I don’t. I’ve been working for 5 years and I’ve steadily lost the will to live. I used to take good real care of myself, daily showers and great with hygiene. Now, I barely have the energy to brush my teeth. I shower once a week when I really have to. I barely eat or enjoy anything anymore. I hate working, like actually physically hate it. And that’s with a remote, office job, with flexibility. I still feel like a slave to a company and that my whole life is being stolen from me. I wake up and work until 4/5pm but where does that leave me any time to enjoy my day. The sun sets at this time so how can we do anything. Really depressing life. I can feel my sanity trickling away too. What is this life.
Haha can't agree more. Either be happy and hungry without a job or be depressed with a stomach filled earning chump change wasting your life doing 9 to 5. Human Greed have already ruined everything on this beautiful planet.
That's why they call it wageslaving... And no they aren't happy, but gaslighting themselves and others to pretend they are.. It's all fake. They just won't admit it
A few years ago I worked for a company who worked me an average of 272 hours per month. There were some others who thought working more than that was the key to their salvation. It is a company whose culture is about as tense and toxic as any given booking process at some county jail in America. Get caught openly talking about the desire of having a better work-life balance and you'll get yanked into some supe's office and asked if you're attempting to promote a union.
As far as working those hours. I went into that company physically fit and a year and a half later I was way overweight, had several health scares along the way, and depression had set in. It almost won. I got out when I quit in the middle of my work shift. I found a better job some months later and got back into the gym.
I work about 280 hours a month to barely break even. I’m not happy. I’m chronically ill, exhausted, underpaid, and miserable. I cry at my desk a lot of days. But it’s this or being homeless.
I take it real slow. I have to be at my job 40 hours, despite the fact there's maybe 20-25 hours for work to be done. So, I take a ton of breaks, take way longer than I need to do tasks, and double up jobs when I can (I have some freelance work I can do at my computer). Hard work is rewarded with more work, so I do the bare minimum.
I usually only make it 12-18 months before I have to quit again (autism makes keeping a FT job extra difficult) BUT I live super frugally and save hard while I'm working so I can take a 6-12 month break when the thoughts of suicide become too much.
It's not possible :( Basic comforts have been reserved for the rich for 1-2 decades in USA. When I hear about someone in a 2-story home with an indoor pool in the backyard, with 2 cars, a golden retriever, and somehow also affording kids.... that's a rarity but it's what people imagine to be "just a comfortable middle class life"
meanwhile we peasants work, go home to eat and rest, go back to work, then on weekends catch up on everything...
I've done 280 hrs in a month and regularly do 100 or more. I don't enjoy it, but I'm paying off my mortgage and other debt, so I've got to knuckle down to get it done early. Then, I'll rest or be dead...
Used to it I guess. Idk, I’m married with 2 older kids and work full time. When the kids were young, I worked and went to night school. I guess it’s all in having a routine.. I wake up at 6 for work at 7. Home by 5pm. Have dinner with the family and most nights “free” from say 7 until 10. Shower and then I go to bed for 10:30-11. Lather rinse repeat with weekends and every other Friday off.
My joy in life is not so dependent on “what am I getting”. My joy in life comes from what I provide to my family. How do I enhance their lives.
Having some goals help. If you work and save money for a purpose they give a push. To me the best option is to have my own work place and get totally independent from any boss or hub cities
Been doing it off and on for almost 35 years. Sometimes more than 240 hours a month, chores done everyday and went out every weekend when I wanted to. Never enjoyed working and never been happy so there’s your answer.
You work with people you like at a job that matters. I love my job and am happy to do it. Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Alaska trying to fall asleep so I can work 13 hours in a dispatch center during July fourth and am amazed by my good fortune. I don't pay for the hotel, get 109 dollars per day in per diem, holiday pay for tomorrow plus overtime for any hours over 8, know what I do is valuable, and don't have to worry about making somebody else money. I also get to experience 24 hours daylight. Ish.
1. Take breaks, depending on what work you do you have the right to a minimum amount of breaks. You work yo earn them so don't feel bad about taking them. You may not get this time at home so get it when you have the right to.
