I'm glad you included the picture of The Hodag, Northern Wisconsin's most famous dragon/dinosaur/mythical creature.

In this economy, there are NO miserable jobs. Any job = good job.

I agree that in this time any job is in fact a good job, but that doesn't mean you automatically enjoy the work you do. I've realized I'm not the type that's content with sitting in an office all day, sunup to sundown. But with raises and bonuses still being constant while my friends at other jobs are unfortunately getting laid off it's not an ideal time to leave. Plus anything I would leave to do at this point would be a huge paycut. So it's a balance between how much I dislike the work and how much I want/need the money. Right now the money is winning out. Another factor is I'm not quite sure what would make me happy in terms of another job right now, something I'm sure others feel.

I had a lovely job, but the boss was not my favorite person by a long way. Given the type of job and the type of people that are attracted, it was inescapable.

So what do you do when you like the job but not the boss, and know that other bosses will be just as bad?

"In this economy, there are NO miserable jobs. Any job = good job."

i'm so sick of reading that, and if everyone has that attitude, it's only going to make it even more of an employer's market.

employers are shitting all over their employees left and right.

there are plenty of businesses and industries that are just fine, or even exceed if the economy is in a downturn. but all this "the economy sucks" talk is just giving them an excuse to take away benefits, do layoffs, skimp on raises, etc, all while dumping more work on their people, solely to maximize profits.

there are certainly industries in sad shape right now, no question there, but all these widespread blanket statments just add to the hype

Love my coworkers, hate my job. Been looking in to going back to school for a career change.

@ThaKoolAidKid: I'm in the same boat!

I was so discontent with my job, that I'm taking a break, selling most of my stuff and traveling for a while. I didn't really pick a good time to do it, but hell I'm doing it anyway.

@ElizabethD:

Yeah, the problem is employers all know they have you buy the balls, so they do whatever they want, even if they are raking in the dough. My employer cut 401k contributions, put on a hiring freeze, put a hold on raises, cancelled bonuses and cleared out a few people. The problem? We are just coming off a record year, where we made 20% more than the norm, and this year we have been slammed with work. They are just using the economy as an excuse to make us all work longer hours for less money.

i would love my job, if i was allowed to do it (cant we replace all managers with lava lamps, like dilbert suggests?)

@EllenRose: Become your own boss?

@TheWraithL98: Believe me, employers were shitting on their employees long before the economy imploded...

@ElizabethD: I don't think a horrid economy means you have to love your job. There are always more satisfying/enjoyable careers.

@ajresch: Well, he better not try to take the Jersey Devil's job. It won't end well for Hodag.

@EllenRose: I was in this exact situation. Loved the job, loved the industry, was not compatible with my boss. I left for an entirely different industry, found a job doing something I never thought I'd do - moved from publishing to corporate communications - and my life is better. I'd rather work with people I like and respect than struggle with coworkers in my chosen field. There was no garauntee I'd be anywhere in that field, so it wasn't like I could just tell myself it was only temporary. Without a specific goal to work for, I felt it was worth the risk to try something new. It worked out for me.

@EllenRose: One of the biggest reasons I hated/left my old job was because the VP was awful, and it trickled down. I had an awesome manager for a while that would take the brunt of it, so it didn't trickle down to my level, but once she left, it was intolerable.

My current manager in my new job is awful, but fortunately I'll be moving over to a new manager soon, so that will help.

I totally agree with the "target date" scenario. To me, I feel that the days go by slower if I have nothing to really look forward to, whether it be work projects, personal projects, or even set events such as vacations. By setting up a target date, you can actually feel great about the work that you are doing, because it will all add up to something in the end, even if it is a personal success.

I work for a fantastic company, but by boss is the devil himself. And this current job market certainly is enabling him to crap all over me even more than he would normally. But since I've never had a boss outlast me in my working life yet (fired, resigned, transferred), I'm hoping & praying I will prevail yet again. In the meantime, any job is good right now. I know very qualified smart nice people who can't find a thing. NY metro area is tough. Hey - any one of us could be laid off tomorrow. Frightening.

reminds me a recent ep of the office where oscar admits his vicarious enjoyment of a co-worker's impromptu resignation.

there is a moment where he looks away and dreams about it doing it himself and then looks back that the camera with a depressed look after realizing it's nothing more than a pipe-dream.

oh god. this is very depressing.

My fiancé loathes his job. He's finally at the point where he almost bursts into tears on Mondays because he has to go to work the next day (he's on a Tu-Sat schedule).

If this were a better economy I'd have told him, "just quit" by now, but our company (we're at the same one, in two different divisions) has already had a round or two of layoffs and I'm not comfortable with us not stuffing a savings account to the gills in case of a third round.

I've had a really toxic, horrible, "I'd rather throw myself under this train than get on it" kind of job before and it's one of the most miserable things a human can be stuck with. I pity my fiancé for being stuck with his (he's had interviews elsewhere, but the positions were all left open / cancelled or given to laid-off folks with 5-10 years' experience on him) but I kind of feel right now like the world's a mess and any port in a storm.

