Is a bad job better than no job at all?

Marie88_2

Having worked jobs I've not liked, and also hated, I can say that I'm in a much better state of mind and health being unemployed than doing a job I hated. I've tolerated jobs I don't like which I found boring, and felt like I was wasting my life doing because it didn't stimulate me in any way and carried on doing those. But jobs that you genuinely hate take away your soul, spirit, and life, far more than being unemployed. In fact, the biggest concern about being unemployed for me is the threat of having to do another job which I hate. Once you've worked a job you genuinely hate, you realise unemployment is difficult, but it doesn't always destroy your whole life like a job which makes your health suffer can do.

Unemployment can be very frustrating, but I've never wanted to kill myself, or cried every week due to it, like I've done working jobs I hate. I thought I would regret leaving my prior role which basically made me lose interest in life, and made me very depressed, to the point I would have rather died than continuing working it, but I live by the philosophy that a job isn't worth your whole life.

People also need to realise that everyone has different sensitivity, values, and tolerance. What might be a nightmare job for one person,e.g. a factory worker with no human contact, might be the perfect job for someone who doesn't like social interaction. Furthermore, some people value their life, more than their working life. Other people may all be sensitive to things, and not by their own choice, but we must all realise that everyone is different, so the phrase 'a job is a job' couldn't be more wrong, and completely outdated. I've even not enjoyed holidays or days off during periods of doing jobs I hate, because of the pure frustration and impending doom of knowing I only have a few days before I have to work again. For many of us we work a job to enable us to live our life outside of work; so if we work a job that takes away all interest in our life outside of work, why would we continue to do it? We might as well just kill ourselves if we are just working to stay alive, without any enjoyment or spirit for life.

falko89

Marie88 wrote: »

Having worked jobs I've not liked, and also hated, I can say that I'm in a much better state of mind and health being unemployed than doing a job I hated. I've tolerated jobs I don't like which I found boring, and felt like I was wasting my life doing because it didn't stimulate me in any way and carried on doing those. But jobs that you genuinely hate take away your soul, spirit, and life, far more than being unemployed. In fact, the biggest concern about being unemployed for me is the threat of having to do another job which I hate. Once you've worked a job you genuinely hate, you realise unemployment is difficult, but it doesn't always destroy your whole life like a job which makes your health suffer can do.

Unemployment can be very frustrating, but I've never wanted to kill myself, or cried every week due to it, like I've done working jobs I hate. I thought I would regret leaving my prior role which basically made me lose interest in life, and made me very depressed, to the point I would have rather died than continuing working it, but I live by the philosophy that a job isn't worth your whole life.

People also need to realise that everyone has different sensitivity, values, and tolerance. What might be a nightmare job for one person,e.g. a factory worker with no human contact, might be the perfect job for someone who doesn't like social interaction. Furthermore, some people value their life, more than their working life. Other people may all be sensitive to things, and not by their own choice, but we must all realise that everyone is different, so the phrase 'a job is a job' couldn't be more wrong, and completely outdated. I've even not enjoyed holidays or days off during periods of doing jobs I hate, because of the pure frustration and impending doom of knowing I only have a few days before I have to work again. For many of us we work a job to enable us to live our life outside of work; so if we work a job that takes away all interest in our life outside of work, why would we continue to do it? We might as well just kill ourselves if we are just working to stay alive, without any enjoyment or spirit for life.

You've summed that up better than I ever could. I also share the same concern at the moment that i'll have to do another job I hate, to be fair I didn't hate my last job, I hated the politics and backstabbing that went on, the work side of things was fine.

ILW

Marie88 wrote: »

Having worked jobs I've not liked, and also hated, I can say that I'm in a much better state of mind and health being unemployed than doing a job I hated. I've tolerated jobs I don't like which I found boring, and felt like I was wasting my life doing because it didn't stimulate me in any way and carried on doing those. But jobs that you genuinely hate take away your soul, spirit, and life, far more than being unemployed. In fact, the biggest concern about being unemployed for me is the threat of having to do another job which I hate. Once you've worked a job you genuinely hate, you realise unemployment is difficult, but it doesn't always destroy your whole life like a job which makes your health suffer can do.

Unemployment can be very frustrating, but I've never wanted to kill myself, or cried every week due to it, like I've done working jobs I hate. I thought I would regret leaving my prior role which basically made me lose interest in life, and made me very depressed, to the point I would have rather died than continuing working it, but I live by the philosophy that a job isn't worth your whole life.

People also need to realise that everyone has different sensitivity, values, and tolerance. What might be a nightmare job for one person,e.g. a factory worker with no human contact, might be the perfect job for someone who doesn't like social interaction. Furthermore, some people value their life, more than their working life. Other people may all be sensitive to things, and not by their own choice, but we must all realise that everyone is different, so the phrase 'a job is a job' couldn't be more wrong, and completely outdated. I've even not enjoyed holidays or days off during periods of doing jobs I hate, because of the pure frustration and impending doom of knowing I only have a few days before I have to work again. For many of us we work a job to enable us to live our life outside of work; so if we work a job that takes away all interest in our life outside of work, why would we continue to do it? We might as well just kill ourselves if we are just working to stay alive, without any enjoyment or spirit for life.

I believe that it is a relatively recent thing, being able to choose not to work if you do not like what is on offer.

