I used to work at a job that demanded 60+ hours a week from its employees. Maybe “demanded” is too strong a word – certainly the company seldom asked outright for us to continue working at 10pm on a Friday. However, when all your fellow team mates are still at work and have full intentions to be in the next morning, you feel pressured to doing the same yourself.
To be fair, I didn’t have to. No one was forcing me to do crazy hours. After all, my employment contract says I only needed to work 40 hours each week. However, as I learnt the hard way, these things often reared their ugly heads during annual performance reviews. If you were an employer, who would you reward? The guy who stayed till 10pm or the guy who left at 5:30pm sharp?
As it was my first job out of university, I wanted to impress and went along like everyone else. For three years I worked for this company content with the fact that every annual review I had was exemplary. I was performing well compared to my peers. I had this career thing worked out. I was on top of the world.
Wrong.
I’ve long since left that job, having burnt myself out completely. The thing that stuck with me most from my experience there was the fact that about three months after I left, people didn’t even remember my name or care about what I did or how I’d spent every weekend consistently at work for six months. I can’t blame management – after all the project has to survive the people involved in it.
Since then, I knew I would never be truly happy being an employee for another faceless company. I gave 150% for three years of my life. What did I get out of it? Recognition from my superiors? Respect from my peers? A mediocre bonus during Christmas for a job well done?
Perhaps that’s enough.
For some people, yeah, this is enough. For me, I’m just wired differently. I feel that God has given us the ultimate gift called Life. However, we only have this gift for a limited time. How long remains to be seen. He has left us with a choice to choose how we spend our time. This precious gift should not be squandered on doing things that don’t matter to us. Life is a collection of our experiences, thoughts and feelings. If our actions do not positively contribute to these things, are we not wasting our gift?
Why are we even bothering?
Do you want to spend 60+ hours a week working for someone who doesn’t know your name? Is it wise to sacrifice the best years of your young adult life enslaved to an organisation motivated solely by the bottom line and the share price?
No.
Every moment you spend at an unhappy workplace is another moment you don’t have to spend pursuing your dreams. Most people think pursuing dreams is a thing you do next year. The thing is, there is no next year. There is only now. You exist here and now. If you are unhappy with your current work situation, you owe it to yourself to do something about it.
Not next year. Not tomorrow. Right now.
There is never a better time to make a change. Ok, sure you might be better prepared next year or more financially secured. However, most of the time, the only thing holding us back, is our own fears. Nobody wants to fail. That’s true, but I’d rather not live my life knowing I didn’t try because I feared to fail. After all, our limitations are self imposed.
Ask yourself – Are you a happy employee? For some people the answer is yes. In which case, I’m truly happy for you. You are one of the relatively few people who are lucky enough to have found a vocation that is fulfilling. For the rest, if you are unhappy about your current work situation, you need to find out the reasons why and do something about it.
I’m not asking you to quit your job. I’m not asking you to throw away the four years you spent studying for it. What I’m asking is for you to look at yourself and your surroundings. Are you happy doing what you’re doing? Do you wake up each morning and look forward to doing your life’s work? Is it something you love and admire?
For me, what I want to do is transform “working for” to “working with”. As an independent software contractor, I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m responsible for my own career. I pick the projects to work on and the clients to work with. If I feel like it, I can take three months off between contracts.
However the reality is, I’m still committed to a 9 – 5:30pm work day, five days a week. My income is proportionately tied to how many billable hours I do. Ultimately, I’m building someone else’s dream.
What I aim to attain is to be a fully fledged Entrepreneur – building businesses that contribute real value to my customers in the industries I’m interested in and deeply passionate about. I’d like to wake up each morning, eager to check how things have gone on while I had been asleep. I’d like to spend the day, thinking about ways I can improve what I offer.
Being an Entrepreneur is not for everyone. I believe each of us has a calling, something we’re naturally pre-disposed towards. Steve Pavlina even goes so far as listing 10 reasons why you should never get a job. Life is a journey. It is about seeking this calling and fulfilling your life’s purpose. It won’t be easy. You will need to approach it one step at a time.
In conclusion, ask yourself – Are you a happy employee? If you’re not, why and what would you rather be doing? Seek your life’s purpose. Do what you have been put on the Earth to do. In the end, you will live a happier and more fulfilling life.
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July 28th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Hi Dave,
First off, thanks for your comments on my site. It’s great to have another point of view. I read your post and I really like the points you’ve raised.
