Whats more important?

[Stutopia]

I've ALWAYS said I'd rather be happier and paid less!

 

 

Olly

 

Happier and paid less is one thing, what about happier and not paid enough? That's the tricky one!

[gangzoom]

There has been various studies on pay and happiness. Essentially it comes down to the individual. If your happy with life your less likely to push your self and often that means your happy with not working harder, so may be happy with a lower paided job.

 

Essentially happiness and high pay are not directly correlated, in some cases its the opposite. Human motivation is odd thing, been happy isn't always a good motivator at work, you can see it in football matches clearly, often the team whos gone 1-0 up will sudden play less aggressively despite the fact the objective of the game hasn't changed.

 

Speaking for my self I know there is some turth in that theroy, slightly unpredictably the arrival of my daughter has made me look at my job very differently. I now find spending time with my daughter more precious/rewarding than spending time at work, and actually now happy to take a paycut to work less hours for more family time.

Edited September 24, 2016 by gangzoom

[ATTAK Z]

Try to find a job you enjoy doing and then work your bollox off to get to the top in that field

[nowhereboy]

It's a catch 22 situation really isn't it?

 

I was a pub manager when I was in my early 20's, lifestyle was great but in the end I got sick of making a terrible wage for the amount of work put in. I lived above the pub but it's hardly a long term and stable option.

 

I work in insurance now and make considerably more money on considerably less hours. Job's boring in comparison but there's no way I could have afforded the lifestyle I have now on a publicans wage. Personally I'd never take a job with less money now, it would mean selling the car's and never buying my own place etc.

 

When I was young I spent a lot of time traveling around, I was a bit of a hippy type, spent my days watching Alan watts speeches and vowed never to conform to the system etc, I realized life gets much easier once you stop fighting the inevitable and get a proper job like everyone else does.

[Mopedmark]

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.â€

 

- Ellen Goodman

 

Well said there,

[Bockaaarck]

I've slacked off, had some really chilled and fun jobs, selling records, stacking shelves. I've worked extremely hard, under break down inducing pressure, where £millions have been involved.

 

I've earned very little, I've been paid extremely well.

 

On reflection, in all those circumstances, the work / life balance has actually been the key element to happiness.

 

It's become clear to me, through these circumstances. That although I have had and can have a great deal. I don't really need an awful lot to be happy. That's been the guiding element over the last 6-7 years especially.

 

A warm, safe roof overhead in a 'nice', safe place. Having money to cover any bills / expenses. With enough left over to go for a pub lunch now and then. Or go on holiday, do stuff with friends and family, run a few cars. All without really worrying about the expense of it.

 

I also learnt not to compare myself to others. We all have different drives, motivations and needs. That in itself is a major contributor to happiness. Don't measure your success by other people's, it's a bad idea

 

[Lexx]

I'm currently very fortunate to have the best of both worlds. I get paid a very good salary to drive tugs, which is something I very much enjoy doing.

 

However I have previously been in a situation where I was getting paid a feck load of cash, but I woke each day hating it. I took a £15k a year pay cut to do something different (although still within the Merchant Navy).

Bank the money in a job you hate for a few years then enjoy a job you like and use the savings to prop you up.

[Jetpilot]

I have met a lot of people who are obsessed with earning money, they reach their target, lets say, a million a year and then its, i want to earn 2 million next, they will never be happy with the lifestyle its providing so will always want to earn more, i guess if you get to that stage your f*****d as you are never happy with your earnings.

 

A mate of mine was offered a well paid position within the company he worked for in their Bermuda office, 2 year minimum contract, pay was 50% more and tax free, he genuinely struggled with the decision but decided, 2-5 years would see him mortgage free and a nice nest egg, that was 10 years ago. The problem is, he misses home but knows he will miss his tax free wages and the lifestyle its giving him, i actually dont think he will come back until he can afford to retire now.

 

I dont live to work, i work to live and made that choice very early in my life.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Jetpilot

[Mondo 300]

two thread in one day im getting greedy.

 

Anyway whats more important working a position which you have no passion for waking up in the morning thinking here we go again but get a reasonably good salary, or working in position you have a passion for enjoy turning up to work every day but earn say little more than the minimum wage?

 

I used to be a civil servant until a couple of years agao. The upholstery was just a sideline that provided some pocket money at that point, although I was slowly building it up as a bona fide business.

 

I was on a "reasonable" wage with the government - far higher than minimum wage, for example. But I really didn't enjoy it one bit. The commuting was a killer and I can't say I wholeheartedly agreed with the ethics of the job I was doing, so I basically wasn't happy in my work.

 

When my health took a downturn about 3 years ago, I found myself pondering what to do as myself and work were at loggerheads over how to help me. Push came to shove 2 years ago and I exited the Civil Service, which meant that the upholstery had to replace that wage from that point!

 

Basically, I've taken a huge pay cut. But I love my job and I always find a way to make the ends meet. So personally speaking, I'd say it's better to be happy and poor than to be rich and miserable...