Whats your Work Attitude

Wanderer78 · 24-03-2017 1:06pm

That's sad really, we need to ditch globalization asap

Permabear · 24-03-2017 1:35pm

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ancapailldorcha · 24-03-2017 1:41pm

I see what you mean but in some sectors, like science the rewards are a lot less proportional to the time put in. My friend is just about making ends meet though he regularly commutes to NC to meet his OH so there is that.

I don't think I could live without some sort of work or outlet though. Free time is only valuable because it's scarce IMO. An abundance of it just leads to idleness which in turn can lead to other undesirable states.

Permabear · 24-03-2017 1:44pm

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ancapailldorcha · 24-03-2017 1:54pm

I think my aunt's husband might have given this a go. He owns property all over London and could easily afford but he's said to me a few times that he thinks he'd be miserable without something to do.

Lady is a tramp · 24-03-2017 1:55pm

I actually love the attitude in the new office I'm in at the moment.

People come in, work hard, and are really interested in the job. There is no gossip, very little chit-chat, small talk, etc. My colleagues just aren't interested in me or in each other - they're there to work, and that's it. It's a very technical area of finance, and requires a lot of concentration and effort.

But it's very much a 9-5 job - they all have really fabulous interesting lives outside of work, jetting off every weekend, loads of sports and hobbies and all the rest.

It's not that they don't care about their work - they absolutely do, but, only while they're there!

My own work attitude would be ... I'd probably be a workaholic to the point of burn-out, if you let me away with it. So this environment suits me perfectly! I can work really really hard and get totally absorbed in what I'm doing - but I'm forced to turn off at 5 o clock, which is good for me!

sbsquarepants · 24-03-2017 2:06pm

I'm not a millennial - I'm 42. But my attitude is much like yours OP.

My job is just that, my job. I don't mind it, I don't hate it, but I certainly don't love it and I wouldn't be here if I didn't need the money. It's OK, it pays well, it's convenient, it suits - if it didn't I'd look to change it without much thought, if our biggest rival was to offer me 50% more I'd swap without any trace of guilt or awkwardness at all.

There are no favours being done on either side - I do what they ask, they pay what we agreed. If I stopped working, they'd stop paying - I wouldn't feel too aggrieved, the opposite holds true also - if they stop paying, I'll stop working and they have no right to complain.

If I won the lotto, I'd never work another day in my entire life. Working is a means to and end as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't define me in any way whatsoever.

sbsquarepants · 24-03-2017 2:13pm

This actually sums up my attitude - my concern is for hire. While I'm being paid, I make sure I'm worth what they pay me. When they aren't paying me, they don't have my concern. I don't even discuss my job with my missus - we have the same conversation about this place every day when I get home

How was work?
Grand.

Doesn't even pop into my head again until the following morning.

Permabear · 24-03-2017 2:22pm

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Wanderer78 · 24-03-2017 2:26pm

some people just arent wired the way you are, its obvious you love your job which is great for you but as others have posted, for many, work is just a mean to an end. there are many dreadfully unfulfilling jobs out there, its perfectly fine in my world if people are only switched on to their jobs during working hours, its very likely to be more healthy for them and their loved ones.

Tsipras · 24-03-2017 2:31pm

I honestly don't understand how people can care about their work only at a specific time/place.

I work in finance, and as the subtitle of the abysmal Wall Street sequel goes, "money never sleeps." I can't afford to "switch off" at 5 p.m. and pay absolutely no attention to anything until the following morning -- because if I did, I wouldn't be caring about my investors and the trust they've placed in me.

It's not unusual for me to be thinking about work while I'm shopping, walking, driving, in the shower, etc. I'd say for many professionals, it's the same. [/quote]
That sounds like a nightmare.
I'm a professional.

Walter H Price · 24-03-2017 2:59pm

I think the generational thing is total bull .

