Got a new job, not as happy as I should be

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Fireblossom
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14 Mar 2018, 12:46 pm

I got a new job. Don't get me wrong; I'm really happy to have this job, but I feel like I'm not as happy about it as I should be. At the very least, I'm not as happy about it as I thought I would be.

To make things a little clearer: I officially started the job and started getting paid yesterday, but before that I was in the same place doing the same stuff as an unpaid trainee for three months. My days were shorter than they are now but other than that it's all the same, so I'm already very aware of what kind of job I'll be doing and what kind of people I'll have to deal with at work. And I'm really not happy with neither.

My job isn't exactly hard; it doesn't involve too much thinking or physical work (but some parts of my body do get sore from the repeated movements; I'm not the only one there with this problem), but that in itself is a big part of the problem. I don't mind the lack of physical work, but I do mind the lack of challenges to my mind. Everything's been so easy since I learned the basics... in December. Sometimes, maybe around once a week, there's something that I can't do on autopilot and actually need to think, but that's a bit too rarely for me. Too easy job is a boring job.

Then the people. My actual superior(s) are barely ever around where I work, so so far I have no opinion of them... but they do seem like decent people, if not a bit too loud, so far. The person who works at the same space as I every day... well, she's not bad company. Maybe a bit too loud and I suppose she also talks a bit too much, but she's just social. I can work with that; I've had to deal with social people before. Not as weird ones as this one, but she's not a bad or threatening kind of weird, just... weird. Probably a bit mean to say this, but I don't know how else to descripe her. In any case, she's not a problem in any way. The problem are the volunteers that show up whenever they please (or well, not really, but since I don't have the acces to seeing who will be coming when I have no way of knowing who shows up when and for how long.) Most of them are people in their late sixties or early seventies. The women don't cause me any trouble, but the men... well, they all seem to be chauvinistic, some a bit more than the rest. Not that they do anything to anyone, but they talk, especially if there's more than one of them present at once. Just yesterday they were making fun of the Me too -campaign, saying things like "people have made a too big deal of it" and "if a woman wears something revealing it's like asking to be harassed." Seriously? If that's the case then who gets to decide what counts as "too revealing?" Miniskirts and low necks? Tight shirts and jeans? Skirts and dresses? Should all women wear a burkha or something!? They are absolutely disgusting... I mean a tiny part of me keeps telling me that since they're of that age they were most likely raised very differently from me. While there might be people their age who were raised with similiar values that I was, at that time it was common to raise kids to think that a man has more value than a woman... maybe they're just stuck to those ways of thinking? Maybe those old dogs just can't learn new tricks... I'm trying to make them see the faults in their reasoning, but I suppose I shouldn't bother since they won't listen to me anyway since I'm a woman and, as far as I know, literally the youngest person in the building!

Oh and of course, it's a part time job. I do not like working a part time job; it pays way too little compared to a full time one. I'm perfectly cabable and willing to work full time, so not finding a full time job kind of annoys me.

Don't get me wrong; I have absolutely no intention of ditching this job and becoming unemployed again. I want to keep this job as long as possible, unless I find a better one of course, 'cause a job is a job and money is money. This is definitely better than nothing and has some good sides, too. I mean working part time means not only less money but also more free time, so that's a plus. The location is also good; the place is easy to find, I only need to use one bus and it takes me very close to the place. The working hours aren't too set in stone either; if I have a dentist appointment at the morning all I have to do is say so and I get the morning free for as long as I need. All I need to do is to make up for the hours later (or before; that's what I prefer.)

Anyway, I didn't come here just to whine. The point of this post is to ask: how can I keep in my mind that I need to be grateful about having this job? I mean I still feel happy about it now despite still wanting more, but knowing myself I will soon only be wanting more and not feel happy... so any ideas how I can fight it off? How I can keep myself feeling the gratitude? Not that I know who or what I'm gratefull to, so maybe I should just use the word "happy." Anyway, the point sticks. So, any ideas?



fluffysaurus
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14 Mar 2018, 1:05 pm

I have no advice for you, sorry. I came on here because I recently started a knew job, I'm in my sixth week, and despite the fact that the people seem nice, I can do the job, and the hours are what I wanted, I don't feel very happy about it.

For me, I'm fairly sure my dissatisfaction is not caused by the job itself. Compared to my many previous jobs, this one isn't bad. Over the last three years I've mostly been working from home on my writing (comparative bliss) but I've run out of money so I had to go back into the outer workplace. It's so frustrating not to be doing the one thing I am actually good at. There was a time when I would have jumped with joy at getting this job, and I have learnt a lot from doing these sorts of jobs, but now I've had enough.