Despising the idea of work after everything that has happened.

Barny1979

penners324 said:

The world won't permanently change. That's just nonsense 

It won't but less and less people will be working out of an office 5 days a week.

Gavin83

My employer is in the process of downsizing their office space leaving enough desks for about 20% of the staff. The position at the moment is you work from home permanently unless you’ve got a very good reason to be in the office and you have to justify it.

I obviously can’t speak for every company but lockdown has led to large scale permanent changes at mine. It also isn’t a small company either, we’re talking 10k+ employees here.

Iamdebtfree

Gavin83 said:

My employer is in the process of downsizing their office space leaving enough desks for about 20% of the staff. The position at the moment is you work from home permanently unless you’ve got a very good reason to be in the office and you have to justify it.

I obviously can’t speak for every company but lockdown has led to large scale permanent changes at mine. It also isn’t a small company either, we’re talking 10k+ employees here.

We're 70k plus global co and there's no sign of our local office opening any time soon. I so hope and pray working from home becomes the norm. Your words are music to my ears!

Iamdebtfree

Flint19 said:

Barny1979 said:

Iamdebtfree said:

Marcon said:

Iamdebtfree said:

Marcon said:

Flatulentoldgoat said:

I don’t know what’s happened, I guess after 7-8 months of this wild bumpy ride I just have become really despiteful of the idea of going back to the good ol 9-5.

I have gotten so complacent and used to waking up when I want, being able to pick up new hobbies, go for nice walks, spending time working on my mental health etc.

Going back to being a cog in the machine feels so unnatural and down right boring.

It feels more like having to drag yourself back to school after the summer holidays.

Change direction - find something you want to do and which gives you the freedom you crave. Working for yourself would be the obvious solution.

This is the advice I see on various boards given to people unhappy and stuck in their jobs. 'Find something you love doing, or start a business'. It's far far easier said than done even before taking current situation into account. 

I don't want to work, full stop.

 I've worked non stop for the last 30 years, all in one mind numbingly boring field and by god I've had enough.

There is nothing I want to do all day every day that I can get paid for which would bring me joy. Such thing simply doesn't exist for me.
At 50, this will not change. I tolerate my job because that's the only way I know how to keep myself clothed, fed and with a roof above my head, and because at my age, it's 'better the devil you know' 

Haven't got a single business focused cell in my brain - the whole concept of modern capitalism infuriates and depresses me. So no, won't be starting any own business any time soon.

Therefore suck dreading being back at the office and counting my blessings. Can't put into words how happy I would be to continue working from home indefinitely. 

The same advice pops up because for some people, it is the only realistic way to find a future they'll enjoy.

Others like you simply decide it is easier to throw in the towel and go on spending time doing something they hate. Why? 'Starting a business' needn't be some great capitalist enterprise. Many people who've been on the corporate treadmill broke away from the 9 to 5 to opt for a simpler lifestyle which might not bring the same financial rewards, but it certainly brought much greater happiness. 

If you'd like to work from home indefinitely, find a job which lets you do just that. Easy? No - but many thinks which reap worthwhile rewards aren't easy. But they are possible.

Everything's possible if you want it badly enough, within reason. Trouble is, I don't want it badly enough. I'm just tired, full of anxiety, on meds for insomnia and depression, abhor change, can't stand new people and new tasks, don't want to learn a new skill of any kind, simply can't be bothered. I've got a good thing going, a boring non rewarding but stable job with ok salary and fantastic benefits which I for now can do from home. I don't want to rock the boat. Don't have it in me. 

Apologies for hijacking the OP's thread, will shut up now. 

Think you need to speak to someone, as you sound depressed on face value.

Could be why they are on meds for insomnia and depression - but possibly the meds aren't quite having the desired effect?

Meds will only work if the person's whole environment is arranged in a way which brings peace, stability, calm, routine, 'quiet brain'. I can no longer take any kind of stress and change to me is the worst possible stress imaginable. Hence in this job since 2010 and hope and pray its my last one.

Middlestitch

Flatulentoldgoat said:

I don’t know what’s happened, I guess after 7-8 months of this wild bumpy ride I just have become really despiteful of the idea of going back to the good ol 9-5.

I have gotten so complacent and used to waking up when I want, being able to pick up new hobbies, go for nice walks, spending time working on my mental health etc.

Going back to being a cog in the machine feels so unnatural and down right boring.

It feels more like having to drag yourself back to school after the summer holidays.

What's stopping you doing something to change your situation?

Iamdebtfree

ushjr said:

Iamdebtfree said:

Flint19 said:

Barny1979 said:

Iamdebtfree said:

Marcon said:

Iamdebtfree said:

Marcon said:

Flatulentoldgoat said:

I don’t know what’s happened, I guess after 7-8 months of this wild bumpy ride I just have become really despiteful of the idea of going back to the good ol 9-5.

I have gotten so complacent and used to waking up when I want, being able to pick up new hobbies, go for nice walks, spending time working on my mental health etc.

Going back to being a cog in the machine feels so unnatural and down right boring.

