Work/life balance rethink. A shift in general attitude?

The concept of "career" has seemed like a sham to me for a long time.

It depends on the type of work. I would consider something that involves creating a legacy as being something more career-like. Say an artist producing a body of work over a lifetime.

The average office drone might believe they are in a career but they are just exchanging time for money. Bit of a ruse really, especially for women that forgo having children.

I suppose even when people realise this life turns things into a competition anyway, as a race to the top in order to buy the better house, have a more comfortable life etc than "average".
 
delta0 said:
I can completely understand this. I’ve felt the same way. Probably why I’ve got so heavily into FIRE. I really lost interest work during the pandemic. So much has changed in the workplace, things still feel very dysfunctional. I feel all the reasons I wanted to work before are basically gone and my interests have shifted. That career driven ambition has shifted more towards what are the things I would do if/when I move on from the world of work.
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serious pyromaniac here.....
 
Chojin said:
The concept of "career" has seemed like a sham to me for a long time.


The average office drone might believe they are in a career but they are just exchanging time for money. Bit of a ruse really, especially for women that forgo having children.
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Like a donkey, chasing that carrot on a string, but you never get the carrot.
 
I've always worked hard enough to have the life I want for me and my family and avoid getting fired, nothing more.

I had a similar ethos with exams and qualifications; did exactly what I needed to to get the grade I wanted and nothing more.

Sometimes a job comes up with the same or more money for less stress, and I'll take those. I'm not gunning for top brass though. Those people are the ones sending emails all weekend instead of living life and being with their families.

I do still feel pangs of envy when I look at family members that are CEOs of this and MDs of that, but they work haaaard.
 
Have never felt like chasing a career was something for me and have always felt like a weirdo for it, so long as I have enough to live on with a few treats I would just rather have my own time and less stress, have reduced my working week to three days and have just handed my notice in as work is too much stress right now due to their inability to recruit so I'm out of there, going to take a year off to try and retain some fitness which is so much more important to me,
 
I'm surprised so many are of a similar mindset.
Seems to be when you come to value time, and quality time, that it kicks in.

Also, you're earning enough to be able to cut back or slow down.
 
I've always put in the bare minimum that's required to keep myself off the radar. Had a 30% pay rise this year but does come with some added responsibility, so will see how that goes.
 
As I've gotten older and more senior at work my focus has been fairly work-oriented. That said, I do love my work and enjoy working.

However, I also like being lazy and spending time with my family as well as well as doing the couple of hobbies that I enjoy. I live in the countryside miles away from the hubbub of London/city life and enjoy the quieter life. However I do throw myself into my work and like to succeed. I think one of the key reasons I'm so focussed on work is to provide a good lifestyle and opportunities for my kids, be able to go on trips and allow them to explore as much as they can. Also in the hope to retire at a reasonable age rather than working until I'm too old to enjoy life.

I think it's very healthy to have a good work/life balance. If I were able to sustain my income and career development (which I actually enjoy) but work a 4 day week for example, I'd be all for it. At the moment, I am quite career focussed I have to say, however as I'm in my prime (professionally speaking) I think a few more years of effort won't do me any harm.
 
I've always been quite driven. But recently I feel like life has taken me around the back alley and given me a right kicking. Frankly I've had enough and something has to change. It looks more than likely I will be made redundant quite soon. So that may well be the catalyst for change. Half of me is scared they will make me redundant and the other half is scared they won't.
 
Never been particularly career driven but I've done ok for myself and I now earn enough that for it to be noticeable after the taxman and whoever else has got their hands on it I'd need a sizeable jump which would probably involve moving into a more management style roll.

That holds no interest for me, I work 9-5 with flexi time,3 days a week WFH and most importantly minimal stress/working outside of normal hours. Plenty of time for family and living.
 
I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the best way forward is a career that pays as much as possible and be a job you can live with. I don't believe I'll ever truly 'enjoy' work, I do it to get paid to live.

I've worked some genuinely awful jobs in the past, packing, milk round, making pies, customer service. All sorts of jobs that I detested and woke up in the morning dreading it. Now I have a job that pays well and I can stomach it, that's enough for me.
 
This resonated so much I actually logged in to reply. 100% agree.

