Poll: Job Satisfaction

[ERD50]

I guess this would be the closest: "I like the people OK, but the job itself made me want to retire." But more accurately would be:

"I like most of the people OK, and some of the job was great, but ..."

And it strikes me as ironic that the OP has mentioned many times in the past (rightly I would say), that one should have something to retire to, not just from. So the other side of this is that I had planned for an early retirement, the planets aligned and I was able to do it. So I did.

Work/people didn't have to be bad for me to want to do what I want, all day, rather than what someone told me to do. I still avoid most commitments. I like freedom.

-ERD50

 

[dtbach]

I had some great jobs (Naval Aviator, Tech on DOD research projects, Unix Admin) and had some really suck jobs (including one stint on a DOD project). By the end, it took too much out of my spirit and I quit even before total FI.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Generally speaking, i enjoyed my j*b and was lucky to have such a cool j*b. But, in the end, it was still a j*b and was keeping me from being truly free...especially in respect to my time.

The longer I go in retirement, the more I realize how valuable MY time is and over 3 years in, I have ZERO regrets.

 

[MarieIG]

I could have checked off each of the four boxes at different times. Currently people good, but the work load is too much. I'm tired.

 

[Morricol61]

I enjoyed being at work right up until the end. The company was generous and employees were frequently rewarded with gift cards or cash bonuses for exemplary effort. The work I did was important and I made a difference in the workplace. My co-workers were fun to be around, but when I made the decision to leave, I acted very quickly, giving 4 weeks notice and then out the door.

The desire to do my "own thing" was the main motivation for me. Work was fun but I want to spend ALL of my time and energy doing the things that please me and my husband. Although it's only been a few weeks, I know I made the right decision for us.

 

[Ronstar]

I enjoyed the work, didn’t like reports, meetings, commute. All in all, I enjoyed my non work life more than my work life, and had enough $ to retire so I did.

 

[marko]

Bonus, what bonus? LOL. (Actually, we did get performance bonuses, or anyway 50% of us did. Mine was usually 1.5% - 2% of salary - a govt salary, never more than $155K - and that was considered enviable).

What I was referencing was some new B-School manager kid came in and decided that our sales team's 'stretch goals' should become the target number their bonuses would be measured against.

Each new year, you had to set a low, high, likely and 'stretch' target. Stretch was pie-in-the-sky best case scenario used mostly to gauge what the market was doing.

For our sales people, their bonuses represented about 50% of their annual income.

As soon as I found out about this wonderful plan (midnight calls from 200 sales people around the world), I had a talk with the newbie; but she still couldn't fathom what the problem was nor why everyone was so upset.

Anyway....soooooo glad I don't have to deal with all that crap anymore!

 

[H2ODude]

Didn't vote because in my case I liked the people I worked WITH but because it was a public sector job and elections changed the people for whom I worked FOR I no longer wished to continue. I pretty much always liked the core work but between political posturing and HR issues I'd had enough. Stayed the last year or two to ratchet up a pension because of a quantum leap but it was not enjoyable. I do miss the people I worked with, or at least 90% of them.

 

[24601NoMore]

Wow - most of you guys are really lucky. My j*b is absolutely toxic and I can't wait to leave.

The "BS factor" is beyond describable. Politics the worst I've ever seen, and I've worked in this business for 30+ years at 7 different companies, so that's saying something.

The only reason I stay is the stock. Vesting quarterly at this point, and the $s are compelling.

IF I can make it two more quarters, I hope to RE late Summer. I do like what I do and think I'm pretty good at it so in a way don't "wan't" to leave - but the politics and BS are so toxic that it really does not leave much choice.

Ultimately it does bum me out as I'd hoped to w*rk for a few more years at least as I'm only 54. But being FI, my motivation to take on (likely) just a different flavor of BS at a different company is low. (I've learned through painful experience there "is no greener grass"). So, while I've talked to a couple other companies I just can't seem to get "into it" in terms of pursuing anything else. Guess that's an indication that it's time to RE but having very mixed feelings also.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I could have checked off each of the four boxes at different times. Currently people good, but the work load is too much. I'm tired.

Yes, this, only it was the same job. For years, I loved my job. Then management changed, and then the environment changed, then the laws changed and as a result, my job and its requirements changed a lot. And I'm tired. So a job I used to love has become one I can barely tolerate- but won't have to much longer. Which box is that?

 

[nash031]

I enjoy the work (active duty naval officer) for the most part. I have enjoyed many of the people I've worked with, and strongly disliked others, most recently my direct boss. All that said, for me it's about the fact that my line of work dictates how you live your entire life because it takes so much time away from home in six month chunks at a time. There's always more away time hanging over your head. I'm thankful for people who do it, but it's not longer for me.

