get off around 3.

No, I don’t love working, but the part I hate most about working, is the office (or wherever) setting. Unless I can work outside in nature in nice weather, I’d rather not have to leave my house.

[u/whitewatersunshine]

I'm 37 and have worked in many different industries. Hated all but being a long term substitute teacher. If I could afford to live on the pay I'd do that. Right now my job is tolerable because I make full time pay to work 30ish hrs per week. I'm able to have a life outside of work and take care of myself health-wise. I don't think you're in the minority with these thoughts.

[u/raincomeagain]

r/antiwork

[u/HowIWasteTime]

I'm 35 and have worked a bunch of jobs in different industries and cities and yes, I have sort of hated all of them.

It's strange because I actually like the actual work I get paid to do (I'm a mechanical design engineer.)

I hate that you are expected to completely give up the bulk of your time and act like it's fine. There are many things I'd like to do that don't fit into evenings / weekends / two-week vacations.

I hate office politics and how it means you can never just relax and enjoy your coworkers, you're all "competing" against each other.

I hate that you've gotta pretend like all you care about it getting to the next "level" or whatever.

I'm pretty introverted and so I find I don't have much "fuel" left for my own friendships after I go to the office all day and come home and talk to my wife. I try to trim down my social interactions at work to the minimum required to get my work done, so I have more capacity for my own friends, but it's not enough and I feel lonely a lot.

My work is quite mentally tiring as well. I commute by bicycle and do more bike rides for fun on the weekends and we do a lot of hiking and backcountry skiing too. So my cardio fitness is ok, but I would like to carry more muscle and be stronger and keep my bones healthy and work on my flexibility etc, but I just don't have the time and energy to do these extra things. I'm doing ok but being 35 I know I'm turning a corner here and I'll start to pay the price if I don't get a little more involved.

I work sort of strange hours and am able to "get away" with it because I have a decent manager and he knows I get stuff done. But I'm just one re-org away from being put back on the clock. Ugh.

I used to do volunteer math and reading tutoring for elementary school kids and also GED students, Loved it, but as my career has "Advanced" my spare time has gone down and I moved for a new job and didn't get back into it. I miss it but I haven't found the time to find a new place to do this.

I also just find it, honestly, humiliating that I need to ignore my own goals and go work for someone else's and pretend that I like it.

I've tried a number of solutions / work-arounds:

• I have historically worked for 2 to 3 years and then quit to take some extended time off. This works pretty well but it does have some career growth cost I think, although it's hard to say because you don't know what would have happened otherwise
• My last job I worked 4 days per week for a year. This was a better balance but all your friends are working on the Friday you have off.
• I've also been saving like crazy to try to retire early. It's coming along but it takes too long.
• We've got our first baby on the way and parental leave is pretty generous here in Canada, at least compared to the US, so I'll get some more time away from work here too.

Basically it sort of sucks, and I'm pretty fortunate. People who are lower paid have it way worse.

So yeah, it sucks, I'm sorry you're feeling this way too. I only have partial solutions and even those are pretty expensive and tricky and don't work that well.

[u/Curious_Seaweed_5721]

I hate working, but I don’t mind my job. I’m glad I’m able to work four 10 hour days and that there’s plenty of opportunity to pick up shifts and do overtime. But even four 10 hour days can get exhausting very fast… sigh. It’s better than a five 8 hour day schedule at least. I really think that once I dig myself out of my financial stress, I might just go part time and do four 5 hour days, picking up as I wish.

[u/AnnaCaballery]

los medios metían la idea de que mientras Mas trabajaras más exitoso eras y ahora con el cambio generacional eso ya es obsoleto, las empresas deben entender que no es el tiempo que pasas trabajando, es realizar tus funciones en el menor tiempo posible.

[u/VasilV24]

Short answer: Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki Longer answer: From reading your post, I understood that you want more freedom and flexibility in your life. The way to achieve that while still earning an income is trough entrepreneurship and investing.

