Do you live to work or work to live?

Jims5543 · 05-24-2006, 06:51 AM

While I like my job and enjoy my working enviroment for the most part, if I could afford to I would walk away tomarrow and never miss it. I would rather spend time with my family and pursuing my recreational interests. I am definatly a work to live type.

My bro in law, who works for me, it the opposite. He lives to work and enjoys it. He goes nuts if he has nothing to do he always has to be in a project or working in some fashion. My father in law is the same way works 6 1/2 days a week every week and never takes vacations. We force him and my mother in law out on vacations with us.

So, do you live to work or work to live?

legion · 05-24-2006, 07:01 AM

Well, I'm on this site...at work. You take a guess.

In my one-on-one with my boss last month, my boss decided "to call to my attention that I am developing a reputation as someone who puts their personal life before work".

My response? "Good, I'm glad people know where I stand."

Oh Haha · 05-24-2006, 07:06 AM

I'm starting to become a work to live person. If I could stay home and live comfortably doing recreational things, I would. That said, I do like my job and the company I work for is a great employer.

VaSteve · 05-24-2006, 07:21 AM

I don't love what I do, but I couldn't not work and loaf. I need the mental stimulation that a job provides. I'd have to stay busy doing something if I wasn't doing this.

Rot 911 · 05-24-2006, 07:24 AM

I love my job, but definitely work to live.

Paul T · 05-24-2006, 07:34 AM

Work to live, but I need to keep busy. I HATE my current job and would leave in 2 seconds if I could, but I also can't stand to sit around the house and do nothing - I have to be working on some type of project or fixing something most of the time.

That said, I do enjoy relaxing with a drink or 2, but I could never live a life of leasure all the time. I do spend more time on this site than I do working though...did I mention I hate my job? Primarily because of the above - zero stimulation and not enough to do.

Jims5543 · 05-24-2006, 07:38 AM

If I could not show up to work every day would I lay around the house? Hell no!! I would be playing with the kids, playing with the wife

, in the gym, at the beach, at the track, working on my cars the list goes on.

Work is something I do so I can get money to play.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Good question:

I've always been of the mentality that one should "work to live" and not the other way around. Work is there to facilitate the other things in life we find enjoyable.

However as I get older (and perhaps a little crustier) I find myself leaning a little bit more the other way. I certainly see that if I want to eventually go into private practice for myself (I do) I'm going to have to put a lot more time and energy into my work than I do now. I'm not a slacker by any means, but I work my eight honest hours a day and that's it - that's where my obligations end. I'll do overtime on rare occasions that call for it in the interest of getting a job done, but I firmly believe that overtime should be (1) compensated - and well (I make damn sure I'm paid fully for it when it happens) and (2) a rare exception - not the rule. If people are assigning you tasks that take more than eight hours a day/40 hours a week to complete, that's a management failure - not a failure on your part. I also firmly believe that places that burn people for 50, 60, 70 or more hours a week are setting themselves up for serious burnout and morale problems.

I absolutely positively do not mix work and social time. My own time is just that - my own time. I have never worked a weekend and won't. I've told my boss point-blank that if I had to, I'd stay until midnight on a Friday but the day he ever tells me to come in on a Saturday ("my time") he could consider it my resignation. Period. There's no excuse for it. I'm a HUGE proponent of the phrase "lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine". Maybe there COULD be a rare exception, but I have yet to encounter one. For now, we have a good understanding - he gives me adequate and reasonable timetables for job completion and I give him good results. That's the way it SHOULD work and if/when I go into practice for myself, that's how I'll treat MY people.

So what's the "right way"?

Well, two very different schools of thought. There are quite many "old school" Type X management types out there that view people as expendible resources. I tend to align myself with newer, Type Y management philosophy (the "take care of your people and treat them well and they'll take care of you and treat you well" mentality). I don't think there's any hard evidence to show that one philosophy works better than the other in terms of quantitative results (dollars). It probably varies considerably by location, type of business, work ethic of individual employees to begin with, etc. Sometimes a "whip cracking" approach is called for and works and yields good results. I hate doing it though. I tend to be a little more trusting of people and believe that if you allow them to prove themselves, they'll (generally) do so. The ones that require an excessive amount of monitoring, hounding and hand-holding I'd just assume fire outright and replace with better, more "self-starter" types that respond well to direction and task assignment alone.

How'd I get here?

Okay back on topic - I definitely think it's better to keep work and personal life separate. I definitely think it's better to think of your job as just that - a job (unless you have your own business, for example). It's a defense mechanism. If you make your job your life, you've got all the more to lose when you get screwed over or laid off - and that WILL inevitably happen. Take your job seriously though and work well, but don't make it your life. Just my $0.02 on it.

RANDY P · RANDY P's Garage

For the last few months it's been live to work. 6 days a week. While I like being productive, I'm being fed more than I'm able to handle. Business for me has been good - but everything goes up exponentially with the amount of money you make. I recently opened my office, so the workload is tremendous.

When you're self employed you have no one else to handle it.

That is what it has come to - my clients. I'm glad I have business to write - the opposite would be sitting and starving not doing anything, sooner or later, that will happen - but I intend on being prepared for the lean season. If you know of anyone writing home loans, you know they're starving right now

What else would I be doing if it wasn't for work? Worrying about my office and spending money on things I don't really need. Kind of glad my hands are full.

It's a good problem to have.

rjp

TerryBPP · 05-24-2006, 07:53 AM

Well atleast I know your surveys will not be in a timely fashion.

