Work fatigue

[Geordie]

Who here absolutely hates work, and wants to get out of the working world forever?

 

[Occasional_Demon]

Well, I don't really mind work actually. I think it depends on the type of work that you do. Finding yourself in a job that you don't enjoy is hell, but if you find something that you do enjoy, then it doesn't seem like "work", but rather a fun activity. Finding that sort of work, however, can take time.

 

[Geordie]

How do we know we are finding the right type of job that we like?

 

[Occasional_Demon]

It can be pretty hard to find it - that's why it takes time. Doing an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses can be good start. Having a chat with people who are close to you can help clarify your mind. Speaking to careers advisors may also help.

Personally, I'm still looking for that job. I don't mind my current work as a music journalist, but it's really something that I do for a bit of a laugh more than anything else. I don't envisage it as being a permanent career path for me; it's just something I do on the side for some petrol money, free CDs and free festival tickets now and again.

 

[Geordie]

I dreamt I can be a musician in the form of Kurt Cobain+Paul Anka, both of whom I really like

 

[katcha]

I never tend to feel fatiqued while working. Only extremely bored.

 

[Geordie]

I never tend to feel fatiqued while working. Only extremely bored.

Of doing the same stuff, over and over again?

 

[King_Oni]

I have to agree with Occaisional demon here. I don't mind a job, as long as I think it's fun. Or at least, doesn't seem like the burden of "work". I've had "fun" jobs and while they didn't pay an awful lot, they paid decent and time got by quite easily each day.

But yeah, it's kinda hard to find a job like that. I also like to adress the fact that the job itself is not the only thing that makes "fun". While, I myself, am not really social, I apparently was fun to hang around with at work... with that I mean, as long as the atmosphere to some level... your co-workers, all stuff like that is fine, besides the tasks to do, I could to some extent settle in.

In my experience with jobs it was more dependant on the atmosphere than jobs itself. Sure, I could complain about the work you have to do, but employees kinda "force" you to work with others, if that goes totally wrong, it's a really hard time. Also, stuff like the hours you work, extra shifts and stuff like that... it all makes up for "a fun job".

Here's a good and some bad example I've experienced;

I've worked for the government at the tax office. My job was to sort out tax filing documents by year and by variation. Sometimes you'd have an oddball handwritten note with it, sometimes there's staples in, sometimes there's all kinds of other stuff in. While the work itself was really, really dull and boring, I've had a group of guys, who started out the same day as me and we got along fine. I actually got quite talkative there, and the boss didn't seem to mind at all as we could finish our jobs. The upside also was, we'd work 5 days a week in 6 hour shifts, rather than 8 hour ones. And if there was a big delivery of filings, we'd work overtime... thus, we'd work from 8 to 4. Pay was above average, it was a 5 minute walk from the trainstation, stuff like that... too bad they usually just hire people for about a month. But it's something rather seasonal as tax filings are sent in in waves during the year.

I also worked in a warehouse. I used to work there in 8 hour shifts from monday to friday. I was fine with those, even if it were late shifts from 12 to 8 pm. But yeah... my department was one where a lot of packaging was done, and therefore it apparently was more of "ladies" department. So there was a lot of chatting, a lot of rumours going around,all the general nonsense of 40 year old housewives having a job on the side (as not everyone worked 40, some did only work 20). That chatting led to a below average end result, and thus we had to work extra shifts. Sometimes after 8, sometimes saturday, sometimes sunday, sometimes both. But my boss pretty much told me "you can't make plans after work or in weekends because we might need you". I found it quite an invasion of my private space. The pay was kinda horrible and it cost me a fortune to get there to work. Also, the extra shifts added extra stress in that I'd really have a problem getting home or there, as the bus went there on weekdays, but not on weekends. And after 8 I usually had to hurry for a bus, or else I'd have to way another hour.

To some this kind of stuff might sound like "meh.. .I've had worse..." but there was just too much stuff going on that genuinely bugged me. Not to mention that it was a global market leader in medical products and had a really "weird" philosophy on that. Granted, business is business... but I couldn't really justify the entire commercial aspect of their industry. Those things got me mental to where I went to see a therapist... (pretty much half of the employees had issues apparently).

That 2nd example is a reason why I'd hate work, where that first one is one where I'd say... "it's not that bad".

 

[Geordie]

Will working in an area of passionate interest help us to reduce work fatigue?

 

[King_Oni]

Will working in an area of passionate interest help us to reduce work fatigue?

I think so... there's a lot of factors that come with "enjoying" your job. It's also a thing that gets people up and "happy" to go work. You're likely to not see it as your job as much I think.

