EMPLOYEE REGRETS WORKING HARD, DIDN’T EVEN GET ANY ANNUAL PERFORMANCE BONUSES

Do u regret either working too hard or not worked hard enough when u were younger?

When it comes to career, there are generally 2 thinkings. Some pple believe you shld cheong and hustle hard when you are young and in your prime years. Grab opportunities and fight to climb the career ladder etc. Another group of pple will think it’s better to take it easy, prioritizing work life balance and health and just doing what is needed in the job and nothing more.

Just wonder at your current stage of career, do you regret working too hard at your earlier years? Or do you think you should have tried harder?

Netizens’ comments

1. I regretted working hard at the start of my career only because it was for the wrong job. It was for a back office role in a bank where the hours are long and the pay was not that great. Role was also as a contract staff and they only converted me after perm staff colleagues left.
   There was literally no incentive to work any longer than the stipulated 8 hours. Compensation was the same regardless of how many hours I worked. As a contract staff, I was also not entitled to the annual performance bonus. Was a complete waste of my time there.
2. I regret not working smart. Working hard is fine as long as it is on the correct thing. Don’t be a dumb worker though.
   Example: I have a very sneaky colleague who only takes on project that have high visibility. Meaning management is looking over the project closely. He refused to take on “grunt” jobs. Those who end up working overtime for all the routine grunt job usually get pass over for promotion. Of course that sneaky colleague is actually good at what he does so boss tend to pass project to him also.
3. Working hard in your 20s gives you more options later in life. When you have attained a decent level of progress in your mid-late 30s, you can decide whether to chiong even further or take your foot off the gas a bit (at a comfortable salary).
   However, you would need to learn to pace yourself even when you are chiong-ing to avoid burnout.
4. I worked very hard in my earlier years. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities that led to my current life. I was young, energetic and had no kids. It’s much easier to do that in that circumstance.
   Yes, it would have been nice to work less and rest more for those years but in my industry if you want to get anywhere, you have to work hard.
   There are maybe 10-20 years you can work at that pace. After that, it’s going to be physically difficult.
   It just depends on what you want in life.