Poll:After becoming FI, did it get easier or harder to deal with office BS?

[Bigdawg]

From a military perspective, once you hit 20 years (pension requirement) there seems to be a big weight lifted off of your shoulders. You know that unless you commit a crime your pension is guaranteed. Although I am FI, I am still working. Plan was to ER in Sept but it may be here in January. Work is almost unbearable. There is just no "want to". I'm in a churn industry where there is no end. Lots of importance put on the font and slide layout. Have never cared about that stuff.

 

[Philliefan33]

A little of both for me. Once I decided that I will ER in 2015, I've stressed less at work. I haven't told anyone at work that I'll be leaving in less than four months, so when we have team meetings to plan our work beyond the four-month time frame I just nod my head and smile inside. I work at a more relaxed pace, knowing that by the time anyone notices that I'm not getting as much done as I used to, I'll be out of here.

What is harder now is getting up in the morning and coming to work. There are many more interesting things I would like to be doing, but they need to wait. So close I can almost taste the freedom...



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[Andre1969]

I'll let you know in 37 months (but who's counting) when I reach FI!

Who knows - by then the main irritant (boss) may have moved on, in which case my attitude will improve by leaps and bounds.

That happened with me. I had an irritant, mainly my office mate, that was getting me to the point I was ready to quit. My company's lack of action only added fuel to the flames, essentially telling me to stop whining and just deal with her. Well, she's no longer in the office. And my attitude has improved tremendously!

I have noticed though, that the more financially independent I am, the less tolerant I am of the BS. I was hoping I'd get a more carefree attitude, knowing that I wasn't bound down by the j*b anymore and could quit at any time. But instead I've found myself more willing to voice my opinion and stand my ground when something annoys me.

 

[Hermit]

No change for me. In my last assignment, I was the "Maytag Repairman". They always laid off based on seniority, especially for those of us over 50 so I would have been the last standing. If they wanted me to clean toilets, that was OK with me. I figured if they wanted to pay me the kind of money I was getting for menial tasks, that was fine with me. I would usually create myself an interesting project to do just to keep from being bored. I guess they appreciated it, because every time I have seen the boss, he has asked me to come back to work.

I couldn't keep my mouth shut on when I was planning to retire. Even the big bosses back at the head office knew. Not a big deal. I don't think it changed compensation or anything.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

At first it was tolerable. As time went on, it became more difficult to be the "nice guy". I tend to voice my opinion anyway, and as time went on, I was getting more vocal by the day. I can't remember exactly what happened to trigger my "F this, I'm out!"...probably more of a death by a thousand cuts more than anything. I will say, once my date was official, by "give a damn" meter went flat.

 

[jollystomper]

I found it easier. Perhaps because I still like most of my job and the B.S. part wasn't the majority of it. Being (politely) more direct about what made sense and what did not, as well as putting my personal time ahead of excessive work priorities (e.g. turning off the work computer over the weekend and no more attending conference calls on vacation days, no matter how "urgent") seems to have overall improved things.

The interesting thing is that, in a sense, it has made it harder for me to ER. These changes have my my job both more interesting and less burdensome. I'm now rethinking my ER plan to be based on personal timing instead of on being fed up with BS on the job.

 

[RetireAge50]

My 2 strongest traits are smart and lazy. Luckily the smart part was dominant and I could still produce at a high level. Lately though the lazy part is taking over as motivation is fading.

I can still "do my job" at an above satisfactory level but going above and beyond is gone.

 

[M Paquette]

The office BS became harder for me to deal with, mostly because I knew I was FI, and had to make an extra effort to remain polite!

 

[Walt34]

I guess I was lucky, I didn't find the working environment difficult at all. In fact I liked it there. We had a good crew and the work got done, very little BS.

 

[Car-Guy]

For me, it was harder because I was SO tempted to just walk out and never return. Seriously, my thoughts were, "Why would anyone sane put up with this voluntarily?"

Wow, that sounds so much like my situation too. However, I stayed on a few more years strictly for the extra money.

 

[rodi]

I put that it was hard. But that's only part of the story. Most tasks became less annoying because I didn't care as much about them. But... my boss's attitude towards me did become harder to take. He was going through an unhappy stage in his life (separation/divorce) and took it out on his team (me and my friends). That became harder to take because I knew I really didn't have to take it - I could quit. The commute also became harder to take. I quit in year 3 of a 5 year major freeway construction project. (805 and Mira Mesa Blvd for those who know San Diego). The area I worked was very heavily trafficked and even shifting hours didn't improve the commute. That was very hard to deal with once I reached FI.

The straw that broke my working back was the corporate decision that people from my team would need to rotate through a customer site - to hold their hand and just be present. (Not really needed from an engineering POV - just there to show the customer we were engaged.) I like travel - but spending a week away at a time from my family... in a place I have no desire to visit... for no good professional reason... I gave notice.

 

[Lakewood90712]

The office BS part didn't change for me .

The hardest part was what Rodi brought up. the commute.

I often ended up assigned at the far end of the city , like 35 miles from home, ok, not that far, except at 4 pm at an avg. speed of 15 mph, that is several unpaid hours a day in stop n go traffic , with " What the He.. am I doing here " echoing in my head.

Some unfortunate souls I worked with , who got on the wrong side of management, were purposely assigned far out , and given "Freeway Therapy" to punish them. Didn't happen to me, distant assignments just turned out that way by chance.

 

[Ronstar]

My office politics was different than most in that I was part owner of our company when I became FI . I only had to deal with 2 people with more stock than I, and they generally left me alone. All was well until they sold out to some younger guys. The new boss told me that people over 50 aren't forward thinking enough for modern business, etc. So I helped out by retiring.


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[38Chevy454]

Easier for me because I do not get stressed out or worried about things. No need to worry about career advancement. No need to fake anything, I pretty much say what I think. Not trying to get my boss's position or move up higher positions. Just here to collect a paycheck! My current job is pretty easy, and I spend too much time goofing off on computer, like now

 

[Theseus]

My experience is that it's not harder, but is more conflicted.

I concur. It always seemed like I had two jobs.

One, which was always the most important to me, was to handle the professional responsibilities to the best of my abilities, i.e. keeping the company out of regulatory hot water, employee safety, no environmental disaster, or negligence on my part or my crew leading to any of those things. Those things never get easier, but if you have the right people working for you - and you treat them right, that job is much more likely to go right. That part of the job I loved.

The other job, which I never cared for one bit, was that of dancing to the management whims de jour. I viewed that sort of thing as being akin to being chastised for failing to hand Nero the lyre while Rome burned, and maintained my focus on job one, but would spend the extra time necessary to keep Nero satisfied it that was what it took. It was surprising how that simply became nothing but a petty annoyance towards the end of my working days, before becoming FI it would have driven me up a wall.

 

[eta2020]

Easier for me because I do not get stressed out or worried about things. No need to worry about career advancement. No need to fake anything, I pretty much say what I think. Not trying to get my boss's position or move up higher positions. Just here to collect a paycheck! My current job is pretty easy, and I spend too much time goofing off on computer, like now

Sounds like me

I just need to hang around in Boston until my DD goes to college. So since I can't go and for example live in Granada Spain until then...I get stress free paid while waiting for her to finish High School.



BTW stress is bad for your health

 

[REorDie]

Easier. If one is FI and has an unbearable urge to quit, one should listen to that urge.

I find it easier to deal with office BS but much more difficult to drag myself into work each and I do have an unbearable urge to quit. I agree with your advice and will quit the first half of 2015...although I'm suffering from OMM syndrome - one more month.

 

[Texconsin]

That's going to be me...

Wow, that sounds so much like my situation too. However, I stayed on a few more years strictly for the extra money.

