I had several stressful jobs in my career. Some of them were the jobs I liked best.Originally Posted by Gardnr
But I do believe that haviing control over one's surroundings makes the biggest difference. I burned out on my last job because a Pointy Haired Boss who didn't have any idea what I did dictated the tools I had to use. Because I had a One Minute Manager who valued my butt being in my seat between 7:30 and 4:30 each day more than she valued what I got done during those hours. Because there rarely was reprioritization of workload or staff when some critical project came in (or took longer than everyone's optimistic estimates). And it happened over and over again.
There was no intellectual reason I could not have done what I was doing for another decade or two. I would have no problem handling the whiplash project schedule or the poor management or the crappy toolset. But not all of them in concert. Tthere was no emotional reason to completely cede control of my work life to others. I was out by 53 and never looked back. I'd rather eat cat-food tuna at 79 than live through that again.
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