"So How's Work?" (jobs, companies, insurance, pay)

[raubre]

OK I get very annoyed when someone asks me "How's work?" I know people mean well, but the majority of these people have jobs they really love and seem to talk about.

I am a clerk at an insurance company. Very boring job. Nothing to brag about, no funny otr cool stories to tell. Whatever, it pays the bills.

So I guess my question is if you either hate your job or bored with it and when someone asks you "How's work?," what do you tell them without sounding rude, negative or depressed or giving TMI?

[sware2cod]

Say this: "It's going well. How is your work going?"

[sas0814]

Same here. My job is meaningless, it's all deadend crap work.
I feel like a loser, thank god nobody asks about my job or i'd be even more angry.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

Say this: "It's going well. How is your work going?"

^^^^^ this. Put it back on them.

Most people today don't know how to make conversation. All they can talk about is their job.

[DaBurgh]

just tell them a 10 minute story about the clerk work you did one day, that'll show 'em not to ask again.

[D. Scott]

Of how my week or day was. I do not mind this question at all. Why would I?

[Prettygyrl777]

Person: "So how's work"?

You: "Meh, could be better. It pays the bills, you know. How's work going for you"?

Person "Great, just got a raise, a corner office and a brand new company car!"

You: "Are you guys hiring? Can you put in a good word for me?"

LOL. See, problem solved.

[bouncethelight]

They're only asking as a way to get you talking about how you are. So if you don't care to talk about work, just say "Work is okay, but guess what? I just joined a softball team, and I'm really looking forward to it."

If someone asks a specific question about your work, that is different, but if it's just a generic "How's work?" that's the equivalent of "How are you?" and it's perfectly fine to answer generically, and move on to more interesting topics!

[statisticsnerd]

I reply with "it's work."

[TFW46]

I know you didnt ask this -- but WHY is your job so boring and what are you doing to change that?

Forty-three years ago I got a job coding oil-run tickets. THAT'S a boring job. The truck drivers write down the beginning tank level (before they drain any oil out of the tank) and the ending tank level. My job was to subtract the ending number from the beginning and enter that number on a form. All day long. Forty hours a week.

But I made the job as interesting as I could. I read up on how oil wells work and everything else I could find on the oilfield industry. In those days there were no desktops or laptops and "reading up" meant going to the library. I taught myself so much about the oilfield business that I was soon able to advance into clerical accounting work -- still boring but better-paying and a chance to learn something different.

I stayed at the office late at night and, with my boss's permission, read files on legal issues and other oil-related matters. Shortly after that, I was moved into the legal area as a division order analyst, where I spent 42 wonderful years (for several companies). That job suited my talents and needs perfectly (not to mention how great the pay is) and I can truly say I was almost sad to retire last year.

But, had I been the type to just sit at that run-ticket-coding job and complain about how boring my job was, I might have spent the next 42 years doing just that.