Do I secretly like work?

[weg]

OK, I admit I like my job, both what it involves, and the hours I work, and, I like working generally.

Strangely I achieve more in my time off, when I'm working, and this makes me feel better about myself, than when I'm on extended leave, where I tend to procrastinate and put things off.

I know which parts of my job are very important to my employer, and do those well, so I very rarely have anyone on my back.

I think I'm respected enough too, that if I did make a boo boo, I'd probably get support more than a serious telling off.

I think those last two things make all a lot of difference.

Fortunately, I work with some great people too, so it's very social and I've made some good friends over time (who I see out of work, and with who I have shared interests, not related to work).

And I think I get paid well for what I do.

I think working towards getting a job/career you enjoy, and then finding an employer who you enjoy working for is important. I know easier said than done, but I think it's mostly achievable in time.

I often read posts here, where very young people are desperate for retirement, and I think, why be miserable in the lead up to it?

Why not just make the most of every situation you're faced with, and enjoy the journey to (early) retirement?

 

[Deltaberry]

You know what? From believing I invest in property so that one day soon I won't have to work with a PASSION. I now think that I'd be quite bored.. For REAL!!?? Now I don't mind going to work, even though I cannot get outta' there fast enough each afternoon and dream about being somewhere else for most of the day. Whats up with this? Anyone feel the same way?

I am beginning to think quite highly of my salary which has increased a little and now every 6 months were up for review.. Which is much of the reason I won't go anywhere else.

So from being at a point where I thought I'd be quite happy "doing whatever I want" whenever being the be all, end all. I now think that I might get really bored and just get another job, or stay where I am for like.. ages. I think I like the idea of having more, and being able to buy more stuff than I otherwise would if I stopped working.

Whats up wid dis? I'm confusing myself.

First of all I'm surprised anyone would like work.

Secondly what's this supposedly high salary? Let me help you judge whether you're delusional or whether your $5m package is really worth the time.

 

[Deltaberry]

I agree 100%. I enjoy my job.. its very fulfilling, it pays very well and I feel like I'm making a difference in the world.
I think "retirement" is highly over-rated.... although I am looking forward to long service leave in another 4 years!

You're in a commercial firm yea penny... not sure how you can make a diff to the world through your job to be honest. I feel like I make a difference to the world sometimes when I contemplate whether Microsoft should take over Sony, then I realise I'm just a tyre kicker.

 

[RedCat]

I used to do my job as a hobby for no money. Now I earn a living from it. Plenty of people are happy working regardless of the income. Sure I'd like to retire in 10 years because I do work long hours and often on weekends, but I work in a young person's game so retiring at 50 would be acceptable.

 

[peastman]

You can start Peastman Racing - need to find some decent sponsors though or you could drain your funds real fast

The Y-man

Now there is an idea. Maybe the Somersoft V8 Supercar team for Bathurst next year? Any backers out there?

 

[pennyk]

You're in a commercial firm yea penny... not sure how you can make a diff to the world through your job to be honest. I feel like I make a difference to the world sometimes when I contemplate whether Microsoft should take over Sony, then I realise I'm just a tyre kicker.

a few weeks ago, a colleague and I assessed and provided equipment for some children with disabilities in China... it was the first time anyone in China had seen this particular type of equipment, and it meant these children were able to go from being completely dependent, bed-ridden or only able to be pushed in a pram...to being able to move around the room and play independently.
I also met with several government officials and doctors, who we are consulting with to develop a funding model for children with disabilities in China so they can get appropriate rehab, education and equipment. China is moving from a "dump and run" attitude towards the disabled to committing large sums of money to provide services for them, and our company is playing a key role in assisting in that process.

thats just 2 examples from the past month.... I'm not doing it all on my own, but I can see how what I do is having an impact.

I actually enjoy the "business" side of my job (more than "helping" people), but I'm very aware that in Asia, particularly, we are creating something that will positively impact on people's life for many years to come.

So, its easy to be motivated in the job when I get paid very well to not only do stuff which I really enjoy, but also which has a positive impact on both individual's and broader society as well.

 

[wylie]

Good answer pennyK to a rather smartar$e comment.