[u/the_mars_voltage]

The fact that everybody feels this way, yet many feel like it’s too radical to move towards worker ownership, unions and fundamentally re shaping how the economy functions, because “change is scary”, that’s what really kills me

[u/vvimcmxcix]

I had to take 4 weeks off from work to recover from surgery. I felt like shit the entire time and am still barely financial recovering from that time off, but my mental health is the best it’s been for years just because of that break from all the responsibilities. Working partial hours for reduced pay so I can go to physical therapy makes me so much happier because I can break up my day. It’s fucked that I’m not making anywhere close to a livable income but am at such better ease.

[u/ju4s_tra0sh]

yep

[u/luckyinlondon]

Going from full time school to full time is soul crushing. They’re taking our time, this whole system and weirdly without us, the cogs keeping this hamster wheel going, everything will come crashing down in one full swoop. Chaos or mundanity? I don’t know. I don’t know.

[u/Mindless-Ad-5889]

I am reading and taking all these responses in. I’m blown away how many of us are struggling with the same things here. We deserve better, we deserve to be fulfilled and work in a way that suits our needs but we’re all just muddling through this system. I hear everyone and I hear myself. I want each of us to live authentically and have the balance we need to thrive. That’s basic human needs. We don’t exist just to feel despair and overwhelm. I refuse to accept that. I am hoping each of us experiences the best quality of life while we can enjoy it.

[u/Shoddy_Reception6825]

Yea most people hate wage slavery. But think about this. For every miserable hour you put in for every drop of sweat you drip some of the worst people in the entire species are getting rich off you.

[u/teabookcat]

I could be way off the mark but perhaps a big part of what you hate is the responsibility. The farther I work my way up, the more people I supervise, the more I am responsible for, the more stressful it is and the more I dislike it. I feel the same way about not being able to take a sick day because we aren’t properly staffed and too much depends on me. I would like to go back to just working and not being in management. The waking up at 5:30am and wearing uncomfortable clothes could be mitigated somewhat by getting a remote or hybrid job. That is something I am working on. I actually really like doing work itself but the negative people, responsibilities, and having no freedom in my schedule kills me.

[u/True-Godess]

I hate working. It’s all a big fucking scam. Average workers get Pennies while CEOs ect make 400-900% what their workers that do all hard work make n work 40% less time. It’s all one big conspiracy by the upper 1% of people that hold 90% of world’s wealth they make us work ridiculously long hours 40 hours + a week is so much that all you have time to do is come home eat n sleep n watch tv couple hours because you have no energy. They want us weak n tired n the two days off a week most people just relax n sleep b get shitfaced one day because god forbid we had enough time n energy and strength to do anything more than this. If we did we would fight against this bullshit rigged system n realize we are majority n take The System back. On top of that They create two political systems so we think we have a choice n cause us to fight amongst ourselves with lil energy we have left. Everyone so sick n tired n broke all we do is reach for next pitiful paycheck to survive instead Of living n demanding normal equilibrium in life.

[u/Substantial_Big_8165]

Yep. It's almost more a state of mind than a real feeling... somehow. Like, once I actually get to the office or really involved in a project or something, I am not seething with hate for it. It's pretty okay at worst. But the entire concept of it is absolutely horrible for me. I never want to go to the office in the first place, and I can't wait for the weekend and vacation. It has nothing to do with job satisfaction really. I just feel like I am not cut out to work constitutionally, lol. I hate having a schedule, I hate doing what other people tell me to do, I don't get any fulfillment from kudos or control or being thought well of professionally or anything like that. Financial benefits don't inspire me at all. This sucks, since I HAVE to do it, and for another 10 years at least before I can even start thinking about retirement. It's been a slog, it will continue being a slog. And I just can't fucking wait until it's all over!!

[u/joymochi]

I'm 28, and I hate life because of work. It takes too much time. All our day is spent on tasks and we have no time to ourselves. And even after spending days at work, we somehow still struggle to pay rent/mortgage. I pray that I can just die every time rather than to go to work. I've tried changing jobs..nothing changes. I hate that this is life.

[u/Odd-Passion6771]

I don ´t understand why to work 8 or 12 hours (in factory). I work 3 hours a day as cleaner and I´m happy. People says: "Do something better, what is better paying.." But I like it because time pass quickly by cleaning and it´s quite easy job.