I chased senior positions and 'job titles' for 13 years.. got into a VP position at a bank in Cyber Security and noticed I wasn’t happy, anxiety became a thing and people around me were on slightly less money (particularly after tax) but far less responsibility with no team management etc.

I made the decision to jack it in and have some time off for myself and my family... then went on to contracting and never looked back.

A little cynical but careers can be a fallacy, and it's certainly not a meritocracy out there either.
 
I'm not sure this is a new thing particularly - it's not like 20 years ago everyone was grinding out 14 hour days at work, and I've seen far more people throughout my career who did the bare minimum than worked their arses off (and I work in Financial Services). On the flipside, there always have been and always will be people who will do whatever it takes to climb the ladder, and they're the ones who throw a spanner in the works for any 'let's all chill out and have a good work / life balance' type thinking.
Personally, I try not to think too much about my career. I don't really enjoy the work but the workload is very manageable (I'm 'working' right now!) which means I can have a life outside of work, which is important to me. If the right promotion or move presented itself to me then I'd go for it, but I have no interest in working all hours. I'd be looking for something more stimulating rather than more seniority for the sake of it.
 
This is a strange one for me to try and evaluate.

I've always worked "hard" - by that, I mean I have always done my jobs to the best of my ability, always made what most people would call an "effort" to perform well.
With that said, it has never felt like an "effort" or hard work to me, it's always just come naturally.

End of year reviews etc - outstanding, excels - always.

I've seldom, if ever, pursued more senior or supervisory roles - I've always had them given to me proactively.

I was never particularly well paid until recently, though in my late thirties I travelled globally which I enjoyed very much and the lifestyle was a good match for me at that time.

I changed industries 3.5 years ago - I'm now earning 140% more than I was when I left my previous industry. It still doesn't feel like particular hard work - I have to learn a lot of new technology/functionality, but that's enjoyable.
I still don't feel like I work particular "hard", I am lucky if I'm billable for 30% of my hours, I don't have to work weekends, evenings, long hours, overtime or any of that stuff.

Maybe I'm lucky, but overall my work is challenging enough to keep me interested, easy enough for me to want to stay in it, and well paid enough for me to live a decent life.
 
elh_2009 said:
Ive always had the mindset of the OP, seems like Covid has turned a lot of people this way as well.
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I think I always had it. But never accepted it or embraced it.

Big changes for me were..

-This is the right level of responsibility/pay ratio
-This job isn't exciting but it's flexible, WFH
-Living where I want is more important than earning a lot in a place I don't want to be.
-It's OK to clock Off at 5,dont feel bad about it.
-It's not worth chasing that 5* end of year review. If it's money you want. Better to change jobs.

Next aim is to earn same but 4 days. Or even better. Summer off.

Used to feel guilty about it, felt I needed to be above average. Now I just do what's required



One of my friends is so different to me.
He wants to love his work. I admire it. He's very intelligent. He's gone back to uni to do a masters. To help him progress. He was paid well before so it's not totally for that.

Absolutely no way I could ever do that. I could never sacrifice the time as I just have never found a job I love enough.
 
Suggestion for those young enough to plan ahead or those that are financially comfortable:

question the early life pension payments and consider the passive income option: Buy a property and let it out or invest/start your own business.

That's what I did and now have a healthy passive income and choose my day job roles based on effort/reward with a focus on work life balance.

The guy above that said that the career minded are often just trading time for money is spot on. They often times think they are 'winning' at life but they are losing really. Finance jobs are the perfect example of career minded foolishness - great salaries for idiots who work 12 hours a day and stress all day long.
 
Superficial said:
Suggestion for those young enough to plan ahead or those that are financially comfortable:

question the early life pension payments and consider the passive income option: Buy a property and let it out or invest/start your own business.

That's what I did and now have a healthy passive income and choose my day job roles based on effort/reward with a focus on work life balance.

The guy above that said that the career minded are often just trading time for money is spot on. They often times think they are 'winning' at life but they are losing really. Finance jobs are the perfect example of career minded foolishness - great salaries for idiots who work 12 hours a day and stress all day long.
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The people I know who got on the housing ladder early are absolutely creaming it. They either work hard and are minted. Or they have an easy life and loads of free time.

Most got it via inheritance. But a few did it on merit. Its a massive leg up!
 
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