As much as I do hold values like how work shouldn't be the most important thing, how the workweek is too long to really let people work in healthy ways and research continuously supports that, I obviously can't always put that into practice. After spending years trying to get into an “alternative” industry (which I've learned basically means “you're trading in a 9-5 for a 24/7”), I've learned that going into it would basically ruin my mental health. It's the kind of thing where people say it takes them anywhere between 5-10 years just to get in, only to be majorly overworked. I remember I was told by a major industry leader in a talk from school that “most people leave the industry by the time they're 30 due to burnout”. I'm now watching my friends who I study with get jobs, and hate every second of it. None of them do things for fun anymore, they're always busy even at times like 10pm, can never spend even an hour online to chat. Every time they do show up, they're also working because “they have deadlines to meet”.
I worked retail while I was applying for jobs. Starbucks mid-pandemic of all things, before there were any real union talks. It absolutely broke me, and I have no idea how my coworkers have stayed there for so long. Granted, I did also receive a late life autism diagnosis, so it makes sense that the ridiculously loud environment where I'm constantly switching between tasks doesn't work for me.
I know office jobs aren't always cushy and some are just work overload. But man, the idea of sitting in an air conditioned room, occasionally answering calls and putting some numbers into some sheets, constantly committing time theft and just doing my own thing with only a few tasks in between, sounds SO nice. I know you can't really tell from a job listing which jobs are intensive and which ones aren't, but whenever I hear about people who luck out and have the chill jobs where no one cares what they're doing most of the time, I get super jealous.
I've also dreamt of just some librarian job or flower shop person, idk. I know it's all very fantastical and unlikely to translate into real life in any way. I just wanted to vent a little bit with people who understand that me not wanting to burn myself out for my “passion” isn't me being “lazy” or “not passionate enough”.