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Is having a crap job a confidence crusher?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
For people working full time (not still students etc), to what extent does having a 'crap' job (either one which people perceive as bottom of the pile like flipping burgers or shelf-stacking, or one where you think you're overqualified / not being stretched) hurt/damage your general confidence as a person? Asking cos I'd feel rather demoralised and inferior if I'm doing something crap and everyone else around me is doing exciting stuff.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I was working full time as a lifeguard, for which I was vastly over qualified.

    Biggest problem I had with it was my colleagues, the other people who lifeguard full time that I have met are generally lazy, slackers, not that bright and don't enjoy their work either.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Having a rubbish/un-satisfying job in my eyes is certainly demoralising. The money would be a factor, but only if I were struggling to make ends meet.

    My last contract is the first role that actually knocked me on my arse in this way. It paid very good money (£100K+) but the working environment created by the senior management was shocking. In all the jobs I have done, not once had I experienced an environment ruled by intimidation until this one.

    Getting out of the office was a relief, but I stopped cooking at home and rarely went to the gym, which isn't like me.

    Yeah... it hits you, and I definitely lost some confidence... All good though as been out of that job for a week and a half and just got back from Italy so am ready to rock again :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it does.

    I'm currently working as a receptionist/office administrator which I am way overqualified for. I accepted the job as I was unemployed for ages and needed anything. My job is poo. Basically an hour/2 hours tops worth of work per day.
    The rest of the day I chill on the internet. It sound like an alright job, to get paid to do nothing except sit and muck about on the net, and it was for the first few months but I feel like my brain is turning to rubbish because I know I can do better and I'm just killing days by doing this. It has made me doubt myself about whether I'm good enough to do a better job and there are days when I've just felt so miserable from doing nothing all day and going home to do nothing there. I'd rather be stressed from a big workload and pressure, than sat with nothing but my thoughts.

    Still, I'm only staying here for another few months, so I can have a year under my belt before I go and put my mind to work.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah. Foxy - there's plenty you can do on the internet to keep yourself busy / your brain ticking - a) discussion forums like this site and b) reading stuff like online newspapers, research, Wikipedia..
    I don't know how most the country live tbh, easily most people will be fairly dissatisfied with the jobs they do, you see it on a daily basis - eg having to ring customer service for BT, Orange etc it's so blatant nobody actually cares less and they're just doing it for their £7/hr lol. When your job takes up so much of your waking hours surprised people aren't even more demoralised / lacking confidence in themselves. It doesn't seem to affect people eg lads who have mundane jobs are still confident/happy when they go out on the pull and stuff.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    foxysoxy wrote: »
    I think it does.

    I'm currently working as a receptionist/office administrator which I am way overqualified for. I accepted the job as I was unemployed for ages and needed anything. My job is poo. Basically an hour/2 hours tops worth of work per day.
    The rest of the day I chill on the internet. It sound like an alright job, to get paid to do nothing except sit and muck about on the net, and it was for the first few months but I feel like my brain is turning to rubbish because I know I can do better and I'm just killing days by doing this. It has made me doubt myself about whether I'm good enough to do a better job and there are days when I've just felt so miserable from doing nothing all day and going home to do nothing there. I'd rather be stressed from a big workload and pressure, than sat with nothing but my thoughts.

    Still, I'm only staying here for another few months, so I can have a year under my belt before I go and put my mind to work.

    Are you me in disguise? :chin:

    I'm an administrator and my job bores me so much too. Its just a short term thing, so it isn't getting me down too much but if I had too do this all the time then I'd hate it. Its just some days its a bit rubbish tbh.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Just saw this on BBC today, touches upon the issue I'm curious about - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6947481.stm
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think a lot of it is down to your co-workers, and the actual job. I mean you could be way overqualified to be a holiday rep, but love the job. You could work as a waiter, and really get on with all your co-workers, so it's not bad at all. I think it also depends greatly on whether you have plans too. Sure, a waiter might be fun in the short term, but it would probably be demoralising if you can't see yourself progressing in the future.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Of course it damages your confidence. If you're doing your job, and aren't being stretched, you're bound to feel down about it. For example, when I was at the shop, I could have done the supervisor's jobs easily - I often did half their duties for them, but did I get the credit for it? Hell no!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't really think it does. If it were your career, maybe. But as a job. No. At the end of the day a job is a job. It gets you from here to there with a few treats inbetween. Crappy or not, though, I keep my work and my regular life totally seperate. I don't think about it once I walk out those doors (except for on sunday nights :p) Even being a clothes folder in a store, a condiment putter oner at a fast food joint or what, even at work you don't really have to think, goddamn i'm at shitty work, if you can find something or someone fun out of it. And if somebody asks and you are ashamed, its easy to make a joke out of it, be lighthearted. What do you do? Well I fold shit. I find it a bit hard to see it as demoralizing or a confidence crusher as I don't tend to think about it once I'm out of there. Just grateful to have a job and enough money to get by. Then again, I am just talking about jobs. If it were a career, it might be something different. But why would you make a career out of something you find to be crushing and no joy in.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The other thing I find is what job you do can seriously affect your chat in social situations..like when you meet someone for the first time when asked what you do, if something boring like accountant or lawyer it may give the impression you're boring, and there's not that much to say on that matter..whereas if you're doing something like PR, media, music, there's the "wow that's cool" factor and plenty to talk about. I have a day job as a banker and run a business, never mention the day job and always go for the "I own a..." line.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think a lot of it is down to your co-workers, and the actual job. I mean you could be way overqualified to be a holiday rep, but love the job. You could work as a waiter, and really get on with all your co-workers, so it's not bad at all. I think it also depends greatly on whether you have plans too. Sure, a waiter might be fun in the short term, but it would probably be demoralising if you can't see yourself progressing in the future.