From talking to people the last week allot of peoples views were changed after the recession , lots of the guys i work with in there late 30's , 40's 50's would have been made redundant or there company folded in the recession that attitude among allot of them is that the overtime they put in , the weekends they worked , there loyalty , the the time they missed with there families all counted for little or nothing when the proverbial hit the fan, in and around 08.

Maybe its not a generational thing but rather a global dawning that if you live to work other then the financial reward (which as I've said starts to nullify itself at around the 50K-60K mark) your employer actually doesn't value you and will not got out of their way to protect you when the chips are down.

I saw another quote during the week also that i found really profound and really struck me:

when you are young you have all the time and all the physical ability to live life but no money

When you are grown you have all of the money and all of the ability but none of the time

When you are old you have a life saving of money but none of the ability and only time to reflect what you sacrificed when you were younger.

The message i took from that is work to live , value your free time , take your leave, Travel , enjoy your family ... Chasing money and titles is only as useful as a dog chasing its tail , at the end you'l be exhausted and have nothing to show for it. It kinda helped me understand a bit more where my own Dads at at this stage.

Bambi985 · 24-03-2017 3:27pm

my mother was a barrister and did exactly that. worked late sometimes, early all the time but once she was out of work she was out of work, her mind wasn't in the office while she was in the kitchen or in the supermarket. She was paid well to do her job well but wasn't signing her life away for the sake of a higher level profession.

i actually think a defining feature of the millennial generation is that we're online ALL THE TIME what with smart phones and social media and that's cutting into our careers too, where it's not OK to go home and switch your phone off and not respond to any work emails or calls until the next morning when you hit your desk at 9am. Anywhere I've worked in the last five years would have considered that rude and unprofessional and you frankly wouldn't have lasted long in the job if you had some 5pm rule.

I find that as a general pattern worrying.

Duckjob · 24-03-2017 3:40pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV0wTtiJygY

24-03-2017 3:42pm

I do my job well. I go home on time. Not afraid to voice an opinion or how I feel about something. If I'm being asked to do something I'm not happy or comfortable with, then I say, because there's no point in keeping stum, going along with it, and then just letting it get to you.

Permabear · 24-03-2017 3:47pm

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sashafierce · 24-03-2017 4:15pm

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KERSPLAT! · 24-03-2017 4:24pm

I work to earn money so I can live a decent life and have the things I want. I work my set hours but I've no issue working paid over time or the odd 10-20 minutes if I need to finish something. I wouldn't be the 'tools down' on the dot type.

DanielODonnell · 24-03-2017 6:20pm

I think the old world would have been better, living in a tribe and hunting for the food, nowadays you have to spend your days with people you can't really stand and you only see the relatives a few hours in the evening, it's not natural human behaviour, if you work at night time you may only see the relatives at the weekend.
I suppose travellers have the right way of life.

Shelga · 24-03-2017 11:30pm

I definitely need to work for a company I find interesting, and in whose aims I believe. I work hard when I'm there and want to see the business prosper, and see how my contributions shape the end product or service.

However, I definitely don't take work home with me, and I highly doubt I'd stay in my current profession if I won the lotto. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because being a millionaire would be totally at odds with a 9-5!

I'd love to just go back to college and do degree after degree, with no pressure and no need to try and figure out which subject can make me the most money. That way you're still challenging yourself and staying busy, but not bound by the constrictions of working for someone else.

I could try set up my own business, but tbh, I'm content as I am.

__Alex__ · 28-03-2017 6:38pm

Aye, it doesn't need to be paying work though. I guess that's what you mean by an outlet, it doesn't have to be a job exactly. If I was suddenly so wealthy I didn't need to work again, I'd be spending a lot of my time volunteering at animal shelters for example. Not just glitzy fundraising events, coalface stuff too. I enjoyed it when I did it in the past and it's a cause I feel strongly about.

I actually feel a bit sorry for people who can't think how they would fill their time if they didn't need to work. There is SO much you can do that is worthwhile and mentally stimulating. Not to mentioned all the books you could read and films you could watch. The brain can still be fed without work.

Walter H Price · 31-03-2017 2:03pm

I 100% agree i have actualy said i would do the exact same thing you have said .