So many people are stuck at their jobs right now because of financial pressures.

I think companies realize this and they know they can treat you badly because someone else is desperate to have a job at all and will take what a company dishes out right now.

And when people say to me "At least you have a job," I feel a combination of guilt because I hate my job and I have to curb the compulsion to make a snarky reply back to them.

My job is good as jobs go. Easy-going and friendly boss, low pressure, ample vacation days, other liberal policies. In exchange for those courtesies, my colleagues and I don't take advantage of our situation. So, there are many things to be thankful for, even though the pay is certainly not great.

All that said, I'm feeling like I'm simply tired of what I do after 5 1/2 years of doing it. It's not the fault of the job, it's not the fault of the employer, it's not the fault of my boss. I'm simply a little tired of it, but I'm in this situation in which I am not sure what else I want to do, even though I want to do something different. I'm 28, so I'm still young; but I didn't go to grad school and don't want to take on the financial burden. I'm to the point in which I am seeing lots of people my age with law degrees and PhDs and worlds of opportunity, supposedly, while I have built up good experience in a fairly narrow area. How to break out?

So, that's what keeps me "stuck" in this job--risk aversion (why take the chance of quitting or going to grad school?), a decent boss, liberal vacation time, and, especially in this economy, a consistent paycheck. I just wish I could get the same "thrill" out of this line of work as I got a few years ago.

A part of me that clings to the thought that any job is a good job, especially in hard times. I grew up very poor, and have plenty of memories of what scraping by really feels like. I've worked hard and remained self-disciplined to avoid reliving that stressful and depressing experience.

In addition, the company I work for has laid off 25% of the work force since Sept. '08. I am grateful to have survived so far, and while I retain a strong sense of pride in my work and my contributions here, I have come to deeply mistrust my employer.

More accurately, I'd say that my feelings border on contempt. Company leaders haven't regrouped to consider our new reality and limited resources, and are all too pleased to grind down those of us who remain with very long hours, unmanageable work loads, passive/aggressive management, and, most surprisingly, a total lack of employee appreciation. This company has completely lost its values, and working life is extremely stressful and unrewarding.

I would love to leave. I have been trying to leave. But I just can't allow myself to do it without another job lined up. Where I live, unemployment is over 10% and every company with a job posting is overwhelmed with over-qualified applicants. The opportunities to make a change for the better are in extremely short supply.

Depending on how much more of this I can take, moving, even to another state, may actually become an option I'd consider. I want to get out of here that badly.

We just found out the plant I work at is closing, so it's definitely a good motivator to change careers as I was getting bored anyway. Another plus is the fact I have at least a few months until I'm done to look for a job. Better yet, my wife hates her job and wants a change too, so we're ready to "start fresh" in a new locale.

The bad news is that I don't get my severance unless I stay until they tell me I can leave, which as of now we have no timeframe on (anywhere from 2 to 12 months). On top of that, if I leave early I don't get severance AND I have to pay back some negative vacation hours I have accrued due to mandatory time off. Worst is that I just bought my first house last year and unless I get my severance, I probably can't afford to jump ship and get a new job. So a great situation turned into some kind of purgatory. Guess they weren't done screwing us quite yet...

Yup, rack me up as another person who really dislikes their jobs but feel they are "stuck" in them. My job is pushing me to a perpetual state of apathy, and, economy be damned, I need to find something else to do with my life so I can feel proud of what I do. I'm suck at where I work because I am the only employee, and if I leave the company will certainly be screwed. The boss knows this, and therefore gives regular raises because he doesn't want to lose me. At some point I have to decide that the money isn't worth what it is putting me through, and that I have to put myself before the sake of this company run by people that I don't even really like. I need to grow a pair of minerals and get on with my life!!!

@ThaKoolAidKid: That's exactly how I feel! I couldn't have said it better.

@Saboth:

Yep, exactly. In fact, my own employer has given me a heads-up that I may be asked to work 20% longer hours with no increase in pay in the coming year. They could NEVER get away with this in a normal economy. But with my husband unemployed going on 2 years now, and us still raising/supporting two kids, I won't risk my job... so I'll meekly go along. Un-frickin-believable.

@rdm:

That's easy to say when one has a job. Try finding a job if you are already in the upper-middle management level of your field and over 55 years old.

Not so easy.

@ThaKoolAidKid:

Well, I was being a bit sarcastic about "any job is a good job." At this point, many of us just love the fact that we still *have* jobs.

@TheWraithL98:

I'm sorry you're sick of reading it (hey, I've only said it once here). And you're right about employers taking cruel advantage of frightened, anxious employees right now.

Nearly 3 dozen ppl were just laid off from my company last week (I had been quaking for the previous month, fearing one might be me) and we're scheduled for 60 more layoffs in the coming year. NEWS FLASH: It *is* an employer's market. I don't see much anyone can do about that until the economy begins to grow again.

