Anyone ever worked in "Corporate America" and felt like they were "living the dream? (Page 2)

worked for big retailers in London - about 16 years at Marks and Spencer - an institution of a company - best place i ever worked.  I never realised it at the time - they really looked after us, at the time we had free dental, hairdressing, podiatry - bonuses, shares all sorts of perks!

and they paid well.  I now live and work in Australia - currently in a small family company which is great.  Worked for one big corporate company - they were AWFUL!

I always think M&S staff look particular satisfied in their jobs and they clearly only hire the best so well done on spending that long there.   I bet having them on your CV opens a lot of other doors in retailers around the world.  I've studies M&S a lot, they're an open company with a fascinating history who have reinvented themselves several times.  Will be interesting to see how they do it again into the digital age of clothes shopping.  

I'm looking out of my window now at a snow covered back garden thinking a bit of Australian sun would go down nicely!

Yes thanks for sharing.

I'm in corporate America and I really do enjoy my job.

That's sounds like the start to some work based addiction meeting....

Honestly though, I really do enjoy my job, I look forward to the work day, I moan about it sometimes, but when I sit at the end of the year for the appraisal cycle, I mean it when I say I enjoy working where I do and doing what I do.

I enjoy working with and leading my team, I enjoy working with and learning from my boss.  I am challenged daily in my role, I am challenged in the mid and long term to step outside of my comfort zone and as a result I see growth.  I like that!

I am fortunate, whilst the demands of the job mean I put in long hours, I have a drive for balance, I am afforded the opportunity to do a lot of things outside of the work environment because of the job I have.  From spontaneous weekends away with the family, to flying back to the UK to compete in a race, these things cost time and money.

I spend time and effort doing things outside of the office that also force me to disengage from work, I coach youth soccer, I take my kids horse riding, swimming and every now and then I will get a date night with my incredibly supportive wife.

There are a couple of things I think make a difference in why I enjoy my job.

1. I don't let it consume me, my priorities are my wife and children, always will be.

2. I feel like I make a difference in the workplace.

3. Even though some days I will put in that 18 hour day, other days I will run 8 miles at lunch, leave early and coach soccer for my sons team, all in the same day.  I try to find balance.

Thanks, Kate and Kate

I don't usually open up, especially on here. I know it's easy to lose perspective when there's so much pressure to keep reaching for that brass ring. It's just sad to see how my industry has lost it's way. But that's a different discussion.

I never really felt like I was "living the dream" until my husband and I both quit our corporate jobs to start our own businesses.

I worked for Texas big oil for a few years as an engineer, and I've never been so miserable in my life. After that, I moved back to Colorado and did environmental work, which was a lot better because I felt like I had a purpose and I was working on something I cared about. But I never really loved what I was doing, and when I got pregnant with my first kid I thought really long and hard about what I wanted to model for my children someday - did I want them to think they should be miserable at work just to make a big paycheck? So I quit when I had my daughter and became a painter (artist). It's about as far from a corporate job as it gets, but I love it. Do I make the same $ I made as an engineer? No. But my schedule is totally flexible and my job takes me to some really cool places, and I get to make money doing something I love.

My husband also quit his corporate gig when we had our first kid, and started his own homebuilding business. Everybody thought we were kind of nuts for quitting our "stable" jobs right when we decided to have kids, but I wouldn't change it for the world. That was 2006 and since then the economy has gone in the tank and we've seen tons of our corporate friends struggle with layoffs and pay cuts. Building a homebuilding business and selling paintings (hello, luxury item!) in this economy hasn't been easy, but that's what's cool about it. We feel like we're finally in charge. If things aren't going well, we work harder, or try to work smarter - we're not dependant on someone else to make the big decisions. And if we want to take off and go for a bike ride in the middle of a beautiful afternoon, we can

I found this to be the case working for a nonprofit (my last job). Except I never got a raise (the opposite, they actually threatened to REDUCE my pay) and when I took my corporate job my pay increased by about 50% overnight.

Just for you then....

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I want to work for you!  I have no experience in your field at all.  Will this be an issue?

Creating an environment and company that people WANT to be in should be the goal goal of a boss.  At least I think so.  Attracting the top talent and good workers is so much more than just pay.  Many people, me included at the moment, work for a company because it's simply a job that gives us enough money to do other things that make us forget about our job.  I'd take less for a better environment in a heart beat, but I haven't found one yet.