Hating work. Should I leave?
I recently started working in sales and trading, and so far I absolutely hate most of it.
I got my job offer 2-3 years before joining, and between then and now, as a student I learned and experienced a lot that broadened my perspective and values in life. I don’t see work status or maximizing capital as the ultimate goal of life or as any source of genuine happiness.
Now that I’ve officially joined the company, I don’t feel any enthusiasm towards the job itself, I hate not being able to leave the desk for even 5 whole minutes, and I’m already tired of everyone bragging about their status cars and boring hobbies like golf. Not to mention all the “optional” networking and “drinks” after office hours that were never mentioned on the jd. None of the people at work inspire me to be like them, and just the thought of work sucks all the joy out of me. I feel no desire to do internal politics or get out of my way to impress senior colleagues.
The only things that keep me going are the salary that allows me to buy things that make my family happy, the possibility that things will get (or seem) better if I stay long enough, and the occasional satisfaction of getting things done right. I don’t mind the tasks at all, I just don’t get excited by them, and lack of excitement just leads to exhaustion.
I know most people dread work when it’s tough, but is this normal when you’re just starting out? Or should I seriously consider changing if I dislike it this much?
Been there - advise you stay put until you find suitable exit which optimises your happiness and doesn't leave you optionless in future.
Two considerations:
1. Finance jobs are particularly tough on recent grads given the culture, pressure, and expectations. However, I've found that no matter what career people enter post-graduation, 90% of people hit a wall where they ask themselves, "is this it? the next 40 years of my life?" I think this is natural, and frankly not at all depressing if you have the right perspective. For some, such as in your case, given your change in priorities it might make sense to transition from a high-paying, high-stress job into something less well-paid, but that you can get some free time to explore life. Money is only useful to you while you're alive, might as well make decent money and get to use it while you're young than stow away millions but are only able to enjoy the fruits of your labor in old age.
2. Grass isn't always greener on the other side. If you're a high-performing worker, exiting to a 9-5 comes with it's own malaise. You may ask yourself the same "is this it?" question when walking out of the office chatting with Bill who is complaining about the referees in his sons' little league tournament for the 5th time this week.
Younger me would've told myself in this situation to suck it up and grind through it. What you've described is what I would identify in myself today as burnout. Taking a 1-2 week PTO break could be very helpful in your case. Would recommend that before anything else.
I work in ER but feel similarly to the OP, have been in my seat less than a year. Time off is super hard to come by due to turnover and general market, how do you figure I manage to work on burnout without actually being off?
I totally understand that as a recent grad PTO can seem “hard to come by” but — that’s bullshit. Everyone is given PTO and HR will generally force you to use a certain amount each year.
If you’re concerned about turnover, maybe only take 1-2 days, and if you’re not comfortable simply requesting the time off, you can easily make up a reasonable excuse (e.g. parents coming into town, have multiple medical appointments scheduled, helping a friend move, etc.)
If your concern is the job market — well, I wouldn’t recommend taking a week off at the height of earnings, but outside of busy times everyone understands that time off is needed. No one is going to cut you because of taking time off, it’s part of your employment contract — if they lay you off it’s because they were already planning to.
The cost of not taking time off, even foregoing an odd day off here and there, is much higher in the long run than taking that time.
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