Monkey Business - stock.adobe.com Is hating your job a modern phenomenon, or is it a rite of passage for every generation? It's a question young workers find themselves asking as they stare down 40 more years of employment. A redditor asked the community on r/AskOldPeople, "Did you do a job that you liked until retirement, or did you hate your job?" They continued: I'm not sure if it's just my generation or every generation, but I've met so many people who have jobs that they hate. However, they're going to stay there until they retire because, I guess, it's all they can do, or they have families, or just difficult circumstances. The answers in the thread reveal that career happiness is rarely simple. The work was great; the politics were not A surprisingly common sentiment among redditors wasn't that they hated the work itself, but rather the ecosystem surrounding it. For many professionals, the actual tasks — whether coding, designing, or solving problems — remained satisfying, while the managers and corporate bureaucracy slowly drained the joy out of their career. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I liked the actual job, I disliked the managers Comment in r/AskOldPeople I just retired last week. I absolutely loved what I did for a living and would have done it for a few more years, except I couldn't stand who I did it for. It was a completely toxic environment... the bosses literally screamed at me on a regular basis. I couldn't take it any longer. Such a shame. What an awful way to end my run. Working for the benefits For a significant number of retirees, the relationship with their career was defined more by necessity than passion. While the daily grind may have lacked inspiration, the security of health insurance and the promise of a stable pension provided a powerful incentive to stay the course until the very end. Comment in r/AskOldPeople People get trapped in jobs they hate for lots of reasons but I think the biggest is having our health insurance linked to our employer. Literally the dumbest thing the government allows. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I had a job that I initially loved, but administration changes made it difficult to enjoy. I stayed until retirement because the longer you stayed, the better the pay and benefits were. I was paid about 20% more than anywhere else would have paid me to change jobs. My 403b match increased the longer the tenure. I received 4 weeks of vacation & 4 weeks of sick time, and could keep 6 weeks of vacation & 12 weeks of sick time on the books. It didn't make sense to give all that up to change jobs before retirement. Leaving on a high note While cynicism is easy to find, plenty of retirees shared heartwarming stories of genuine fulfillment. These redditors found roles that aligned with their passions and managed to leave the workforce feeling grateful rather than burnt out. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I love my job. I absolutely love it. I'm a nerd and for decades I have been paid to care about nerd things and generally "make stuff work." I do research, I teach, and I get to work with both brilliant colleagues and students that fill me with hope. I'm going to work a few more years (I hope), but I know I will miss it. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I was a 6th grade teacher for 34 years and I loved my job!!! Comment in r/AskOldPeople I love my work right up until the day I left. I worked for the same agency for 35 years and laughed at what I felt was the top of my game: I had recently received the promotion, hired a fantastic staff and things were going great. Many people have asked me why I left if if it was really that good… The answer seemed obvious to me. It’s always better to leave at the top of the game. I have zero regrets The slow fade For a third group of workers, careers weren't necessarily a straight line of love or hate. Instead, they experienced a gradual shift over decades, where enthusiasm waned as the industry changed or where the job simply served its purpose as a paycheck and nothing more. Comment in r/AskOldPeople Yes. I liked my job when I took it. Decades later, by retirement time, I hated it and couldn't wait to get out. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I didn't like or dislike my job (kind of a win). It wasn't a part of my identity, it was just a way to make money. Comment in r/AskOldPeople I loved my job. Just didn’t want to do it anymore. So I retired yesterday. The consensus from the older generation suggests that hating your job is not a requirement, but neither is loving every minute of it. Many found that specific aspects, like autonomy or creative problem solving, kept them going even when the environment turned sour. Others simply viewed work as a neutral means to an end. What about you? Do you live to work or work to live? The debate continues in the thread. Want more like this? Read the full discussion in r/AskOldPeople, and find more conversations like this in r/careerguidance, r/jobs, and r/retirement. This story highlights the perspectives of Reddit users, not Reddit, Inc. Some posts or comments may be lightly edited for clarity. Questions or concerns? Contact us at upvoted@reddit.com.