Published on 12, July, 2020
For the last 3 months i have been in a job with no structure completing the same task day in day out with no guidance from team members working from home. I enjoy the working from home aspect but i am really struggling with the lack of purpose, motivation and the point really. I dont like letting people down so to leave makes me feel like ive failed them and myself and i also dont know what job would make me happy. I feel so depressed from the lack of purpose and dont know where to turn
Purpose is a tricky thing to invest in. Our purpose in life isn't great to associate with work, as work (in any role or industry or employer) will not be with you for the whole of your life. When your employment ends (redundancy, you get a new role, or retire) you feel like your life ends when employment ends.
Purpose works best when it is an inner concept - what is my reason for getting out of bed? Today, it may be because I want to earn money to pay the bills or save up for a holiday (and work fits nicely with that), other days I may want to be a good friend or relative, I may want to try a different aspect of the things I like doing. These are often more permanent in our lives.
The underlying thought here, is "what is the point" - what is the point of life? We each have to go on our own journey of discovery to figure that out. For some, it might be to have children, for others it will be something else. Some will want to learn something new every day, others will want to keep routine and consistency.
The point of having a job is to give you a life - work to live, not live to work. It may take up lots of hours, but you can change it (if you want to go through the application/interview thing), or stay where you are. It's about what compromises you are willing to make for your life at that point. A dull, boring job might be just the right thing for someone recovering from burnout, or with lots of family commitments.
I find the balance is important to me - if I have a boring job I need to have interesting hobbies or things to do outside of work. If I have a really absorbing job I need to have peace and quiet outside of work. My work is not who I am, it is only one part of what makes me 'me'.
Besides, if you were doing a bad job, they would have asked you to leave during your probationary period.
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. I try my best but when i push myself i feel even less motivated sometimes. I will try and chill ️