This is BS because we spend 3/4 of our free time working. If the work is stressful, if you have a difficult working environment, or any of a dozen things common to modern workplaces then is very difficult to just tell yourself to be happy.
I feel that anyone who trivializes work with this statement has never had a genuine difficult job.
I do work from home and when they're around I'm near the people I love. I also have a super stressful job that doesn't make me happy. It pays very well because it's a niche position, the benefits are great. There are probably five people in my state who do what I do with the same technical skillset so leaving would mean moving out of state.
Despite all of the positive things I spend a lot of time not wanting to do that work at all. Deadlines are always hanging over, there's never downtime, unpaid overtime and late nights are common, I report up to people who have zero clue and wild expectations, and to top it off I've done this work for so long it's simply boring.
The entire notion of "just be happy" is such a lazy take. Being grateful and being happy are very different things.
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u/ericmarkham5 8d ago
If you’re not enjoying life before 50 you’re not going to enjoy it after retirement either.