Do you ever just feel like running away from your job?

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I spent last weekend staying in a hostel doing volunteer work, repairing some telegraph poles. I used to do that sort of thing when I was at university, and it felt great to get back to it.

Now, I'm back at my desk. The usual brusqueness from my manager, crap from other managers,* no motivation and only negative feedback. It makes me wish I could run away from the office and just do all that volunteer-work full-time. The only problem is, of course, you don't get paid for being a volunteer.

Anyone else been in the same boat? What did you do about it?

(NB: one complication is that if I resign before next summer I owe the company money, just under 1 1/2 times my monthly paycheque.)

* when A Manager Who Is Not My Manager gave me a harsh talking-to yesterday about Not Doing My Job Properly, my own manager's response was "Bollocks! It's not your job to do that!" However, as my manager is a rather passive-aggressive type, this is unlikely to get passed on.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 06:54 (twenty years ago)

'(NB: one complication is that if I resign before next summer I owe the company money, just under 1 1/2 times my monthly paycheque.)'

Say what now?

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 06:56 (twenty years ago)

Apologies for not focusing on the question but what kind of neo-indentured labour contract are you working under?

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 06:57 (twenty years ago)

This is very bizarre. Talk about "you have to pay t'company for t'privilege of working there."

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 06:58 (twenty years ago)

Well, I got sent on a couple of training courses (which had one benefit: I got to meet Kate and Emsk whilst I was on them). Before I went, I had to sign a form to say that if I resigned within a year I'd have to pay the course fees myself.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:06 (twenty years ago)

(oh, and I also got to meet NED too! How could I forget that!!)

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:07 (twenty years ago)

What on earth kind of training courses were those?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:09 (twenty years ago)

Boring IT ones.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:10 (twenty years ago)

What happens if you get yourself sacked? Do you still have to pay it back? Or do they have to give you your notice period pay?

Not that I'm suggesting this, mind you, but just curious.

I think most people have fantasies about walking out of their jobs.

― Paranoid Spice (kate), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:12 (twenty years ago)

I'm not sure - I think the wording of the agreement was "if I leave the company", which would imply thatr I would still have to.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:13 (twenty years ago)

I imagine there is a loophole there somewhere if you really cannot bear it any longer. Also if there are 'tribunable' issues there.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:15 (twenty years ago)

I feel like this at least twice a month, mostly as a pathetic last attempt to delay an inevitable task. I also feel like this every day to a certain extent because, if played correctly, I could probably work some sort of stunt like this to get a pay raise.

― kurt broder (dr g), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:15 (twenty years ago)

I have literally got up from my desk and run away from my job, once. But I came back. It's no fun having a soul-destroying job but it's also no fun having no wage and owing your former employer money.

I would stick it out until you can leave without owing them anything. BUT maybe try to do more of what you love in other ways - arrange to volunteer at weekends, spread out annual leave so you have lots of short breaks to look forward to etc.

Even, if it's remotely feasible and you can afford it, consider trying to get your hours reduced so you can have more volunteering/fun and less work/nonfun.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:23 (twenty years ago)

I can't. Even if I wanted to. Well, I could, of course, but it's nearly impossible: I work for my parents who are now located in Japan. How could I leave the shop? Do I ever want to? God no. Never, really. I worry about failing, not doing a proper job, never about quiting. Not now anyway. :-)

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:39 (twenty years ago)

I’m a civil servant, I think about this every day. I’m currently tarting my cv up as I’ve finally decided to do something about it other than moan. I’m thinking of moving to London as most of my close friends have moved there and they’ve all done quite well.

One of my friends keeps saying the streets are paved with gold (he would say this as he went from 15k to 65k in the blink of an eye).

― not-goodwin (not-goodwin), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:51 (twenty years ago)

Right now I just feel like running away from my life.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:52 (twenty years ago)

http://www.cosmik.com/aa-november02/reviews/pics/feederz.jpg

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:01 (twenty years ago)

Marcello, you can always run to Bruges. :-)

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:05 (twenty years ago)

Also if there are 'tribunable' issues there.

We already have one tribunal about to start over a firing a few months ago - a rather nasty supervisor who was fired for threatening one of her staff not to put in a formal complaint about bullying against her. The supervisor had already been formally warned for bullying said staff member, so it's not entirely surprising she was pushed.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:06 (twenty years ago)

nathalie i think one child is enough for you to be putting up with at the moment... ;-)

I'm actually thinking about running away somewhere else. And there may be a (human) reason for me to do so but I'm still a bit confused about that.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:18 (twenty years ago)

My company had a similar situation with regards to training. Although that particular contract only lasted a year & they nevre bothered to issue another one for the rest of the training.
I definitely need to leave this job.

