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I tried mightily all along to make work meaningful and have a purpose. Each failure cost money for school and starting over, etc. At age 48, I bit the bullet and decided that I was just going to plow through and that 65 was the key because of Medicare. (If there was some other plan for health coverage, I might have been more frugal so I could stop working sooner).
I did work overtime in the last couple of years because it had become available, I couldn't resist the money, and I was very clear that a night off here and there wasn't going to change my quality of life, which was skidding down due to the shift work, aging, etc. I don't regret it but I am very very glad to be retired now since January, 2018.
Piggybacking off these other "regret" threads, I thought I'd throw this one out there.
I work in a back office corporate role. I'm the guy everyone complains to if things aren't working, but I'm never thanked or acknowledged if things are running well. I'm in IT, but I run business systems. Truthfully, all the software I run is for the 8-5 business crowd.
At the end of the day, almost all of it is meaningless BS. Important to the business side of things, but not important to the public, and I'm damn sure not helping society in any way. I'm not a nurse and helping anyone. I'm not offering solutions to people in the public needing meaningful advice. I'm not a teacher inspiring the next generation. I'm not a first-responder protecting the public. What I do is just lucrative enough to keep you there, not lucrative enough to get wealthy at, and is some of the most ultimately meaningless, drama-filled, posturing garbage under the sun.
We've had some changes recently that are very negative to work-life balance. I'm not a company guy - never have been. These recent changes are basically the straw breaking my back. I'm out at the first reasonable offer I get.
All these weekends working for this bunch over issues that could wait to business hours is very discouraging. As my finances have improved, I'm taking stock at the realistic options available to me. The less time I am at a place like, the better, and I'm now able to take somewhat of a pay cut to do so.
Do you regret spending as much time at work as you did? What adjustments would you make looking back and what advice would you give to a younger person?
I think I picked the wrong profession. When I was young I went into the media field and I was not suited t the pressure and hours. Working nights, weekends, holidays - and then the stress and jerk bosses and all the rest. I finally got out of the business and went into the education field but I wasted a lot of years trying to make a career work that I picked as a immature college student. So yeah, I regret the years I wasted in jobs that I was not suited for. Once, I was on night shift and my friends had tickets to Sam Kinison, the comedian. They told me to call in sick and come with them. But I was a good drone, I said no and went to work. They went to the show and had an awesome time. Sam was killed in a car accident later and I never saw him live. In retrospect, I should have gone to see Sam. The job was a bust and I left after a year and a half. I agree working is over rated. In all my jobs I don't think I was really making a difference, I was just a cog in the American capitalist money machine. Most people are, they just won't admit it or they don't realize it.
In all my jobs I don't think I was really making a difference, I was just a cog in the American capitalist money machine. Most people are, they just won't admit it or they don't realize it.
Or -- and here's a thought -- we don't care. And we don't spend our time raging about the "American capitalist money machine" that has been the mechanism for countless people to lift themselves out of poverty and despair.
I'm telling ya, nihilism can often be the answer. Your work is meaningless? Guess what, no matter what you do in this world it's ultimately meaningless. Embrace it, being meaningless has its benefits! This idea that every little thing you do has to have "meaning" or "personal growth" or "spark joy" is nonsense; in fact I think it's a terrible lie that we've been feeding young people for a few decades. There will be moments like that, of course, but this expectation that life will be a steady diet of meaningfulness is every bit as bad for you as a steady diet of marshmallows.
As for feeling like "you're just a cog," guess what: no matter what you do, or even if you do nothing, you're still just a cog. So, get over it already.
Last edited by Piney Creek; 03-05-2019 at 08:46 AM..
I'm telling ya, nihilism just might be the answer. Your work is meaningless? Guess what, no matter what you do in this world it's ultimately meaningless. And not only that, no matter what you do, or even if you do nothing, you're still a cog. So, get over it already.
I was responding to the OP. If your job made a difference, like you were a heart surgeon or something then more power to you. I'm about to retire, at this point I could care less.
I wouldn't say I REGRET the time I spent at work. I rarely got overtime so it was pretty much 830-5pm M-F. But out of 32 years of federal service, I would say only 14 years, the time I spent in criminal prosecution (rewarding), was a total bore.
I am grateful that I stuck it out for those 32 years as I have a decent pension. I could not live on it alone, but along with Social Security I am doing ok. If I outlive my husband, I will probably get a little job to keep me busy and replace some of his income.
I picked a job that I liked & was able to get along fine mostly, as the years went on - there were a couple of bad bosses & clinkers but overall ok. I dawdled & experimented in benign, bohemian poverty till almost 30yo until I found it & even then it didn't pay much money for almost 10 years till I got up to speed.
I had a few years where I had 7-day weeks every other week & frequent very long days with stressful situations but my father worked 7-day weeks for years as a matter of course. I still have dreams that repeat the stressful situations but I guess that I was "lucky" (in quotes because I didn't settle for anything in my 20's) & have a number of stories & experiences from working days so no regrets.
I regret working for corporations for 15 years - a good ten of those years I feel was "wasted" in terms of my interests, potential, etc.
Of course, I felt I "had to" work for the corporations to feed myself and my family, so from a survival standpoint, it was good, but from a soul-nourishing standpoint, it was a horrible waste of time.
*Any seniors regret how much time they spent at work?*
Well, I can't say I did things "My Way", like Frank Sinatra sings about, but then, I do not think most people ever do. Instead, I did what had to be done.
Would I have preferred to be at home raising my children instead of working to help pay the electric bill and mortgage and group health insurance? Would I have liked to have accompanied my children's classes on their field trips? Would I have liked to have accompanied my husband and children on vacation trips back to our home town to see the 4th of July parade?
Oh course I would have preferred that!
But I happened to be in a situation where my husband could not support the family by himself and we would not have qualified for a mortgage without my income. And I would not have been able to afford the medical care I needed with an incurable disease. And because of poor health needed to use my vacation days as sick days. The Social Security Blue Book has very specific rules about qualifying for disability, so there are thousands or millions like me. So you do the best you can, and pull-on-through.
*Any seniors regret how much time they spent at work?*
Of course I have regrets. But I also learned and experienced so much through my jobs. Met people I would not have ever crossed paths with, and saw places I would never had gone to, if not for work trips. I am glad I have those memories.
Would I have made different memories and met different people had I been able to go on the other path? Of course!
But I did the best I could, given my circumstances and what was on my plate. Now I have taken retirement and I treasure each day. I am so grateful I have them.
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Oh yeah
This idea that every little thing you do has to have "meaning" or "personal growth" or "spark joy" is nonsense; in fact I think it's a terrible lie that we've been feeding young people for a few decades. There will be moments like that, of course, but this expectation that life will be a steady diet of meaningfulness is every bit as bad for you as a steady diet of marshmallows. 