I know people who are like that, they're all bouncy because they have a "dream job" and make 12+ hour days because they just like it that much. Though it's people like this that ruin it for everyone because apparently not everyone has a passion for anything employable (or worth going to college for) actually, and the focus is on "well, if he can be this passionate. Why can't you?"

 

[Geordie]

I once worked in a 14-hour job. It's finance related. Will work for a few years in this area, since this area seems to keep me stimulated in mind and spirit. The biggest downsides are both sleep and lack of time to do other things I like (e.g. talking with friends in the non-finance sector).

 

[King_Oni]

But there are people that have fun with that. They enjoy their job that much. Heck, I've had a boss who told me "you know I work about 12 hour shifts a day from monday through friday?". Where I stated, well, you're getting paid a lot more than me, you are willing to be responsible for people like me and apparently you want a career so bad, so don't bring up your own ambition as a reason to tell me I should be more passionate about this job. If I have a passion in something, but can't get employed to live with it, I try to minimize my "obligations" and spend my motivation and passion elsewhere.

At an employment agency I told them I wanted a part-time job because I explained them what my real interests and passions were. Didn't get a job, but at least I was "realistic" about it in the way that I told, I just need cash to pay my bills nothing more nothing less and if that means I have to spend "some" time with a job, then fine, just don't expect me to set aside my passions and interests. It does become a lot more problematic when a job interferes with the possibility to be adamant about your passions. I do spend quite some time on looks (how superficial that might sound) actually at times. From dyeing my hair, to piercings, to the way I dress all that... that apparently is a really, really shady area when it comes to employment. No I will not accept a company policy that forbids me to have green hair for example. Me not being happy with the influence my job has over my "private" life makes me a really, really "tired" person with no intention of being good at my job, because I'm not working to just pay my bills... I'm working to be happy as well, and if that's what makes me happy to some extent, so be it. If a job, or employment as a whole can't accomodate that... I think there's something kinda wrong with that "scene" in the first place.

But by all means, if you feel that 14 hour shifts are enough to keep you happy and stimulated, and make up for a great deal on the downsides, really, by all means, enjoy said job.

 

[Geordie]

But by all means, if you feel that 14 hour shifts are enough to keep you happy and stimulated, and make up for a great deal on the downsides, really, by all means, enjoy said job.

I am always intense in everything I do. If something really motivates me and gives me intrinsic pleasures, I'll keep doing it.

Me not being happy with the influence my job has over my "private" life makes me a really, really "tired" person with no intention of being good at my job, because I'm not working to just pay my bills

I am ok being a 'corporate man' crunching mere numbers, with no personality, given that it's something that's quite interesting.

But maybe a few years into the job, I'll then perhaps search for my personality. Hahaha...

 

[Spinning Compass]

I guess I don't get "work fatigue", even though I am not in the job of my dreams. The way I see it I am damn lucky to have the job that I have, given my educational level and skill level at the time I was hired. Maybe it's because I was brought up in a culture that stressed earning a living versus job fulfillment. My family comes from an area of the US that never really recovered from the Depression. It was primarily a mining and logging area. The work was hard and long. If anyone had said, "Mom, Dad, I don't want to go down in the mine, I just don't think it's for me, you know, I need to feel fulfilled and all that," he would have been taken back of the woodshed and shown what fulfillment was. You only talked like that if you had the resources to get out of the area. My father told me that a bus ticket out of town was a prized high school graduation present. So this is to give you some background on where I am coming from on this.

Don't get me wrong, I think that if possible people should find work that suits them. But what I am saying, is that sometimes it is not always possible. The economics aren't there, the education isn't there, the opportunities aren't there. People where I live now are now learning what it is like to live in an economy that is contracting. They are finding, as the old song says, "they can't always get what they want."

Even though it is not the kind of work I dreamed of doing, what I do is honest work, it pays the bills, and--even though there is sometimes a lot of drudgery in it (putting numbers into spreadsheets isn't the most exciting work)--I get satisfaction of knowing that what I do may someday save someone's life. And there aren't very many jobs you can say that about. When I read in the news about new FDA-approved drugs I know I had a part to play in that. I feel proud of what I do. But I don't look to my job for fulfillment. I have my outside activities for that, like the community theater.

I guess it all depends on what attitude you bring to the table in the first place.

 

[Geordie]

In the past, I think I always brought an uplifting attitude at my workplace - that infected everyone else in the workplace. But still, I feel my job performance then was still below par. Out of frustrations and yet disguising that, I just became more tired.