If you're in the right job...

[Midpack]

This comes from the book Do What You Are. Although I wasn't surprised, I could not answer positively about any of them, probably time for a change...

If you spend forty to fifty years - not an unlikely scenario - working at jobs you'd rather not be doing, you are in truth throwing away a large part of your life. This is unnecessary and sad.

If you're in the right job, you should:

Look forward to your work
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated
Feel proud when describing your work to others
Enjoy and respect the people you work with
Feel optimistic about your future

 

[Amethyst]

I have been in this zone many times, but somebody invariably comes along with a scheme to reorganize things and put a stop to my fun.
I like my job - it's the politics I can't stand. I have the work gene, but not the politics gene. Sadly, there is no way to separate work and politics. Even if you run your own business, there are all those dang customers, regulatory bodies, etc.

Amethyst

If you're in the right job, you should:

Look forward to your work
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated
Feel proud when describing your work to others
Enjoy and respect the people you work with
Feel optimistic about your future

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Midpack---your description fits they way I've felt about most of the jobs I have had so I guess I have been lucky. Like Amethyst I find the politics a big downer. I console myself with the thought that I always try to do the right thing no matter the situation. I distance myself from people who are only out to serve their personal interests at the expense of our mission statement.

 

[ziggy29]

I believe it's a great blessing to truly love one's work, and it's something few people can truly say. I guess some people can say they enjoy what they do, but they still may not enjoy the "job" aspect of it with all the office politics, corporate bureaucracy and regulatory compliance that goes with it.

 

[Meadbh]

Look forward to your work Yes, mostly
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do Not so much
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated YES!
Feel proud when describing your work to others Yes
Enjoy and respect the people you work with Yes
Feel optimistic about your future Yes

I think the reason I don't feel energized by what I do is that the people I serve to have so many challenges that are far beyond my ability to solve.

 

[Moemg]

Except for brief periods I always enjoyed my job and considering I worked for forty years I was very very lucky .

 

[chinaco]

I am ready to FIRE and thank the heavens that I prepared for FIRE. I am at the 50% rate. 50% of the time I hate my j*b. 50% of the time it ranges from tolerable to mildly gratifying.

Look forward to your work - not too much in the last 10 years.
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do - Less and less.
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated - Always have and still do
Feel proud when describing your work to others - Yes
Enjoy and respect the people you work with - Yes... but I am in Management.
Feel optimistic about your future - Yes... But I do not want the job anymore; to much BS

Time to leave!

 

[Alan]

Look forward to your work - not too much in the last 5 years before I retired.
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do - Most of the time but tapered off towards the end although those around always thought I was, as I always gave 100% and never stopped joking (humor is my way to get through life)
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated - Always did
Feel proud when describing your work to others - Yes
Enjoy and respect the people you work with - Yes.
Feel optimistic about your future - Yes and was always well rewarded in salary and flexibility of the comapny in the variety of jobs I was able to do

It wasn't just the Corporate politics and BS that wore me down, but I had a lot of people that worked for me and that I cared for and helped through some pretty bad times including broken marriages, nervous breakdowns, serious illnesses, deaths of close family members etc. Plus having to lay-off good people during bad economic times left me drained.

 

[ziggy29]

Looks like most of us here seem to be able to answer affirmatively to the last four points here:

Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated
Feel proud when describing your work to others
Enjoy and respect the people you work with
Feel optimistic about your future

The first two points appear to be the stumbling block. I think those are the places where the BS and the office politics and the bureaucracy come into play to ruin it.

 

[Midpack]

In the interest of disclosure.

If you're in the right job, you should:

Look forward to your work Unfortunately no
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do Sometimes, but not very often
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated By my VP/majority owner-boss and peers very much so, by other Corp areas, almost never
Feel proud when describing your work to others Indifferent, people are impressed even intimidated by my position sometimes, little do they know...
Enjoy and respect the people you work with Mostly yes, but there are a handful that make everyone else miserable - because their personal lives are miserable and they like to blame everyone else for their misfortunes including their employer.
Feel optimistic about your future Business is sound, but I have no interest in promotion, next step would be VP, no thanks.

I think I've decided to leave, just deciding between leaving and figuring out what I want to do next later (we can afford to never work again) OR deciding before I leave (I know it's more sensible).

