Who Else Can Relate? Got An Office Job, Hell!

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I can relate to OP, whatever the rights and wrongs. I've literally walked out on jobs that I realised were not what I thought they would be and made me feel so panicked and unhappy I just couldn't take it.

My experience: I worked in corporate but "virtual office", i.e. full-time at home, for many years. I recently changed back into a job where I am in a cubicle 8-5, five days each week. The change has not been easy. Here are some ways I cope:

1. I wear earbuds and listen to music as much as possible. I find it helps me transport myself mentally and emotionally out of the office and into my own head space. I pay very close attention to what music I listen to based on what I need at the moment. I have a collection of "Classical for Meditation" that does well to keep me mentally alert yet relaxed.

2. When in the hallways I keep my head and my gaze downward so that I do not make eye contact with others I may pass. I fortunately work in a tech environment where most people are introverts anyway, so this is not uncommon behavior.

3. Whenever possible I go outside when I take breaks and force myself to focus on what I am sensing while outside: wind, trees, and so on.

4. Keep my eyes and ears open for other jobs that might suit me better.

How does it not sound bad?
My boss basically repremanded me saying my skills make me underqualified and thus unsatisfactory.
The office has no buzz in it.
The worst is that there is absolutely NO structure. None.
I am expected to somehow figure out what to do and how to do it on my own.
There is no routine, no repetitiveness at all, everything is adhoc and it kills me.

I am completely miserable, to the point where when I come home I just want to lie down.
I am going to quit.



So did you quit?

What kind of job has routine, repetitiveness, and structure, that is what I need.

Yes, you sound just like me. I hate my office job, but I would be ok in a library, and I am getting a bachelors in Library Science too. But I hate the office environment! It's much more than just the physical surroundings, it's the lame a$$ office politics and acting like I give a hoot all day that is draining. Luckily my shift starts at night so there are not so many big wigs around, but it still sucks. Unfortunately I can't just quit because it's military, but if I could I would. Most people spend the majority of their life working 5 days a week for 2 days of freedom until old age. What kind of life is that? 6 more years of this rat race and I'm done!


It's because you are working 2 jobs simultaneously, first the office, second the acting job. If you are like me you are acting to get through the day for 8-10 hours, it's draining.

Yes, it is. That and bad traffic.
I guess the solution is to ask for accomodation (tele work, structure) and if that fails, quit.

Yes, I forgot about traffic on the dayshift hours. Next time you are stuck in traffic, take a look at the drivers around you. You will realize that even NT's are miserable after a days work at the office. I honestly can't imagine too many people NT or not enjoy sitting at a cubicle dealing with office politics, but throw AS into the mix, and holy crappy job batman, it's hell.

One thing you could do since it doesn't seem like you have quit yet is to try to make a list of how you would like to act at the job if you could be your normal self. Now mark off the ones that would get even a "normal" worker fired and start doing the rest. Basically, it's a last resort effort to be yourself on the job, and if it gets you laid off, then you were planning on quitting anyway, so what's to lose? You might find that you can be yourself and happier, and they might just keep you hired too.

I've worked in an office environment for over a decade.

For the first long haul (8 years), it wasn't so bad. Just me and the boss, and he wasn't in half the time. Gave me space to "be myself." If I wanted to scream at the top of my voice repeatedly, nobody would care.

The new job (just over 6 months) has been horrible, but it's more so because I'm doing work I don't like and really want something different/better for myself. My boss doesn't really respect boundaries (talking to me before the work day has begun...interrupting my lunch time). I do have my own office, so I try and leave my door largely closed, but I'm annoyed every time the phone rings (office downsized so I'm stuck doing a lot of stuff that was not part of what I agreed to when I started the job).

The stress is so bad that I'm suffering from chronic back pain. I'm seeing an acupuncturist now, and that's helped a lot. I'm taking Flax Seed oil (3 capsules in the morning, 3 at dinner), and that's helped calm my OCD tendencies. A big part is that while I do like my boss as a person, I hate working for him, and the only way I can keep from going full-blown neurotic is to NOT CARE about if and when work gets done. Anything he doesn't want to do gets dumped on me, so I'm putting brush fires out all day instead of trying to do the stuff I said I could do for him when I was hired.

I'm looking for another job...hopefully better...because I know there is no long-term prospect to this job and might as well bail sooner rather than later.

I don't mind my "co-workers" (2 part-time people), but I really can't stand them coming into my office. It's easier to socialize in a common area for a few minutes, but I don't like people in my office.

Don't get me started on the customers. Yeah, I know they pay my salary, but....

There is no long term future for me either, I am underqualified and the work has no structure.
I plan to quit, barring EEO helping out like a miracle.
This way I get the misery out and can begin a full job search.
I am guessing since I am with the Federal Government, using sequestration as an excuse will do.