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Those who have families to support, which is more important; Job satisfaction OR Money???
zenmyste
Veteran
In life, most people are at work more than we are at home, so Job satisfaction (to a degree) must be considered, right???
However;
Money makes 'LIFE' more comfortable for me and my loved ones..
Whats your thoughts?
However;
Money makes 'LIFE' more comfortable for me and my loved ones..
Whats your thoughts?
0
Comments
Minimum wage in uk is not enough to live,eat, pay bills, AND put money away!
Ah, " The Road not Taken...."
But if one is constantly stressed out and unhappy with their job they are literally taking years out of their life, years that not long down the road, they would do anything to get back to watch their kids or grandkids grow up. A person who makes the decision to work a job for money can find ways ot mitigate the stress, to a degree, but when it's constant and pervasive, eventually it has health effects because it completely messes up your hormone levels. My mom makes decent money, has excellent benefits and takes a couple vacations to Hawaii every year, but the stress at her job is so on-going that even the techniques she uses to reduce her stress, have minimal effect because ideally you need to eventually prevent the stress hormone levels from rising, not just dealing with them after the fact.
If we had to choose, I would choose quality of life/time/work over money every day of the week. We have 3 kids (2 with medical issues) and my husband makes enough that we get by comfortably. He still makes quite a lot below the $50k mark. We can afford internet and heat and food without any problems. Our kids are in sports and go to camp. We have some in savings. If someone offered to double his salary with a higher responsibility job, he'd turn it down. We would downsize our expenses before my husband would take on a more stressful but better paying job. But, we also actively made a decision to move to an area with a lower cost of living overall. The money my husband makes wouldn't even get us a crappy apartment in a major city. We keep our revolving debt to a minimum, instead of owning the newest cars, we drive cars that are paid for. Other people I know make twice what my husband does and they live in debt, thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt. Knowing you can't really afford the way you are living is a huge stress, because a lay off, a lost job, causes an avalanche of problems. We choose not to live that way.
There was just a study put out (I think only for the US) that asked people what they thought they needed to "get by" and turns out, that definition varies widely. What someone who makes $25k a year thinks they need to get by is quite a bit different from what someone who makes $200k a year "needs" and what getting by constitutes. Not surprising, but was an interesting read.
Maybe also by analogy the important thing is the support one is able to provide to one's family.
A little over a decade ago, I lived high on the hog with my ex-wife when we lived in Dallas. I eventually got sick of the lifestyle though. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I do like my current job because I play at least some small role in helping people at the hospital. Though I have no actual medical skills, I can at least smile and show them some kindness when they need help (it matters how you interact, not just what you say) and the hospital provides plenty of opportunities for practice!
My job has improved greatly over the last month. I originally planned on quitting because I felt it had become too overwhelming for me to deal with. Finally some structural changes came along. My take home pay is substantial for someone without a college degree, but if it comes down to either high stress with high pay or low stress with low pay, I'll take the latter. Money doesn't matter THAT much to me.
But between having a pretty good salary and few bills, I have saved quite a lot of money (originally my plan was to move to New Zealand but this plan has fallen through, so the savings matter less to me now). I indulge mainly in music, books, and tea (it takes very little to please me haha). I own very little and I like it that way--I call that "living comfortably," while a lot of people I know think I live a terribly impoverished spartan lifestyle. I still have some items I would like to get rid of--I just find material things too burdensome to keep up with. I definitely find "less is more" works best for me. So money matters less to me, under my circumstances. If I did ever take a cut in pay, that in itself wouldn't affect my lifestyle much.
At least for the moment, I think I have a good balance between a comfortable lifestyle, a satisfactory job, and good take-home pay.
Something I wrote in my journal last year: "Year by year, I have learned to live with less and less material things. This is no sacrifice, however—it is a liberation, and an aid in discovering what is essential in my life. It is not I that am releasing material goods—I am releasing myself from them."
How long have you kept journals for? and what else do you write in them? Ive probably already asked you this question in another thread.. (Im kinda obsessed with journals and notebooks)
If there is something in one's life that causes one to feel very unhappy, it'll spill over into relationships and especially those with family. Emotions are contagious and are impossible to hide. Given that our jobs is where we spend about half of our waking hours, if one hates what one does for a living, that negativity is likely to infect home and family life. When one comes home with their soul sucked dry in the office, the spouse will immediately pick that up and absorb it. Maybe they'll interpret it as not being loved, as being somehow at fault or maybe in some other way but that negativity will sink in and, eventually, surface again.
While it is probably highly unlikely that one's going to *love* a job most of the time, I believe that it's a must that one at least *tolerates* it. Surely, there'll be lousy days at work but they should not be the norm. Otherwise, it's only a question of time before family life will be hit and one will be left with a sucky career *and* a sucky family life (or, maybe, no family at all).
Everything is interconnected and every little thing affects every other little thing. Every aspect of our lives needs constant attention. "This is work and that is family" is a false dichotomy, a trap that is set for us by our dualistic minds. As Buddhist practitioners, it is our goal to constantly erode such dichotomies and gain fuller understanding of life. We do that by being mindful of every moment and seeking to benefit all beings regardless of where we are: at work, at home, on the toilet or in a supermarket. May we all have the faith and the courage for this tremendous task.