Why do people stay at jobs they don't like for so long?

[who?]

They would lose their seniority if they changed jobs.

 

[Majes]

There are a lot of defeated people out there. They've accepted their position in life even though they hate it and given up on improving it in any way. These people have a few things they enjoy in life, generally bad habits, and as long as they can do those things each day they will deal with the rest of the negatives. This doesn't prohibit them from complaining about those things though.

 

[Exterous]

It really isn't a cut and dry topic and most people should just accept that they aren't going to find that 'magic' job that has everything they want, for the pay they want and hours they want. THIS is reality. Job stability is way more satisfactory than being unemployed.

If one of the chief complaints is about long hours and too much work (including Saturdays) I think there is a difference between hoping for a 'magical job' and applying for one of the open positions in a nearby company that has 40 hour work weeks and is closed on the weekends.

Other than government jobs, I've never heard of any well-paying remotely technical positions which don't require at least a fair amount of overtime (paid or otherwise) or weird hours.

The pay is bad

 

[ImpulsE69]

If one of the chief complaints is about long hours and too much work (including Saturdays) I think there is a difference between hoping for a 'magical job' and applying for one of the open positions in a nearby company that has 40 hour work weeks and is closed on the weekends.

True, but my guess is that jobs pay is quite a bit lower or filled because most people want a 40 hour week and no weekends. In this 'we have to have everything accessible and open 24/7' world, the 40 hour 8/5 work week is kind of rare due to the sheer number of people and employers desire to keep number of employees low.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't improve yourself and improve your job status. I've done it. What I'm saying is just because you do doesn't mean that job you are going to love unconditionally is out there. Those jobs are low in number and generally don't pay all that much.

 

[dullard]

I'm one of those people right now. When I took the job years ago, it was pretty close to my dream job. But, projects changed and more importantly managers changed and now I'm in a spot that just isn't a fit for me. I'm analytical: taking in all data, processing it, and according to everyone that I've spoken to, I do a good job turning that data into results for the company. But my current manager is a data hoarder and compartmentalizer. I'm working blind with no knowledge of parameters, resources, or even what the heck I'm even supposed to be doing (so I'm posting here). If someone asks me today what I do for a living, I can only honestly say that I collect paychecks as I have no clue what the company wants me to do.

Why don't I move on? I like my coworkers, I enjoy the mission of the company, I can't get anywhere close to the salary anywhere else nearby (I've looked), I don't want to go back to square one with PTO, I like familiarity with the company/people, I don't like change, I can weather the storm until I get a new manager, I haven't had a spare moment of free time at home to work on my resume since last summer, etc. But most importantly, the next dream job would be out of state and I can't bring myself to move my wife away from her dying father (the reason that I have no spare time to redo my resume and look for a new job).

Maybe I'll get another job in a few months. But for now, I'll complain here and there. It has been a bad year, but not bad enough to force me to change.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

These forums are full of people who purport to make great money at jobs they hate. They hope to retire early so they can begin life. In reality, they're only training themselves to be miserable for the rest of their life. It's what's become the American dream and a sure sign of how sick our society is.

 

[rommelrommel]

These forums are full of people who purport to make great money at jobs they hate. They hope to retire early so they can begin life. In reality, they're only training themselves to be miserable for the rest of their life. It's what's become the American dream and a sure sign of how sick our society is.

I fear that’s a bit true of myself. Generally I hover around 100k with overtime, I have solid benefits and a better pension than most these days. My job itself I like but there are things that I do hate and I find they are eating away at me more and more over the years. Mainly they are related to working for the government. I get paid exactly the same as the guy next to me who gives zero fucks, is borderline incompetent, is always in trouble (but will never be fired or even demoted.) Most of the “promotions” available are actually pay cuts. Two of the three realistic promotions available involve sextupling my commute and doing it in traffic every day vs my 20~ minute cruise on back roads or usually empty highway. They also mean little or no overtime, premiums, or stat holidays. So, to make 5-10k more a year I would lose all that, turning a promotion into a 10-15k pay cut and losing 10+ hours a week to commuting. Moving into town isn’t an option due to crazy real estate and we have essentially no transit. The third option is one I wouldn’t mind and I’ve filled in as it for probably 3 years cumulatively, it might mean a bit more commute and would probably require graveyards. However, being the government the fact that I’ve done a great job and have glowing performance reviews means nothing. My skills don’t really translate into the private sector (at least not with similar compensation.)

So basically, I’m stuck here unless I go for a major change. I can slog it out and hope to get picked up into the one promotion I might like. Or, I go for a clean break and give up the pension and salary for a chance at more fulfillment and a slim chance of more money.

 

[Drako]

Entropy

 

[ImpulsE69]

These forums are full of people who purport to make great money at jobs they hate. They hope to retire early so they can begin life. In reality, they're only training themselves to be miserable for the rest of their life. It's what's become the American dream and a sure sign of how sick our society is.