    Defo agree. My job could be more bearable if I didn't have this accounts woman leaning over me all the time. I've got a learning disability with numbers (dyscalculia) and part of my job description is that I work with numbers. Writing out cheques, writing the amounts into a massive accounts book and adding them all up.
    Now I told them about my disability at the interview, the second interview and also told the woman who deals with accounts, but she still has a fit every time I make a mistake. Like the correct number will be "£3113.26" but I'll see "£3113.62" and add it up like that and it'll mess everything up. Even If I double and triple check, sometime I cant register or see that it's wrong.

    Granted, it needs to be correct and I understand why she gets frustrated but she has this way of talking to me like I'm the dumbest person alive. Like she goes "I've told you before, you have to do it like this. I dont understand WHY you can't do it...I TOLD you to check it." and shit like that. She really got my goat before when I was doing things in a way that was easier for me but she didn't like it and pretty much made me do the fuckin accounts in the most confusing way possible. Needless to say, I fucked up which got me another round of patronising insults and me almost knocking the teeth out of her stupid wrinkled head.
    While I can ignore it and try my hardest to brush it off, some shit really gets to you.
    She's made me wanna quit so many times.:impissed:

    It's definately a confidence crusher when your working in a dead end job with bitches like her
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it depends what is a "crap job" to the individual person. If I left college, went uni, qualified as a teacher and then went back to nursery nursing out of choice then technically I would be in a crap job but for me, I would be in a job I was loving to do.

    I think it is about your expectations, money-wise, co-worker wise and ability wise. Personally I am very much for "do a job for the satisfaction, the moneys just a bonus".
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    foxysoxy wrote: »
    Now I told them about my disability at the interview, the second interview and also told the woman who deals with accounts, but she still has a fit every time I make a mistake. Like the correct number will be "£3113.26" but I'll see "£3113.62" and add it up like that and it'll mess everything up. Even If I double and triple check, sometime I cant register or see that it's wrong.
    Mate if you've got dyscalculia you really shouldn't be touching accounts at all!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    try telling them that!

    I mean I'm better than I was in school- (got a C in Maths GCSE) and crap but it's still hard.

    You should have seen me when I worked in Halifax!!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ricardo R wrote: »
    For people working full time (not still students etc), to what extent does having a 'crap' job (either one which people perceive as bottom of the pile like flipping burgers or shelf-stacking, or one where you think you're overqualified / not being stretched) hurt/damage your general confidence as a person? Asking cos I'd feel rather demoralised and inferior if I'm doing something crap and everyone else around me is doing exciting stuff.

    I've done crap jobs but only while I was a student, never knowing that it was my whole future. Some I despised but it depends on lots of things like the people.

    Something they did have going for them was that I didn't really care. My whole life wasn't about work.

    Eg, the summer after I graduated, I temped with the council. It was menial work like filing, answering the phone, but I felt relaxed and when I went home, I forgot about it.

    I've now been working in a "proper" job for almost 2 years and although it can be interesting and I do feel stretched, I also feel stressed, scared of making mistakes and losing my job. I feel like most of my identity is tied up in my career and that's frightening. Sometimes I wish I just had a crappy job where it wasn't all so important.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Given the amount of time per week you are in your job I think it is only natural for it to take a toll if you dont at least occasionally feel you are working hard at something worth while. Obviously the culture there really makes a big difference, if you see bosses with their hand in the till and management in general is poor then it adds to the atmosphere.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Having a job you don't enjoy is demoralising.

    Just because you might be flipping burgers, or 'under achieving' doesn't mean you won't enjoy the job or get job satisfaction. What you may consider a crap job may be somebody's ideal job.

    For me, working in an office would be shit, I'd hate it. I'd probably enjoy roadsweeping more than that.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    What you may consider a crap job may be somebody's ideal job.

    Exactly.
    Now I told them about my disability at the interview, the second interview and also told the woman who deals with accounts, but she still has a fit every time I make a mistake. Like the correct number will be "£3113.26" but I'll see "£3113.62" and add it up like that and it'll mess everything up. Even If I double and triple check, sometime I cant register or see that it's wrong.

