I currently work in an office in some pretty rough conditions. The blinds are closed so there's no natural light and we have no privacy – not even a cubicle where we can escape being in full view. we aren't allowed to leave our desks for more than ten minutes at a time either, so it's eight hours under strip lights in exactly the same spot with your boss a couple of metres away. Really lame, but not, I suppose, the worst anyone has ever endured.
There was one more thing that was bugging me about my job, too, and I've only just put my finger on it: my job doesn't help anyone. Without going into detail, it's one of those fairly abstract office gigs where you generate sales of some non-tangible product that may or may not contribute some speck of good to the world in a sort of roundabout way. I feel like I am working simply to pay rent and generate wealth for the CEO and the board and nothing else.
I have decided I need a job where I can see people and make them happy in some way. Whether that's delivering boxes of shopping and handing them to people or working for an NGO or a charity, or using my translation skills to help people find housing or get justice in the legal system, I need to see the human face of someone whose life I am improving, in some way, in that moment.
I feel like only by doing this will I find fulfilment. I want to create real value by helping people, not simply boost the share price of the company I work at by doing the business-to-business information sales I am now. I am willing to accept less money if I can find a job like this.
Don't know who else feels the same, but I guess I am throwing this out there to see how common this sentiment is.