16% of workers "enjoy what they do"

[Midpack]

I'd never seen anyone report an actual number, 16% is higher than I might have guessed - but it's not zero as stated here sometimes. So if you don't enjoy what you're doing, maybe there's something that would suit you better, but it won't be easy to find. And this 2012 source say enjoying your work ranges from 10-26% by age group - note who they say the 26% group is.

But if you don't enjoy your work you're not alone. Your chances of finding work you enjoy are only about 1 in 6 based on this survey at least. One data point...FWIW

Odds are more than 84% of members here will (strongly) disagree...

http://www.transamericacenter.org/d...center-research/TCRS2012_SR_redefiningret.pdf

 

[bssc]

I think that a lot of people like what they do. It is all the stuff that goes with it like the cow-orkers who don't do their part, the HR stuff, the CEO and their strategy du jour. All the stuff in the bad bucket.

 

[brewer12345]

In other news, 16% of workers are full of crap.

 

[scrabbler1]

I think that a lot of people like what they do. It is all the stuff that goes with it like the cow-orkers who don't do their part, the HR stuff, the CEO and their strategy du jour. All the stuff in the bad bucket.

For me it was a delicate balance between the commute which I hated and the work which I liked, at least a lot of the time. Over time, I hated the commute more and more while how much I liked the work was pretty much flat. When those two lines crossed in an unfavorable manner, my ER planning went up. Then I quit the job and ERed.

 

[clifp]

In other news, 16% of workers are full of crap.

Man you are way too cynical. I lost count of the number of people I meet in Silicon Valley who thought they were going to changing the world. A surprising number really did. The world is a different place without an Apple, Google, Cisco, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel and host of smaller companies also. If you were an early employee, senior manager, or key engineer you probably made a real difference. Being part of something bigger than yourself can be very rewarding.

 

[Walt34]

I think that a lot of people like what they do. It is all the stuff that goes with it like the cow-orkers who don't do their part, the HR stuff, the CEO and their strategy du jour. All the stuff in the bad bucket.

I see that a lot with others here saying they generally liked or even enjoyed their jobs but they retired or are actively planning to because of all that stuff.

For me it was frustration with bureaucracy and traffic. I actually liked the work.

 

[brewer12345]

If you were an early employee, senior manager, or key engineer you probably made a real difference. Being part of something bigger than yourself can be very rewarding.

So a couple hundred people made it big. Small consolation to the hundreds of thousands of drones stuck in their cube-prison bureaucracy.

 

[Midpack]

I guess I knew...

 

[Onward]

To me, "liking" something means you would do it without pay. After all, you like it.

Defined that way, I'd bet there have been only a handful of people in human history who have liked their jobs. I certainly have never known one.

And those who "make it big" are sometimes the most spiritually deficient people of all.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled optimism.

 

[Ready]

For me it was a delicate balance between the commute which I hated and the work which I liked, at least a lot of the time. Over time, I hated the commute more and more while how much I liked the work was pretty much flat. When those two lines crossed in an unfavorable manner, my ER planning went up. Then I quit the job and ERed.

That sounds pretty similar to my experience. I generally enjoyed my positions very much, but that commute to LA just plain sucked. I still have nightmares just thinking about it. Sometimes it added as much as five hours to my day. That's almost like a whole extra job in itself.

If we ever invent the bullet train to LA that gets me there in 15 minutes, I just may reconsider all of this.

 

[Hermit]

To me, "liking" something means you would do it without pay. After all, you like it.

Defined that way, I'd bet there have been only a handful of people in human history who have liked their jobs. I certainly have never known one.

And those who "make it big" are sometimes the most spiritually deficient people of all.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled optimism.

I'm going to be spending a lot of my time helping the maintenance crew at a kid's camp. So this means I'm going to like cleaning the toilets

 

[Arifriekinel]

To me, "liking" something means you would do it without pay. After all, you like it.

Defined that way, I'd bet there have been only a handful of people in human history who have liked their jobs. I certainly have never known one.

And those who "make it big" are sometimes the most spiritually deficient people of all.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled optimism.

I know hundreds of people who love what they do in one of my lines of work. The vast majority like to work and I know I'd do it for free, and I'm consistently told by other people they would too. I get to go to exclusive and fun events, get paid to travel, and my job consists almost completely of dancing or giving things away.

All of the red tape mentioned earlier doesn't really play a part because the longest I've ever worked with someone other than my boyfriend at once is a couple of months, with new bosses and coworkers constantly. One day we might be giving away ice cream in California with three people, the next we're selling software in New York with 30 others.

But all of those things above, which make me love it, made other people hate it. They hate meeting new people, and spending days or weeks on the road, and always having to learn about new brands.

It's definitely very hard to find something you'd do for free, but I'm still always surprised to go to work with people who love it, and then come back and read this forum, it's an interesting dichotomy

 

[ziggy29]

I can believe 16% (or more) like the actual work they do. I don't believe that 16% like the office politics, the gossip, the backstabbing, the slave-driver bosses, corporate nonsense and other things tangential to the work itself that fills the BS bucket.

 

[Gumby]

In other news, 16% of workers are full of crap.

I think it more likely that they are simply deceiving themselves and/or their interlocutors. The interviewer asks "Will you continue to work after retirement?*. You say "Yes, I will." The interviewer asks "why?" At that point a fairly large number will say "Because I'll need the money." But there are certainly still a substantial number (perhaps even 16%) who will be embarrassed to admit that they have not saved sufficiently and will need the money. So they say "Oh, I want to stay connected" or "I enjoy what I do." It's simple human nature.

