Are you really happy?

Gone West · 15-05-2008 12:52pm #1

Are you genuinely happy in your work right now? Great, this probably isn't for you so, congrats, enjoy your hapiness

Maybe you love your job, but this is for the Dublin Office commuters who aren't fulfilled by their work:

This is something that I've been wondering about a lot lately.

When you were growing up, did you ever imagine that you would sell yourself to some company from 9 until 5, 5 days out of 7? For 40 years out of the 50 years of adulthood that nature has given you? That they would effectively own you during those hours. And that its really more than that as well. You have to get up at 7/8 or whatever, and moreso have to go to bed early to be able to get up. So effectively they own you from 11PM to 6/7PM whenever you get home. And you get transport to work with other people in an electric or petrol burning metal transport box. And the same after your work, every single working day.
Did you ever imagine that you would be given a quota of days that you could be sick from work or been told how long you can spend eating your pathetic daily sandwich that someone else (in the same situation) made for you?
Did you ever think that you'd be told by someone (boss) that you're only allowed take 3 weeks out of 52 off work per year. Does this feel like a social prison of sorts to anybody else?
Come 11PM, you're tired from working and go to bed because you have to be up soon and are weary from your day of doing work for somebody else.
You have to wear the same type of clothes for the office every day.
If its raining, you wear a coat and walk through puddles with everybody else rushing from the dart station.
Lunch, and a measly coffee/cigarette break are the main excitements of the day.
Stress is the order of the day, rushing from place to place, trying to get home to your identical concrete living box, sandwiched in between 100s and further out 1000s of other boxes. Perhaps you're lucky enough to have one side of your box not attached to another one, and your house is a mirror of the one next door, not exactly the same! Lucky you...
Perhaps your metal transport box looks nicer or moves you about a little smoother or more comfortably than your neighbour. Lucky you!
Maybe your moving pictures box in your commuter storage box's "living room" is bigger or flatter than anyone you know! wow!

But did you ever think that you don't need to be working like this?
Most people tolerate their jobs, and get on with it because they need to pay the bills and because its the norm. Its the respectable thing to do. Work, earn money, buy food, buy services, buy "stuff" and go home, enjoy the spoils for the 5% of your life that you're not working or thinking about work or preparing or recovering from work.

Is all this work and wasting of lives in industry, sales, office work, etc etc worth it?
We should be out enjoying ourselves all the time, spending just enough time at work to earn money to buy basic food/shelter and pay for entertainment and your kids' same. The rest of our time I believe that we should spend doing whatever we *really* want to do.

See you on the water.

ibh · 15-05-2008 2:14pm

My Job = Pure Sh1t.

Chances of me staying this or a very similar position? Zero.

Not saying that i'm going to float around doin fack all, just know that this is not the template for the next 30/40 years for me. I would rather be broke than have to commute to an office in Dublin from some sh!thole town until i'm 60.

AARRRGH · 15-05-2008 2:18pm

Lots of people dislike their jobs, but unless they are willing to do something to escape from their situation, they need to accept personal responsibility for where they are. This might include owning up to a life of poor decisions.

/Don't mean to be harsh, but we all control our destiny

homah_7ft · 15-05-2008 2:27pm

Excellent post Fuzzy. I hope you don't mind if I forward it on to a few people.

I do sometimes feel a bit rat racy but working the shift I do gives me larger blocks of time off. Maybe you could look to move into a job that enables you to work a shift. For instance I can take a month off in the summer and again in the winter and go travelling.

Gone West · 15-05-2008 2:35pm

This doesn't affect me, personally. I'm just wondering what other peoples takes on this are.
Saw a guy on the dart today run onto the train, saw that there were no seats, swore loudly, rushed to an end door, slammed it open on top of a kid who had sat beside it, and then swore again and rushed through.
All just to get a seat for a 20 min train journey.

Yesterday, a very heavily pregnant woman got on and walked to the end. She was obviously in distress, barely able to stand up, sweat pumping out of her. I was standing, but I saw absolutely everybody eyeball her and then immediately become completely engrossed in their papers, ipods, phones and books.
Sickening like.

Just sparked this off in my head again, that people rush too much, work too much and are too agressive.

Tabnabs · 15-05-2008 2:36pm

Here's what my new job (9-5) gives me over my old job.

I get to go home every evening and see my family and friends etc.
My office is unlikely to blow up, sink and if it does catch fire, I run out the door instead of running in the door with a fire hose and breathing apparatus on. My commute to work no longer involves two flights of stairs, the upside of that is I am now fully awake when I arrive in the office, previously it was a good twenty minutes before I was properly switched on (during which time I may have been required to make life and death decisions).