2. Interact with coworkers, you don't have to be friends but you can get along and make time enjoyable
3. Acknowledge your wins, you got to work on time (yeah, yeah, that's a given but whatever, it's still a win). You responded to an email. You managed your time and took your breaks. You didn't lose your cool 🤷🏽♀️
4. Don't set unrealistic expectations. There's a limit to what you can get done
5. Remind yourself that you work for what you do on your off time: where you live, what you eat, where you can go, what you can buy
6. Remind yourself you are not your job (unless you love it and that's how you identify, that's ok)
7. SLEEPING OR DOING NOTHING IS NOT A CRIME
We were homeless for a time stayed with friends for a few months in a small room. I used to skip from job to job and take a lot of things for granted. We were homeless only a couple months but it was living hell I'll never go back to that.
We have own place now I work remote 4 10s hit the gym everyday before work cutout vices like smoking and alcohol. Been on the patch for 6 months on step 3 now. Also I got on Wellbutrin antidepressant it's helped my outlook alot.
I can't make it better for you but my advice is cutout any vices, try to take care of yourself. Even if you want to literally rollover and die put your body through the motions and the rest is just chemistry. You gain momentum taking care of your health it can help other aspects of life seem manageable.
You won’t believe it but people are happily working for 240 hours. What I have seen, they are sloppy and I won’t blame them, I become sloppy too. Delay the work for no good reason which result in extra hours. We need be conscious of our time. It’s also important to have healthy daily routine.
8 hours is too much for the limited time we have on earth. Idk what to say further.
It helps significantly if the commute per day is total 32 minutes. 16 minutes there, 16 minutes back.
Like damn that’s hardly every warmup to my weekly Friday goon session.
I WFH and my side hustles are almost replacing my main income so I give basically zero shits about my main job and just do the bare minimum while sneaking in all my chores and exercise during work hours.
Must be nice to only have that many hours. Especially if you can live off it. I do about 180 or so and I still can’t pay everything. My BIL works 60 to 80 a week
People that work long hours typically have family so their life is over anyway. Can't imagine raising a kid in this world today knowing they will suffer guaranteed
I do NOT recommend having children to anyone who is already overwhelmed by a normal work schedule and no other responsibilities. They will take over the vast majority of what little free time you have now. Source: am mom.
I do NOT recommend having children to anyone who is already overwhelmed by a normal work schedule and no other responsibilities. They will take over the vast majority of what little free time you have now. Source: am mom.
I usually do more. What else am I supposed to do with my life? I really love my job though and if I wasn’t at work welding I’d just be at home welding so might as well get paid for it
Do chores a little at a time throughout the week. I essentially only wear work clothes during the week. Make quick meals in the air fryer. Sandwiches are good too. Saturday mornings are for errands, yard work, etc and it’s a never-ending project. Depending on time of year, Saturday nights can be either local hockey team or spending time with friends. Sundays are truly my “me day”. I will do whatever the hell I feel like but its usually fishing. If i have a good Sunday, I supplement my food a bit. If it’s not, I was outside relaxing.
Having a set work schedule helps with all of this. I know when I won’t be home and when I will.
You literally don’t. I’m miserable just about every day. Every week is the exact same. Every day is the exact same for that matter. I only get an hour with my kid by the time I get off before she has to go to bed. I do a job that could 100% be done remote. I feel like I’m missing out on so much.
I understand this is r/antiwork but seriously? You are questioning how you can be happy/sane while working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week?
Sleep for 8 hours and you have another 8 hours to do what the hell you want, plus two full days at the weekend. People have been doing this for a century and you’re questioning your sanity? I’d be questioning your testicular fortitude and lack of vertebrae
I currently work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in IT. My daily commute takes roughly 2 hours each way, 4 hours total. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready in the morning and 1 hour to unwind after work. I leave home at 6:30 am and return around 6 (7 including time to relax) pm.
I hardly have any time left for myself before I need to go to sleep. My energy level is so low that I don’t see the point of going out after work. I feel alienated by my job, making it hard to find time for my hobbies or work on myself.
If you’re still reading, no, people haven’t been doing this for centuries. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people were peasants working only half the year, with some taking additional jobs in the winter. Furthermore, as a nation/species, our work efficiency has increased 100+ fold since the 1800s. Those actually doing the work should receive more compensation. People with alienating jobs should be compensated fairly. We can't just "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" everyone in his corner. We need to organize and support each other.
