Would you stay in a job you strongly dislike for the money?

[regulus]

Hi,

As per thread title. Not really asking for myself but more for the girlfriend. However, I'm also asking anyone here that wishes to respond.

Currently the girlfriend is about 4 months into a 12 month FTC and absolutely hating it. Problem is, she's on damn good money, extremely good money in fact and that's what's been keeping her there. The past few days she's been withdrawn, sullen and moody and admitted that it's the job that's making her like this. We had a long talk about it and tried adjusting her frame of mind a bit where she don't think about the work as much as what it could do for her going forward, financially or otherwise. We've set some short term achievable goals that can be measured in weeks or even days. E.g, achieving milestone '1' she only needs to get through another 6 working days. Milestone 2 needs to see her get through 15 days, milestone 3 is just 4 days, etc. The deal she made to herself is that she can quit whenever she likes, provided she finish the current milestone she's on.

The problem is, she's an extreme type person. She either TOTALLY LOVES!!!! something, or ABSOLUTELY HATES IT!!!!!!. So it's tough to get measured gauge of what's really going on. But, she seems to be happy with her 'milestones' decision and it allows her something to work towards in small, manageable targets, instead of one endless day flowing into another.

How about you guys/gals, would you stay in a job you're not liking where the money is rather good?

 

[regulus]

Interesting responses so far.

She's in a government job and due to it being fixed term, everyone on that particular contract are generally on double what they should be on. So that is something she's taking into account. She's one of those people that don't do well with boredom or repetative tasks and that sours her mood. She seem to like the people she's working with/for so no issues there. Either way, she's going to actively try and be more positive and let any and all BS flow through her. She's also starting one of her smaller milestones today which is only 6 days of work. We've taken it a bit further and calculated what 6 days is worth in take-home pay and written down how it influence her life in a positive way. E,g, 6 days of pay is enough for a month and a half of expenses, etc. We've done that with every milestone and wrote down how that money helps her life/savings and plans in real terms, not just little numbers on a screen.

FF, that's an interesting list of thoughts. I've printed it and stuck it on the fridge. I can use that for myself too.

 

[regulus]

So small update to this. She's going to resign tomorrow. The environment is so toxic that she's the only one left in her team of 5 that she started with in January. The other teams have been equally decimated. As she tells the story, she just can't seem to work in a government/all female office with all the crying, mismanagement, screaming, shrill voices, door slamming, endless sick days that puts the overall project under pressure and back stabbing. TBH, sounds more like a children's creche than a professional work environment.

I've suggested she takes a few months off and just enjoy making me coffee in the morning and making sure dinner is cooked when I get home . However, as these things always seem to work out, she got contacted by a headhunter out of the blue to interview for a role in a big data migration project - at what works out roughly 15k a year more. FTC too which is absolutely perfect for her. Starting a week after she leaves her current role. She's yet to get the role and I don't really think she cares either way. Always a good way to go to an interview with the pressure off.

But yea, I think we've both realised that you can always tough it out so long in a bad job before all the money in the world doesn't make it worth it anymore.

 

[regulus]

I DESPISE my job. Work for JLR. Been there 2.5 years +. Refuse to give any workers a contract, keep us as agency so no sick pay/no decent pension etc. 1 day off sick leads to you being fired next time heads are cut. Not long had my first day off in the entire time i've been there due to being hospitalised so i expect to be gone by the end of the year anyway. Constant repeating of process leads to a insane amount of RSI. My body is riddled with them and i'm in constant pain. Night shifts are the worst building 45 cars an hour at 4am is not good.

On the plus side it's very easy but repetitive work and i'm on 40k basic. If i can last another year till my mortgage is due for renewal i'm gone once i get a better rate. Would rather be on minimum wage than stay there a minute longer than i need to.

Yea I'd say that it's probably time for a new job!