That's because living in poverty isn't exactly a 'happy' maker either. People like things, and they like to do things. That takes money. I do agree in working to live aspect - meaning: I may not be 100% happy at my job, but I can afford to do what I want - even though I may not get to do it when I want, so I accept that. A happy medium isn't always possible in today's world and family dynamics. I myself have done really crap jobs for less money, so it makes me appreciate a not as crappy job for lots of money. Again, I don't think most people are destined to be 'happy at work' because WORK as implied is WORK. It is easy to say 'find something that you are happy doing'. It isn't easy to actually do that - and no matter what you love, doing it day in and day out doesn't mean you'll be happy. Even the happy ones obviously aren't that happy because so many turn to drugs/alcohol or whatever other addiction they have to deal with life.

An interesting aspect of the American Dream that lots of people gloss over is that this country (as with many other empires) were built on the backs of free workers. Those people weren't happy. Guess what? It never ended, it just shifted focus. Now we (collectively) get paid, and at least have some protections, but companies are constantly trying to erode those protections. The minor difference is that yes, you CAN make something of yourself if you have the drive, but those people are rare, and it requires a ton of WORK, and TIME, and most probably unhappiness during the hard times. The people like Mark Zuckerberg are bad examples of the American dream because that is such a rare phenomenon. Now you have 1000's of people trying to become social media millionaires - which is great, but also sad because that is ALL they try to become and have no backup plan. More people fail than succeed.

To me being happy is not being jealous of others, being thankful for what you have, and staying out of other peoples business/drama. That makes for a happy life.

 

[Chaotic42]

If one of the chief complaints is about long hours and too much work (including Saturdays) I think there is a difference between hoping for a 'magical job' and applying for one of the open positions in a nearby company that has 40 hour work weeks and is closed on the weekends.

Yeah, that's my bad. I implicitly assumed they were in a decent paying position but making less than their counterparts in similar positions.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I'm still at mine

Laziness and comfort in what you already know. I'm been trying really hard pushing out applications this year.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Being happy in your job doesn't mean constantly exited, giddy or, enthusiastic. Being happy in your job means looking forward to the work, the people you work with and, learning and practicing new skills. Being happy with your job means accomplishment and taking pride in what you do. Too many 'youts' are brainwashed into thinling college and working for a big company is the only way to get ahead.

 

[purbeast0]

Sounds like a lot of you have really shitty jobs.

Contrary to popular belief, there ARE companies out there that are ran well and actually do care about their employees as well as the work/life balance. You can make well over $100k without having to put in tons of overtime and also get extremely great benefits.

The problem is most people are too lazy to become extremely talented at their craft and are too lazy to actually push themself to become "better" because they are lazy. The ones that are talented can pick and choose where they work and go to well ran companies.

I mean just go out in public and look at how many fat people there are. It just shows you how lazy our society as a whole is. The one thing we have 100% complete control over (for most people) in our entire life people can't even manage properly because they are too lazy. No chance those people would be able to push hard enough to become extremely talented at their craft.

 

[Chaotic42]

Sounds like a lot of you have really shitty jobs.

Contrary to popular belief, there ARE companies out there that are ran well and actually do care about their employees as well as the work/life balance. You can make well over $100k without having to put in tons of overtime and also get extremely great benefits.

The problem is most people are too lazy to become extremely talented at their craft and are too lazy to actually push themself to become "better" because they are lazy. The ones that are talented can pick and choose where they work and go to well ran companies.

I mean just go out in public and look at how many fat people there are. It just shows you how lazy our society as a whole is. The one thing we have 100% complete control over (for most people) in our entire life people can't even manage properly because they are too lazy. No chance those people would be able to push hard enough to become extremely talented at their craft.

That only works if you're surrounded by people who are also extremely talented. Otherwise, sooner or later, the one super talented person keeps getting more and more work piled on them since they can actually get it done.

 

[Ns1]

because complaining is easy and job hunting is not

That only works if you're surrounded by people who are also extremely talented. Otherwise, sooner or later, the one super talented person keeps getting more and more work piled on them since they can actually get it done.

a common management problem and management's job to fix key man syndrome.

 

[GeekDrew]

a common management problem and management's job to fix key man syndrome.

Why would they bother fixing it when they can get away with not fixing it?

<edit> I'll rephrase: most aren't fixing it. Which is Chaotic42's point.

 

[Ns1]

Why would they bother fixing it when they can get away with not fixing it?

<edit> I'll rephrase: most aren't fixing it. Which is Chaotic42's point.

1) because they can only get away with it for so long. short term thinking vs long term thinking
2) no arguments there

 

[purbeast0]

That only works if you're surrounded by people who are also extremely talented. Otherwise, sooner or later, the one super talented person keeps getting more and more work piled on them since they can actually get it done.

Well yeah, good companies typically are full of talented people.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Well yeah, good companies typically are full of talented people.

What publicly visible metric do you use to determine if a company is a good one?

 

[purbeast0]

What publicly visible metric do you use to determine if a company is a good one?

That's a good question and one that you can't really know the true answer to until you are working there. However I personally do use glassdoor as a reference. It's not the end all be all though. Any company I'm interested in I'd read the reviews for and it's pretty easy to get some sort of an overview of a company. But the problem is too a lot of smaller/newer companies don't have anything on there. But even looking at benefits and comments there, as well as just seeing a company's "about us" page on their website, with information about how they are ran, can let you know if a company is one you feel you would fit well with.