I now own my own concrete box house instead of just renting cause it wasn't really worth my time before. Similarly, I now have a lovely car whereas before I couldn't justify the cost. I now have time to take up hobbies on a regular basis and my life is richer for it.

My diet has improved as I now eat regular and balanced meals chosen by me. My liver is also still on the road to recovery as I no longer have to fill my boots with beer during the short periods of safe drinking time I was previously allowed.

I am pretty sure that when I arrive for work once again I won't be required to train in a third world "professional" who will do my job for a quarter of the salary I am paid. Also, my office stays in the one place so I can get to know my surroundings and I don't need to take medication or carry security ID just to do my thing.

There are lots of reasons to be happy locked in a glass cage on an eight hour basis...

here.from.day.1 · 15-05-2008 2:46pm

Good post. I do think like that sometimes, I just have to think of it as experience so I can move on to better things or save money to go travelling/buy stuff. At the end of the day its about having something to look forward to, thats all that can make it worth it.

Also people on the dart really get on my nerves.

Glowing · 15-05-2008 2:58pm

Great post. But I'm depressed now!

jon1981 · 15-05-2008 3:27pm

Glowing wrote: »

Great post. But I'm depressed now!

+1

i believe a small percentage end up in a job they 100% want. i never grew up wanting to be a software developer...just happened...i can do the job... pays alright...would i change career tomorrow if i could? damn right i would! But you just have to make the most of what i got.

chances are in my current profession I may be forced to change career, as a poster said above training in third world professionals is becoming more common place in IT today!

you can counteract your distaste for your job by making sure when your not in work you have some interesting hobbies or an active social life or you devote to your family..what ever works!

tHE vAGGABOND · 15-05-2008 3:44pm

I left a VERY well paying Dot Com style job about 9 years ago to move from being rich and miserable to being poor and happy and I've never looked back!

Job Satisfaction for teh win!

Figure out what you would really like to do, and then do your best to get into that job. Forget about money and conditions - what you want to do [initially]is get some experience in your new chosen field, whatever the cost.

monkey24 · 15-05-2008 4:31pm

I totally agree with some of the posts here. I hear a lot of people saying "I should", "I must" etc, all related to people working for necessity. If you live your life that way, you will be unhappy. Most people who are depressed, unhappy or just fed up usually do not have any vision, mission or goals they are striving for. They are just in limbo trying to get a little bit more cash in the pocket.

Once you define what you want from life, what steps you need to get there and work towards this everyday, you will get a new sense of purpose.

We as a country have got caught up in a total rat race mentality. Most of the conversations I hear are regarding bonuses, promotions, new cars who bought what recently. Yet I rarely hear someone with a real vision of what will make them happy.

I am light years away from my vision but i know the end result is a small house on a beach in a certain country that I love, running my own business, which is in turn helping others. I just keep that vision in my head when i am having a day from hell.

I have said it before in a previous post. The education system is in need of a serious overhaul to help people interact with themselves better and learn how to focus on what they truly want.

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

I left a VERY well paying Dot Com style job about 9 years ago to move from being rich and miserable to being poor and happy and I've never looked back!

Job Satisfaction for teh win!

Figure out what you would really like to do, and then do your best to get into that job. Forget about money and conditions - what you want to do [initially]is get some experience in your new chosen field, whatever the cost.

dazberry · 15-05-2008 4:57pm

I'm now in week 5 of 3 months unpaid leave due to work place stress. There's one thing about not liking your job - when your job starts not to like you - that's when the trouble starts.

I've absolutely no intention of going back to those b*nkers - but its really screwed up my health big time - 2 1/2 years of constant mind melting stress. I honestly wish when all the stress started that I'd walked out - but I kept hanging on until I got another job - unfortunately I didn't manage to - and in retrospect I can imagine how stressed I looked in those few interviews I did - (probably something like spud in trainspotting - just without the speed). Once my health went ropey quality of life went thru' the floor.

I go walking everyday now, generally around an hour or so - and I just look at all the people sitting stuck in traffic or milling around from one place to the next and I really appreciate not being part of it, and I can't believe how lucky I've been with the weather - fantastic

D.

nesf · 15-05-2008 5:37pm

Moved from Work/Jobs as per OP request.

ambro25 · 15-05-2008 5:56pm

Good post Fuzzy, puts in clear English what most people must be thinking to themselves quietly in the wee hours.

