5 Reasons Why I Love My 9-5 Job

I've been in the working world for 10 years now and have been with 3 different companies and 5 positions during that time. I've also freelanced in graphic design, web design and of course my jewellery design shop, in that time as well. 

I have never been truly happy at my 9-5 job until recently when I was promoted 3.5 months ago. It has been an amazing opportunity and I am so thankful to actually spend time doing something I enjoy - that in itself is priceless to me.

I definitely paid my dues! I spent my first year in the working world at a Car Assembly Plant as an inspector on the midnight shift (this is where I met my husband!). It was awful, grueling work that I was just not meant to do. The straight midnights and the 12 hour shifts didn't help either, I'm sure.

From there, I went to Company A as basically an order taker. I took orders non-stop all day over the phone and it was truly depressing, especially being such a quiet person. It was like my worst nightmare come to life, but I just couldn't find anything else at the time and it was a paycheck.

Company A laid most of us in that department off and within 2 weeks I went to Company B doing Technical Support over the phone. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, right? Haha, nothing is worse then being on the phone with someone for OVER 6 hours trying to fix their printer software issue that is obviously related to their crappy computer. Some people just won't accept anything less than having it fixed, no matter how long it takes. I couldn't count how many nights I was stuck on a call hours past the end of my shift and missed my ride home or the last bus running.

One day at Company B I just told myself enough is enough. I couldn't take being miserable anymore, I just couldn't do it.. So, I went for my scheduled break, and instead walked out the front door and never looked back.

About a month later, I was called for an interview with Company A again - this time, I would be email support, not phone support, which sounded like it was perfect for me. Which it was - until they changed things around again and we were now a mix of email/phone support everyday. Each time I was forced to be on the phones, I was miserable. But, our area isn't really overflowing with many options so I stuck it out for another year and a half, which is when my current position came up and I did everything I could possible to get it.

Basically, if you aren't doing something you love right now - change it. 40 hours a week is too many hours of your life to spend miserable. Just trust that things will work out how they should and you will be okay. 

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1) It is always changing and always a challenge.

I love being challenged and the fact that things can change on a daily basis is exciting to me. I was warned before I took this position that it's hard, and you need to be super organized - this worried me a bit, but after 3 1/2 months I'm loving it and things are going extremely well.

2) No weekends!

After many, many years of working every or every other weekend, it is nice to be steady Monday-Friday. My husband has always had weekends off so it was tough to find time together when I didn't. Even every other weekend was rough, because I had so many plans and things to do on that one weekend that I felt like I could never just relax. I am definitely liking this routine and schedule much better!

3) Getting to use my design background, in a slightly different way.

Having a background in Graphic Design definitely helped me get this position to start with. And, my job does require me to use some design skills. We manage and update employee materials which means designing everything internally. With such a big company, it can be tough, because everything needs to be approved (for the most part), which is frustrating on a designer end. But, I am happy they are being put to good use now.

4) Being appreciated and opinions are taken seriously.

Even in my last position, with the same company, we were not taken seriously. We were just a number in Customer Service, we didn't truly matter to anyone.. but now, I get to write the processes that everyone else needs to follow. I get to write and design the training materials for employees. I actually get a say in how things are being done. And appreciation is huge.. on our team, if you do something really well, you will be recognized for it, which is always a nice feeling.

5) We hear things (almost) before anyone else in the company.

It is nice to be in the know inside a large company, but I hate having to keep so many things from people at work who aren't in my department. It's a part of the job, and I do it, but that part stinks and I always feel like I'm going to blurt something out that I'm not supposed to. It's hard to keep track of all the 'secrets' and 'not yet approved' things that we are told first about, but it is nice to be kept in the loop like that and always know what is happening.