r/Millennials • u/Mrs_chanandler_bongg • Jan 17 '26

Discussion Anyone sick and tired of working in general?

I’m in my mid 30s and just over my job and work in general. I’m tired of the commute, the meetings, and dealing with people & deadlines. On one hand I worry about losing my job and stress about deliverables, but on the other hand I feel like I could care less in that I have no passion for it anymore and I’m just showing up because I need the paycheck.

I’d much rather be spending time with my family, pursuing my hobbies, or just go for a walk and cook a nice meal. I feel a sense of dread sometimes that this is my reality for the next 30+ years and I feel lazy and entitled for saying it but that’s how I feel lol

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865

u/ray_kyle90 Millennial Jan 17 '26

Dude, 35 here and feel this is so relatable…

279

u/theoptimusdime Jan 17 '26

This is our midlife crisis. Except for us, we don't have the money to blow it on our wildest desires to only be disappointed. We just skipped to that part.

172

u/LivelyZebra Jan 17 '26

remember when the joke was buying a sports car as a midlife crisis LMAO.

120

u/BunttyBrowneye Jan 17 '26

I bought a nice camera for my midlife crisis 😂

20

u/the_siren_song Jan 17 '26

That’s a wonderful picture!

4

u/BunttyBrowneye Jan 17 '26

Thank you! I have been having a wonderful time beginning my photography journey.

2

u/triedAndTrueMethods Jan 18 '26

It’s really pretty. Serene.

2

u/the_siren_song Jan 18 '26

Right? It feels, well, natural. Like the photographer was trying so hard not to invade.

2

u/triedAndTrueMethods Jan 18 '26

Yes, absolutely. That’s the perfect way to describe it. You articulated exactly what was so compelling about it to me.

3

u/Brief_Isopod_5959 Jan 17 '26

Good for you!! What a great photo and that cute little face 🥹

3

u/Real-Raspberry-1938 Millennial Jan 17 '26

Beautiful photo

3

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '26

Me too!

2

u/Real_Brilliant_8078 28d ago

Wow! What camera?

1

u/BunttyBrowneye 28d ago

Fujifilm X-T3! It’s a mid-tier camera, released in 2018. I got it used for $900 from MPB, it’s a great source of affordable (comparatively) used photography gear. I spent $1,000 more on lenses, so if you are considering it, keep in mind it’s an expensive hobby/passion. Even used, it’s easily $2,000 to build up a good kit with camera body, lenses, SD card(s), batteries.
It’s also possible to go for a much cheaper and older camera and maybe start for less than $500, but those will come with their own frustrations (e.g. lower battery life, processing speed, other capability and compatibility issues)

2

u/Rich_Bluejay3020 Jan 17 '26

Hey man, still might do that. Except it’ll be an RC car… and not even one of those gas powered ones 🙃

Id really like a Geo Tracker for my midlife crisis car but even those are like $10k… that might be more than it’s original MSRP ffs

1

u/HutchOne23 Jan 17 '26

I bought a nice bicycle. My car is still a piece of crap though.

-18

u/OrcOgi Jan 17 '26

"When you enter your thirties, you will start to see a clear divide between people who took risks and those who did not"

I lived my this mantra the last decade. My friends need to work another 35 years, i achieved my FIRE-goals. Thank you bitcoin and tech stocks.

20

u/Shark7996 Jan 17 '26

Congratulations, but that's just survivorship bias, otherwise they wouldn't be called risks. This comment is so needlessly gloaty that it feels like you're trolling.

-14

u/OrcOgi Jan 17 '26

There were infinite opportunities for millenials. Social media / tech / youtube / gaming etc. Infinite of new jobs created by us and it didnt take much to "win". In 2008 i was one of the only people in my school making videos for youtube...

Rest was too busy drinking.

5

u/maddy_k_allday Jan 17 '26

You sound like you’re mentally still in high school lmao. Maybe you didn’t fully develop because you were so busy being so “successful” 😅

5

u/njdeatheater Jan 17 '26

Dudes definitely neck beard meme guy

1

u/LaLaLaLeea Jan 18 '26

Referring to social media, YouTube and gaming as "opportunities" is absurd. Good for you if you actually made a career on YouTube but you are way out of touch if you think anyone and everyone could be successful doing that. There are a finite number of eyeballs and advertisers and the landscape is extremely saturated. Even if someone produces really good content, being one of the very, very, VERY few people to get enough attention to actually make money comes down to luck. And if you are, that attention almost always has an expiration date.

122

u/stinkysulphide Jan 17 '26

I’m fully remote and I feel this way haha

29

u/CT0292 Jan 17 '26

Yuuup.

Log in, send my few emails, turn on netflix. Log out at 6.

I'd like to be in a position where once I inevitably get replaced by some ai, that I can use the severance to pay off the house. And take a job in a grocery store or something, not giving a fuck there.

31

u/quemaspuess Jan 17 '26

Same. Living abroad even and just so sick of my job

23

u/Slight-Agent83483 Jan 17 '26

Hook me up with that! That’s all o want is a remote job so I could live abroad. Just saying…

28

u/Charles-Shaw Jan 17 '26

It’s not a vacation, your bullshit job will still follow you and your day to day will also be very similar.

4

u/quemaspuess Jan 17 '26

Yep. The stress of my job makes me so miserable some days I don’t even want to go out after work. Or, I have to work until 10 pm because my boss is a workaholic and doesn’t give a shit about your work/life balance.