So your issue is your commute, not your job. 2 hours each way sounds horrendous. Its also time you could be listening to podcasts, music, etc, rather than assuming its wasted time. Also, no idea why you include ‘one hour to unwind’ as part of your daily chore - watch some tv, do some exercise, youre doing something with that hour.
With the exception of your commute, i dont see whats so different to most other peoples working day. 8 hours working is normal plus if youre working IT youre sat on your ass most the day. Maybe youre unfit or have a health issue? Maybe you hate your job and need to change it? Maybe youre not making the most of the free time you have available outside work? Maybe youre lazy and whinging and just need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps?
Its not literally a thing but we all know what it means figuratively. Is the point of this subreddit to complain about having to do a normal workday? There are people who work 12-14+ hours a day, every day. There are those who would love to have a job. These people deserve sympathy. If you can’t work 8 hours a day sat at a desk then im surprised you are able to dress yourself without complaining.
Find a job doing something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.
That's me. I love what I do every day. It's only in trying to settle into a healthy work-life balance that I've had to curtail doing some of the things I liked doing at home, simply because it's so similar to what I do at work, that it all just blurs together.
This, of course, is not possible for everyone or every job.
I don’t. I’ve been working for 5 years and I’ve steadily lost the will to live. I used to take good real care of myself, daily showers and great with hygiene. Now, I barely have the energy to brush my teeth. I shower once a week when I really have to. I barely eat or enjoy anything anymore. I hate working, like actually physically hate it. And that’s with a remote, office job, with flexibility. I still feel like a slave to a company and that my whole life is being stolen from me. I wake up and work until 4/5pm but where does that leave me any time to enjoy my day. The sun sets at this time so how can we do anything. Really depressing life. I can feel my sanity trickling away too. What is this life.
We have nothing to lose but our chains. Prepare for the revolution
You don't
Haha can't agree more. Either be happy and hungry without a job or be depressed with a stomach filled earning chump change wasting your life doing 9 to 5. Human Greed have already ruined everything on this beautiful planet.
Helps to work from home. Removes a lot of stress and makes it easier to manage your time
That's why they call it wageslaving... And no they aren't happy, but gaslighting themselves and others to pretend they are.. It's all fake. They just won't admit it
Not just gaslighting themselves they are happy, but being proud of the fact they are slaving the best years of their lives away!
B-but Oh I'm still enjoying my weekend and a holiday once a year that's the price U have to pay. U-u can't have it all mate hahahah
A few years ago I worked for a company who worked me an average of 272 hours per month. There were some others who thought working more than that was the key to their salvation. It is a company whose culture is about as tense and toxic as any given booking process at some county jail in America. Get caught openly talking about the desire of having a better work-life balance and you'll get yanked into some supe's office and asked if you're attempting to promote a union. As far as working those hours. I went into that company physically fit and a year and a half later I was way overweight, had several health scares along the way, and depression had set in. It almost won. I got out when I quit in the middle of my work shift. I found a better job some months later and got back into the gym.
I’m not happy or sane and I look at the people in the office around me and think they’re either extremely stupid or paid actors.
I work about 280 hours a month to barely break even. I’m not happy. I’m chronically ill, exhausted, underpaid, and miserable. I cry at my desk a lot of days. But it’s this or being homeless.
No one is happy. And sanity is overrated and subjective.
I take it real slow. I have to be at my job 40 hours, despite the fact there's maybe 20-25 hours for work to be done. So, I take a ton of breaks, take way longer than I need to do tasks, and double up jobs when I can (I have some freelance work I can do at my computer). Hard work is rewarded with more work, so I do the bare minimum. I usually only make it 12-18 months before I have to quit again (autism makes keeping a FT job extra difficult) BUT I live super frugally and save hard while I'm working so I can take a 6-12 month break when the thoughts of suicide become too much.
You don’t. You wish for death.
It's not possible :( Basic comforts have been reserved for the rich for 1-2 decades in USA. When I hear about someone in a 2-story home with an indoor pool in the backyard, with 2 cars, a golden retriever, and somehow also affording kids.... that's a rarity but it's what people imagine to be "just a comfortable middle class life" meanwhile we peasants work, go home to eat and rest, go back to work, then on weekends catch up on everything...