I got there earlier this year, I'm about to hand notice in. Done in with the place, the pace, the demands, etc. I'm sticking with the job, which I absolutely/positively love, but I'm going back to UK, and in a backwater place at that. (Anyone in my line of work would only ever consider London, perhaps Manchester at a stretch. In Ireland, 99.9% of the profession is in Dublin)

I'd rather the (small) hit on €s but smaller workload, 'conventional' commuting times (and good road networks to boot!), and 'provincial' good nature of people.

Change of pace is the order of the day: I've been missing out on my little one growng up, I'm only gonna be here once, and I've a plan to setup shop from home in France (won't really matter where in the world I'm based, truth be told) within 5 years.

As a good mate of mine would say: "F*ck this, for a game of soldiers... See ya!"

ART6 · 15-05-2008 6:06pm

A long time ago when I started my career I joined the Merchant Navy as a marine engineer. I loved every minute of the job, even the gales deep sea a thousand miles from land, and I became b****y good at it. I loved the travelling and the zipping about all over the world to join and leave ships in exotic places, Then along came this little woman.....

Who says you have a choice of your job?

Red Hand · 15-05-2008 6:07pm

:pac:Good post, Fuzzy, I've often thought much the same things.

But isn't doing something you really like is just as pointless as doing some drudge work to pay the bills?

Say, a person drops out of doing a well paid job they dislike, and they are having a wonderful time earning a bare living from being an author. All that boils down to is good feelings due to the release of feel good hormones. Which is equally as pointless as some drudge getting their satisfaction from buying sh't they don't need doing a job they hate.

In summary, everything is pointless. As is posting on this thread, posting on this website and reading posts like this that you don't need to read.:):pac:

mise_me_fein · 15-05-2008 6:09pm

This is a load of BS from my point of view. If you´re not happy, you can take steps to go somewhere else and start a new job.

Happy???? When are you happy? I´ll tell you, most people in those jobs are in a better situation to most on this planet.

regarding the pregnant women...........did you also go back to reading the paper? If so, you´re just as big a cnut as the rest of them.

You speak English, are educated and probably have more money than most in other countries..............Give it a rest with the not happy theme.......you can change your life, maybe you´d like to live in Burma or North Korea......if you weren´t happy there, then I might listen to you

18AD · 15-05-2008 6:40pm

Slavery never ended. You just have some basic rights these days because there're more slaves than leaders and pissed off slaves revolt. The system just tries to keep you happy enough so you don't abandon it.

I don't really like my job, but my life is good! Nobody said life was gonna be easy...

AD.

Gone West · 15-05-2008 6:45pm

mise_me_fein wrote: »

This is a load of BS from my point of view. If you´re not happy, you can take steps to go somewhere else and start a new job.

Happy???? When are you happy? I´ll tell you, most people in those jobs are in a better situation to most on this planet.

regarding the pregnant women...........did you also go back to reading the paper? If so, you´re just as big a cnut as the rest of them.

You speak English, are educated and probably have more money than most in other countries..............Give it a rest with the not happy theme.......you can change your life, maybe you´d like to live in Burma or North Korea......if you weren´t happy there, then I might listen to you

Please read through my posts more thoroughly.
By the way, I get a very hostile and agressive tone from your post, perhaps you should tone it down a little. Take a proverbial "chill" pill.

FuzzyLogic wrote:

This doesn't affect me, personally. I'm just wondering what other peoples takes on this are.

Im not posting about myself, apologies if my dart anecdotes made it seem like that

FuzzyLogic wrote:

I was standing

again, if you cared to read through properly you would not have to make such a post.

DetectivFoxtrot · 15-05-2008 7:08pm

I have a tough job and yes am a little rat in this big rat race, but my hard work has earned me a good although not hugely interesting job, good salary, nice house, nice car, nice things so I can't complain really. the job can get stressful and sometimes aggression takes over (e.g. road rage, rushing etc.) but only every now and then! Otherwise life is good. The same situation gets me down more in winter though when you spend all of your daylight hour in the office, but thank god its only for part of the year.

A few years back I used to drive the canal route to and from work - it was a killer. On a wall there was a line of grafitti that read:

"Commute work, commute sleep. Your life"

It summed up my existence in a nutshell and it always got me thinking 'what's the point of all this?' but then when the light went green and I started to drive that thinking went out the window and I absorbed myself back into the rat race. maybe deep down I like it......

There was one time in my career when I got too focussed on work and everything else suffered as a result; hobbies went out the window, couldn't switch off, and I became very dull. I got Work/Life Balance coaching at work and have never looked back, balance is key I think.

@ Fuzzy: very well written post, you could write scripts for Denis Leary or Jack Dee! Lot's of angst!

I try my best not to think that way though as I think it's counter-productive

allabouteve · 15-05-2008 8:03pm

Jeremiah 16:1 wrote: »

:pac:Good post, Fuzzy, I've often thought much the same things.

