One of the things we often forget is that a large part of our happiness is simply autonomy and self direction. I still remember working a “dreary office job” that I absolutely loved because we were given self direction and the managers were simply there to support us.
However, I also had a job like this and hated it. The things I hated about it were:
Circumstances beyond my control made taking this job my best option, when I had really wanted to do something else.
The ultimate product of my work wasn’t emotionally resonant with me. I felt like I was doing nothing but working to maintain a system I didn’t believe in.
I felt like if I was going to have a job like this, I should be getting paid better and should be working on something more interesting. I thought the job was beneath me.
Seriously, aesthetics matter. Commuting through heavy traffic to reach a suburban office park, where I walk through the door and smell filtered air, looking at grey cubicals under florescent lighting… is pretty miserable. Much better if the office was in a walkable, nice-to-look-at neighborhood where I would want to spend my time outside of work, and if the office had hired an interior designer who could make it… just better in any way.
One of the things we often forget is that a large part of our happiness is simply autonomy and self direction. I still remember working a “dreary office job” that I absolutely loved because we were given self direction and the managers were simply there to support us.
This sounds great!
However, I also had a job like this and hated it. The things I hated about it were: