Work Based "Depression".

[Admiral Snackbar]

I don't even know how to type this tbh and I really should be asleep right now because I have work in a few hours again ****.

I'm naturally a hard work so **** like this gets to me.

I've been working 12 hour shifts (technically 11 because 1 hour break) for the last 3 days and will continue to do so until Saturday morning.

I gotta travel about 50 km's to work and back - that takes me about 70 minutes.

That leaves me with less than 7 hours for the rest of the day. What the **** man. How am I supposed to live like this? I went to work in my gym clothes immediately after gym and I only had 35 minutes to train.
When do I eat? When do I sleep? When the **** do I stop to bath or talk or speak or even anything?

How do you guys do it? I'll be working like this and next week we go back to 10 hour shifts (technically 9).

I can sacrifice for my job - but this... This is not living. This is slavery.

And if the job was amazing maybe I could look past it or paid well - but to work for less than R50/h and get yelled at all day by customers who are mad at something I have no control over is depressing AF and I can't just leave them or not care because I do, it's just who I am - I really do try my best in everything I attempt, but there are some things I simply cannot do, I'm not even in the same country as the people I'm helping.

I feel like I could just die - not because I want to, but because that's where this road leads.

Work.Home.Work.Home.Work.Home. Die... Eventually.

What the **** man.

 

[sk33Lo]

Errrmmm... your maths is a bit off.

But yeah, that sucks big time dude.

 

[grok]

Ain't called the rat race for nothing..

 

[reactor_sa]

Yeah, maths is off. But if your job doesn't make you happy then find a new one.
It's sad when people become sour grapes at the office, yet make no effort to move, as if a new job will just find you all by itself.
Make the move, dude.

 

[pinball wizard]

Ain't called the rat race for nothing..

Yeah, even if you win, you're still a rat.

 

[Defib]

I feel your pain but keep on swimming. I work looong hours too, go days without seeing my toddler son. Leave home when it's dark, return when it's dark. It's life pal. R10 a week lotto, one never ever knows

 

[Chevron]

But if your job doesn't make you happy then find a new one.
It's sad when people become sour grapes at the office, yet make no effort to move, as if a new job will just find you all by itself.
Make the move, dude.

+1

 

[SauRoNZA]

How old are you?

That question determines a lot of things.

If you are a young guy it's these kinds of jobs they build fortitude that ultimately makes you better down the line when things go easier.

If this breaks you, then you aren't going to have much fun down the line.

 

[maumau]

Jobs aren't that easy to come by, it's easy to say move on but finding alternative employment is another story.

OP sounds as if he's in a call centre or some sort of support centre.

 

[Rouxenator]

Well if it is just for a short while and you get rewarded for it then I guess it's OK. I have been part of month long projects that required you to work about 12 hours a day, but we did get rewarded for that a few months later and it was a fun project.

 

[cerebus]

The answer to this thread depends on a number of factors. Like for instance, are you supporting a family? How old are you? Is this job leading you to a place you want to get to?

If you're under 25 and there's no family, GET OUT. It's not that hard to do. If this isn't leading somewhere, then definitely take some time to figure out what you want and how to get there. If you have a family and this is all that's available to you, then I guess you just need to focus on what you're doing for them, and not on the job itself. It's quite noble. I have a friend who's in that position right now and he's constantly burned out but at least his family's needs are met. I was also in a position of doing up to 3 jobs at once so my family never saw me, but it was well worth it in the end since my salary jumped up significantly and I was able to make my third job my main job.

 

[krycor]

Something are well within your control..

1. Transit to work
This should be kept <15km to avoid road rage and incidence of accidents I find.

2. Work hours
Last I checked most place of work require only 9hrs(including 1 hr tea, lunch breaks combined). If you working more than this it should be because you want to and then it's totally up to you..if the project timelines do not allow for the work to be completed within the time frame provided based on a 8hr work day it should be highlighted with the stake holders i.e. manager and project manager. Occasionally there will be projects like this but almost always it requires agreement with person working extra hours with some form of compensation and then limited for a period of time.

3. Never work long days AND weekends
I've tried working both and it just doesn't work out. If you want to put in extra hours choose one or the other but see point on work hours. Burn out comes fast.

Funny thing is I do work from time to time 10-12hrs/day for a few weeks when needed but not continually and never in combination with week-end. Uhm one way i got around transit was doing a 12-13hr day wherein i got to work about 06h15am, breakfast, worked 06h45-11h15, lunch/30-45, worked 12h00-15h30 then either went home or took a 30 min break, worked 16h00-20h00 and then went home giving an extra 4 hr per day when needed and my transit which was 20km took me 20 min at those times as it was off peak... but it wasnt sustainable long term and ate into my gym time, so ideally can only do this 3 times a week (gym 2x during work week and 1x on weekend if not cycling). But it required a LOT of planning on my part, from preparing 2-3 meals on a sunday such that i only needed to cook once during the week (was single staying on own) and just other basic optimisations of time, like wake up, shower and get ready in 30 min, laundry & other chores well planned etc

 

[Whatzmyname]

If you are single and under 30 then the world is open for you. So many exciting things you can experience...Overseas Contract work here and there...Few months or years of overseas traveling is good for the soul.
Work on a yacht.
Work on a ship. They are always looking for entertainment staff,waiters,hairdressers etc. You work 3 month on and 3 months off.
Work as an english teacher in Korea/Thailand. Just pass the TESOL exam.
Work at an oil rig. Hard job but you work 3 months on 3 months off as well and get paid in US dollars.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Math fail... Ugh, I'll blame it on my well, whatever it is.

How old are you?

That question determines a lot of things.

If you are a young guy it's these kinds of jobs they build fortitude that ultimately makes you better down the line when things go easier.

If this breaks you, then you aren't going to have much fun down the line.

24, will be 25 in January.

Jobs aren't that easy to come by, it's easy to say move on but finding alternative employment is another story.

OP sounds as if he's in a call centre or some sort of support centre.

Yup, call center work...

Well if it is just for a short while and you get rewarded for it then I guess it's OK. I have been part of month long projects that required you to work about 12 hours a day, but we did get rewarded for that a few months later and it was a fun project.

No reward no, not part of a project, no. Wish I was, I love problem solving, if I was talking to these people face to face rather than over the phone and I had more power with the software I would love to help them.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

The answer to this thread depends on a number of factors. Like for instance, are you supporting a family? How old are you? Is this job leading you to a place you want to get to?

If you're under 25 and there's no family, GET OUT. It's not that hard to do. If this isn't leading somewhere, then definitely take some time to figure out what you want and how to get there. If you have a family and this is all that's available to you, then I guess you just need to focus on what you're doing for them, and not on the job itself. It's quite noble. I have a friend who's in that position right now and he's constantly burned out but at least his family's needs are met. I was also in a position of doing up to 3 jobs at once so my family never saw me, but it was well worth it in the end since my salary jumped up significantly and I was able to make my third job my main job.

24, no family.

I'm happy for you with your story and that it had a happy ending, but it sounds like some sort of project that you either were a big part of or ran entirely - here I'm basically entry level and this is expected of me. *shrug*

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Something are well within your control..

1. Transit to work
This should be kept <15km to avoid road rage and incidence of accidents I find.

2. Work hours
Last I checked most place of work require only 9hrs(including 1 hr tea, lunch breaks combined). If you working more than this it should be because you want to and then it's totally up to you..if the project timelines do not allow for the work to be completed within the time frame provided based on a 8hr work day it should be highlighted with the stake holders i.e. manager and project manager. Occasionally there will be projects like this but almost always it requires agreement with person working extra hours with some form of compensation and then limited for a period of time.

3. Never work long days AND weekends
I've tried working both and it just doesn't work out. If you want to put in extra hours choose one or the other but see point on work hours. Burn out comes fast.

Funny thing is I do work from time to time 10-12hrs/day for a few weeks when needed but not continually and never in combination with week-end. Uhm one way i got around transit was doing a 12-13hr day wherein i got to work about 06h15am, breakfast, worked 06h45-11h15, lunch/30-45, worked 12h00-15h30 then either went home or took a 30 min break, worked 16h00-20h00 and then went home giving an extra 4 hr per day when needed and my transit which was 20km took me 20 min at those times as it was off peak... but it wasnt sustainable long term and ate into my gym time, so ideally can only do this 3 times a week (gym 2x during work week and 1x on weekend if not cycling). But it required a LOT of planning on my part, from preparing 2-3 meals on a sunday such that i only needed to cook once during the week (was single staying on own) and just other basic optimisations of time, like wake up, shower and get ready in 30 min, laundry & other chores well planned etc

I would like to work at a place like that. Transit? Well I'm ****ed there since life is basically in town and I happen to be 25 kms away from it.

If you are single and under 30 then the world is open for you. So many exciting things you can experience...Overseas Contract work here and there...Few months or years of overseas traveling is good for the soul.
Work on a yacht.
Work on a ship. They are always looking for entertainment staff,waiters,hairdressers etc. You work 3 month on and 3 months off.
Work as an english teacher in Korea/Thailand. Just pass the TESOL exam.
Work at an oil rig. Hard job but you work 3 months on 3 months off as well and get paid in US dollars.

That sounds good and all, but I have no idea where to get the connections to get onto an oil rig or into another country like Korea. I love South Korea it sounds amazing, don't you actually need a degree for that?

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

I will power through this week and then decide. I suppose.
Decide what I don't even know. *shrug*

 

[krycor]

Yup, call center work...

Don't think i've heard of any call centre working 12 hr shifts.. 8hr yes.. 10-12 hr/grave yard shifts i use to do too (I use to do call centre work a decade ago) but that was always rotational.

 

[Rouxenator]

1. Transit to work
This should be kept <15km to avoid road rage and incidence of accidents I find.

Very important! I switched jobs once just so I could work within 15km from home. It's a life style thing for me. At the end of each month I get new money but I never get new time. Time is running out.

Let me depress you some more. If you spend 90 minute to get to work and 90 minute to get home then at the end of the year you have wasted an entire MONTH on your commute. Just think about that - one whole month of the year gone.

 

[Jase]

If you are single and under 30 then the world is open for you. So many exciting things you can experience...Overseas Contract work here and there...Few months or years of overseas traveling is good for the soul.
Work on a yacht.
Work on a ship. They are always looking for entertainment staff,waiters,hairdressers etc. You work 3 month on and 3 months off.
Work as an english teacher in Korea/Thailand. Just pass the TESOL exam.
Work at an oil rig. Hard job but you work 3 months on 3 months off as well and get paid in US dollars.

I chuckled at that. Work is scarce on rigs at the moment. I (the entire crew to be exact) was retrenched after 8 years on a rig and joined hundreds of other oil rig workers who are out of work at the moment.