Couldn't give you kudos, so thought I'd say well done for the work you do and for making a difference to the lives of those children.

 

[HomePage]

I've recently been pondering my work future as well. I enjoy my job and have done well enough at it that I continue to move upward. I was happy with my salary about $40K ago and, now that my children have all turned adult and are paying their share of household expenses, it's like I'm earning another $40K again with all the extra money I now seem to get to keep.

I've also reached a crossroad where I will have enough assets and future income stream to comfortably retire in about 3 years, and that's in my mid-40s. Even if I lost my job tomorrow, I could eek a reasonably existence all the way to end of play (in my 80s in my desired exit point).

So what do I do? Do I continue running on the mouse wheel, get used to spending what I've never had to myself before, then have to run even faster on the mouse wheel to be able to sustain that level of lifestyle into retirement? Or do I channel away those extra funds I'm now getting, continue living the lifestyle with which I've been more than happy, set my own pace on the mouse wheel and then get off the mouse wheel whenever I like and head wherever I, rather than societal expectation, want to go?

 

[Seabreeze]

So what do I do? Do I continue running on the mouse wheel, get used to spending what I've never had to myself before, then have to run even faster on the mouse wheel to be able to sustain that level of lifestyle into retirement? Or do I channel away those extra funds I'm now getting, continue living the lifestyle with which I've been more than happy, set my own pace on the mouse wheel and then get off the mouse wheel whenever I like and head wherever I, rather than societal expectation, want to go?

By the way you've framed that question, it certainly sounds like you already know the answer!

We are in a similar predicament and have to decide whether to work for a few more years to provide the funds necessary to build a new and bigger PPOR to accomodate a growing family or just exit stage left first and spend that time playing with my kids while they still want to play with me - and learn how to live in a small house (by today's standards) with three kids...

You can probably tell which way I'm leaning by how I framed that question too!

 

[HomePage]

By the way you've framed that question, it certainly sounds like you already know the answer!

We are in a similar predicament and have to decide whether to work for a few more years to provide the funds necessary to build a new and bigger PPOR to accomodate a growing family or just exit stage left first and spend that time playing with my kids while they still want to play with me - and learn how to live in a small house (by today's standards) with three kids...

You can probably tell which way I'm leaning by how I framed that question too!

OK, OK, so I might have presupposed the outcome of my situation in the way that I wrote that. It passes the feasability test with my wife and I, but not with my family or close friends who think I should keep working "just because", or probably what they really mean namely "we have to, so you should too". It seems harder to get off this ride than I thought it would be. In the end, I'll do what I want to do and bugger the rest of them, but I'm putting this out there in case there's something I've overlooked in my considerations.

Your case doesn't seem so clear cut to me, as you have three very good reasons to go either way. However, fast forward a few years and ask yourself whether your kids will be more thankful that you worked long hours to provide them a palace in which you rarely saw them or that they lived in a humble but happy abode and have many fond memorys of times spent with mum and dad. When put like that, the right choice is quite clear but as you know life throws in plenty of other factors that sufficiently muddy the decision making process. Good luck with which ever way you decide to go!

 

[vbplease]

Secondly what's this supposedly high salary? Let me help you judge whether you're delusional or whether your $5m package is really worth the time.

You're in a commercial firm yea penny... not sure how you can make a diff to the world through your job to be honest. I feel like I make a difference to the world sometimes when I contemplate whether Microsoft should take over Sony, then I realise I'm just a tyre kicker.

I'm sorry but the need to judge/belittle people on a forum screams issues/insecurities with one's self e.g. miserable job is one issue that comes to mind

...I'm surprised anyone would like work.

Have you thought about a new job for yourself? Filling in potholes, although it doesn't pay too well contributes a lot to the community and would be a good chance to chillax a bit

 

[Ideo]

I'm sorry but the need to judge/belittle people on a forum screams issues/insecurities with one's self e.g. miserable job is one issue that comes to mind
Have you thought about a new job for yourself? Filling in potholes, although it doesn't pay too well contributes a lot to the community and would be a good chance to chillax a bit

Yep. Pretty juvenile.

