How to Survive a Job You Hate

Daily Worth ^ | 2-26-15 | Carinn Jade

[TurboZamboni]

The movie Office Space is a classic for good reason: We've all had a job we hated so much we wanted to take the printer out to an open field and smash it with a baseball bat. Sometimes you’re stuck because you’re waiting for your end-of-year bonus, need health insurance, or simply want your vacation days for an upcoming trip. Even if you’re in the right place, we all go through periods of disenchantment. In the meantime, here are some dos and don'ts of surviving the daily misery of a job that sucks.

[mykroar]

We work, because we can’t all be astronauts.

[LYDIAONTARIO]

I always told myself the “it could be worse...i could be rich but married to Ted Kennedy” to get through. Will have to update that philosophy now!

[demshateGod]

If you hate your job, be sure to look diligently for another one because you’re eventually going to be fired. And don’t, for goodness sakes, waste 5 years of your life under a terrible boss who opposes your professional values!

[Old Sarge]

If you hate your job, be sure to look diligently for another one because you’re eventually going to be fired.

[BlackAdderess]

I am reminded of the saying that “rolling stones gather no moss” and would add that you should be sure to gather all the mossy green goodness you can in your 20s because your shelf-life ends around your 50s these days, so it is best to outrun that by being a job creator by then.

Regarding jobs you hate, learn to suck it up, buttercup!

[IronJack]

How to survive? Quit and go on welfare. Better yet, spend your whole life hustling the welfare system. That way, you never need a job.

[Uversabound]

And don’t, for goodness sakes, waste 5 years of your life under a terrible boss who opposes your professional values!

Ok You are scaring me now....Where are you hiding? How did you know???? They recently made us a *Non smoking campus* Great my smoking boss now takes 3 hours a day, 1 hour for smoking and 2 hours for lunch. Everyday.

Its funny when you think you are alone, turns out others are experiencing the same thing......

[EQAndyBuzz]

“We work, because we can’t all be astronauts.”

Or athletes.

[manc]

The new American dream for the liberals.

[rfreedom4u]

I keep saying that when I retire next year the first thing I’ll do is smash my iron. I hate ironing my shirts for work. But it’s cheaper than taking them to the cleaners.

[PeterPrinciple]

If you hate your job, be sure to look diligently for another one because you’re eventually going to be fired.

---

Not when most people work for the government.........................

[ThanhPhero]

I can't imagine hating a job that pays me better money than I could get at a different job. I just do what my employer is paying me to do as best I can do it. It's what allows me to pass a month in Việt Nam from time to time. I take a lower per-hour than I could get elsewhere because I can take a month off to go to VN and still have a job when I get back.

[varyouga]

Reality check for hippies crying “but I should be able to do what I love for work!”. Jobs that are easy and people LIKE can absolutely only fall under the following categories:

Job #1: Fun, low stress, anyone can do and pay nearly nothing. Everyone is trying to do them so there simply isn’t demand to keep salary high.

Job #2: Jobs that are low stress and pay well but require a rare talent or unique physical ability. Very few people can do them but those that do have a great time.

Job #3: Jobs that anybody can do and pay well but can only be obtained with connections through friends/family (generally every good job under communism).

These are simply the realities of the market. And under their dream planned economy, all good jobs would simply become job #3.

And yes, I know there are those rare few that truly love being sewer plumbers, cabbies, etc but that is nearly non-existent.

[ThanhPhero]

because your shelf-life ends around your 50s these days,

I am 68 and still working for a wage. I expect to be at it for a few years yet.

[Old Sarge]

A-friggin-MEN

[DungeonMaster]

I believe it is a snare of the devil to pursue professional growth in a company. Higher positions require more ass sitting and less actual productive work. Productive work usually pays less but it is much more rewarding and makes the work day go by faster and it is healthier. I went from software engineer to electric motor tester/spectrum analyzer. I took a 50 percent pay cut and my happiness went up by a factor of 100.

[Mr. K]

1) Learn a trade you like and get a job doing it

[Baynative]

I guess I was born with a "free spirit" gene. I've never had a problem with moving on when things began to rub me the wrong way.

I can't understand what it is that keeps people living in a place they don't like, or working at something that neither rewards or stimulates them.

I can't understand living in a big city, or working for a big corporation, either. I think that is the root of many a frustration and a general loss of life's best experiences. But, I've met people who think New York and Chicago are the neatest places in the world. They come to the mountains for a week, think it smells good, walk in the snow ...and can't wait to get home and ride the subway or something.

[baltiless]

I can’t even deal with a week. If I’m not in or near a big city (to the extent that one might think of Baltimore or DC as being big cities), I get severe agoraphobia. And working in the noise and the activity is the only way I know how.