If i won the lotto id be quitting the 9-5 and setting up a conservation charity or going to volunteer full time for the DSPCA or that.

seamus · 31-03-2017 2:17pm

It's whatever works for the individual.

I hate nothing more than doing work while at home. Neither gets the focus it should and family is more important than anything. If I'm working at home and my kids are talking to me, work is always going to lose out because it's just not as important. There's no point in working to earn money to invest in your children but ignoring your children to do so.

I'm not sure the "forced" 9-5 is necessarily a bad thing. In an ideal world I could sit down at 10pm and do 3 hours' work, then get up with the kids in the morning, bring them to school and then rock into work for lunchtime to do between 3 and 6 more hours before heading home.
But I know that over time that 10pm would stop happening, or only happen on a couple of nights. And I'd still go into work at lunchtime. Having relatively set hours at least creates boundaries and expectations and the ability to say, "I'm working now, I'm not working then".

No matter how much one loves their job, most people hate the idea of spending quality time with their family while also having one eye on the phone or laptop thinking about work. For most people, being able to say, "No work, go away, this is my time", is essential.

tomwaits48 · 31-03-2017 2:20pm

I'm always "on" but work (sit at the desk) mainly standard hours....I've found the higher up I've rose the less stressful the work has become....the more engaged I am, the easier it becomes, the more productive I am, the more they want to pay me....and often my best ideas come at the weekends when out on a run etc...

I have certainly noticed a distinct lack of drive from the younger ones coming through...although if I saw any of my guys in on a Saturday I'd be having words to help them manage their workflow, a stressed employee is an unproductive employee

Ush1 · 31-03-2017 2:34pm

Or, they actually do see the bigger picture and knows their employer likely doesn't give a hoot about any extra time they put in so what's the point?

31-03-2017 5:41pm

4 day week as standard is the way to go. The perfect ratio of days on to days off. Any drop in productivty is surely worth it to improve peoples contentment. There is something very depressing when you are in a traffic jam on the way to a job you hate on a rainy morning, wondering how your life ended up there. If it must be "just a part of life" then having 3 days off to look forward to would be a huge improvement.

If I was worth say 20 million plus I'd be hard pushed to work again because I'd imagine I'd need to be earning huge money just to feel motivated by it, and even if I was surely I'd have all I want already and be able to live comfortably off the interest? Maybe a job I actually like with a bit less time committment than a regular 9 to 5 just to keep a bit of money coming in and give myself something to do to feel useful. That is something a lot of people neglect - there are lots of secondary and indirect sorts of benefits to working that you just can't ignore away. Even for little things like when you're asked "so what do you do?", it's nice to actually have an answer that leads to you being held in some level of esteem. Having a routine and something to work your life around is good too - how many ex professional footballers become lost in life after they stop playing, even with their millions of pounds?

ToddyDoody · 31-03-2017 7:29pm

Work to live.

Simple, but revolutionary.

bodice ripper · 31-03-2017 7:56pm

I live to work. I am my job. I feel more like myself while at work, and it is when I am most calm. I stay late, I take extra days where possible.

I don't know why.

Dirty Dingus McGee · 31-03-2017 8:05pm

I go to work I do my job I come home.

I have been in the same position for the last 6 years have not moved up the ladder and have told my boss I have no interest in doing so and that I have no interest in doing the professional exams that all my colleagues are doing.My job is a job to me and that's all it is and all it ever will be.

Because of financial circumstances that my parents have put me in (I have to buy our house off the bank or we'll be homeless) I can never own my own home or move away so as a result any sort of ambition or improvement in my work status would have no positive gain for my life so there is no point in trying to move forward in my career.I'm not sure if circumstances were different whether I would have more ambition but there is zero point in me having any ambition as it would lead to more work,more hassle,more pressure but no improvement in quality of life.

B.A._Baracus · 31-03-2017 11:49pm

Get in. Do your bit. Go home. Get paid.

Whats your Work Attitude

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