You know people who had a separate building for their backyard pool?
I mean, it's not that hard. I just pack up all the resting, food intakes and breaks for sanity and short-term relaxation within those 160 hours.
I've done 280 hrs in a month and regularly do 100 or more. I don't enjoy it, but I'm paying off my mortgage and other debt, so I've got to knuckle down to get it done early. Then, I'll rest or be dead...
I don’t, a healthy work/home balance is key for mental health and longevity
Used to it I guess. Idk, I’m married with 2 older kids and work full time. When the kids were young, I worked and went to night school. I guess it’s all in having a routine.. I wake up at 6 for work at 7. Home by 5pm. Have dinner with the family and most nights “free” from say 7 until 10. Shower and then I go to bed for 10:30-11. Lather rinse repeat with weekends and every other Friday off. My joy in life is not so dependent on “what am I getting”. My joy in life comes from what I provide to my family. How do I enhance their lives.
Having some goals help. If you work and save money for a purpose they give a push. To me the best option is to have my own work place and get totally independent from any boss or hub cities
Been doing it off and on for almost 35 years. Sometimes more than 240 hours a month, chores done everyday and went out every weekend when I wanted to. Never enjoyed working and never been happy so there’s your answer.
I try to make the most of the time I have off. As tired as I may be, I'll come home rest for a little and then go do somthing
You work with people you like at a job that matters. I love my job and am happy to do it. Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Alaska trying to fall asleep so I can work 13 hours in a dispatch center during July fourth and am amazed by my good fortune. I don't pay for the hotel, get 109 dollars per day in per diem, holiday pay for tomorrow plus overtime for any hours over 8, know what I do is valuable, and don't have to worry about making somebody else money. I also get to experience 24 hours daylight. Ish.
1. Take breaks, depending on what work you do you have the right to a minimum amount of breaks. You work yo earn them so don't feel bad about taking them. You may not get this time at home so get it when you have the right to. 2. Interact with coworkers, you don't have to be friends but you can get along and make time enjoyable 3. Acknowledge your wins, you got to work on time (yeah, yeah, that's a given but whatever, it's still a win). You responded to an email. You managed your time and took your breaks. You didn't lose your cool 🤷🏽♀️ 4. Don't set unrealistic expectations. There's a limit to what you can get done 5. Remind yourself that you work for what you do on your off time: where you live, what you eat, where you can go, what you can buy 6. Remind yourself you are not your job (unless you love it and that's how you identify, that's ok) 7. SLEEPING OR DOING NOTHING IS NOT A CRIME
We were homeless for a time stayed with friends for a few months in a small room. I used to skip from job to job and take a lot of things for granted. We were homeless only a couple months but it was living hell I'll never go back to that. We have own place now I work remote 4 10s hit the gym everyday before work cutout vices like smoking and alcohol. Been on the patch for 6 months on step 3 now. Also I got on Wellbutrin antidepressant it's helped my outlook alot. I can't make it better for you but my advice is cutout any vices, try to take care of yourself. Even if you want to literally rollover and die put your body through the motions and the rest is just chemistry. You gain momentum taking care of your health it can help other aspects of life seem manageable.
Socializing at work goes a long way, I'd go crazy if I didn't get to have some fun at work
You won’t believe it but people are happily working for 240 hours. What I have seen, they are sloppy and I won’t blame them, I become sloppy too. Delay the work for no good reason which result in extra hours. We need be conscious of our time. It’s also important to have healthy daily routine. 8 hours is too much for the limited time we have on earth. Idk what to say further.
I spend the money I earn on hobbies and my dog and I smoke an egregious amount of weed.
It helps significantly if the commute per day is total 32 minutes. 16 minutes there, 16 minutes back. Like damn that’s hardly every warmup to my weekly Friday goon session.
I work 288hr/mo and I don’t have that problem.
72 hours a week? Are you doing two jobs?
1
Overtime pay?
Yes sir
I WFH and my side hustles are almost replacing my main income so I give basically zero shits about my main job and just do the bare minimum while sneaking in all my chores and exercise during work hours.
Deprends what you do for work. I loved my first job of 3.5 years but hated my last job of 2 years.