* (yes, I am well aware of the non-sequitur)

 

[MRG]

I think 16% of the time I liked my j*b. Those rare times when someone kept the id10ts away. Leadership that created positive environments. Those times were great. Working for political morons that needed a gps to find their office, not so great.
MRG

 

[brewer12345]

I think it more likely that they are simply deceiving themselves and/or their interlocutors. The interviewer asks "Will you continue to work after retirement?*. You say "Yes, I will." The interviewer asks "why?" At that point a fairly large number will say "Because I'll need the money." But there are certainly still a substantial number (perhaps even 16%) who will be embarrassed to admit that they have not saved sufficiently and will need the money. So they say "Oh, I want to stay connected" or "I enjoy what I do." It's simple human nature.

* (yes, I am well aware of the non-sequitur)

Sounds like "full of crap" covers it.

 

[Al in Ohio]

By and large I have enjoyed my job the majority of the time. I design and plan building systems and get the satisfaction of seeing beautiful buildings built by my design teams over and over throughout my career. A small handful of people can be annoying every once in awhile, but they have no direct control over me so they are easily dealt with. I rarely work over 40 a week anymore, and I am self motivated and work fairly autonomously 95% of the time and can telecommute several times per month at will. All that and I can still count on a sizable bonus too.

 

[Al in Ohio]

But make no mistake..... I have another 2-3 years until my retirement date and nothing is as satisfying to me than having to not show up anywhere at an agreed upon time on a regular basis. I crave having no paid responsibility or schedule more than anything on this planet.

 

[Meadbh]

It's definitely very hard to find something you'd do for free, but I'm still always surprised to go to work with people who love it, and then come back and read this forum, it's an interesting dichotomy

Yabbut......we're just a bunch of old pharts here. When you get to be our age............

 

[Arifriekinel]

Yabbut......we're just a bunch of old pharts here. When you get to be our age............

Now I'd only believe that if I didn't work with people 60+ regularly. You guys here just find other ways to have fun! I imagine some people here wouldn't like my job.

The feeling I've gotten from this board so far seems to be that it's not working that's bad, it's the fact that someone else is making you do it that gets the mood down, even if you'd choose to do the same thing they'd make you do.

Which is basically why I love finances and FIRE so much even though I love what I do

EDIT: Although I have noticed the job gets worse if you move up the ranks. I have met more than a few older people who eventually moved up and got more money for booking and planning events instead of working them, but came back down to the street team level because it just wasn't worth it when sitting behind the desk and staying with one company.

 

[Meadbh]

The feeling I've gotten from this board so far seems to be that it's not working that's bad, it's the fact that someone else is making you do it that gets the mood down, even if you'd choose to do the same thing they'd make you do.

Absolutely! I read a study a few years ago about orchestras. Apparently the life expectancy of conductors is longer than that of musicians in the orchestra, and the researchers postulated that this was due to the fact that the conductors had more control. But many management positions have a lot of responsibility and authority, the worst of both sides.

Anyhow, it's a delight to have a bright young person like you on the forum and I really appreciate your perspective. Whatever happens, keep your sense if fun!

 

[Ready]

Now that I think about it, I seem to remember that when I first discovered this forum, I was both impressed with the accomplishments everyone had, but surprised that there did seem to be an overwhelming bias toward thinking about work in a negative light. I believe that I rationed it made sense, given that this was the "Early Retirement" forum. I figured if everyone here loved their job, they probably wouldn't be hanging out on this forum. I didn't have any particular judgment about it, just an observation that it seemed like the forum had a fairly heavy tilt toward this way of thinking.

So it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of folks here generally agree with the topic in this thread. I suppose the difference between the folks here and the general population is that this community found a way to make the best of it, make enough money to live on, and then retire early enough to create freedom for themselves.

I wasn't sure I would fit in when I first joined this forum, because I really did enjoy most of my career, and I wasn't sure that I was ready to hang up my hat. I'm still not completely sure. I love my freedom, but I also do miss some of the challenges I faced in my career. So I'm going to finish up my 12 month "vacation" here in the next few months, and then decide if it's back to work for me, or OMY of ER.

Can we fall victim to OMY of being ER'd before we go back to work anyway, or does it only work the other way around?

 

[jollystomper]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I enjoy what I do now, and most of my career I have enjoyed. At times it has been like a hobby. I did get promoted to a point where I did not like it, but took the risk to change back to a more enjoyable challenge and ended up making more than I ever expected. While I wouldn't work for free, I thought my peak earnings doing what I'm doing would be less than half of what I have been able to earn. I'm not going to complain about a career that gave me an opportunity to reach FI.

This doesn't mean I don't want to retire - I do plan to, to give myself more control and flexibility over whatever life I have left. If after retirement someone wants to pay me for to do part time work for a "hobby", as long as I could control the hours I would consider it.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I know a musician who has toured assorted countries and has a recording contract, a jewelry designer, a professor who travels and does mostly research, a writer, a rock enthusiast who owned a rock shop / museum and got to go on a NASA expedition in Antarctica and other people with careers they enjoyed.

There are many independently wealthy people who plan to never retire -

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2010/09/27/why-the-wealthy-never-retire/

 

[Live And Learn]

I actually loved my job for the first 20 years. Would I do it for free ? No. But I awoke with grand plans for my workday, arrived early and worked late because I felt like I was making a diffference. Then reality set in and I realized that I was just a tiny cog in a giant wheel - I settled for staying where I was because it wasn't horrible. Then I hit FI and thats when I started to resent and dislike my j*b. Instead of seeing whatever good I might be doing all I can see is the BS and wasted time.
58 mondays to go !