Whether that is good or bad is open to debate.

Amanita_2

Marie88 wrote: »

Having worked jobs I've not liked, and also hated, I can say that I'm in a much better state of mind and health being unemployed than doing a job I hated. I've tolerated jobs I don't like which I found boring, and felt like I was wasting my life doing because it didn't stimulate me in any way and carried on doing those. But jobs that you genuinely hate take away your soul, spirit, and life, far more than being unemployed. In fact, the biggest concern about being unemployed for me is the threat of having to do another job which I hate. Once you've worked a job you genuinely hate, you realise unemployment is difficult, but it doesn't always destroy your whole life like a job which makes your health suffer can do.
.

Aren't you lucky that you live in a society that takes money from hard working individuals to support those who would rather not work than take a poor job.

I would far prefer to have the luxury of not working and just live off the state ( other tax payers ). I have too much pride and self respect. I've worked in some pretty awful jobs in the past but stuck with them until I could find a better one.

ILW

Amanita wrote: »

Aren't you lucky that you live in a society that takes money from hard working individuals to support those who would rather not work than take a poor job.

I would far prefer to have the luxury of not working and just live off the state ( other tax payers ). I have too much pride and self respect. I've worked in some pretty awful jobs in the past but stuck with them until I could find a better one.

I cannot help but have sympathy for someone who is doing a job they truly hate, but then having a proportion of their wages taken off them and given to someone else who prefers to live off the state rather than do a job they dislike.

falko89

ILW wrote: »

I cannot help but have sympathy for someone who is doing a job they truly hate, but then having a proportion of their wages taken off them and given to someone else who prefers to live off the state rather than do a job they dislike.

I thats aimed at me I am not on JSA through choice, I find JSA a bit of a farse anyway, I have paid my contributions so I am funding myself, and when my redundancy comes through if it ever does its taken of me again.

ILW

falko89 wrote: »

I thats aimed at me I am not on JSA through choice, I find JSA a bit of a farse anyway, I have paid my contributions so I am funding myself, and when my redundancy comes through if it ever does its taken of me again.

Not aimed at anybody, just a general comment.

thorsoak

Do you really think that people have always "loved to work"? What about the farm labourers who would start work at dawn, dressed in layers of old coats, feet bound in cloth before being pushed into boots that did not fit properly - boots that at the end of the day would be twice as heavy, being caked in mud, and the layers of coats soaking wet? Do you think that my OH's father enjoyed going out at 13 years of age, picking up stones from flinty fields before the plough could go through - and then standing, scaring crows from the newly-son fields? He enjoyed it so much that at 15 he signed up as a boy sailer in the Royal Navy - and then spent the next 5 years in dirty, coal-fired stoking rooms. But he did it - in order to live.

I've had jobs I've hated, have come home and cried. But I've put up with them until I've found something better - in order that we could live. As did my OH. As have my children.

Any job is better than no job. If you have to take a job that is below your qualifications, you can either leave it off a CV if it would offend the sensibilities of the author/reader - but in my experience, interviewers respect the fact that it shows a good work ethic.

Sadly, it would appear that "I don't have to do it" is a common mantra.

mildred1978

falko89 wrote: »

I thats aimed at me I am not on JSA through choice, I find JSA a bit of a farse anyway, I have paid my contributions so I am funding myself, and when my redundancy comes through if it ever does its taken of me again.

You're expecting more than £30k in redundancy money?

Your contributions aren't a savings fund for you to draw on. They repay your (dubious) education, healthcare etc as well. presumably your claiming housing and council tax benefits too.

What sort of job do you class as a good job?

thorsoak

Marie88 wrote: »

Having worked jobs I've not liked, and also hated, I can say that I'm in a much better state of mind and health being unemployed than doing a job I hated. I've tolerated jobs I don't like which I found boring, and felt like I was wasting my life doing because it didn't stimulate me in any way and carried on doing those. But jobs that you genuinely hate take away your soul, spirit, and life, far more than being unemployed. In fact, the biggest concern about being unemployed for me is the threat of having to do another job which I hate. Once you've worked a job you genuinely hate, you realise unemployment is difficult, but it doesn't always destroy your whole life like a job which makes your health suffer can do.

Unemployment can be very frustrating, but I've never wanted to kill myself, or cried every week due to it, like I've done working jobs I hate. I thought I would regret leaving my prior role which basically made me lose interest in life, and made me very depressed, to the point I would have rather died than continuing working it, but I live by the philosophy that a job isn't worth your whole life.

People also need to realise that everyone has different sensitivity, values, and tolerance. What might be a nightmare job for one person,e.g. a factory worker with no human contact, might be the perfect job for someone who doesn't like social interaction. Furthermore, some people value their life, more than their working life. Other people may all be sensitive to things, and not by their own choice, but we must all realise that everyone is different,so the phrase 'a job is a job' couldn't be more wrong, and completely outdated. I've even not enjoyed holidays or days off during periods of doing jobs I hate, because of the pure frustration and impending doom of knowing I only have a few days before I have to work again. For many of us we work a job to enable us to live our life outside of work; so if we work a job that takes away all interest in our life outside of work, why would we continue to do it? We might as well just kill ourselves if we are just working to stay alive, without any enjoyment or spirit for life.

So you think that we "less-sensitive" souls should fund the lives of those who are too finely-tuned to work?