But isn't doing something you really like is just as pointless as doing some drudge work to pay the bills?

Say, a person drops out of doing a well paid job they dislike, and they are having a wonderful time earning a bare living from being an author. All that boils down to is good feelings due to the release of feel good hormones. Which is equally as pointless as some drudge getting their satisfaction from buying sh't they don't need doing a job they hate.

In summary, everything is pointless. As is posting on this thread, posting on this website and reading posts like this that you don't need to read.:):pac:

Blimey, is your glass always half-empty?

mise_me_fein · 15-05-2008 8:10pm

If you were standing why didn´t you say something........another sheep in the pack......quite noisey on the boards but a wimp on the street.

You didn´t really care about that pregnant woman............oh that´s terrible is not enough.

You sense that the post was hostile? Maybe it was, gets me a little angry to see Mammy´s boys wimps feeling sorry for themselves when man, there´s a lot worse stuff happening.

A chill pill, I wonder would you have the balls to say that in the real world.....I´d guess not since you wouldn´t say anything to anyone and instead left a pregnant woman stranded......human contact with people you don´t know............does it just like, "Freak you out man"?

By the way, I wasn´t replying to your post at the start of my post.....please do not assume it´s always about you

Red Hand · 15-05-2008 8:13pm

allabouteve wrote: »

Blimey, is your glass always half-empty?

Lady, I don't even have a glass. It's pointless!:p Cup your hands and drink yer wather that way!:p

i71jskz5xu42pb · 15-05-2008 8:21pm

dublindude wrote: »

Lots of people dislike their jobs, but unless they are willing to do something to escape from their situation, they need to accept personal responsibility for where they are. This might include owning up to a life of poor decisions.

Somebody with sense. If they rest of you put as much in doing something about your situation* as you do into moaning about it you would not be feeling so sorry for yourself.

* that could be anything from getting a better position to opting out of the current system but living with the consequences either way.

mise_me_fein · 15-05-2008 8:22pm

Darius Wet Wintergreen wrote: »

Somebody with sense. If they rest of you put as much in doing something about your situation* as you do into moaning about it you would not be feeling so sorry for yourself.

* that could be anything from getting a better position to opting out of the current system but living with the consequences either way.

Totally agree with you

monkey24 · 15-05-2008 11:04pm

Ha, I love it when people reply to these kind of threads with "Well you could be in Burma" or "Go live in Baghdad you moaner".

Great input, you are really changing people's mind sets with that one.

Man-1 - "I am really unhappy my career is going nowhere"
Man-2 - "Well you could have aids so shut up moaner"

A lot of people are unhappy and they are not moaners for bringing it up. The fact they are posting about it could be deemed as a first step. I applaud anyone who openly admits they are not happy and want more. Hopefully these people will get the support of intelligent others to begin on a more fulfilling journey instead of idiots telling them its a lot better than living in Iraq. If a lot more people went out and achieved what they dreamed off then perhaps those dreams involve helping others or are not so fortunate.

Que "Shut up you loser what about all those people in China killed in that earthquake, you moaner"

trout · 15-05-2008 11:11pm

I'm genuinely really happy ... I sense this thread is not for me

Ross_Mahon · 15-05-2008 11:15pm

Just don't go to work anymore and then infect the work accounting system with a computer virus, which will round down fractions of a cent from accrual of interest and transfer the leftovers into your own account over a period of years, leaving you with lot of cash windfall undetected by the corporation.

i71jskz5xu42pb · 15-05-2008 11:23pm

Or join a support group for men with testicular cancer to see what real suffering is like. That'll wane after a while at which point I suggest a secret bare knuckle boxing fraternity (but keep it secret mind) followed by a bout of mild schizophrenia and an unhappy ending.

Or for a more Euro slant on things you could just try trainspotting.

kowloon · 15-05-2008 11:25pm

monkey24 wrote: »

Ha, I love it when people reply to these kind of threads with "Well you could be in Burma" or "Go live in Baghdad you moaner".

Stop complaining, there are people in hell who are on fire you know!:p

Ross_Mahon · 15-05-2008 11:29pm

Darius Wet Wintergreen wrote: »

Or join a support group for men with testicular cancer to see what real suffering is like. That'll wane after a while at which point I suggest a secret bare knuckle boxing fraternity (but keep it secret mind) followed by a bout of mild schizophrenia and an unhappy ending.

Or for a more Euro slant on things you could just try trainspotting.

Ahh so you know your movies...:D I think leaving the office and just doing what your man in 'Falling Down' did would be deadly! :cool:

Are you really happy?

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