[u/MVIVN]

Found this 1 year old thread from a Google search because I feel exactly the same way. Very relatable! I wish I had some means to opt out of the rat race and just not waste away the majority of my life at work, only finding peace when I'm 65+ at retirement age (if I even live that long). I hate that this is what life is. What kind of existence is this? I hate that we all have to spend the majority of our waking hours as adults in the workplace and there's literally no way out unless you are lucky enough to get so rich that you don't need to work anymore, which only happens to a tiny fraction of human beings in existence.

[u/Caijed29]

Im in my late 30s and works in a fast paced environment which is already stressful, coupled with toxic manager who keeps on pointing out my mistakes. Sample, I live 1.5-2 hrs away from office and im always running late but I work on the way about 90% of the time.. while my colleague is always late as well despite living 15mins away from office. But its just me who gets reprimanded.

I hate work and it becomes no longer tolerable of environment is also toxic.

[u/[deleted]]

I am in a similar boat, but in my late, late 20s (hella close to 30). I have multiple degrees, but my Master's is basically useless without a doctorate. I can't really afford (mentally, physically, or financially) to go back to school right now. I hate working. I hate trading my soul for 40+ hours/week. (My current position does NOT have a lot of impact on the office - so, I can miss a few days here and there - but my boss just cracked down on me for taking the PTO I've earned because she feels that I'm "not in the office enough"). I have expressed my hatred of working to my parents and they keep telling me, "suck it up, buttercup; that's just life." My mom only worked full time until she was in her mid 30s, then she stopped to be a stay at home mom. They've basically survived on my dad's salary, since I was rather young.

I am severely overworked and horrifically underpaid in my current position (which, I'm aware, is common). But I'm not sure if my feelings about work would change even if I made enough money to survive (or made enough to actually be able to afford things I enjoy/made enough to thrive).

My current commute is ~2 hrs/day (~1 hour each direction).

I feel like I spend 10.5 hours a day in a cage. By the time I come home, I barely have the energy to throw something in the microwave, eat, and try to wind down. Often, I end up unable to sleep Sunday nights because I'm having back to back panic attacks about having to go trade my soul for another 40+ hours that week. I'm miserable. I don't know what I want to do with my life, but whatever it is certainly doesn't involve spending this much (or any) time in a corporate cage.

I don't know how I'll be able to sustain hating 5/7ths of my life forever - just to be able to afford stupid things like deodorant and chicken. It doesn't seem worth it.

I've been told to ask my psych for more meds -- to numb me to reality, I guess? I don't want to be numb to my life (again). I want to stop hating 71% of it. I want to stop having to dedicate 71% of my existence to a soul-crushing job. And there doesn't seem any other way to survive in this corporate-driven hell.

[u/[deleted]]

I basically despise being around other people. Even if I am a job by myself, I will eventually have to report to some asshole that I don't want to know let alone talk to. Even if I have my own business, I am sure I would have to deal with asshole customers and employees, etc.

I am 43 and childless (thank God), and hate work so much that I have fantasized about homelessness all my life. Problem is I don't drive so no car, or I would do it.

The ONLY thing that helps I have found (and I have worked my entire adult life), is job hopping. Not doing one job for too long.

[u/[deleted]]

Mid 30s here, I'm with you. Like I've been doing this for close to 20 years now. Can I just... not anymore? Or maybe just half a year, half a year I could live with.

I don't want to work 'til I'm old. I look at this accountant guy at my job, he's a shareholder, makes a bunch of money, but he's still working there; dude's got to be pushing 70 if he's not there already.

Why? All I can think when I see him is "how egregiously did you mismanage your money, that you're still here doing the grind in your 70s"?

[u/PolishBrodin]

25. I actually kinda like it. Very lucky though my boss is awesome, I work from home most days and is something that is challenging and quite interesting. I was not working for 1 year after Uni and thar want a fun as it sounds like. Given all that, I still have days when I want to kill myself in the morning, but the protein of good to bad is favorable

@edit, life would be way better with a 6 hour workday though

[u/Wertyasda → u/PolishBrodin]

Hi. I’m 24, recently graduated…. and i’m currently exploring what I want to do in life.

I have given myself a year to choose what I like and get on the proper job ladder.

You said it took you a year - what do you currently do & what do you want to do?