I don’t really hate my job, do I?

I don’t really hate my job. I mean, hate is a strong word, right? It’s more of a “mild, simmering irritation that bubbles to the surface every three hours” kind of thing. You know, like a perpetually low-grade fever. I’m pretty sure I don’t hate my job... except for maybe on Mondays. And Thursday mornings. And Fridays during lunch when I realize I still have a few more hours to go.

At least, that’s what I tell myself every morning as I drag myself out of bed, bribe my body with that overpriced, single-origin coffee I convinced myself I deserved, and open my laptop in the home office I meticulously designed to scream, “I take my job seriously” (but is really just a distraction from the fact that I’m working five feet away from my laundry pile).

Here’s the thing—I have a pretty easy job. Objectively speaking, there’s nothing to hate. I write emails, sit in a couple of meetings, create presentations, edit a few educational videos, and check off to-do lists that no one is actively monitoring. It’s not back-breaking labor or brain surgery. Who am I to complain? After all, we’ve all been spoon-fed that charming little nugget of “wisdom” growing up: “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Cute, right? Only, no one warned me that this might be the greatest lie anyone’s ever told about work.

The truth? Even if you love your job, it’s still going to feel like work at least 93% of the time. There are still emails, deadlines, Slack messages that won’t stop pinging, and meetings that probably could have been summarized in one bullet point. (Don’t forget the “calendar Tetris,” where we all shuffle meetings around to look available while secretly hoping someone cancels.) Don’t even get me started on software “upgrades” that demand yet another three-step password reset.

But then I stop and ask myself...is it really my job that’s the problem? Or is it...working? Like the very concept of waking up every day, stringing together cohesive thoughts, and giving away eight hours of my (very finite) life to tasks I wouldn’t do for free. Feels heavy when you put it that way, doesn’t it? And yeah, maybe I don’t actually hate my job. Maybe I just hate capitalism. (Is that too intense? Sorry—in my defense, someone on TikTok planted that thought, and now I can’t un-think it.)

It doesn’t help that we live in an era of hustle worship. Everywhere you look, there’s someone “crushing it,” “building their empire,” or “living their purpose.” God forbid you just work a job and go home without trying to also turn your love of macramé into a 6-figure Etsy business. For years, I was convinced I had to LOVE my job or pick up a second “passion project” on the side to be a real, fulfilled adult.

Now? I’m just over it. Some days, I’m grateful I have a job that pays the bills and doesn’t involve standing outside in the rain. Other days, I resent every last spreadsheet I touch. Most of the time, I live in this weird in-between space, neither loving nor hating work, but feeling... restless. And honestly? I think that’s okay.

Here’s the thing we don’t talk about enough: it’s not normal to love every moment of your job. All those people swearing they’ve “never worked a day because they love what they do”? Either they’re robots or they skipped lunch and it’s messing with their judgment. Work, no matter how rewarding or fun it may be at times, is still just...work. It’s showing up, putting in effort, and occasionally screaming into a pillow because the Wi-Fi cut out during your presentation’s last slide.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Just because work is work doesn’t mean it has to be pure drudgery. Instead of chasing the elusive dream of perfect career bliss, what if we focused on building lives that feel good outside of the 9-to-5? Maybe loving your job doesn’t have to be the goal. Maybe “liking it enough” is perfectly fine—as long as it leaves you the energy and time to build something meaningful outside your inbox.

And trust me, you’re not the only one staring into the void of another status meeting and thinking, “Is this really it?” You’re not lazy for feeling this way, and it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It just means you’re alive... and honestly kind of self-aware, which feels like a win in itself.

At the end of the day, it’s okay to not love your job. It’s also okay to daydream about doing something totally different, or to admit you’re just in it for the paycheck right now. If you wake up most days and feel neutral-to-okay about work, that’s a perfectly respectable place to be. Maybe, instead of trying to fix your job (or yourself), you just need to give yourself permission to not need to love it.

After all, work is just a part of your life—not the whole thing. Whether you use the rest of your precious hours to binge a new series, take your dog to the park, or just sit in blissful silence, make sure those parts of your life shine. Because jobs will come and go, but the moments where you really feel alive? Those are yours forever.

And hey, if all else fails, buy that great cappuccino from the coffee shop near your apartment. It won’t solve your existential dread, but it will make Fridays more tolerable.