It feels more like having to drag yourself back to school after the summer holidays.

Change direction - find something you want to do and which gives you the freedom you crave. Working for yourself would be the obvious solution.

This is the advice I see on various boards given to people unhappy and stuck in their jobs. 'Find something you love doing, or start a business'. It's far far easier said than done even before taking current situation into account. 

I don't want to work, full stop.

 I've worked non stop for the last 30 years, all in one mind numbingly boring field and by god I've had enough.

There is nothing I want to do all day every day that I can get paid for which would bring me joy. Such thing simply doesn't exist for me.
At 50, this will not change. I tolerate my job because that's the only way I know how to keep myself clothed, fed and with a roof above my head, and because at my age, it's 'better the devil you know' 

Haven't got a single business focused cell in my brain - the whole concept of modern capitalism infuriates and depresses me. So no, won't be starting any own business any time soon.

Therefore suck dreading being back at the office and counting my blessings. Can't put into words how happy I would be to continue working from home indefinitely. 

The same advice pops up because for some people, it is the only realistic way to find a future they'll enjoy.

Others like you simply decide it is easier to throw in the towel and go on spending time doing something they hate. Why? 'Starting a business' needn't be some great capitalist enterprise. Many people who've been on the corporate treadmill broke away from the 9 to 5 to opt for a simpler lifestyle which might not bring the same financial rewards, but it certainly brought much greater happiness. 

If you'd like to work from home indefinitely, find a job which lets you do just that. Easy? No - but many thinks which reap worthwhile rewards aren't easy. But they are possible.

Everything's possible if you want it badly enough, within reason. Trouble is, I don't want it badly enough. I'm just tired, full of anxiety, on meds for insomnia and depression, abhor change, can't stand new people and new tasks, don't want to learn a new skill of any kind, simply can't be bothered. I've got a good thing going, a boring non rewarding but stable job with ok salary and fantastic benefits which I for now can do from home. I don't want to rock the boat. Don't have it in me. 

Apologies for hijacking the OP's thread, will shut up now. 

Think you need to speak to someone, as you sound depressed on face value.

Could be why they are on meds for insomnia and depression - but possibly the meds aren't quite having the desired effect?

Meds will only work if the person's whole environment is arranged in a way which brings peace, stability, calm, routine, 'quiet brain'. I can no longer take any kind of stress and change to me is the worst possible stress imaginable. Hence in this job since 2010 and hope and pray its my last one.

I spent many years in a job I hated. This was for a big global company that has been around much longer than I have. To this very day I'm still not entirely sure what exactly I was supposed to be doing there. I never felt like I really fitted in and nobody seemed to care about anything. On the plus side, it was an easy commute, there was no dress code, if you arrived late/left early/took extended lunch breaks nobody would notice and people told me I was great at my job, whatever it was.

I thought about leaving, but always found reasons not to apply to other jobs, the commutes an extra 5 minutes, companies too small etc. I reached a point where I decided I really couldn't be bothered to move elsewhere. The hassle of filling out applications, answering stupid interview questions and pretending to be excited by my work followed by the risk of not passing my probation if I got the job didn't seem worth it. I thought I should be thankful for what I had, a stable job in a growing area of a big global business where people say I'm doing a good job, I don't have much to do and get paid an adequate salary. 

At the same time I was suffering from anxiety and depression. Aside from therapy, I tried to find enjoyable things to do outside of work to help with it, but it only helped to a point.

Then earlier this year my company announced there would be redundancies. I thought my job should be safe, I was in a growing area of the business and had been there longer than most. I was wrong, I got made redundant.

Its clear to me now that I should have left that job years ago. The stupid thing is I've actually been through some of the things I was scared of, I've had much longer commutes, I've worked at small companies, places where you have to wear shirt and tie, places where they're strict on timing. I even once took a job where I didn't pass my probation but managed to get another job the following week. None of it did me any harm, but staying put because I was afraid to change did. I feel like I've wasted a lot of my life because of it.

I appreciate we're all different, but maybe a change would do you good. But even if you choose not to change, it may get forced upon you like it did to me.

Thank you for your eloquent and thought provoking post. A lot of what you said resonated with me. I'm sorry about your redundancy..

 I'm just...old and tired and scared to make a mistake. To loose a (for now) secure thing with fantastic benefits and potential of working from home permanently when there are millions of people all over the UK losing their jobs every day. When the future is so unclear and scary.

I don't want a new job. I don't want any job to be honest. I don't want to work anymore. It's been 30 years. I just want to be home with my husband and take care of my mental health. Ain't happening any time soon, sadly.

[Deleted User]

Working only 4 days a week helps.
If you're unable to get flexible working, or are unable to afford it - especially during these times when you're unlikely to be going anywhere, you could use your holiday to book Fridays or Mondays off.

MovingForwards

[Deleted User] said:

Working only 4 days a week helps.
If you're unable to get flexible working, or are unable to afford it - especially during these times when you're unlikely to be going anywhere, you could use your holiday to book Fridays or Mondays off.

I've done that to use up holiday before, made it even worse going back to the 5 day working week.