Dear Pepper: All Work and No Play

Dear Pepper is a monthly advice-column comic by Liana Finck. If you have questions for Pepper about how to act in difficult situations, please direct them to dearpepperquestions@gmail.com. Questions may be edited for brevity and clarity.

Dear Pepper,

I’ve never loved my remote tech job, but it has afforded me some luxuries: I can work from anywhere, I’m able to save money by not commuting, and the work is usually easy, even though it is time-consuming.

But, after several rounds of layoffs, the boundaries between work and life have gotten fuzzier, and I’m spending more and more time online to get everything done.

I’m increasingly miserable, but I keep being told that I should “be grateful” that I have a job at all by my manager, colleagues, and pretty much everyone else in my life, too.

It feels like the initial deal I made has been broken and the equation of this job is no longer in my favor, but I must put on a fake smile each day to avoid having my position be next on the chopping block. My family depends on my paycheck, and I have to hold on for at least another year to save enough money to leave. How can I make the fake smiles easier to muster? What can I do to make pretending more bearable until I’m able to quit or finally get laid off?

Sincerely,
Ungrateful and grumpy

Dear Ungrateful,

I’ve never had a nine-to-five job, so I’m not the best dog to give you tips on how to pretend to like yours. (Readers, I’d welcome your thoughts—please write to dearpepperquestions@gmail.com and I’ll draw them up for a future installment of this column.)

I have, however, been feeling the burnout lately. I just can’t be bothered to meet my deadlines or respond to e-mails or be forthcoming with my clients. It’s disconcerting. I don’t know where it comes from. If even a normally work-happy canine cartoonist is feeling this way, the disaffection must be pretty widespread.

I’ve been wondering if it has, in part, to do with climate change. If by spending our days writing cheeky ad copy for unnecessary startups and buying and selling physical and mental clutter—and even by doing more meaningful work—we are burying our heads in the sand. There are great reasons to do these things—feeding our families, for one—but, man. Ignoring the obvious will wear on you. As will the heat, and the floods, and the smoke.

How to fake it?

I feel like you don’t need to fake it. You understand that you’re lucky to have a job because you need it to support your family.

However: You can be glad to be employed, and do decent work, without being delighted with your job.

So if you can’t smile, frown. But frown with your co-workers and clients and bosses, not at them. Frown . . . softly.

It’s good that you only have to stay at this job for one more year. Still, is there a reason for you not to look for another job, quietly, right now? Even if it’s unlikely that you’ll find one, applying, or even just planning to apply for things, might help you feel less trapped.

I feel for you. I wish I had a better answer.

A decade ago, I would have said to lose yourself in books and nature.

But really, who has the energy?

Sincerely,
Pepper