Just because someone hasn't found a job that they actually enjoy doesn't mean that everyone is as bitter as they are.

 

[aussierogue]

Henry Thoreau said it best in the 1850's

qte

I confess that I am astonished at the power of endurance, to say nothing of the moral insensibility, of my neighbors who confine themselves to shops and offices the whole day for weeks and months, aye, and years almost together. I know not what manner of stuff they are of, sitting there now at three o’clock in the afternoon, as if it were three o’clock in the morning

unqte

The fact that Thoreau was able to provide for his basic needs by working only six weeks per year, or thereabouts, should provoke those of us who work approximately 48 or 50 weeks a year, in jobs we do not always like, to at least reassess what exactly we are getting back for the time we are giving up

 

[RumpledElf]

I like what I do I just think the project could have been paced better

Had we got all the data in week 1 not week 7, we wouldn't be working 18 hour days in week 8 of an 8 week project.

Need to find a new project after this one ... be lovely to get this kind of work back to back. Doesn't pay as well as whatever Deltaberry does, but its very nice anyway.

 

[pennyk]

. Doesn't pay as well as whatever Deltaberry does, but its very nice anyway.

I would rather earn less than DB and enjoy my work than be paid huge amounts to do work that I despised.

 

[investor2009]

Hmm.. I remember walking around in my teens when I didn't have a car. I used to look at all the nice houses with cars out the front thinking, how do these people have all this nice stuff and don't ever go to work?

Still never really found the answer to that, but I still see lots of this stuff going on every-day. Everywhere.

I still walk into shopping centres with my work clothes on and see these nicely dressed couples, with kids of all ages and think, how do these people do this, where are they getting their money from!? Are they living in their cars? But I'll bet they're the ones with the nice homes and flash cars I saw when I was a teenager walking around on foot from my rented unit. I seriously don't know. Maybe there are more people winning the Lotto than we are led to believe

 

[Aaron_C]

Old Money.

 

[pennyk]

Old Money.

and credit card debt....

it took me quite a long time to work out why everyone seemed to have so much more than we did, despite our healthy incomes.

In most cases, it was either CC debt or that they never paid off their mortgage - just kept redrawing as they wanted the next best thing.

 

[Deltaberry]

I'm sorry but the need to judge/belittle people on a forum screams issues/insecurities with one's self e.g. miserable job is one issue that comes to mind
Have you thought about a new job for yourself? Filling in potholes, although it doesn't pay too well contributes a lot to the community and would be a good chance to chillax a bit

Not belittling.

Just wondering what sort of income would one need to feel very satisfied with their job, though I'll be the first to admit I don't think highly of my job or most jobs.

Re community contribution, I'd think some government jobs could do that, but it seems in this country you get pies thrown at you if you're a politician or get overwhelmingly underpaid if you're a bureaucrat.

 

[Deltaberry]

a few weeks ago, a colleague and I assessed and provided equipment for some children with disabilities in China... it was the first time anyone in China had seen this particular type of equipment, and it meant these children were able to go from being completely dependent, bed-ridden or only able to be pushed in a pram...to being able to move around the room and play independently.
I also met with several government officials and doctors, who we are consulting with to develop a funding model for children with disabilities in China so they can get appropriate rehab, education and equipment. China is moving from a "dump and run" attitude towards the disabled to committing large sums of money to provide services for them, and our company is playing a key role in assisting in that process.

thats just 2 examples from the past month.... I'm not doing it all on my own, but I can see how what I do is having an impact.

I actually enjoy the "business" side of my job (more than "helping" people), but I'm very aware that in Asia, particularly, we are creating something that will positively impact on people's life for many years to come.

So, its easy to be motivated in the job when I get paid very well to not only do stuff which I really enjoy, but also which has a positive impact on both individual's and broader society as well.

That's very good. I think stuff like that is interesting. I wonder if you can do that sort of stuff on your own and throw together some investors, or whether it'd be too big a capex investment.

And no wylie - I don't go out of my way to be a smart@$$ even if it comes across that way. Just saying what's on my mind and throwing it out there for critique. If people feel offended, then they'd have to wonder who's the insecure one.