    If you really are having problems, then tell them and if there's anything they can do to make it easier, then tell them. I've had to do this and if there's something I can't do, I will tell them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ricardo R wrote: »
    The other thing I find is what job you do can seriously affect your chat in social situations..like when you meet someone for the first time when asked what you do, if something boring like accountant or lawyer it may give the impression you're boring, and there's not that much to say on that matter..whereas if you're doing something like PR, media, music, there's the "wow that's cool" factor and plenty to talk about. I have a day job as a banker and run a business, never mention the day job and always go for the "I own a..." line.

    I have this problem as I don't work, it is a real conversation killer in social settings.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you have a work atmosphere that you don't like then you're a lot more likely to hate your job, and hating your job is bad for your confidence definitely.

    One of the best jobs I've had was a data entry job because the people I worked with were brilliant, and it was nice to go into work every morning, so it has nothing to do with the status of the job or the pay packet. The job I have now is more mixed- I enjoy the work and enjoy helping people, but the management couldn't organise their way out of a paper bag.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i could have a massive rant about this i think, but i'll try to keep it brief...

    i think - and I don't know if this is a British thing or if it's more widespread - that we have very odd attitudes towards some jobs. It really pisses me off when people refer to "crap" jobs because to me, there is no such thing as a crap job. Yes, it can't be nice working in an environment you don't like, or with people you don't like, but jobs in themselves are not crap - it's the attitude that's brought to them.

    I really admire people who try their best at whatever job they're doing - people who want to be the best waitress they can be, or the best sales assistant, or the best cabinet minister, or the best farmer or whatever. People who don't consider their job to be crap because perhaps other people do, but take pride in whatever work they're doing.

    Ok, people can call me hypocritical because I don't want to be doing a so-called "crap" job for the rest of my life, but that's because I have other ambitions rather than I just don't want to be regarded as crap. But I'd much rather live in a world where people took pride in their jobs no matter what they were than one where people regarded some jobs as crap for no apparent reason.

    Rant over :blush:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Long lost Lady I kind of see your point. In my student days when I worked at McDonalds, everyone said it was a rubbish job. But I took pride in being the very best at scooping burgers off the floor and putting them right back in those buns... :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I worked at Tesco for a year and a bit and it was quite demoralising but at the same time

    i) it paid well especially considering I was still living at home thus not paying rent etc.
    ii) it funded my gap year shenanigans
    iii) I had the prospect of uni to look forward to which was awesome

    It served a purpose and while the work was buttock-clenchingly boring, my colleagues were cool; just about all of them in the same boat as me - students earning money because they needed it. I guess the major advantage was it showed me what the alternative to going to Uni was. I guess everyone should have a McJob at some point. It teaches you the value of an honest day's work and in my case, made me work harder at Uni and school before that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But I took pride in being the very best at scooping burgers off the floor and putting them right back in those buns...

    :lol: shut it :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i've never had a mcjob but the first job i had after uni was fairly menial and the second wasn't all that either, i knew it was just temporary so put my head down and got on with it, as long as the people are cool that's the main thing and it makes you appreciate the decent jobs when you do get them.....still can't seem to last more than a year in one place though i just get too bored, must be in the wrong industry lol.

    crap jobs are inevitable sometimes but you shouldn't ever settle for less than your worth, mate of mine worked at asda for years before having a reality check and going to uni to further his prospects, and he is 100x better off for it...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :lol: shut it :p

    All true I'm afraid... :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    if you're bored and unhappy at work there are ways to improve the situation. Why not find out more about projects going on in other teams that you might be interested in. Tell your manager that you're getting through your workload quickly and are keen to help out in other areas. This way, you'll look enthusiastic and like you're using your initiative, you'll learn new skills, and make new friends by helping them out. Oh, and you won't be so bored!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Im really fed up of my job and hate it.Most of the people are cool but as I was really shy when I first started there Im not really "in" the social bit and feel.......uncomfortable a bit if you see what I mean.Not really one of "them" so to speak.Plus,everyone there seems to shag each other too and Im not interested in that in the workplace.Plus,lots of stealing goes on too and the security manager decides to turn a blind eye to who he KNOWS is doing it and searches me when I take my bag out the back once to seem lke hes really "cracking" down as hes in with the theives.
    Just walking through the front doors into work really puts a downer on me as I seem to have to be this person that I dont like,quiet,withdrawn,left out and it all spills over into how I feel out of work too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The Leaf wrote: »
    Im really fed up of my job and hate it.Most of the people are cool but as I was really shy when I first started there Im not really "in" the social bit and feel.......uncomfortable a bit if you see what I mean.Not really one of "them" so to speak.Plus,everyone there seems to shag each other too and Im not interested in that in the workplace.Plus,lots of stealing goes on too and the security manager decides to turn a blind eye to who he KNOWS is doing it and searches me when I take my bag out the back once to seem lke hes really "cracking" down as hes in with the theives.
    Just walking through the front doors into work really puts a downer on me as I seem to have to be this person that I dont like,quiet,withdrawn,left out and it all spills over into how I feel out of work too.

    so why don't you get a better job?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    being rejected from one definitely is!!
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