Fortunately for me, I’ve never really been in a position like yours. The places I’ve worked have been relatively relaxed in the number of hours they expect from you. My first post-university job was in government so it was almost forbidden to work too much. My current job values performance and intelligence rather than raw hours; they’re happy if you’re making things better.
Great site, I’ll be visiting here more often and I’d like to keep a link to it if that’s ok?
Damian
July 28th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Hi Damian,
Thanks for dropping by and I appreciate your sentiments. It’s good that you have a job which values your performance and intelligence.
I look forward to reading more on your blog in the future. Feel free to drop a note anytime.
dave
July 28th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Hi Dave,
Thank you for stopping by my blog. I love this article you have written here. It really hit home with me. My husband worked for IBM for years as an AIX admin where overtime was implicitly expected to make even adequate performance reviews or bonuses. He’s in law school now. The rewards in that job now were simply not worth it to him; however, many of his peers didn’t see the problem. Although I think there is now a class action law suit against IBM over this.
I also agree with your comment on my blog that earning passive income is hard. I think in the past year my blog has generated about $1. Granted, that’s not its purpose but I suspect it is a sign that my interests might not be all that interesting to others.
My MBA was focused on entrepreneurship. Good luck with your adventure!
July 29th, 2006 at 6:40 am
Hi Cathy,
I’m glad to read that your husband is now in law school and doing something different instead of continuing at a place that did not reward him satisfactorily. I hope he does well in his new vocation and find happiness there.
Thanks for stopping by and your well wishes. Feel free to drop some comments in the future. I will also be keeping an eye on your blog.
dave
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:14 am
[...] Today I found an article written by Dave Cheong that really struck a chord — it was one of those moments when I needed to hear what he was saying. He has some very good other articles in his archives as well — keep it up Dave — you’re on my rss list now. [...]
August 5th, 2006 at 2:49 am
[...] Dave Cheong | Engineer to Entrepreneur [...]
August 15th, 2006 at 11:04 am
[...] Dave Cheong | Engineer to Entrepreneur [...]
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:15 am
dave is a great motivator. i often use to go thru jis articles though am not able to practice tahe same in routine 100% but still improving now n then. his articles are simple in though yet had balanced height and depth of though. i wish i could read as long as i am facing the same..best regards
June 6th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Hi Damian,
occasionally i came to your site. after reading your words, i find i’m very agree with you.
i’m working in a Foreign Business Dept of a textile corp. in China.
i hv to work nearly 50 hours a week, but still the contract says “needed to work 40 hours each week”, and everyday’s off work time is 1730, however, most of us will not back home till 2100 or 2200 every day. the director coninues work to 2100 or so, we hv to come along with her. it’s not a good thing.
July 21st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
[...] Are You a Happy Employee? (tags: motivation Work life career job) [...]
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:05 am
[...] Ask yourself, Are you a happy employee? If not, what can you do about it? [...]
August 26th, 2007 at 6:44 am
I love this post. It’s so true. I spent a year and a half working 80 hour weeks!
When the chips were down the company didn’t even think twice about firing me, for something I had no part in.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Hello Dave,
I really appreciate your posts! They are all of big help to me. It’s amazing that even someone anonymous can change someone else’ life! I gain motivations from your blog every now and then. I’m glad to have spotted this one in the world wide web. It was once upon a time, I was so bored with my job and I needed someone to advise me what the hell should I do to keep myself motivated… Thanks to you and more power!
Regards,
Kate
December 12th, 2008 at 12:35 am
[...] Ask yourself Are you a Happy Employee and if ever the answer is not a definitive “YES”, you owe it to yourself to do something about it! So on the eve of my 32nd birthday, I decided to do something about it. I decided to start living my dream as an Entrepreneur. [...]
December 16th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
[...] I don’t know if there is a single thing that finally triggered me into action. I do know that over this past year I realised (for various reasons) that life is precious and it is short so we shouldn’t waste it. If you’re unhappy and ever had dreams of doing something different, then you should act now! Don’t wait for the perfect moment. It will never come. If you’re unhappy in a relationship, try to figure it out or end it. If you’re unhappy at work (see Are you Happy Employee?), then change your job. [...]
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
[...] money this year than I’ve ever earned in any other single year as a working professional and employee. In addition to the financial rewards, I’ve also grown more as an individual and learned more [...]