Dolly Iris is going through a tough time deciding on her blog about leaving her job which she HATES but loves the people she works with, to go to a job with better pay/working environment but with people she could potentially hate. (Which by the way, I don’t think is gonna happen).
It got me thinking:
Would you rather have a job that pays well with people you hate, or a job that pays badly but with people you absolutely love?
(Yes, we all know that both would be ideal)
But at what point is the job paying “enough”? And at what point are people “fun to work with”?
At work where I am right now, the people are nice, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them fun to work with, or become good friends with them. Maybe it’s just the nature of being a consultant, but I HAVE met people at client site I’d hang out with after work or be with… but generally, I’m in the mindset that I’m there to do a good job and to keep people happy (with a good atmosphere around us).
And what about money?
How much is enough? Is enough when it’s enough to pay the bills + save a bit? Or is too much never enough?
For me, it’d be if I was able to pay ALL of the major bills and necessities with half of my pay per month and to have 50% of my net pay as a buffer.
That’d be an ideal situation for me and what I’d consider “enough” money to feel comfortable. Although, if I can make more money, I ain’t never gonna turn it down! 🙂 Or if I KNEW I could make more money, then what I make would not be enough for me.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
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Its a good question. What do you mean by hate? Do you mean they’re boring or demeaning? I can work with boring people but I can’t work with people that demean others. I guess I would stay in the job paid okay but with people I liked until I could get another job that paid better.
At most places you’ll find people that you like and those that you don’t click with, but I try to respect everyone and try to be civil to everyone. My parents taught me that I don’t need to be friends with everyone but that I can be civil with those people that I don’t click with or don’t care for.
If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. You don’t need to be mean or overly friendly, just civil. Maybe I’ve been lucky that I’ve found a couple of work friends at most jobs I’ve had.
I worked a job where I liked my one coworker but corporate owner and various managers were HORRIBLE and I hated my job. And I got low pay. The job I have now pays a little (tiny) bit better and I like my job love my coworkers and have the best supervisor of my entire life. I know if I was somewhere less rural I could make more money but I love where I am and this is the happiest I’ve been in my working life. I would definitely choose lower pay for good co-workers.
More money is always nice. However, annoying and rude people will make the work environment different. Everyone has their limits. I think it’s important to decide your own and stick with them.
i’ve worked in enough offices where people have stabbed me in the back professionally and it stung because i thought they were “friends”. now, i’ll never make buds at the office again, but if you wanna pay me the cash and i get my work done, then everyone’s happy, right?
friends at work are over-rated anyway. when work life and personal life start to cross, it’s time to pull back.
being cordial and friendly is cool. being chummy and familiar is asking for trubs!
I can get along with most people, so the money. Unless your co-workers are unethical or just evil, I think you can do a lot to ease the tension.
I’m currently in a job I like, working with brilliant people but earning really really shockingly low money. I can barely scrape along with what Im earning but I’m ok with it because the people Im with are great, as well as my job!
Its all about ebaying everything I own at the moment!
that is exactly my standard: 1/2 of living expenses. that’s where we are right now – on a single income- but largely because we live in a super cheap area. that said – if i could earn enough for twice our expenses on a job with people I love or get twice THAT at a workplace full of lifeblood sucking snarlies, I’d opt for the former over the latter any day of the week and twice on sunday. but the latter would be a serious chunk of change! not very realistic.
I’ve done both and to be honest, they both suck. Of course, the worst scenario is rubbish pay and rubbish people – again, I can put my hand up.
If it came to the crunch, I’d opt for the camaraderie. What’s the use in having money, if you’re perpetually miserable?
I chose my job for the people, not the money. So, I guess I’d rather love my coworkers!
I left a job that I was bored with, with absolutely wonderful colleagues to move to a job with much more opportunity (and actually my salary has increased a fair bit) where the people are anything like the people I used to work with. Sometimes I really really miss it – but I think I would have regretted it more if I hadn’t moved. I am still in touch with a lot of my ex-colleagues (and most of them actually advised me to leave because they knew it was good career-wise). It’s better for the work/friends distinction in a way!
No amount is worth it if it involves being around people I hate for 8 hours a day every day. If I’m going to leave my house and Husband to earn a living, it needs to be enjoyable and in a positive atmosphere.
Um, can I get a little from Column A and a little from Column B? I mean, I’d take colleagues you can get along with – no need to be friends with – alongside an adequate amount of money. Of course, my “adequate” amount is much like yours: Spend 50% on needs and save 50%, so that might be asking for more than is likely, but I’m not asking for stupid money, either.
My feeling is that you shouldn’t sacrifice the increased salary if there’s an even chance the people you might work with won’t be evil. I mean, the thing is, even if you get along with them NOW, that could quickly and easily change due to circumstances beyond your control and you’d be stuck in a job that didn’t pay what you could be earning AND the people could suck.
I can see advantages to both situations.
If I made good money, but hated the people, I’d have even MORE incentive to save/invest wisely and get the heck out of that place sooner.
If I loved the people, and made just enough money, I’d be happy on a day-to-day basis and wouldn’t mind being more patient on my path to saving/investing.
What would NOT be acceptable is working with hateful people and making lousy pay 😉
Its a fine line-I wouldn’t stay just for friends at work, neither would I stay purely for money, but you have to follow what your needs are in this day and age!
Right now, I would choose the money!