When does a job become not worth it?

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
As a contractor, does your contract state you hours per week? If so, either keep track of your end-of-shift during the week and "adjust" your hours on the last day of your work week, or simply hang up your call at the end of an 8-hour shift. Basically, they can't do shit about it - except fire you. Good thing about being fired is that you'll get unemployment if you get fired.

My wife manages a small business. Due to the downturn in the workload, she was forced to lay off her lowest seniority employee. Things started to pick up a bit and she called him back. He told her that he had found work, getting paid under the table and wasn't coming back.

She contacted the unemployment people (I don't know the right term) to let them know that he was offered to return back to work and refused. He's still collecting unemployment which is being deducted from her account. It's been 4 months. She's mad as hell about it, but nobody cares to listen.

You may be eligible for unemployment anyway. But I do understand that this is not the same as your situation.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
As a contractor, does your contract state you hours per week? If so, either keep track of your end-of-shift during the week and "adjust" your hours on the last day of your work week, or simply hang up your call at the end of an 8-hour shift. Basically, they can't do shit about it - except fire you. Good thing about being fired is that you'll get unemployment if you get fired.

huh? I thought if you were fired you couldn't get unemployment? it had to be through no fault of your own?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Call center work never 'becomes' not worth it. It starts not worth it and remains that way forever.

true, but when you have no work and have bills to pay, you can't just sit around doing nothing. as i said i've applied to tons of stuff over the last 6 months because I knew from the start i didn't want this job, but i haven't had any offers for interviews even come through.

 

[Modelworks]

If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: SunnyD
As a contractor, does your contract state you hours per week? If so, either keep track of your end-of-shift during the week and "adjust" your hours on the last day of your work week, or simply hang up your call at the end of an 8-hour shift. Basically, they can't do shit about it - except fire you. Good thing about being fired is that you'll get unemployment if you get fired.

huh? I thought if you were fired you couldn't get unemployment? it had to be through no fault of your own?

Nope. You can't get unemployment when you voluntarily quit. Involuntary termination is required to qualify for unemployment benefits.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

jesus, even doing art you're making twice as much as I am...

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: pontifex
I've never just upped and quit a job before. I've been at every job I've had for 4 years before moving on to something better or being laid off.

After tonight, I don't feel like going back in on Monday.

I've been working 2nd shift in a call center for the last 6 months. $15 an hour on contract, no vacation time, no benefits.

I've had multiple panic attacks over the last few weeks. Stress levels are through the roof. I've even had panic attacks outside of work just thinking about it.

We've had several people leave over the last few months without replacements brought in.

Because so many people have left, the workload has been greatly increased amongst the remaining employees.

I seem to be working later and later each day because there is too much work and
I can't get it all done in a normal 8 hour shift.

They keep adding more and more bullshit stuff for us to do when creating cases. I see no point for at least half of it, if not more.

Very little training is provided to begin with (which sucks ass and doesn't prepare you for the job) and training afterwards is extremely sparse and we're required to deal with more and new issues every day, things we've never been trained for.

I can't get overtime and if I can't get out of work on time, there's no way i'll be able to get everything done and leave early on comp time.

I'm feeling even more depressed than I usually do and what little motivation I had before is totally gone now.

I get irritable extremely easily lately. I lose focus and I've been talking to myself during work just to keep track of the things I need to do.

2nd shift sucks. What little social life I had is no completely gone because of this and the stress levels. I haven't talked to my best friend in weeks. I don't feel like doing anything but watching TV and movies. I barely even touch my video games any more.

I've had very few decent, fresh meals since taking this job. Most things I eat for lunch before work are frozen and I am eating a lot of fast food for dinner at work.


At what point is it not worth it? When does your happiness and health come before a job?

The only thing keeping me here this long is that I've only had 1 interview over the last 6 months or so for any job I've applied to and that was a $10 hour PC repair shop. I've applied to entry level jobs, jobs at my skill level, and even jobs above my skill level. It seems stupid to quit now without any prospects but I don't know how much longer I can deal with this job.

stop dealing with the bs. i dont mean quit. i mean just stop. work your 8hrs, then leave.
let mgmt deal with it. thats why they're being paid the big bucks. and if they fire u, you get unemployment for a yr. 6months is past probabtion period, right?

as to when to quit, you gotta ask yourself this:
how long can i survive w/o a job?