What would you say instead? How about: "Any job is better than no job" -- because in my state, more than one in every 10 people is out of work. It's scary, and I won't apologize for telling people to value what they have if they're employed right now.

@ByronNardywomps:

This X 100.

@VideoOrItDidn'tHappen_GitEmSteveDave: I'd actual prefer if the Jersey Devil destroyed the Hodag.
The Hodag was the mascot of Rhinelander High School, and Rhinelander was our main rival when I went to high school 30 miles south in Antigo, Wisconsin.
We were the red robins.
We may have been docile birds, but hey, at least we exist in nature, and weren't just hallucinations of drunken loggers.

It's pretty simple - tie your personal happiness to money and get a-grinding. If you're unhappy in your job, work harder. If you're happy, work harder still. The way out is through.

Remember, too, guys: A job is a job. It doesn't have to be your life's passion. It can simply be the means to living comfortably and pursuing your true passions.

I don't think that when my grandpa went to work in the early 1900s at age 14 stamping out nails and screws in a noisy factory that he thought, "Oh, woe -- I hate what I'm doing." I'm sure he accepted, as most people did, that he was doing what was necessary to earn a living. What he loved was playing amateur-league baseball and tending his vegetable garden.

So, try to view your job realistically and not invest your personal hopes for fulfillment entirely in it. A job coach told me this back around 1980 and it totally changed the way I viewed my career... and helped me relax about it.

My issue has always been watching television and playing video games, paintball, or football don't make for much of a living on average. So I always kind of saw work as a thing you did solely for money regardless.

Besides that, at the point that I have to make money off of my hobby it is no longer a hobby to me.

@ElizabethD: That is a very good point, and that's why I don't generally (with exceptional passing moments) stress about my job. The liberal vacation policies allow me to get away and pursue what I am actually interested in.

My wife just got a new job that pays more than the evil company she used to work for.

I got a job about 6 months ago making A LOT more than the evil company I used to work for.

It is possible.

Good timing, as my FUCKING IDIOT BOSS just finished slamming drawers around and tosses shit everywhere, just because he knows he can get away with it without any consequences.

Pardon me while I explode...

FUCK MY BOSS FUCK MY BOSS FUCK MY BOSS FUCK MY BOSS.

@Saboth:

I know all about that. My FUCKING IDIOT BOSS did the same thing.

By the way, moderators, if you need to delete my posts in this thread, I understand. Just please don't close my account. : )

@redskull:

Hear hear! I'm doggedly studying self-employment options. Working for someone else is the wave of the past (to some degree).

@TheWraithL98:

"employers are shitting all over their employees left and right."

And I've made plans to shit right back if needed.

I hear that "Set a target date." Right now I'm waiting tables, which I can't stand b/c everyone treats me like shit. Best job for a kid my age though- the hours work around my classes. In August, I'll be going to school full time and working two shifts a week, so that'll be nice. Five years from now, a radically different job in a field that fascinates me endlessly. Hopefully, five year after that...my own practice.

I did have to make the decision last year whether I really wanted to be unhappy every day and make good cash, or make a little less cash and not cry before I have to go to work. It was a better trade off for me to not have to deal with the bullshit of a casual dining chain and instead deal with the bullshit of a semi-fine dining mom-and-pop restaurant. Different kind of stress, but I'm happier. I think that's ultimately what it needs to come down to. My life is too short.

@KatherineDadinator:

Well if I was your customer, I'd make you laugh and give you at least a 20% tip. Of course, my working wife and I are down to 80% of only my income, so eating out isn't an option.

@Etoiles: That is how I feel on Sundays. On top of that I don't like where I am living either (Louisville, KY) which makes it worse. So now I am trying to relocate and get a job which is near impossible. With the job market the way it is you feel trapped and unable to do anything.

I found it funny that for all this talk about any job=bad job and bosses shittying on us, that so many people have time (myself included) to read Consumerist and comment IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORK DAY!

:)

@ElizabethD: exactly....

it's really shitty

@TheWraithL98: I'm with McFly; I'm more flexable with managements mismanagement lately but I won't let them do whatever they want. There are still policies on how and when you can screw your employees. That being said management is already paying the price for their unnecessary actions by seeing a drop in production and moral. Also I'm almost positive that if the "employee free choice act" passes, we will have a union, entirely attributated to the current "we can do whetever we want" attitude by management.

@ElizabethD: I try to tell my fiancé this... but usually fail.

The thing is, when 38% of your net income goes to repaying the student loans that got you into the job, and you spend 1-3 hours per day commuting to the job, and you see the coworkers you hate more than the fiancé(e) you love, and you don't even get enough damn vacation days in a year to have a honeymoon with your wedding... It's hard not to stress all the time.

I think if we had health and vacation policies more like certain European countries do, it might take a little longer to start hating jobs.

@Michael Bangs:

That's because they're shitting on us and we're revolting. Well, my wife tells me I'm revolting...