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Right now I have a very easy job. Very low stress, great work life balance, I'm never out more than 10 min late at the max, play on the internet or read books most of the day.
I know I should find a more challenging and better paying job but just very complacent in my current position.
My job previous to this one was my first office/professional job and I was miserable doing it. Didn't like going to sleep at night b/c I knew my first waking moments would be heading back to work.
Anyone had an easy job you know you should move on from but just comfortable and scared about getting a high stress or difficult job you willl hate?
A work life balance is very important to me, more than good pay but feel like I should do more than my current job. Any advice?
It really depends on what you want to do with your life. If you want a hard-charging career, then moving on is something to consider.
However, there are a few risks with changing jobs right now.
For one thing, the economy is still not stable. If there are ever layoffs, the last ones in are often the first ones out.
If you go to a company where there were layoffs within the last year, there's a decent chance you'll be doing the work of two people. Quite a few companies that had layoffs during the downturn simply dumped the work of the eliminated positions onto the survivors. When those survivors have had enough and move on (because hey, their job descriptions never included doing D, E, and F in addition to A, B, and C with no increase in pay), the companies formalize the extra duties in a new job description.
Think about your health insurance. Many companies won't enroll you in their benefits plans until you pass a 90-day probation. Are you in a position where you can pay COBRA for three months?
Think about your health. Work-life balance is a tough thing to come by these days for a lot of people, which means their quality of life sucks. That kind of stress has been linked to depression and heart disease, among other things.
And finally, if you like your co-workers and your boss, consider that the people at the new place could turn out to be absolutely rotten.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not encouraging you to waste your training and education. But I'm old-school Gen-X in that I believe in working to live, not living to work. Heck, I'm currently in business for myself, but I wouldn't mind a job like yours right about now. I'd totally use the downtime to write the Great American Novel.
Right now I have a very easy job. Very low stress, great work life balance, I'm never out more than 10 min late at the max, play on the internet or read books most of the day.
I know I should find a more challenging and better paying job but just very complacent in my current position.
My job previous to this one was my first office/professional job and I was miserable doing it. Didn't like going to sleep at night b/c I knew my first waking moments would be heading back to work.
Anyone had an easy job you know you should move on from but just comfortable and scared about getting a high stress or difficult job you willl hate?
A work life balance is very important to me, more than good pay but feel like I should do more than my current job. Any advice?
The grass isn't always greener. You might find out the job that pays 10% more, requires 10 times the responsibility.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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I completely understand what you're saying. I, too, have a cream puff job right now with most of the benefits that you mention. But I think there are a few risks in staying at the dead-end job:
1) not staying relevant---when you're stagnant, you get rusty.
2) explaining to future employers what you've been doing--I expect to have to change jobs several times over my working life. If you're not earning promotions/raises/learning new skills, I think you've lowered your marketability.
Like you, though, I love my work/life balance and low stress. In order to overcome the two things above, I take classes (my company also offers tuition reimbursement) in everything from accounting to Spanish to entrepreneurship. I figure this gig isn't going to last forever and I have a couple of ideas of where I'm headed after this ends (however that may be).
Right now I have a very easy job. Very low stress, great work life balance, I'm never out more than 10 min late at the max, play on the internet or read books most of the day.
I know I should find a more challenging and better paying job but just very complacent in my current position.
My job previous to this one was my first office/professional job and I was miserable doing it. Didn't like going to sleep at night b/c I knew my first waking moments would be heading back to work.
Anyone had an easy job you know you should move on from but just comfortable and scared about getting a high stress or difficult job you willl hate?
A work life balance is very important to me, more than good pay but feel like I should do more than my current job. Any advice?
I'm there now! The down side is I've not utilized a lot of my skills I had before in a more high profile / more responsibility position and find that it's going to be a little bit of an adjustment going back to what I consider a "normal" job. I'm losing this job in March due to a closure and will be unemployed and collecting UC benefits. I had been looking for a long time for another job especially the last six months or so, and at first when I took this job I think I considered it a segue to another job which due to the recession never transpired.
Come March, I'll be figuring out some major life changes and will go with whatever I come up with at that time.. until then, I'm enjoying my job, love the people I work with and am content.