I could retire at 62 with a "fair" portfolio and receive "fair" Social Security payments and "fair" company stock dividends. "Fair" gradually turns to "good" or even "very good" 3 to 4 years later. I hope that the "fair" safety net makes the journey to "good" or "very good" more tolerable than the long slog to "fair."

 

[Looking4Ward]

Once FI, I found the stress unnecessary yet still unavoidable. And shrugging off / slacking off just isn't in my DNA.

I was C-level, was proud of what had been accomplished during my tenure, and couldn't kid myself that results didn't matter to me.

Becoming FI helped me run out of fight. So I had to make an exit.

 

[Major Tom]

People keep posting about unemployment payments. You have to prove to the state that you are actually looking for a job every week in order to get unemployment. To do otherwise is to defraud the unemployment insurance system. I collected unemployment for a few weeks in 2004. It is for people who really lose their job and are really looking for work.

In my state, you have to fill out details of jobs you supposedly applied for. Whether that amounts to actually proving you are really looking for work is up for debate.

I am not contesting your statement as to what UI is intended for, just challenging the contention that the unemployed person "has to prove" that they are looking for work.

 

[Lucantes]

I care less but put up a good front.

This is me also in general.
I have found that overall it is harder for me as I cannot get the retirement countdown timer that is running in my head out of my thoughts though and sometimes that is a real problem.

 

[Calico]

That happened with me. I had an irritant, mainly my office mate, that was getting me to the point I was ready to quit. My company's lack of action only added fuel to the flames, essentially telling me to stop whining and just deal with her. Well, she's no longer in the office. And my attitude has improved tremendously!

I have noticed though, that the more financially independent I am, the less tolerant I am of the BS. I was hoping I'd get a more carefree attitude, knowing that I wasn't bound down by the j*b anymore and could quit at any time. But instead I've found myself more willing to voice my opinion and stand my ground when something annoys me.

Glad you got rid of the irritant! I am hoping I can just wait this guy out. Based on his record, he tends to change jobs every 2-3 years (still climbing that ladder) and we are already at the two year mark. He always has his eye out for something "better" and personally I have my fingers crossed he finds it - I'll happily help him pack if that day comes.

In the meantime I keep my head down and bite my tongue a lot. I remind myself to keep my eye on the prize (FI), and that with any luck he will become someone else's problem in the near future.

 

[clifp]

The office BS became harder for me to deal with, mostly because I knew I was FI, and had to make an extra effort to remain polite!

I'm surprised at the poll results. I found it much harder to deal with.
The bosses crisis du jour, because really hard to take seriously. Ah you know this has been going on for a year and the universe has not ended, so why do we have to drop everything to fix it in two weeks.

Perhaps really I wasn't more dissatisfied, it is just that paycheck produced increasingly less satisfaction.

 

[rockyj]

From a military perspective, once you hit 20 years (pension requirement) there seems to be a big weight lifted off of your shoulders.

Easier for me because I do not get stressed out or worried about things. No need to worry about career advancement. No need to fake anything, I pretty much say what I think.

+1 on both counts. FI helped to clarify things and made life easier. As the golden handcuffs came off, and any confusion about being at someone else's mercy was lifted, things became my choice. It was easier to be more forthright about what we should or shouldn't be doing. I could focus more clearly on what I thought I still could accomplish versus whatever tradeoffs and rewards might remain (e.g. personal and project goals; sense of accomplishment; increasing the pension and other reserves; time on the planet). I think I became a better employee for having fewer worries and fewer hidden agendas. In retrospect, it's a shame I didn't come to that clarity much earlier in my career; I could have been less stressed, easier to work with and probably more productive. When the time did come, I gave plenty of notice to help wrap up any transition issues, and I feel like I left on a decent note. But things were much easier once I knew that I could land on my feet at any time if needed.

 

[Focus]

I believed FI would make it easier to handle work stresses and challenging personalities. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, it raised the bar for me. I thought, "If this isn't going to be fun and satisfying, then I don't have to be here. I now have the freedom to do something else." I lost all patience.