 

[pontifex]

oh i forgot to mention that the people they have just signed on as permanent employees are actually getting pay cuts. slight pay cut when going to permanent and then they are cutting back on the shift differential pay.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
Some people really need to learn rational detachment. Yeah take your job seriously, but unless you are the owner of the company I wouldn't stress out at all if things are going too fast or going horribly. When you get home you really need to get your mind off of work. It truly doesn't matter anymore.

I work in loss prevention for a major retailer. You want to talk about stress? First of all, if I fuck up and apprehend someone who suddenly dropped merchandise I would be fired immediately or placed on final warning.

wtf?!

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Modelworks
If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

jesus, even doing art you're making twice as much as I am...

seriously, gtfo, you're not helping

 

[dbk]

when you wake up and don't care enough to get out of bed

i would hold on to your job for now and keep interviewing for other opportunities. keep your head up - it will work out.

 

[magomago]

I'd talk to your boss about the concern of working too much. IF they have that few people, you have an advantage in that regard because they can't keep shedding more

 

[Old Hippie]

The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore .

Oh my! :shocked:

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I imagine the call center like the one in The Office where Michael gets a 2nd job to pay for Jan's spending habits. Is that how call centers are? Are you a salesman or what?

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Modelworks
If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

jesus, even doing art you're making twice as much as I am...

You just missed the whole point of what he was saying. He's the quintessential example of "money doesn't buy happiness". His philosophy (and mine too) is that he'd rather be doing something he loves for less money, rather than something he absolutely hates for more money. Material possessions are a nonissue.

 

[DarkWarrior2]

Sorry to hear about your job difficulties, pontifex.

While my previous employer was the worst working experience I've had to date, it was not quite as bad as your situation. (I had 2 weeks paid vacation and health insurance with the premium 50% paid for by the company.)

My previous pay was the same as yours, but paid as a salary.

The first six months were great, then things made a quick 180. People were fired, and I found myself suddenly responsible for their work with no prior notice. Management added new processes that I was responsible for (Data entry tasks) to make their own jobs easier (I always avoid taking jobs which require lots of data entry.) My workload steadily increased to the point where the stress started to affect my health.

I had to do something to protect my health - so here is what I did:

When highly stressed, the first thing to go (usually) is your digestive system. Fast food was the norm for me, until the stress made it all go right through me. :disgust:

QUIT EATING FAST FOOD.

You will feel somewhat better after eliminating fast food from your diet - but the cause of the stress still remains, and needs to be dealt with.

RELAX.

Let me go into some detail here.

I used work 50 plus hours a week while only getting paid for 40.

So, I decided to A) Prioritize which of my responsibilities and tasks are most relevant to the employer's bottom line, and only did those things. Save all the other tasks for when things slow down. (If ever!) Do not care or fret about your workload overflow. Be apathetic if necessary. Remember: Your health comes first.

I always used to work through lunch. So, I decided to B) stop working through my lunch hour. I used my lunch break to eat healthy (but enjoyable!) food and to relax for a bit.

STOP GIVING YOUR EMPLOYER FREE LABOR.

If you are only paid for so many hours, work for only those hours. I started leaving work on time religiously. This was probably the hardest thing for me to do, because I can always find one more thing to do before leaving for the day. I just had to remember that my health comes first.

ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR HEALTH COMES FIRST!


Now, I will share that I eventually did get fired - but apparently not for my performance. I trained a new employee about a month before I was let go. He took my place, and I will assume that he earned less than I did.

From my contacts at the company I learned that my replacement quit a few months later, and that my team was eventually replaced with unpaid interns. :roll:

You will have to form your own plan for safeguarding your health on the job, based on your individual circumstances. Your health is your responsibility. Make the best of a bad situation!

I hope things work out for the best for you, pontifex!

Hopefully I didn't share too much info... lol

 

[theprodigalrebel]

An year ago, the call center I work at would hire about 20-25 people each week. Off the dozen that would pass three weeks of product training, two weeks of mentoring (mentor listens to every call on a Y-jack) and six weeks in the Transition Queue (no Y-jack but rigorous daily evaluations by Quality Assurance), barely four or five would report on their first day on the production floor. Hiring/Training/Attrition kept everyone busy and employed . Sucked for Operations but great for Trainers because they always had something to do.

