Would you stay in a job you hate because its convenient?

[Deleted User]

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Do you have an active social life away from work? Do you have strong family relationships or big family?

If not, maybe this needs to be factored in.

If you're lonely at work AND at home, well yes that could become depressing.

Do you have any hobbies that involve others in real life (not gaming etc.)?

Do you live alone/partner/parents??

I go to a fitness class twice a week and have a couple of friends there who I talk to. Then on days I don't do that I walk the dog and see some people who I know and chat with.

At weekends I sometimes see family but majority of my spare time outside of work is spent with my partner, we live together.

Savvy_Sue

Deleted_User wrote: »

bookkeeping (which I hate)

Would you like it better if you had had some training and understood what you were doing and why you were doing it? A colleague did a day release course over a year and felt much more confident as a result.

Plus it would give you a useful qualification if you decide to leave definitely.

I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed it: when I did have significant finance responsibility, I bumped into one of our Trustees (small charity) while out and about. He asked how things were going, and specifically about the finance, and I found myself practically in tears, saying "I hate it!" Until that moment I hadn't realised what it was doing to me ...

Deleted_User wrote: »

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to work with my boss (he doesn't communicate with me, seems to have taken issue with me taking leave, doesn't manage me, sends me emails expecting things to be done at the click of a finger)

And this is an opportunity to (try to) learn to manage your manager ... You say this is your first job after college, and initially it's a scary prospect, but it is a really useful skill!

Just as an example, I left a note for my boss the other day: they get in before me but don't get round to reading emails that fast. So I just said "I think you want me to do X this morning, but I can't do that AND also do Y, so please let me know which you need me to do. And I also need this piece of information as early as possible so please tell me where that file is."

When you are taking leave (presumably agreed with them in advance) you remind them a week beforehand and ask if there is anything they would like you to do before you go. Remind them if there is anything you're aware of that might need doing. And then put an out of office response on your emails and send their calls to your answerphone.

Sea_Shell wrote: »

If the job doesn't tax you mentally during the day, and you're not having to justify filling your day (autonomous) could you not enroll in a correspondence course on a subject you enjoy/are interested in and then study during the quiet periods?

Even if not an "official" course, get books from the library to expand your knowledge, on their time.

This is a very good idea!

z1a

No .

Tigsteroonie

Do you hate it, or are you just fed up of it? I'm fed up of my job but the benefits (pay, pension, holiday) make it worth sticking it out for as long as I can, hopefully until retirement.

ThemeOne

It sounds like quite a good job in many ways. You won't get the autonomy, and being able to work from home or bring the dog in when you feel like it in many jobs.

The fact you're asked to do stuff you're not qualified for should be seen as an opportunity not something to be resentful of. Maybe if you embraced these tasks more the job as a whole would seem less boring.

It does sound like your relationship with the boss could do with improving though. Is there no opportunity to have a sit down with him or her and talk things through? Was it once a better relationship?

ohreally

Life is too short to be in a job you hate, it may be a means to an end but I'd cast an eye over available alternatives, a salary reduction may not be a deal breaker for contentment.

[Deleted User]

I'd choose happiness and inner peace, even if it does come with a salary reduction.

Smodlet

I think you need to consider carefully the possibility of jumping from the frying pan into the fire, Deleted_User. I have hated almost every job I have ever had so do not say this lightly. Would you rather be lonely in your current job or have to work with people you can't stand? I know which I would choose.

It does sound as if your job has plenty of advantages. Some people would kill for the amount of freedom and autonomy you have; call centre workers, for instance. Some have to key in different codes for going to the necessary, going for a break and going for lunch... And heaven help them if they go to the khasi more than a couple of times a day unless they have a sick note; not kidding.

I think the advice to study part time is brilliant, as is that to learn more about the aspects of your job in which you lack confidence. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you find fulfillment. Could you skype or whatever it's called without getting into trouble when you get really down?

Money_maker

If this is your first job since college, you may have unrealistic expectations of what else is out there for you. The pluses are so good (some would kill for flexible hours/homeworking and how much extra will a dogwalker cost per day?) it's got to be worth speaking to your boss and trying to make the job more bearable.

trailingspouse

You have an awful lot of plus points in this job.

So I think a good first step would be to tackle the bits you hate. Why do you hate them? Is it because you don't feel confident, you make mistakes (because you don't know what you're doing), or you don't see the point? That could all be changed by getting some training. Ask (nay, insist) that the boss pays for training in, say bookkeeping - but also digital marketing, and any of the other things that are new to you. It's a perfectly reasonable request, and once you have the training under your belt will be a welcome addition to your CV as well - so you both win.


I'm assuming it's not a customer-facing role? During your 'down' time, is there anything you could be doing? Anything at all? Reading something worthwhile is an obvious one. But how about tackling the stuff that collects in the back of the cupboards, or something totally radical like painting the office walls (with the boss's permission, obviously). You could research other jobs that you think you might enjoy, and find out what qualifications are needed (and if they happen to be qualifications that you can convince your boss to pay for, so much the better...)


Most people complain that their jobs are too hectic, and they're rushed off their feet - so make the most of your relatively easy-going work time, and make it work for you.