I guess to me, a "good" company is one that would be a good match for me culturally that also has good benefits and compensation. And obviously they would have to be successful.

EDIT:

I also think that in an interview you can get a good vibe of how the company is ran and if you'd be a good fit. But again that goes to the whole cultural fit part.

 

[HotJob]

This is my exact situation. I am burnt out from unpaid overtime and a supervisor with control issues. Why do I stay?
1) I am responsible for the well being of three other people besides myself, so I cannot have a long stint of unemployment.
2) The state I live in has the highest unemployment in the US. While below the national average, I make more than ANY of my wife's friend's husbands. There are 12 positions within 100 miles for what I do (all filled, I've met the people in them, they ask me if we're hiring) and one will only be hired for what one has already done, so changing careers won't work (especially at age 50+).
3) Move for a new job? Maybe once my children graduate high school (my oldest is in line for Valedictorian and several scholarships, all go out the window at a new school) and my mother in law no longer needs my wife to take care of her (late 60's, mental health issues that resurfaced due to the death of her husband).
So I suck it up, take care of tasks, give the paycheck to my wife, and cringe internally every time my boss says he is putting off retirement because he likes the work and money too much.

 

[shortylickens]

Bro, we cant all be Alex Trebek, OK?

 

[ImpulsE69]

That's a good question and one that you can't really know the true answer to until you are working there. However I personally do use glassdoor as a reference. It's not the end all be all though. Any company I'm interested in I'd read the reviews for and it's pretty easy to get some sort of an overview of a company. But the problem is too a lot of smaller/newer companies don't have anything on there. But even looking at benefits and comments there, as well as just seeing a company's "about us" page on their website, with information about how they are ran, can let you know if a company is one you feel you would fit well with.

I guess to me, a "good" company is one that would be a good match for me culturally that also has good benefits and compensation. And obviously they would have to be successful.

EDIT:

I also think that in an interview you can get a good vibe of how the company is ran and if you'd be a good fit. But again that goes to the whole cultural fit part.

Don't take this negatively, but you are being somewhat short sighted and in your own bubble. While many of your points are very valid for some, we know from your forums posts you are fairly young, and fairly new to your field and job. Many of the people making comments have been at their job or career for many years and have been through the ups and downs of employment. All it takes is a single person in your work circle to change to completely F things up. Or something in your culture that majorly changes. Moving jobs may seem easy when you don't NEED to, but it is a completely different thing when you rely on a paycheck and/or maybe live somewhere that isn't a hub of your chosen path. Most people do not hate their job immediately - at least no one with any actual skills/education because as you say, they can probably get a sense from the interview.

Having said that, even though it may sound like it, I don't hate my job. I don't 'love' it, but I know me well enough to know there's not a job out there I would love that actually makes any money because working takes away from the time to do the things I do like to do (which don't make money). I've done really crap jobs for little of nothing, so doing a less crappy job for a lot more money isn't that bad -- it's all personal perspective.

 

[pete6032]

Its out of fear of the unknown. I can't necessarily blame people because I fell victim to it too once.

I took a new job a couple of years ago. I had started to hate my previous job. There was no room for growth, and my boss tried to cut me, and all of her subordinates, down in front of superiors. It was pretty fucked up. Then I got offered a job at a consulting firm where I really enjoy everything I work on, its all very interesting and challenging work.

At the time I really debated with myself whether to quit my old job or not, despite the fact that everyone I was close with told me I should take the new job and not look back. I even told my old boss that I had gotten a job offer for substantially higher salary and a better job title. I asked for a salary bump and title change at my old job and they flat out told me no, they would not give me either of those things. Even after learning this I had a hard time deciding to quit. I don't know why. My future at that old job would have gone nowhere, yet I was still willing to cling on to it rather than face the unknown of a new job. Well, two years later, I love my job and my new boss, and I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I was still working at my old employer, getting paid pennies on the dollar of what I make now.

I learned a lot from that experience. I learned that to keep your career moving, you got to move yourself and seize new opportunities. Even though I am happy where I am at, I still look at job openings and go to the occasional interview, just to see what's out there. I've even gotten job offers and then took them back to my current employer and used them to negotiate a raise for myself. You just have to go for it. Go all out. Ask for things you think you deserve. Employment is a two way street. Loyalty does not lead to rewards, asking for what you want leads to rewards. I guarantee you will not get 100% of what you don't ask for.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They realize the grass is not always greener on the other side. That, and sometimes there just arn't any jobs in their area in their field. My biggest complaint with my job is the uncertainty of the future. The company is constantly doing restructuring and crap and just can't leave things alone, so I always am scared our department eventually becomes a target. But reality is, it's like that everywhere now days, so no point in trying to jump ship. Going to ride it out til it sinks since I like every other aspect of the job.

That said if a job is super stressful and you dread going to it, it's time to look for something else. Life is too short to deal with that crap.