 

[jfn111]

I went looking for a job when I graduated college and retired from the same job 33 years latter. Mega corp was a great company to work for but we were in a dying industry, Tobacco, and the constant downsizing finally got to me. Not by being packaged out myself but those who remained had to cover bigger areas and the service to our customers was definitely declining.
I took the pension and got into real estate. It's a cut throat business and I love it.
Someday I'll get the hang of actually retiring.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

My job sucked. I hated it.

7 months of every year was underwater. Any time not underwater was rotating shift-work.

The federal 'Personnel Reliability Program' largely dictated everything I could do in my life, and it was required for my security clearances.

On the other hand, the pay was good, and there are a bunch of IRS exemptions focused specifically on my career field [FBM subs], so I was technically tax 'EXEMPT' for almost 20 years. And I got a 20-year pension.

 

[MarieIG]

Yes, this, only it was the same job. For years, I loved my job. Then management changed, and then the environment changed, then the laws changed and as a result, my job and its requirements changed a lot. And I'm tired. So a job I used to love has become one I can barely tolerate- but won't have to much longer. Which box is that?

Oh, yes. I was at my last job for 16 years. It was a good job for a long time. Then there was a change in ownership/ management, which was toxic. I was recruited to another firm and offered more $. I really felt I had nothing to lose by leaving. After I left, with six months, 1/2 the professional staff walked.

The new place isn't toxic, but the work load coupled with the logistics of getting the work done (everything takes forever), leads to very long hours.

 

[brucethebroker]

Loved the "job", hated the Great Recession. Real Estate sales dried up in our area and I was dragged kicking and screaming into semi-retirement (PT job). Re-invented w*rk life and am now happier than ever.

No plans for full time retirement YET....

 

[MichaelB]

I was with Megacorp for 25 years and had 15 different positions. Each role had aspects I really enjoyed and things I did not like. I worked with lots of really smart and good people, some sociopaths, and some people weren’t even there. Mostly good and smart, but when the sociopaths were around, they sucked the air out of the room and work was challenging, but not in a good way.

It seems to me that two things changed over that period. First, the company evolved in a way that I could not (or chose not to). That made it increasingly difficult to get through the day. Second, I was able to accumulate enough money to have the option to leave. When both of those conditions were satisfied, it was time to move on.

 

[Amethyst]

I call that "front-loading" your working life, while praying you can get the bennies before your job eats you alive. Thank you for your silent service.

M
The federal 'Personnel Reliability Program' largely dictated everything I could do in my life, and it was required for my security clearances.

On the other hand, the pay was good, and there are a bunch of IRS exemptions focused specifically on my career field [FBM subs], so I was technically tax 'EXEMPT' for almost 20 years. And I got a 20-year pension.

 

[MBAustin]

Most of the time I enjoyed the job itself (I had the benefit of usually moving to a new role every 2-3 years so I didn't generally get bored or burned out), and I liked many of the people I worked with, but senior management became increasingly unpleasant to tolerate. So when they decided to move my position 1500 miles away (which made no sense because I was managing a remote team), I gave notice. In the process, I managed to save the job of someone else on the team, an extra cherry on top. Being FI never felt so good.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

I call that "front-loading" your working life, while praying you can get the bennies before your job eats you alive. Thank you for your silent service.

Thank you.

Most submariners obviously are not able to hold on for 20-years to get the pension. I was 'lucky', I made it. Though I have a list of disabilities. All of them are rated at zero by the VA, just waiting for each disability to worsen. But that is not how my mind works.

I came away with a duodenal ulcer, easily treated. And way too much radiation exposure.

Now is my chance to live life.

 

[Out of Steam]

I found working in an office environment hard most of the time. Got some answers as to why not long ago when I went through psychological testing and found I had a significant learning disability.

It's pretty clear that it would have been easier if I had not done desk work for nearly all of my career.

 

[TimeMeasure]

I liked what I actually did. I liked the people I worked with closely....
I didn't like... politics, some of the corporate culture and decisions....

So it's more nuanced than job or people....

This sums it up pretty well.

Technically, I suppose dealing with corporate culture, politics, etc. does count as part of the job, in the sense that it's some of the friction which has to be absorbed to accomplish the overall objective, even if it's not directly value-add. But it can be difficult to keep that nuanced view in mind.

In the end, backed away from career due mainly to personal reasons - but it's also true, although not directly as much of a factor, that the culture at the firm had been gradually shifting for decades. That made it a little easier to back away.

 

[aaronc879]

I have never had a job I liked even a little. Always physically difficult jobs. The people were ok but didn't like maybe around half of them. When injured by my physically demanding job I get light duty in the office and I wish I could do that work instead but i'm supposedly not qualified to do the less difficult work.

 

[Dash man]

Job satisfaction I don’t understand the concept.