"But I really love my job"

[David1961]

Just over the holidays, two separate people were talking about their jobs and said things like "I can't stand my boss", "I'm working too many hours". "Sometimes when I leave the office, I never want to go back", but in the end they say "But I really love my job". Can someone offer some perspective on this? I felt like asking "Would you do your job if you weren't paid?" but decided not to. I guess what they are saying is "no job is perfect and even considering all of this, I really love it". I personally would use words like "My job is OK".

 

[gauss]

Probably enjoyed the job when performing it for different management. It wasn't the job that changed.

People don't leave organizations -- they leave supervisors.

-gauss

 

[Walt34]

There was a thread a while back on "why did you retire?" I was surprised at the number of people who retired, not because of anything directly connected with their jobs, but because they were driven out by bad bosses or coworkers. For others like myself, traffic and the commute were issues. Many retired because they had had it with living in hotels because they had to travel so much. But many genuinely enjoyed their jobs and only left because of other issues that there was no other way to escape.

 

[braumeister]

Long hours and long commutes were the problems for me.
While I was on the job, I enjoyed what I did and I really enjoyed the people I w*rked with. If not for the commuting, I would have stayed at least several more years.

 

[travelover]

My cynical view is that people don't so much love their jobs as feel comfortable in them and are apprehensive about change.

 

[Lakewood90712]

I'm sure I drove some co-workers and bosses crazy myself, without even trying.

Managers really don't like subordinates politely telling them they are full of crap, even if it is the truth. That is, unless the advise steered them clear of trouble, and you will not get an "attaboy" for the good deed. I had a department head a while back ,( 800 headcount dept.) and you could go toe to toe , brutally honest ,without fear of retaliation, as long as it was in private. A rare breed.

Over the years, it seems like maybe half the managers I worked for got there by hard work and ability , the other half by backstabbing , borderline or clearly Illegal conduct ( ya ,in government), and sim. skulduggery. The better managers I had were decades ago, in my experience.

 

[ERhoosier]

IMHO- the "job" is the whole package. The net of the good and the bad. The traveling salesman who loves sales but hates to travel needs to find a new job

 

[foxfirev5]

IMHO- the "job" is the whole package. The net of the good and the bad. The traveling salesman who loves sales but hates to travel needs to find a new job

Oversimplification. If you were the guy who is expected to travel farther, longer and better than anyone because you can "do this job in your sleep" what would you think? Sounds like drive the old guy into the ground to me. Usually after I tell my boss this one he leaves me alone for another year.

We'll see how this works in 2015.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

I can't think of a single job on this earth that I'd enjoy better than the stuff I am able to do now that I'm ER'ed. It's pretty much that simple.

 

[Ronstar]

I can't think of a single job on this earth that I'd enjoy better than the stuff I am able to do now that I'm ER'ed. It's pretty much that simple.

+1


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[Taxman59]

I love my technical duties, but the administrative duties and the "sales" functions I hated. A change in top management sucked the last of the life out of me leading to RE. So I loved the job, but then got more and more duties that I hated, changing my j*b to one I hate.


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[Hermit]

I can't think of a single job on this earth that I'd enjoy better than the stuff I am able to do now that I'm ER'ed. It's pretty much that simple.

I had a job for many years where I got to do technical engineering on multi-billion dollar projects that were as diverse as telephony, space systems, rocketry, and autonomous vehicles. I would stay on most of these projects for 6 months to 2 years. Then off to a new project with a whole new world of knowledge. For me those were absolutely fun times. For others having to learn whole new areas of expertise drove them crazy. BTW, whenever the possibility of promotion into management was mentioned, I politely said "no".

 

[FUEGO]

Saying things like "I love my job" makes it look like that person has control over their own destiny. In reality, they might not think so highly of the job but have no other option in order to fund their lifestyle. And who would want to say "my boss has me by the nuts, but I have no other options but to keep working"?

 

[truenorth418]

I can't think of a single job on this earth that I'd enjoy better than the stuff I am able to do now that I'm ER'ed. It's pretty much that simple.

Wow, great way to put it. I feel the same way.


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