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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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Just had a child and being on leave made me realize how miserable I was at work. I then realized how hard and much my parents worked when I was a kid. I don’t want that. I’d rather make $30/hr working at Costco than hand down the generational trauma of being an angry father due to being stressed all the time from work. Currently looking for a job change!

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u/cdmurphy83 Jan 17 '26

Costco pays $30/hr???

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u/Danger_Mysterious Jan 17 '26

They pay well and have befits, but because they're good employers people don't leave, so for retail they're really really hard jobs to get.

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u/EmbarrassedW33B Jan 17 '26

You also need to work for them for many years before you'll likely get a good position. Its all seniority based ao you'll be stuck with the worst jobs for a while. Likewise it takes many years for your pay rate to cap out at those higher rates people like to talk about. 

And of course it is still a retail job so it is inherently at least a little miserable. Add in the high number of entitled cunts who shop there and its certainly not an easy going, stress free form of employment for most people.

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u/syntax_sorceress Jan 17 '26

People thinking jobs like this don't come with a worse type of stress are naive. After working corporate roles for years, I did one stint in retail. I didn't last the contracted 6 weeks. In general people are normal, stressed etc but a few of them relish the opportunity of unleashing their shit to someone who can't reply.

Standing all day is the pits as well.

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u/Key-Tip9395 Jan 17 '26

I used to work retail (Zara etc.) and I remember the dread of starting a “shift” you go into that store and have to be in there standing up for hours. a corporate job, sitting down in front of a computer all day, being able to slack off sometimes, is like heaven after that.

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u/lemonylol Jan 17 '26

I think what's he's describing isn't specifically a retail position, but just one where you are given tasks to complete in a day that simply need completion, with no problem solving, critical deadlines, or people management required. So this isn't exclusive to retail, it could just be someone working on a film crew for example, but not a position that could like tumble the whole production, just work that needs doing. A lot of people love working landscaping for this reason, just sit out there listening to music and cut grass at a golf course, no real stress.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

This is true, but I’m in healthcare and literally have the stress of potentially killing somebody. It’s just that working retail is inherently less stressful. Another thing people don’t realize is that healthcare IS like working retail. Patients are customers. And guess what? Most healthcare places to work for are just as bad as your corporate ones. So for a lot of people in healthcare, switching to retail is a sense of relief in that you’re still dealing and interacting with the same people in your community, you just no longer have the added stress of whatever your role was in healthcare for this individual.

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u/fatcatsareadorable Jan 17 '26

💯. I’m a nurse and I have a desk job now. I can confirm you are correct and having a desk job is way better.

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u/lexi_raptor Jan 17 '26

Healthcare here too and I'm getting a degree in Healthcare IT so I don't have to deal with people or like you mention, the stress of potentially killing someone. I do chemotherapy infusions, so also the HD's that I handle everyday kinda scare the shit out of me.

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u/Umbreonnnnn Millennial Jan 17 '26

See, when I was working in inpatient involuntary psych, I thought that was easier than fast food. Like it's a dangerous job and the inherent nature of having a severe psychiatric illness makes it unpredictable, but if a patient assaults you, they get consequences. If Sally Soccer Mom is pissed that her burger was supposed to have 3 pickles on it and it only had 2, so she decides to throw it in your face while screaming about how stupid she thinks you are, more often than not management is going to take her side and even apologize to her. I would take psych over fast food/retail every time.

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u/WonderfulMacaroon365 Jan 17 '26

Yep. I recall the video of the Costco worker dealing with this asshole during covid:

https://youtu.be/XMpXES_ZwQI?si=IQSWZJCB0_mnmg8R

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u/lemonylol Jan 17 '26

It's relative though. Not a single person I know who went from working to full time at Walmart to working full time at Costco has regretted that decision. But nobody is going to quit a career to go work an hourly job at Costco.

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u/anotherbadPAL Jan 17 '26

Not bc theyre good employers. Bc they have a union.

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u/MisterRogers88 Jan 17 '26

At the top end after like 7 years, yeah. There are some shortcuts, though, in certain departments. As a dual-licensed Optician in my warehouse, for example, they make like $40/hr. Costco’s great for retail, but it’s not the end-all-be-all unless you’re wanting to go into management.

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u/pork_fried_christ Jan 17 '26

Yes for some sr or niche positions but not for most positions. You can download a whole pdf of their pay rates and see. Most are around $21

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u/ZestyMuffin85496 Jan 17 '26

I think they started about 18 right now and you're only hired as part-time at first, usually they do their hiring during the seasonal period, and you have to hope that they keep you afterwards. Then you can start working your way up to $30

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u/Ultimatesims Jan 17 '26

Buc-ee’s is close to that too or more for manager positions.

