Kinda long. No tldr, sorry.
Hey, I just wanted to share a bit of where I'm currently at and where I came from in regards to employment, work/life balance and the such.
A few years ago I was working in a warehouse for a company that made nutritional supplements. I had started there about 8 years prior working one of the assembly lines, was moved to one of the mixing rooms due to a shortage and then eventually to the warehouse. The gm ran everyone else out of that warehouse due to piss poor management and so by default I was made “supervisor”. Except I never actually got that title nor the pay increase that would come with it as they kept moving the goal posts on me. I was worked to the bone, my physical and mental health were deteriorating, so I quit.
I moved back to my hometown with a decent enough amount of money in the bank and figured I didn't early care what job I got so long as it paid enough to pay my bills. Applied around to places like Wal-Mart, Target, pizza joints, etc.. and then figured “why not look for a city job with park and rec?” When I tell you that was the best damn decision I'd made in my life up until that point I'mnot exaggerating.
I landed in the pools division where there was just one other person working. We are incredibly independent and separated from the rest of the crews that do mowing, janitorial, maintenance, and it's part of a union.
My job is seasonal, 6 months/year max, and when I get laid off in the fall I can claim unemployment and file as “union attached” which means I don't have to complete any job search requirements. I get about $350/week and pay $45/month to the union and I can do/go whatever/wherever I want.
And even when I am working my job is so fucking stress free and easy it's ridiculous. My work/life balance has increased 1000 times over compared to where I was just a few years ago.
I know my situation will not apply to everyone but I would encourage you to look into those seasonal positions with your city.
Bonus is that park and rec positions don't really vary from city to city and I've been thinking of using that to my advantage to get to a city I actually want to be in.
Anyways, I wish each and every one of you luck in your current and future work situations.