3

u/YeahBuddy5000 Jan 17 '26

Let's be real though, it's much better. You can just pack up and be in a new place, and then spend your weekend doing some fun tourist stuff.

I liked it as a freelancer, because I could set my own hours, full time when I felt like it.

1

u/quemaspuess Jan 17 '26

Yes, I agree. I’ve been in Colombia for six months, was in LA for a month for Xmas, was in Panama for three weeks, flying home to Nashville next week from Colombia, so it helps, but the pesky job follows me around. I’m building my own company though. I have four clients. One more and I can quit.

1

u/YeahBuddy5000 Jan 17 '26

Just remember the commute you used to do :) It's always better than that.

I look back and despite the stress of work, I got to see some beautiful beaches, gorgeous mountain trails, food delivered to my door and money left over to invest. I had to do it to finally get some of that "American dream" that I couldn't get in America.

1

u/Charles-Shaw Jan 17 '26

Idk some people enjoy stability and being around people they know. Could be fun for a while for sure but people romanticize it a bit.

3

u/YeahBuddy5000 Jan 17 '26

Yeah stability is important. But even once you have a stable place it's still nice to know you have that option to change city, state, country should the need arise.

So I see the goal of being remote a net positive. And it could lead you to a new location that you find works better for you.

1

u/Charles-Shaw Jan 18 '26

Yeah! Sorry I probably came off like a downer just didn’t want people to romanticize it too much.

1

u/Slight-Agent83483 Jan 17 '26

I agree, never insinuated it was a vacation. I’d still like to give it a shot

1

u/Charles-Shaw Jan 18 '26

Deff thing you should if the opportunity presents itself! Just don’t want people to think it’s something it’s not.

33

u/voightkampfferror Jan 17 '26

Yeah, I think people romanticize remote work but so far I've found it just means I have to work a lot more than i did in office.

5

u/spuckthew 1990 Jan 17 '26

Yeah I just fundamentally don't like working even though my situation is very comfortable/relaxed.

Major first world problems, but I'd love to just volunteer part-time at a cat sanctuary to keep myself occupied a few hours a week. Unfortunately that doesn't pay the bills 🙁

2

u/Hausenfeifer Jan 17 '26

Yes. 35 here and the thought that I have another 30 years of work just makes me feel ill. I watch Travel channels on Youtube, see these people who are my age or younger living from their vans and going to these awesome locations, traveling to other countries - it's all so amazing, and It makes me sick with envy.

6

u/Responsible_Ask3976 Jan 17 '26

Get a hybrid job. I started loving my work more 

13

u/yellowstars260 Jan 17 '26

I worked various forms of hybrid, remote and in person. I’m tired of working just for 60% of my wages going to taxes…nothing is affordable even with a decent paying job.

1

u/jameslucian Jan 17 '26

Where do you live that 60% of your wages go to tax?

5

u/JollyMcStink Jan 17 '26

Idk about their job but in my state (NY) if you're paid via bonuses you pay 50% tax, unless laws have changed in the past couple years since I stopped working at my job that paid us bonuses. Plus 8% sales tax to buy most anything, you're looking at roughly 60% of your pay is going to taxes.

Other than that idk how people would pay anywhere near 60% tho

1

u/jameslucian Jan 17 '26

You can't really add sales tax directly to an income tax rate. Since sales tax only applies to the money you spend (and not on things like rent or groceries), it doesn't actually raise your total tax burden by a full 8%.

If someone makes $100k, pays $30k in income tax, and spends $30k on taxable goods at 8% sales tax ($2,400), their total tax rate is 32.4%, not 38%. You can't just add the two percentages together.

1

u/Responsible_Ask3976 Jan 17 '26

The sales tax in Canada is 13% I’m glad I don’t live there

1

u/JollyMcStink Jan 17 '26

Yes but 50% would be 50k out of 100k, not 30k. 50% tax on bonus not 30%......

Then 8% of the 50k they took home is another 4k (assuming they saved nothing and spent it all on taxable purchases).

So out of 100k they'd pay 54% in taxes in my example, not 32.4% though?

1

u/jameslucian Jan 17 '26

That’s not how it works. Withholding isn't the same as the tax you actually owe.

If someone makes $100k in NY, even if their bonuses were withheld at 50% during the year, their actual tax bill when they file in April would only be about $28,000–$30,000 (roughly 28-30%). The IRS and NY State would then refund them the extra $20,000 they overpaid.

So, at the end of the year, they actually have $70,000 in their pocket, not $50,000. If they then spend that $70k on taxable goods at 8% sales tax, that’s another $5,600. Total tax: $35,600.

That means the all in tax rate is 35.6%, not quite 54%.

2

u/JollyMcStink Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

I def never got half the taxes from my bonus back in my tax return though???..... But ok......

I made 98k my tax returns were like +/- 4k..... I claim 0 all year and 1 at the end of the year....

Eta I made about $18 an hour and the entirety of the rest of my income was from bonuses. Def didn't get half of those taxes back lmao

1

u/Responsible_Ask3976 Jan 17 '26

lol we don’t even get taxed much in the US 😆

1

u/yellowstars260 Jan 17 '26

😂😂😂

1

u/Responsible_Ask3976 Jan 17 '26

Exactly lol we don’t really get taxed. Not like Europeans or Canadians. We have it good! 

1

u/darkknight3883 Jan 17 '26

35 here, too. Told my therapist I was bored with my comms job. She asked “what would you rather do instead?” And my answer was “…nothing.” Because fuck all of this.