Work is horrible

[sorrow1]

i wouldnt mind work if i didnt have to interact with people. I would probably do a much better job because i could enjoy it and i would be less stressed. I read recently a story about a guy who won a dream job managing some desert island paradise for something like six months of the year while no-one was using it and he would have the place all to himself. Everyone i knew said they would hate it because they would have no-one to talk to and it would be lonely but i was secretly thinking that it would be my dream job.
i hate my current job, the people are all horrible and its a stressful experience but after spending a long period of time unemloyed i would much rather be working. By working i have gained respect from family and friends. I used to always anger them, especially my dad by having to leech off his charity all the time. Its gets me out of the house and it feels good to have the money. Means I can afford to have experiences like travelling abroad and makes me feel better having done these things. When i was unemployed I spent a lot of time doing nothing, being lazy and being absorbed in my own negative thoughts, at least work is a distraction and it makes me feel a bit less worthless.

 

[litewood1]

i can relate i walked off a job of 10 yrs

 

[desoconnor]

If I didn't go to work I would hardly ever see anyone...

 

[thor01]

I feel society is kind of set up for you to be stuck in a job you don't like, as most people end up with these in order to survive rather than being able to concentrate on what they enjoy.

 

[Jimsie]

I even had trouble with the "good morning". Each day I would head straight to my desk, sit down, turn around and say "good morning" to the two guys sitting near me, and then speak nothing at all until it was time to say "bye" in the evening. After a week into my job it started becoming hilarious for those guys and they would sing "good morning" in different tunes and snicker behind my back. Within two months I was the butt of jokes in the whole office and one fine day after the lunch break I said I was going home because of headache, and never returned to work. ::

I have had so many similar experiences before and still get them. I either have to just say hello to the same people everyday or completely ignore them all together.. im not sure which pisses them off more. People are so inconsiderate.

 

[Socially_Retarded]

This article is pretty good;

Upbeat office culture fake and creepy, says Alain de Botton | Top Stories | News.com.au

Upbeat office culture fake and creepy, says Alain de Botton

By Caitlin O'Toole

NEWS.com.au

April 23, 2009 04:02pm

THE office is an artificial environment, where we toil away in a "creepy" corporate culture and wear a mask of false cheerfulness - all the while secretly wondering "is this all there is?"

So says author Alain de Botton, who shadowed everyone from accountants to biscuit-factory workers in a bid to understand what makes the modern economy really tick: the world of work.

"A lot of company cultures are a little bit creepy, because they are trying to suggest that the company is like your friend or like your home," says Mr de Botton.

It's creepy because it's quite obviously not true, he says.

"A lot of these firms, in a downturn, having spoken about love and friendship and all that, don’t lose much sleep about getting rid of 20 per cent of the workforce," he points out.

"And that really fries your head, to be told ‘we love you, we love you’ and then to be got rid of."

Office life exists on a level of "shallow cheerfulness", and talking about a crisis of meaning or any other deep feeling is strictly frowned on.

Although it may be perfectly natural to sit at your desk, staring at the sunshine and wondering if you’re wasting your life, talking about an existential crisis at work is a big no-no.

"Office life goes on under a cheerful patter, you’re not supposed to have heavy problems, you’re just supposed to say hi," he says.

"In a way that’s what makes the office nice, it’s like an escape from heaviness."

The problem comes when work triggers strong feelings, which you have to mask with chirpiness.

"You fall in love with colleagues, you hate them, you envy them, you feel unbelievably furious. And what are you supposed to do because all you’ve got at hand are tools of cheerfulness, of mateyness, and that’s really difficult."

In real life, if you’re angry you can yell, if you’re upset you can burst into tears, but at the office you must appear normal all times.

"In a relationship, if you feel something’s wrong with your partner, you can shout and them for an hour, you can weep like a child, do all these things which seem very immature and crazy, but they are the stuff of relationships.

"But at the office you’re supposed to be this sort of ‘normal person’ and we’re not normal, any of us, and that’s the problem of offices.”

So if you're sitting in your cubicle wondering if this is all there is in life, you're not alone, says Mr de Botton, who calls us ‘hopeful creatures’ who can’t help but look for deeper meaning as we toil away.

"I think unfortunately for all of us, we do search for meaning,” says Mr de Botton.

"We’ve all got too much imagination, it’s like saying ‘Can you stay in an unhappy marriage and not notice?’ Well actually, most of us are going to start noticing and worrying."

So what to do if you hate your job or feel like you’re wasting your life?

"I think take those feelings very seriously," says Mr de Botton, who says having a crisis of meaning is completely normal.

"On a Sunday afternoon, the light is dimming; a lot of us feel ‘well where am I really headed?’ But then we try to quash that thought, we put on the TV or go jogging or something.

"My advice would be stick with that thought, allow yourself to have a crisis, take the crisis as seriously as it deserves to be, because it is a major part of life."

 

[workout]

Yea nice article but it should have gone on to advise on how to act upon the serious crisis. Any ideas?

 

[BeachGaBulldog]

Not being a people person, I don't mind working, its the people in the workplace that I can't stand.

 

[Sacrament]

I hope they die a painful death.

What did you expect? Weak people get bullied. It's how it goes everywhere and for everyone.

How do you think it was since the beginning of time? The weak ones were hunted down. The only difference is that we have words for that now, and it's a different kind of hunting.

The reality is that we have to step up, believe in ourselves, in our values and in our words so that we can make any sort of progress. If you're going to spend all day anxious, shaking and absolutely terrified of everyone around you, you can't expect anything but mockery.

 

[desoconnor]

sacrament... I'd expect a little bit of support and understanding.

And its not weak, and we don't have to step up... we should be able to be ourselves, not have to change to fit in.

 

[Sacrament]

Nothing that you said made sense when you read my post and yours.

When did I speak of change? I even mentioned believing in your own values, and not moulding your personality according to other people's values and so forth.

What I said is true, no matter how harsh it may seen. I'm not going to sugarcoat everything and say "oh yeah, if your job is hard, then you should quit" because that's not going to help anyone unless there's another, more rewarding job waiting for you. If you're going to quit to be able to spend every single day locked up in your basement afraid of stepping outside, you're going to regret it eventually.

The reason why I was bullied in school (much like pretty much everyone who was/is/will be bullied) was because I was the weak, overweight one who wouldn't do a thing to protect himself. They flock like flies, scenting your fear and your lack of self-esteem or ability to defend yourself, and they're going to hunt you down.

 

[desoconnor]

"If you're going to spend all day anxious, shaking and absolutely terrified of everyone around you, you can't expect anything but mockery."

My point was, you can be anxious and shouldn't have to be scared of being mocked, you're colleagues should support you and help you though it... but you shouldn't have to change to stop them mocking you. They're the ones with the problem.

And you shouldn't have to quit either...