― Panther Pink (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

t'ans'er teh 'riginal tehread kvestion: the last time i felt like really really running away from my job was about 1983-84 (and i did "run away" from it evetually, heh); everything after that hasn't come near.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

maybe try to do more of what you love in other ways - arrange to volunteer at weekends, spread out annual leave so you have lots of short breaks to look forward to etc.

Well, I'm planning to do that, but the main thing stopping me volunteering too often is that my trip away last weekend was a 475 mile round trip.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:08 (twenty years ago)

I think about this everyday. One time I had to fake a bathroom break and run around the block a few times, just to get settled.

I write catalogs. It's not unpleasant, just boring and unchallenging. "Brain the size of a planet..."

― giboyeux (skowly), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i want to run away daily. and then i get depressed thinking about spending so much time at a place i don't like or get anything out of. but doing as much as possible outside of work helps; getting a part-time job, or volunteering is a good idea.

i wonder if they'd really enforce that clause of making you pay for the training? doesn't it seem like something that might fall through the cracks? the closer you get to completing a year's work, the less likely it is that they'd make you pay for it, so you should probably stick around - taking the time to plan your next move.

― carly (carly), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

At my old job, all the employees originally had to sign a 2 year contract, if you left before 2 years were up you had to pay the company $2000 or $5000 (I can't remember) because they trained you. And they reimbursed tuition, and if you left less than 2 years of when your last class ended you had to pay back all the tuition money. I don't think they could really enforce the first one since the company changed dramatically from when people were first hired, so the contract seemed null and void. I used to go to work with my resignation letter already typed out and just the date needed filling in. I finally quit right before a $10,000 raise and I now work for a clothing designer and in a record store. I have never regretted quitting.

― Mendoza Lineman (Carey), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

It would appear that the decision has now been made for me.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

why not get yourself fired and then they can't charge you?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:40 (twenty years ago)

i mnight be looking, soon, for new things

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:41 (twenty years ago)

i'm already looking for new things.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

Under the government's popular "tax credits" scheme, I can earn exactly the same amount by staying at home looking after my daughter as I can by working full-time and sending her to a nursey, ie bugger all.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:54 (twenty years ago)

i used to. now i don't. the good thing about this job is that i'm alright at it, it pays well and i have a lot more passion for the things i do outside of here. when i rationalised this and stopped being all "woe is me, why am i not editing a newspaper arts section/good magazine?" the day to day grind became a lot more bearable. i strongly advise forest pines to think along these lines until a good opportunity comes up (they often do when you're not desperate for them), do more of the volunteer work and make that what you work for. this puts shit in perspective somewhat and that's pretty important. that may all sound a bit glib, but it's not really. it's just straightforward, commonsense thinking that helps me avoid going barmy with my day job from time to time.

― sfxxx, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:04 (twenty years ago)

My theory was that life is too short to waste slogging away at some miserable dead end job.

Three years ago I quit that job. It was almost a year of me looking for work, learning new skills and wondering if I’d ever work in my field again. Another job eventually came along - which has since ended. I am now doing fine freelancing and just registered my own company yesterday. I can't even imagine what would have happened (or not happened) if I stuck it out at the other place.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

I feel like this at least twice a day, usually more.

― n/a (Nick A.), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:45 (twenty years ago)

oh, and I also got to meet NED too! How could I forget that!!

Quite right. Ergo, it was a brilliant training course.

I don't feel like it as yet due to fringe benefits but I am coming close due to pay freezes. Mind you, I would simply wish to run to another cozier and better paying spot around here likely. As it stands I've figured out some plans in advance and realized I'll likely want to stay here on UCI somewhere until the end of 2006 -- then after that things are wide open.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

i was on monster.com last night trying to figure something out. i just really can't take much of a paycut and i can pretty much count on a paycut. developers in nashville make about 75% of what they do in raleigh and i'm paid like i'm in raleigh (since i telecommute). also, my current boss thinks i'm the shit and will pay for it. i'm not sure if i'm going to have that luxury here.

i'm just sorta hating my job lately. mostly cause i'm expecting to be laid off cause we've had a dry spell. stressed out cause of it. this is why contract work SUCKS sometimes. every 6 months i get about a week of, "holy shit, are they going to renew my contract?"
m.

― msp (mspa), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

I can safely say that I never feel like this at my current job. But I have wanted to run away from almost all my previous jobs.

― 400% Nice (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

Today I do, since I am the only shiksa in my dept and am playing everyone's games for the duration of all holy days. But I don't know where I'd run TO, so there's not much point.

― Laurel (Laurel), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

God yes. I was thinking about it just now. I think about it almost every day. There's a very good chance I will do it within the next year.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

i just want to go home today, because i still feel ill, and everyone here throws a gigantic guilt trip your way if you're ever out sick for more than one day

SO YEAH

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

yes. even though my job is pretty good really.

― isadora (isadora), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

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