RANDY P · RANDY P's Garage

Florida + Real Estate =

Y'all have some messed up escrow agents and Realtors there.. Big cause of stress in the last 48 HRS.

rjp

notfarnow · 05-24-2006, 07:58 AM

I've got a great job, and I work with great people at a great company. I'm very lucky, and if I landed on the curb I would be hard pressed to find a comparable situation.

Having said that, I absolutely work to live. If I won the lottery, there is no way I would continue working. I think I'd volunteer full-time, and help friends and family with projects. I love doing car & house stuff.

masraum · 05-24-2006, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
While I like my job and enjoy my working enviroment for the most part, if I could afford to I would walk away tomarrow and never miss it. I would rather spend time with my family and pursuing my recreational interests. I am definatly a work to live type.

My bro in law, who works for me, it the opposite. He lives to work and enjoys it. He goes nuts if he has nothing to do he always has to be in a project or working in some fashion. My father in law is the same way works 6 1/2 days a week every week and never takes vacations. We force him and my mother in law out on vacations with us.

So, do you live to work or work to live?

I'm with you, if I could afford to walk away from work, I'd travel the world and educate myself. Experience would be my job. I enjoy what I do. It provides the mental stimulus that I need, but it's still "work/job".

Jims5543 · 05-24-2006, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TerryBPP
Well atleast I know your surveys will not be in a timely fashion.

Very funny. We actually have a reputation for turning out jobs very fast. It is a rule that we do not work weekends at all costs here. Weekends are for your time and should not be spent at the office or at work.

I worked for a company where everyone worked from 6 a.m. until 7-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8-5 on Saturday and 8-4 on Sinday because on Sunday afternoon you "should" spend time with your family. We were all salary and the Pres and VP's were probably all laughing their way to the bank thanks to us. BTW- they were not there on weekends at all.

That job and its enviroment were a crock.

Like POP said managing your time and not overbooking your workload or promising things that cannot be done can lead to a really relaxed workplace where the employees can have a life.

masraum · 05-24-2006, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
I worked for a company where everyone worked from 6 a.m. until 7-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8-5 on Saturday and 8-4 on Sinday because on Sunday afternoon you "should" spend time with your family. We were all salary

Wow, I just don't see that happening.

TerryBPP · 05-24-2006, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by masraum
Wow, I just don't see that happening.

Yeah, he was only there a week.

Jims5543 · 05-24-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by masraum
Wow, I just don't see that happening.

Yes, it did happen and it almost cost me my family trying to keep up with these ego maniacs. They were brag at the end of the year over who had the most o/t. They were idiots because they were not getting paid for it. It seems like it was a badge of honor to rack up a 80+ hour work week.

When I backed out my salary I would be making less the $4 an hour. I lasted there 18 months and quit.

I promised myself to never work that much ever again.

gatotom · 05-24-2006, 09:17 AM

I look at my life and I now can say that life is good but then I am closing in on that big 60 too

There has been times when I worked 7 days a week for months but that always passes. The last 24 yrs I have been self employed and to say that I love my job now is a understatment. I only come to this forum during work, I am in this office 4 days a week for a total of 28 hours, the actual work I do in a week varies from maybe 6 -12 hours per week.

Two yrs ago I quite my second job after doing it 25 yrs which made me work the rest of the days in the week, mostly weekends but alot of wed, thurs and fri nights, mind you it wasn't a bad job. I coached my 3 kids in ski racing, did a bunch of travel and really miss the kids but those damn knees don't seem to want to keep co-operating.

So did I live to work or work to live

am I retiring anytime soon, well at the moment my truck doesn't need to be re-tired and since my kids are finally out of the house, I can now get to know my wife again and its now our time so I expect that to cost some so, no, I expect at least 10 more yrs of production.

My motto for many yrs has been: every day I wake up is a good day and if business is really good that day, well its a really good day and if there is no business its still a good day.

Evans, Marv · 05-24-2006, 09:35 AM

One reason I chose to work in education was to have time off to travel & get my fill of doing what I wanted to do. I did this & didn't resent working hard during the rest of the time I was there. The last 12 years or so were years of working 12 months & 8 (at times more) hour days. The only good thing was that I could choose when I wanted to be on vacation - given there weren't too many deadlines, etc.
Well, I'm retired now and like the saying goes, "I don't know how I had time to work before." I have more to do than I have time for, but it's mostly things I choose & want to do. I don't miss the mill either & wouldn't go back.

masraum · 05-24-2006, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
Yes, it did happen and it almost cost me my family trying to keep up with these ego maniacs. They were brag at the end of the year over who had the most o/t. They were idiots because they were not getting paid for it. It seems like it was a badge of honor to rack up a 80+ hour work week.

When I backed out my salary I would be making less the $4 an hour. I lasted there 18 months and quit.

I promised myself to never work that much ever again.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not scared of work, and I have worked like that before. I quit college before I finished and in 2 years worked my way up to manager of a retail auto parts place. I worked as much OT as possible when I was hourly. When I got promoted to manager I put in a lot of hours to turn the store around, the norm was 60-70 hours a week (the mgr schedule was for 50), and that was for about 6 months. I then put in a couple months of 70-90hr weeks, all salaried making 21k a year plus bonuses (about 4-5k a year). At that point I wasn't sure what I needed to do, but I knew that I needed to get out of that crap.

Now, not happening. No way. Bragging about how much unpaid overtime you have. Not! I'd be bursting their bubbles, "Really, I only have X, I was able to leave the office and have a life. What do you have? No more money and a year that's lost that you can't get back." Nope, I've been near/at the bottom, I'm not going back if I can help it. At least you realized it was a problem and got out.