 

[hankster]

I'm fortunate to be able to answer YES to those questions, at least presently. The main drawback to my job, as with most jobs, is the inability to take off for 2 to 3 months on a travel adventure if I wish. Two weeks is O.K. but not enough time to enjoy the kind of RV excursions I would like to take. I would prefer to spend the winter months in a warmer climate and not be obligated to return for w*rk on a certain date.

Alas, the key to the golden handcuffs is still a few years away

 

[Amethyst]

I always gave 100% and never stopped joking (humor is my way to get through life)

Me too, and this seems to annoy some people at work; perhaps it's the Orchidflower "People Don't Like Funny Women" effect.

Some people are just so damn serious about everything. Their attitude is that if you can find any humor in work, you must not be doing a good job. Even when you plainly are exceeding the job requirements, and the humor is not at anyone else's expense. My dad used to call such people, "Life Is Real, Life Is Earnest" types. I wonder what they do after they retire.

Amethyst

 

[ziggy29]

Some people are just so damn serious about everything. Their attitude is that if you can find any humor in work, you must not be doing a good job. Even when you plainly are exceeding the job requirements, and the humor is not at anyone else's expense. My dad used to call such people, "Life Is Real, Life Is Earnest" types. I wonder what they do after they retire.

My wife deals with this too; she's always been the type to use humor to get through difficult situations. The problem is that too many "Type A" people can't relate to it and they may think you are being flippant and trivializing a "crisis" at work, when really it's not that, but merely a different "coping mechanism."

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Me too, and this seems to annoy some people at work; perhaps it's the Orchidflower "People Don't Like Funny Women" effect.
My dad used to call such people, "Life Is Real, Life Is Earnest" types. I wonder what they do after they retire.

Amethyst

I suspect that they will be spending at least 1/2 of their days taking in extra fiber to help them ease the sticks out of their asses.

 

[tuixiu]

Look forward to your work No
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do No
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated Yes
Feel proud when describing your work to others Yes
Enjoy and respect the people you work with Yes
Feel optimistic about your future Yes

 

[W2R]

Looks like most of us here seem to be able to answer affirmatively to the last four points here:

The first two points appear to be the stumbling block. I think those are the places where the BS and the office politics and the bureaucracy come into play to ruin it.

Yep. If someone answered "yes" to the first two, then maybe their job simply didn't involve those. Seems to me that (generally) the higher one goes in an organization, the more these factors may enter into the equation.

 

[Katsmeow]

In the interest of disclosure.



I think I've decided to leave, just deciding between leaving and figuring out what I want to do next later (we can afford to never work again) OR deciding before I leave (I know it's more sensible).

I don't know that is more sensible. We often think we will feel a certain way if X happens or whatever, but when we get there we feel differently. So without a compelling reason to do so I'm not sure that you have make that decision until later.

As for me:

Look forward to your work Not really.
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do Not really, rarely.
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated Yes .
Feel proud when describing your work to others Yes, largely.
Enjoy and respect the people you work with Mostly yes..
Feel optimistic about your future I guess. There was nothing negative but this is so outweighed by the No to first question..

 

[Buckeye]

Look forward to your work No
Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do No
Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated Yes
Feel proud when describing your work to others No
Enjoy and respect the people you work with Yes
Feel optimistic about your future Yes, if I don't think I'll be working there

Pretty sorry answers given I've been at my new job for only 2 months. The work is boring and unimportant but the days pass quickly because I am still learning a lot. I'm working pretty much a 40-hour week, they pay me well, good benefits and the commute is short. If they will have me, I'm considering working there until 55. We'll see whether I make it beyond the first year.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Look forward to your work (Yes. I'm a planner by heart, and I actually look forward to Mondays when I can get into the office and lay out the priorities for the group for the next week.)

Feel energized (most of the time) by what you do (Yes, most of the time, but dealing with people's insecurities and the resultant BS from their insecurities drains me.)

Feel your contribution is respected and appreciated (Sometimes. The engineers all think they are management, but when sh1t hits the fan, they want someone to in front of them to shield them.)

Feel proud when describing your work to others (Yes.)
Enjoy and respect the people you work with (Most of the time)
Feel optimistic about your future (I feel optimistic about my ER future. After I achieve that, I won't give a damn about people's insecurity BS.)

 

[Gumby]

I have almost always enjoyed my job(s), enjoyed the people I worked with, and felt that my work was valuable and valued. It's just that there are so many other things I want to do, and I'm not getting any younger.