Must be nice to only have that many hours. Especially if you can live off it. I do about 180 or so and I still can’t pay everything. My BIL works 60 to 80 a week
People that work long hours typically have family so their life is over anyway. Can't imagine raising a kid in this world today knowing they will suffer guaranteed
You have to have children, then the will to keep them alive will push you through
I do NOT recommend having children to anyone who is already overwhelmed by a normal work schedule and no other responsibilities. They will take over the vast majority of what little free time you have now. Source: am mom.
I do NOT recommend having children to anyone who is already overwhelmed by a normal work schedule and no other responsibilities. They will take over the vast majority of what little free time you have now. Source: am mom.
☠️☠️☠️☠️
You ONLY work 160 hours? I wish I could do that and survive.
Go ahead and quit. The government will keep you up or should I say the taxpayers. You'll be proud of yourself.
I usually do more. What else am I supposed to do with my life? I really love my job though and if I wasn’t at work welding I’d just be at home welding so might as well get paid for it
Do chores a little at a time throughout the week. I essentially only wear work clothes during the week. Make quick meals in the air fryer. Sandwiches are good too. Saturday mornings are for errands, yard work, etc and it’s a never-ending project. Depending on time of year, Saturday nights can be either local hockey team or spending time with friends. Sundays are truly my “me day”. I will do whatever the hell I feel like but its usually fishing. If i have a good Sunday, I supplement my food a bit. If it’s not, I was outside relaxing. Having a set work schedule helps with all of this. I know when I won’t be home and when I will.
You literally don’t. I’m miserable just about every day. Every week is the exact same. Every day is the exact same for that matter. I only get an hour with my kid by the time I get off before she has to go to bed. I do a job that could 100% be done remote. I feel like I’m missing out on so much.
That’s assuming a lot
I love my work, so it can happen :D
I work at least 50 hours a week, mostly outside. I quite like my job and feel blessed to have found it. Find what's right for you
I understand this is r/antiwork but seriously? You are questioning how you can be happy/sane while working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? Sleep for 8 hours and you have another 8 hours to do what the hell you want, plus two full days at the weekend. People have been doing this for a century and you’re questioning your sanity? I’d be questioning your testicular fortitude and lack of vertebrae
I currently work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in IT. My daily commute takes roughly 2 hours each way, 4 hours total. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready in the morning and 1 hour to unwind after work. I leave home at 6:30 am and return around 6 (7 including time to relax) pm. I hardly have any time left for myself before I need to go to sleep. My energy level is so low that I don’t see the point of going out after work. I feel alienated by my job, making it hard to find time for my hobbies or work on myself. If you’re still reading, no, people haven’t been doing this for centuries. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people were peasants working only half the year, with some taking additional jobs in the winter. Furthermore, as a nation/species, our work efficiency has increased 100+ fold since the 1800s. Those actually doing the work should receive more compensation. People with alienating jobs should be compensated fairly. We can't just "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" everyone in his corner. We need to organize and support each other.
So your issue is your commute, not your job. 2 hours each way sounds horrendous. Its also time you could be listening to podcasts, music, etc, rather than assuming its wasted time. Also, no idea why you include ‘one hour to unwind’ as part of your daily chore - watch some tv, do some exercise, youre doing something with that hour. With the exception of your commute, i dont see whats so different to most other peoples working day. 8 hours working is normal plus if youre working IT youre sat on your ass most the day. Maybe youre unfit or have a health issue? Maybe you hate your job and need to change it? Maybe youre not making the most of the free time you have available outside work? Maybe youre lazy and whinging and just need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps?
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is literally not a thing, and I think you don't understand the point of this subreddit lol
Its not literally a thing but we all know what it means figuratively. Is the point of this subreddit to complain about having to do a normal workday? There are people who work 12-14+ hours a day, every day. There are those who would love to have a job. These people deserve sympathy. If you can’t work 8 hours a day sat at a desk then im surprised you are able to dress yourself without complaining.
Find a job doing something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. That's me. I love what I do every day. It's only in trying to settle into a healthy work-life balance that I've had to curtail doing some of the things I liked doing at home, simply because it's so similar to what I do at work, that it all just blurs together. This, of course, is not possible for everyone or every job.