A Little More Content

As I’ve discussed before, I’m not entirely happy with my job.  I’m not doing the work I was hired to do, I often feel like what I do is a complete waste of my law degree, and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye with management.  For a while, I was job hunting pretty steadily.

Not so much anymore, though.

Don’t get me wrong, I still get job alerts every few days, and I skim them to see if anything looks good.  But that’s just it – I’m looking for jobs that look good, not just any job so that I can get out of here.

I’m not entirely sure what changed.  Clearly, getting a promotion and a raise didn’t hurt.  Of course, I would be looking for a new job at the same level, but I feel that this promotion shows that management is recognizing the work that I do and that my time and presence here is valued.  I can’t say that I have always felt that way.  In fact, for a while, a few of us felt like we were being “encouraged” to leave the agency by a certain member of management.  (Thankfully, that person is no longer playing as active a role.)

Some of it has to do with my co-workers.  In the past few months, I took on a big project that required me to work pretty closely with people who I normally wouldn’t work with.  In doing so, I got to know a lot of people, learned about what they do, and they learned what I do and how I can help them.  So in general, people are friendlier.

A big part of it is the current economy.  I’m so lucky to have a good paying job, to not have to worry about being downsized (well, I do, but not really), and to have a job that allows me so much freedom.  It’s rare that I’m asked to work late or work weekends.  I don’t have any trouble scheduling vacations (provided I have annual leave available for use) or taking an afternoon off for a dentist appointment.  I get to go to the gym at lunch every day, and if I take a class at the gym that lasts a little longer every once in a while, it’s not a big deal that I take a slightly longer lunch, provided I make up the time.  That seems small, but it’s really a lot of freedom.

So all in all, I’ve gotten more content with my job.  We’ll see what happens in the next few months.  I still have my dream job, and if I got that opportunity, I would jump at it.  But other than that, I think I’m just going to try to see the good things and be thankful for what I have.