4 Reasons I Hate Being An Employee

Recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply hate being an employee.  It’s not that I was a bad employee – I was punctual, reliable, knew my job inside and out, was friendly and caring….I always got great reviews and promotions.  Now that I am 100% responsible for my own career though, I’d never go back to being an employee.  Here’s why.

1.  I like to be in control.  Lack of control is a major stressor for many people, and I no longer have to worry about it.  I can decide everything from when I want to go to the washroom, when I want to eat, and what work is important to do and when.

Maybe you’re like me and like to be in control because you’re self-directed.  We don’t need someone looking over our shoulder and micro-managing us because we know what needs to be done and we do it.  The flip side of being in control is accepting responsibility for our actions (or inaction).  If you’re the kind of person who is terrified to make mistakes and covers them up by blaming the most naive person in the office, you should keep working for someone else.  Otherwise, when you’re self-employed and there’s only you to blame, you’ll look like a real jerk.  Which leads me to my next point.

2. I don’t like having to pretend I like working with jerks.  I like to choose who I get to work and interact with.  As an employee, I’d be assigned to everything from committees to seating to managers.  I’ve had a manager that treated me like garbage.  I’ve worked with negative, life and soul-sucking people who just wanted to create chaos in the workplace.  Why would I want to be around people like that for 8-12 hours per day?

Now that I’m not an employee, I’m no longer at the mercy of being assigned to negative people.  I can actually choose who to spend my days with, and not need to worry about “managing” my interactions with anyone.  Out go the Harvard Business Review articles about “Managing Your Manager!”

I can choose to spend my time with interesting, engaged, creative people if I want.  I can choose to participate in local business groups that align with my personal goals.  If I have a potential client that I feel will not be a good fit, I can simply say thank you for taking the time to meet me and offer a suggestion for another service that may be a better fit.

3.  Being an employee can feel like being in jail.  You know the feeling – you can’t leave because your workday or shift isn’t over.  You have to wait until the designated time to eat.  You have to dress in the manner dictated.  Your workspace has to adhere to the company aesthetic policies.  You sit at your desk and look longingly at the closest window which is about 20 feet away…and all you can see are the top branches of the young trees in the ugly industrial area your office sits in.

Right now, I’m sitting on my couch.  When I finish this point, I’m going to go make coffee, pet my cat, and probably wander into my backyard and feed the birds to clear my head.  Then I’ll go have a shower and change out of my pajamas.  I know I work best early in the morning when my husband and dog are sleeping, so an hour ago I quietly came downstairs to avoid waking them.  See the difference between being an employee and what I do now?

4.  Missing out and weekend grocery shopping.  In the past, I’ve done both shift work (12 hour shifts, either day or night) and had the enviable Monday to Friday 9-5 job.  Both suck.  As a shift worker, you’re guaranteed to miss out on holidays, family dinners, and doing normal things like staying up until 9 PM to chat with your family.  Plus, you feel crappy a lot of the time even if you are off work, because you keep flipping back and forth between day and night shifts and your body never gets used to it.

Going from shift work to a job with “regular hours” I thought I’d struck gold.  Then I realized I still didn’t have any time during the week to get anything done, so my weekends were allocated to grocery shopping, cleaning, gardening, etc.

To sum it up, as an employee I was either missing out on gatherings I’d rather attend or having to spend my limited free time on the weekends running errands.

With my own business, I do still have certain things that I have to complete at certain times.  But, I also have the option of assigning that work to someone else.  Choice – isn’t it grand!

Life Status Check for the Wanna-Be Self Employed

This morning, I woke my husband up just before 6 AM because our dog was puking.  Clean up is my husband’s job.

Now that we were both awake, the cats thought it was time for breakfast.  Not a bad idea, because feeding them then meant they wouldn’t wake us up again at 6:30 AM.

This is basically my life.  Husband, pets, and a pet care business.

I’ve been 100% self-employed since the spring, when I finally gave up my part time job.  Before I decided to try my own business, I had a really good paying full-time job, with jerky co-workers, night shifts, and incredibly stressful shifts (emergency services worker).   Now I worry about money all the time (a $60, 000 pay cut per year will do that!), but I love having control over my life. No more need to ask permission to eat or go to the bathroom!  Yay, I’m officially an adult!

Every few months, when I start to panic about my line of credit being maxed out, I start to look for a “real” job.  That’s when I realize I’m no longer employable.  A lot of employers don’t want someone who is independent and takes initiative, who can handle it all, despite what a job description may say.

When I stop looking at job postings for things that will make me miserable but provide steady pay, I always re-read my favourite blog post by Steve Pavlina, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get A Job, to remind myself why I wanted to be self-employed in the first place.

Do you think you want to be self-employed?  Here’s what I’ve learned.

1.  You better darn well love what you do.  The amount of time, energy and thought you’ll put into your project is amazing.

2.  Some people aren’t comfortable with the idea of not having steady work or work hours – are you sure you’re not one of them?  I have discovered that I love creating and starting a business, but that once it’s all up and running I’d rather come up with a new idea and start a new business than manage the existing one. This does not create stability.  My husband thinks I’m nuts.  He’s the type of guy who can sit at his desk for 8 hours, doing a job he hates because he knows exactly how much money he’ll make and when his day is done, it’s done.  He doesn’t think about his job at the end of the day, because to him it doesn’t matter.  His work is a means to an end.  My work is a means to self-fulfillment and creating what I feel is a positive impact.

3. On the topic of stability – how the heck do people plan a family when their lives are so chaotic?  I suppose I’d have to hand over all the pet care visits to staff and just run the business from home, but trying to throw a baby in there too?  If you’re still wanting to have a family, and start a business, don’t forget to figure out how the two will mesh together.  Otherwise, you’ll be told by your doctor to hurry up and get pregnant NOW, but still be spending almost all your time on your business.

4.  Are you creating a job for yourself, or creating something that will allow you freedom to live your life?  This is currently where I’m struggling.  By creating a business where I go into homes and take care of pets, I’ve created a job.  This means I don’t get paid unless I’m physically working.  Now I need to figure out how to make money when I’m not physically working.  Only by doing this will I ever have the freedom to take advantage of all the things I’ve been missing out on since I started working full-time.

This blog will share my experiences in “giving life a go.”  In my previous work, I’ve seen way too many lives cut short.  Did those people have any regrets?  My goal is to live life responsibly, consciously and fearlessly doing my best to incorporate the things and people I love.  It’s true….the unknown is scary!  But to create my best life, I’m giving the unknown a try.