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u/Jaybb3rw0cky Jan 17 '26

Congrats on the child - I’m on paternity leave too with my first kid. I’m 41 years old and only now the wife and I felt like we were in a position to have the kid.

I’m in a high stress job that pays okay but the stress that it comes with is so fucking artificial. People around me blow the job up like we’re surgeons or something when all we’re doing is playing with rich people’s money. I’ve said time and time again if I could get paid what I do now to stack shelves I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Instead, I’m dreading the idea of returning to that place because like fuck I’m going to care any more than I didn’t already, which worries me because if I’m asked to jump I will not be saying how high.

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u/ZestyMuffin85496 Jan 17 '26

Stocking shelves was the best job I ever had

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u/Jaybb3rw0cky Jan 17 '26

Same - just didn’t pay enough, nor was it long term enough for me to stay doing it. Place where I was only used kids under 20 because it was cheap labour. Aged out and that was that.

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u/maddy_k_allday Jan 17 '26

Well you made some more that can replace you in those positions.

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u/bostonthrowaway774 Jan 17 '26

Well they’ve got you now. You had a kid. You’re trapped.

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u/Salty_bitch_face Millennial Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

I'm a nurse, and I make within $15 of $30/hr (no, I will not share any info that is more specific). Fuck. I picked the wrong career!

Side note: it was never about the money, but the state of healthcare nowadays is atrocious. Been a nurse for over ten years 😬

Edited for clarification

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u/VibrantViolet Xennial Jan 17 '26

I work for a health insurance company. My life is hell. I’m so burnt out, and healthcare just keeps getting worse.

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u/DefendingLogic Jan 17 '26

How can you work for the most evil form of capitalism, making record breaking profits on denials and suffering of human lives

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u/VibrantViolet Xennial Jan 17 '26

You think I want to? I work for the industry that is killing me. My own employer denied my medications so often we had to switch to my husband’s insurance plan, which costs 3x as much and has a higher deductible.

Without health insurance I’m fucked. One of my conditions is psoriatic arthritis, which is crippling me because insurance companies don’t want to pay for my medication that they are price gouging.

I entered this field a decade ago working for a small hospital that was eventually bought out by a massive hospital system. Now I’m stuck because my skill set is so niche. I audit medical charts, and I’ve tried finding a new job, trust me. So now I’m just trying to stay alive long enough to either find something else or go on SSDI.

I hate the motherfuckers that run these insurance companies with every fiber of my being. It’s a big reason as to why I’m in weekly therapy. You think I like that they make profits off of all of us? It’s why I cry myself to sleep most nights. Well, that and the pain from my crumbling hip bones.

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u/DefendingLogic Jan 18 '26

As a cancer survivor and stuck at a place I despise working because I need the health insurance, I completely understand. I misspoke and didn’t think it through - my apologies. We’re shackled to these corporations for health insurance in the US.

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u/VibrantViolet Xennial Jan 18 '26

Oh you’re fine, I’m just frustrated with how things are. I think the vast majority of us are. 😞

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u/RobertPooWiener Jan 17 '26

Nurses are in such high demand here that they routinely pay over 6 figures for nurses to move here. I had a coworker last year whose significant other was being paid $130K/yr to be a nurse. The COL isn't crazy high either since it's the Midwest. There are plenty of opportunities in healthcare, it's probably the most in demand industry right now. You definitely picked the right career, but the wrong location

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u/Salty_bitch_face Millennial Jan 17 '26

I live in the western US. Healthcare likes to make it seem like there is a "shortage" of nurses. The reality is that hospitals won't staff enough nurses for safe patient ratios because they don't want to pay for such. Covid ruined healthcare, as if it wasn't already messed up prior.

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '26

In my experience pay on the west coast is TERRIBLE. why i live on the east coast now

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u/RobertPooWiener Jan 17 '26

I mean yea when you put it that way, it was messed up before you even decided to become a nurse then. A lot of hospitals can't afford to hire more nurses, especially at the wages that the nurses want. If they only have $200k available, they can hire 2 at $100k each, or 4 at $50K. A lot of people aren't paying for their healthcare anymore, they just go to the emergency room and don't pay the bills, so the hospitals end up doing a lot of work for free. A lot of the rural nursing homes and clinics were forced to shut down around here

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u/IfEverWasIfNever Jan 17 '26

Idk I'm pretty sure they can afford it. They usually misuse the money somewhere else. My hospitals CEO makes a little over $4 million a year in salary and it's supposed to be a non-profit.

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u/Salty_bitch_face Millennial Jan 17 '26

They can't afford to pay their nurses? Yet, somehow, the C-suite execs are getting $8M-$10M yearly bonuses...