In order to overcome the two things above, I take classes (my company also offers tuition reimbursement) in everything from accounting to Spanish to entrepreneurship. I figure this gig isn't going to last forever and I have a couple of ideas of where I'm headed after this ends (however that may be).
Good point - if the balance isn't being met because of the minimal demands of the job then it's important to make sure that the lack of stimulation is made up for in other areas. In your case, taking extracurricular classes. No point in wasting any more time than necessary!
Right now I have a very easy job. Very low stress, great work life balance, I'm never out more than 10 min late at the max, play on the internet or read books most of the day.
I know I should find a more challenging and better paying job but just very complacent in my current position.
My job previous to this one was my first office/professional job and I was miserable doing it. Didn't like going to sleep at night b/c I knew my first waking moments would be heading back to work.
Anyone had an easy job you know you should move on from but just comfortable and scared about getting a high stress or difficult job you willl hate?
A work life balance is very important to me, more than good pay but feel like I should do more than my current job. Any advice?
You wrote "and you know you should". It depends what "should" means.
Does it mean you must and if you don't you will not meet your professional goals? Or, does it mean it might be a good idea?
It is like sitting around and knowing you should hit the gym. But hitting the gym is a lot harder than posting on City-Data.
If there is no question that not moving on well degrade your professional goals, then you should. But the original post was a little wishy washy meaning it keeps open the possibility that everything will be OK if you never move on.
There are a lot of health benefits of not having a stressful job.
Right now I have a very easy job. Very low stress, great work life balance, I'm never out more than 10 min late at the max, play on the internet or read books most of the day.
I know I should find a more challenging and better paying job but just very complacent in my current position.
My job previous to this one was my first office/professional job and I was miserable doing it. Didn't like going to sleep at night b/c I knew my first waking moments would be heading back to work.
Anyone had an easy job you know you should move on from but just comfortable and scared about getting a high stress or difficult job you willl hate?
A work life balance is very important to me, more than good pay but feel like I should do more than my current job. Any advice?
Some other posters have had some really good insight.
For me, I would not be able to stay in your job. When I get bored, I get lazy and lose motivation at work. I HAVE to be engaged in my job. I enjoy a little bit of stress thrown in there to get the blood flowing.
I don't believe in "living to work" but I am the type who could never not have a job. I love working, I love meeting and exceeding goals, I really like challenging myself, etc. I enjoy being someone who can be relied upon at work, I enjoy making decisions and taking risks at work.
Most of my friends are not really into "careers". They work because they need to to live, but I believe in working so that I can have a mental challenge as well as have the income to enjoy the lifestyle I want.
My most beloved job was one where i was implementing a major software for my industry. When we went to launch, I worked CRAZY hours. Sometimes I would go into the office at noon and not leave until people were coming in for the next day-- I was walking out of the office while people were walking inside to go to their desks at 8:30am. I enjoyed that job immensely and it was a HUGE satisfier when my group had the new software application stabilized for a major process within 6 months. I knew the hours would not last forever, and I loved the adrenaline.
Now, my previous job to this one I hold now-- I didn't work as hard, but I didn't enjoy the stress that came with my job. You would RARELY catch me working optional overtime. I was pretty much a NOPE, I Am leaving at 5pm today. I didn't hate my job, I disliked some of the management decisions and directions, but I was still really good at my job.
My current job, I do not have a need to work huge amounts of overtime and I have a really nice work life balance. WHen I do work extra, I don't even notice it because I enjoy what I do and who I work with.
I have been fortunate in my job hunts in the past because I have a great story to tell... I constantly push myself to do a great job, etc. You can see from my resume that I have moved on from very entry level admin jobs to management, mid level professional jobs versus some of my peers who can only show the same level of responsibility for the past 2-5 years.
But-- for me, that kind of driven work is my preference. It may definitely not be your's and if it isn't you shouldn't push yourself to make it yours. I have seen people who do this (I had a friend who wanted to emulate me and he ended up MISERABLE) and they just end up very unhappy.
You need to have a convo with yourself and figure out what YOU want. If are content with what you are doing then in this market I would advise you to keep at it.. versus taking the risk of doing something you may not want to do in the first place.
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