We recently laid off around 40% of all CSRs/TSRs at our site. A good number of full-time Mentors, Team Leaders, Process Trainers and Quality Analysts now spend eight hours each day taking calls in the escalated bay or coming up with presentations, conducting uptraining or figuring out how to be an asset and not disposable. Previously, I used to report to my Team Leader, QA, Ops Manager and Program Manager. Now, I feel like Peter Gibbons with eight bosses trying to offer me feedback, go through massive call libraries (I take 500-550 calls each week), come up with bullshit stats and graphs, Performance Improvement Initiatives (because I was in the top 10% during the first and second quarters), Performance Improvement Action Plans (because I had a rough month in July and managed to be in the Bottom Quartile ) and all kinds of bullshit.

And here I was, thinking I would be a Process Trainer by Q4.

And don't even talk about a social life. I login at 11:30PM, log out at 8:30AM. Previously, I used to have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Now, although I get Sat/Sun, it's hard to manage sleep and keep up with family/friends' schedule. I sleep 20 hours on the weekend, 20 hours during the work week. And don't even get me started on the fucktard customers that make me weep for humanity.

I feel your pain, pontifex. Take it from another guy in this shitty line of work.

Edit: When I say fucktard customers, I don't mean 'people who can't follow directions, mathematically-impaired or technophobes' - hell, I'm happy to be of help. I'm talking about people that are mean, abusive, hateful, loud, obnoxious, racist and just shameful abominations of mankind.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: OILFIELDTRASH
I imagine the call center like the one in The Office where Michael gets a 2nd job to pay for Jan's spending habits. Is that how call centers are? Are you a salesman or what?

this is tech support

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Well next time I talk to tech support I'll be extra nice knowing how bad your job sucks. I wasn't cut out for a office job I can't stand people. Machines never give you too much problems.

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Modelworks
If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

jesus, even doing art you're making twice as much as I am...

You just missed the whole point of what he was saying. He's the quintessential example of "money doesn't buy happiness". His philosophy (and mine too) is that he'd rather be doing something he loves for less money, rather than something he absolutely hates for more money. Material possessions are a nonissue.

I'd lick sweaty man taint all day for 350K+

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: CRXican

I'd lick sweaty man taint all day for 350K+

Really? I could see once for $350k, but every day?

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: CRXican

I'd lick sweaty man taint all day for 350K+

Really? I could see once for $350k, but every day?

all day

 

[Bateluer]

Bring a gun to work, holstered on your thing in plain sight, and tell everyone not to piss you off today.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: SunnyD
As a contractor, does your contract state you hours per week? If so, either keep track of your end-of-shift during the week and "adjust" your hours on the last day of your work week, or simply hang up your call at the end of an 8-hour shift. Basically, they can't do shit about it - except fire you. Good thing about being fired is that you'll get unemployment if you get fired.

huh? I thought if you were fired you couldn't get unemployment? it had to be through no fault of your own?

Not at all. You just may have to argue it if you believe the firing to be unfounded. I've gotten unemployment from every job I've been fired from, except one.

It's when you quit that you basically never get unemployment. Sometimes, but very very rarely.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
If you get up in the morning and do not want to go to work or hate work while you are at it, then it is time to look for something else. NOTHING is worth your happiness. I would rather sleep in a tent than spend 40 hours + a week doing something I hate just to so I can keep up with the neighbors with a mortgage, car payments, etc.

I went from a very high paying ($350K +) engineering job to doing art (under $75K) for that very reason. I could still do engineer work, put up with corporate and worry about work or I can spend my time on earth doing what I enjoy. I may not have as nice things in material possessions, but I eat what I want, have clothes to wear, and can kick back and relax when I want to and just let the world do its own thing without worrying every day.

Are you working to live or are you living so you can work ?


The one thing I should have added is don't wait too long to make a decision. I did. I ended up driving my car off a interstate overpass at 65mph because I couldn't take it anymore . I felt like I had the whole department depending on me and I was letting them down if I didn't perform 110%. Obviously I lived, and it took a lot for me to walk into the office and tell them I quit. Should have seen the looks like " well what will you do now, are you serious" , but I did it.

I lost the home, car, and my credit went to hell. But I don't regret it. I'm glad I'm not a slave to work anymore.

In my entire life, about 40 jobs, I have never once EVER wanted to work. I can't even imagine something I would WANT to do as a job. I can only imagine things I'm willing to put up with for the pay I have to have to survive.