6 ms·

Unless one is a complete corporate simp, a fulfilling job is an oxymoron at best. Job is a job, you are being paid money in exchange for your time, labour and

Unless one is a complete corporate simp, a fulfilling job is an oxymoron at best. Job is a job, you are being paid money in exchange for your time, labour and skills, everything else surrounding it is just BS to make you more productive and happy go lucky robot, therefore increasing someone's bottom line. Sure a new job might be exciting, but there is a t- after which any individual capable of thought will realize what's going on. Seek fulfilment elsewhere, maybe take the money you make at a job and put it into something that makes you happy, good luck!

winternett 4y ago
I dread corporate kool aid, it's gut wrenching to me to hear how much people are motivated to be productive when you know the real sense of defeat that resides in a lot of companies, especially the largest ones... Around 30 years old I realized that it was the people I worked with and their personality, sense of humor, real conversations, and dedication to growing and solving problems was the best aspect of going in to work, not the sht written in company manuals and useless words in all hands meetings, or even that our Billionaire CEO went to Harvard. When I leave a job, I've kept the good friends, even hired some of them. All the company gave me was a t-shirt and a mug full of kool aid that most times I didn't really care to hold onto. They want you to believe a company is a living being or a vibe, it's simply not.... They often change in name and branding just to avoid liability, so you don't need to look to a company for fulfillment, it comes by heavily inserting humanity into every aspect of the work... If the humanity is missing, I recommend saving money and moving to a new place where it does reside.
- iExploder 4y ago
  colleagues are what makes or breaks the job experience, rest of it is just business and if you are not part of c-suite be prepared for short end of the stick
- ambivalents 4y ago
  >> When I leave a job, I've kept the good friends, even hired some of them. This is key for me too. When I was in a stressful people manager role, sorting through conflict and personalities every day, my favorite manager would always say 'people over companies.' Even if you have no intention of leaving your job or being friends with your coworkers, this thought brings everyone to the same level - we are all people who happen to be organized around this fictional thing called a company.
geoffmanning 4y ago
It makes me sad to hear this kind of argument. While i agree with the idea that a job shouldn't define someone, to completely write off 40 hours a week (arguably our most productive hours) as simply selling your time without taking pride and joy in that time sounds like a pretty bad deal to me, but it makes sense that anyone that has that perspective would consider anyone that happily works for others as a "happy go lucky robot". I hope that you either start your own endeavor that others may one day be "happy go lucky robots" for or that you find a job that you find real pride and joy in the part you play.
- iExploder 4y ago
  let's make a thought experiment, if you make X amount of money and you were given this amount every month for rest of your life and could do whatever you wanted, would you still keep going to your current place of employment for 40+hours a week? and if so, what % of people in the world you think would say the same? of course I was writing in generalities in my previous post, I'm not commenting on the odd neurosurgeon or astronaut who realized their childhood dreams, let's be real here and yeah, if I ever have "employees" it will be on partner to partner basis with sharing risk and profit, I don't dream of subjugating other human beings for my benefit while keeping them in the dark and scheming, which to be honest is what most companies do...
  - geoffmanning 4y ago
    That's not a useful thought experiment because it doesn't reflect reality, and on the other side, this isn't about the "odd neurosurgeon or astronaut". I'm either an accidental unicorn that rarely ever tried to find fulfillment or it's quite possible with very little friction to get a job that you'll find fulfilling. I completely agree that many (maybe even most) companies suck, but it feels like you're projecting that on others by using blanket statements rather than recognizing that it just depends on the company, and it's very possible to find opportunities at companies that don't suck and do feel fulfilling. I just want others on this thread to understand that it's very possible to work for other companies and feel very fulfilled and proud of the work they do, and it's not a unicorn, there are a lot of opportunities if you're willing to put forth the effort.
digianarchist 4y ago
I find myself nodding along to comments like this and coming away with the idea that I should optimize for TC and then GTFO while I'm still young.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  From someone nearing 40 and having done tech for 20 years, you’re spot on. Max your comp and GTFO ASAP.

winternett 4y ago

I dread corporate kool aid, it's gut wrenching to me to hear how much people are motivated to be productive when you know the real sense of defeat that resides in a lot of companies, especially the largest ones... Around 30 years old I realized that it was the people I worked with and their personality, sense of humor, real conversations, and dedication to growing and solving problems was the best aspect of going in to work, not the sht written in company manuals and useless words in all hands meetings, or even that our Billionaire CEO went to Harvard. When I leave a job, I've kept the good friends, even hired some of them. All the company gave me was a t-shirt and a mug full of kool aid that most times I didn't really care to hold onto. They want you to believe a company is a living being or a vibe, it's simply not.... They often change in name and branding just to avoid liability, so you don't need to look to a company for fulfillment, it comes by heavily inserting humanity into every aspect of the work... If the humanity is missing, I recommend saving money and moving to a new place where it does reside.

iExploder 4y ago
colleagues are what makes or breaks the job experience, rest of it is just business and if you are not part of c-suite be prepared for short end of the stick
ambivalents 4y ago
>> When I leave a job, I've kept the good friends, even hired some of them. This is key for me too. When I was in a stressful people manager role, sorting through conflict and personalities every day, my favorite manager would always say 'people over companies.' Even if you have no intention of leaving your job or being friends with your coworkers, this thought brings everyone to the same level - we are all people who happen to be organized around this fictional thing called a company.

geoffmanning 4y ago

It makes me sad to hear this kind of argument. While i agree with the idea that a job shouldn't define someone, to completely write off 40 hours a week (arguably our most productive hours) as simply selling your time without taking pride and joy in that time sounds like a pretty bad deal to me, but it makes sense that anyone that has that perspective would consider anyone that happily works for others as a "happy go lucky robot". I hope that you either start your own endeavor that others may one day be "happy go lucky robots" for or that you find a job that you find real pride and joy in the part you play.

iExploder 4y ago
let's make a thought experiment, if you make X amount of money and you were given this amount every month for rest of your life and could do whatever you wanted, would you still keep going to your current place of employment for 40+hours a week? and if so, what % of people in the world you think would say the same? of course I was writing in generalities in my previous post, I'm not commenting on the odd neurosurgeon or astronaut who realized their childhood dreams, let's be real here and yeah, if I ever have "employees" it will be on partner to partner basis with sharing risk and profit, I don't dream of subjugating other human beings for my benefit while keeping them in the dark and scheming, which to be honest is what most companies do...
- geoffmanning 4y ago
  That's not a useful thought experiment because it doesn't reflect reality, and on the other side, this isn't about the "odd neurosurgeon or astronaut". I'm either an accidental unicorn that rarely ever tried to find fulfillment or it's quite possible with very little friction to get a job that you'll find fulfilling. I completely agree that many (maybe even most) companies suck, but it feels like you're projecting that on others by using blanket statements rather than recognizing that it just depends on the company, and it's very possible to find opportunities at companies that don't suck and do feel fulfilling. I just want others on this thread to understand that it's very possible to work for other companies and feel very fulfilled and proud of the work they do, and it's not a unicorn, there are a lot of opportunities if you're willing to put forth the effort.

digianarchist 4y ago

I find myself nodding along to comments like this and coming away with the idea that I should optimize for TC and then GTFO while I'm still young.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
From someone nearing 40 and having done tech for 20 years, you’re spot on. Max your comp and GTFO ASAP.