Don’t Compromise Your Happiness

Is the depression worth your mansion and luxury sports car? I don’t think so. But hey, that’s just my opinion. By today’s standards you can make some big bucks in certain occupations, but if you hate what you are doing then which is more important: salary or happiness?

One of my close friends is a personal assistant to a famous TV personality in Manhattan. She banks, gets luxury vacations, meets famous people, and gets loads of free stuff. She hates her job. The part I didn’t mention is that she is on call, works about twenty hours a day, and bends over backwards to never hear a “thank you” or similar words of gratitude. Her boss makes her feel like dirt. It’s tough when you are making a good salary but you need to learn when to walk away from the depressing situation. Here’s what you need to consider:

Compare your salary to your benefits package. Are you getting all the benefits you need? If you don’t receive any then is a good chunk of your salary being spent on health and dental insurance? Take into account retirement plans and profit sharing as well. Is your compensation as a whole really that great? Next you need to think about your work schedule and the flexibility of your job. My personal assistant friend could work those back breaking hours because she wasn’t married and didn’t have kids to worry about. Consider the hours you work and if they are making you depressed because you don’t have enough time to spend with your family. Are you compromising the happiness you find in a favorite hobby because you have shifted that time over to work? Your job flexibility also goes hand in hand with job location. Do you have to wake up at the crack of dawn in order to drive an hour to work? The location of your workplace could be getting you down in the dumps if you spend all that time, energy and money on driving when you really should be spending your time and energy at work and not in your car.

The ultimate complaint in most cases of workplace depression stems from the hatred harvested towards co-workers and employers. Nothing is worse than spending an eight hour day with people who make your skin crawl. Even an enormous salary can’t bring happiness to a workplace that makes you hate every second you spend there. Take the time to weigh the pros and cons. It’s not worth keeping a horrible job that makes you curse every morning you wake up and have to step foot inside your personal nightmare. Don’t be scared to get out of something you hate. Fill your life with happiness, not just riches.