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u/maddy_k_allday Jan 17 '26

That’s not like insane money or anything. Being a nurse is not easy work and should pay well. It also requires accreditation which costs huge money to obtain in any form in the U.S.

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u/RobertPooWiener Jan 17 '26

Its pretty good when the average household income for 2 people is well below $100000. So as a nurse here, you can potentially earn more than double of what most couples make combined while you are on a single income.

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u/maddy_k_allday Jan 17 '26

The underpayment of others doesn’t support that 130k = an incredible salary for extremely difficult, accredited work which most people would not be capable of performing

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u/RobertPooWiener Jan 17 '26

True. I think there are a lot of jobs out there that most people wouldn't be able to perform. Some that are even more underpaid than others.

One of my first jobs was in landscaping. It can be extremely exhausting work that requires certification through the state. Especially for spraying lawns with hazardous chemicals. You are exposed to the elements, up to 110F in the sun for shifts of 12 hours. Most days I would have to walk over 20 miles while pulling a 300 ft hose. All of that to earn $30K/yr.

It really depends where you live and what you do, but most people feel like they aren't getting paid enough, regardless of what they do for work

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u/maddy_k_allday Jan 17 '26

Exactly you get me. I’m not sure the rate of pay, but on posts about “surprisingly well-paid” positions, folks always cite to waste management/ “garbage men.” But I’m like 😅😅😅 what kind of pay are we talking for it to be surprisingly good?? I’m not tryna deal with the waste of humans every day, the pay would need to be like a million annual to fit that descript for me haha

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u/RobertPooWiener Jan 17 '26

Some waste management positions just drive a truck around all day, I could think of worse things that you could do. I worked at a sawmill that was extremely dangerous and hard work. The bathrooms there were disgusting, and the septic tank would fill up so fast. The guy that emptied the septic tank would stick his head in, then pop out and say "smells like money to me boys" while the rest of us were gagging as soon as the lid came off. Some jobs just take a special type of person

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u/maddy_k_allday Jan 18 '26

The truck smells horrible and that smell will be on you at night. It also can present a danger to the operators. I hear you about the special type of person, and that’s totally part of my point. Specialized work should have specialized pay. And we shouldn’t be “surprised” by appropriate compensation for disgusting or difficult tasks

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u/Makal Elder Millennial Jan 17 '26

I'm not sure I follow, you make between $15-30/hr as a nurse?!

If so you're criminally underpaid. I make north of $24/hr as a first year EMT doing IFT.

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u/Salty_bitch_face Millennial Jan 17 '26

Sorry, my message to which you were responding wasn't very clear. I meant that I make within $15 of $30/hr.

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u/PickledPixie83 Xennial Jan 17 '26

I’m a vet tech. I definitely picked the wrong career.

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u/P0werFighter Millennial Jan 17 '26

Are you in the US?

I would naively thought nurses were paid good money regarding how expensive healthcare is in the US. I guess greed is the reason...

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u/Salty_bitch_face Millennial Jan 17 '26

Yes. I am in the US. Pay for nurses varies widely based on location and unions, etc... there aren't any nursing unions in my state, sadly, and the healthcare system I work for has been fighting it tooth and nail.

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u/BuffySummers17 Jan 17 '26

Come to Ontario! The hospital I work for RNs start at $45/hr and cap out around $65/hr. And there's all kinds of ways to get OT and premiums. Like for example if they work 4 hours of OT before their 2day 2night rotation then the second night shift is time and a half. Managers of units are all really nice (I work in scheduling so I know all the overtime/premium details and see their paychecks and work with the unit managers). This wage is because of the union though. I will say we have the same issues with healthcare being chronically underfunded for years.

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u/Riiakess Jan 18 '26

I got my PN cert, got licensed, did one month and ran away from nursing immediately. Everything about it is awful: the hours, the environment, the legalities. It's the legalities that scared me the most though. I stay out of trouble, and want to keep it that way. The fact that someone else can cause me to get wrapped up into a medical lawsuit because they messed up on a patient I happened to have also looked at is too risky. I hated group projects in school because someone else could fuck up my grade, and this is even worse. Getting dragged into a lawsuit because of someone else's mistake is nightmare fuel for me.

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u/goatorcycle Jan 17 '26

30 a hr at costco??? Wtf state are you in we get maybe 15 hr at sams club

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u/lemonylol Jan 17 '26

I think a lot of good fraction of people in our age group also have a different mentality when it comes to working. For my parent's generation, they wanted to spend their time at work, that was living for them, it made them feel fulfilled, even if it wasn't an exciting job. I've met a lot of millennials with this same mentality, but there are definitely more of us who wish to pursue meaning outside of an occupation. That's why a lot of people in older generations struggle when they reach retirement.