Whether you’re new to the world of work or you’re evaluating your career, you might be wondering is full time work hard? Additionally, you might be oblivious to how working a full-time job can impact on your pocket, your development and the true cost of working the 9 – 5. A full-time job is the most sought-after type of employment. But full-time roles may not suit everyone. Let’s see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be!
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Is full time work hard?
The below table highlights the key advantages and disadvantages of full time employment.
| Full-Time Work Advantages | Full-Time Work Disadvantages |
| Higher pay rate than on part-time job | Lower flexibility to choose work hours and days |
| Full holiday entitlements | Increases risk of burnout and working excess hours |
| Full benefits entitlement | Poorer work life balance |
| Develops and maintain skills | Requires more childcare |
| Career development is easier | More commuting than part-time work |
Taking up full time work can be a difficult choice as you can see from above. On the surface, it sounds as if you’ll earn more. But could a full-time job cost you money? More importantly, could it introduce a risk of burnout and negative health conditions? With busier schedules and burnout becoming an epidemic, let’s evaluate the pros and cons of full time workto see if it’s really worth it.
Recent studies have shown that workers are approximately 12% more productive when they are happy. Source
Full-Time Work Is Hard If:
You don’t enjoy the job
Spending 8 hours plus in a job you dislike can make it an extremely long day. You may experience a decline in your mental health and only feel as if you’re living for the weekend.
If you don’t enjoy your job, it’s likely that your performance will be negatively impacted too. You may even do the bare minimum in terms of work and hours just to make the cut.
Tip: Working fewer hours or days means you can spend less on food, treats and coffees.
You get poorly paid
The world of work isn’t a calling for everybody. Some people merely work to earn a wage. If that wage happens to be low or unsatisfactory, it can demotivate staff and make them dislike their job even more.
The average hourly rate for a full-time worker in an average job is around $29.81 – $33.77. An average annual salary equates to $44,888.
The hard part about working on a low salary is the effects on your personal life. Lower wages means that your standard of living is probably lower and you have to be more careful of your spending habits.
It also means that paying for bills, mortgages or children can be rather challenging which can result in stress and anxiety.
You work long work hours
A full-time job equates to anywhere from 30 – 60 hours a week. Working overtime may also be an expectation for your role. This is particularly evident if you are in a managerial role or wish to progress in your career and want to make an impression.
Working a full-time job leaves less time for attending to family, exercising, hobbies and chores. Therefore, you may feel as if you’re always on and have little time for rest and leisure.
While everyone is entitled to take time off, you may not feel as if this is enough. Furthermore, people who have a low holiday allowance or no paid holidays may not get much time off in the year.
Holiday entitlements for casual workers, freelancers and self-employed are at the cost of the worker as opposed to being paid leave. Therefore, you may end up taking less holidays than the average person.
Working full time can be made easier with the introduction of:
- 4-day work week
- Annualized hours
- Unlimited holidays
Of course, the cream of the crop is to work on an unlimited holidays schedule. With this model, you get to pick how many paid holidays you take in the year!
Related: Annualized Hours Explained – Helpful Tips & How It Works!
The work is intense or difficult to complete
Work typically falls into 2 categories, physical labor and mental labor. Both types of work can exhaust you. This will be further exacerbated if the work you are performing is intense or something you find difficult.
Such scenarios often prevail when a person is working on a project or new to a role that they are unfamiliar with.
If the work is physically or mentally exhausting and you don’t have enough breaks to rest, you can be left fatigued and drained at the end of the day or week.
This in turn impacts on your personal life as you’re less energized to do things.
Tip: Taking regular breaks helps to minimize fatigue from your work.
You have difficult work colleagues or clients
Working in a department or with people you don’t like or get along with makes the role more challenging in itself. By that same token, if you have difficult clients, you may dread working with them too.
We have all encountered people we don’t enjoy working with. Whether it’s down to a clash of personalities, they are harassing or bullying you or they are simply making the work more difficult.
While you can try to avoid these people, it’s not always possible and this can have a huge impact on your feelings towards work. In some cases, I have heard of people leaving a job due to one person.
Having a full-time role offers you more time to maintain and develop your skills. Particularly when compared with a part-time worker or casual worker who often doesn’t work for as many hours.
Related: Casual Work v Part Time – 6 Remarkable Differences!
You have a long commute
Commuting is an accepted evil for many people. It’s not uncommon for people to spend 3 hours commuting to and from work. If commuting involves driving for that amount of time, and in traffic, it can add to your frustrating.
It also makes for a much longer workday and if you haven’t the option to work from home occasionally, it can drain you and your pocket.
Commuting 1 less day each week could equate to a $900 annual saving!
Some companies allow you to use your commuting time for working if you’re travelling distances by the likes of a train or bus.
However, that is often not possible if you drive to work, or your company doesn’t allow it.
Tip: The Federal Bike Commuter Benefit can offer bikers $81/month in pre-tax benefits taxes by cycling to work.
The work is mundane or boring
While it often won’t be the worst complaint out of the list, it certainly has an impact on how you perceive your job and how satisfied you are. Having a job where you’re bored off your brain, can make for a very long day.
This can be common in shops or bars where there’s little business and quiet periods.
By the same token, working on a packaging line where you’re completing the exact same task day in, day out can also be tiring and boring.
It can also lead to repetitive strain injuries, but that’s another topic for another day…
Research has shown that staff who are stimulated and slightly challenged are more engaged and have a higher job satisfaction than those in a dull, mundane job.
Full-Time Work Is Easier If:
You enjoy the work
We all complain occasionally about our job and there will always be people, processes or tasks that we don’t enjoy. That said, for the most part, many people enjoy their work.
This employee satisfaction level is prevalent in people who:
- Have a good work life balance
- Feel respected in their role
- Have an opinion that is valued in their workplace
- Don’t feel stressed
- Are paid fairly
- Enjoy the people they work with
Additionally, working for a good company who treats them well and provides benefits contributes to job satisfaction.
Related: 4 Day Work Week V 5 Day – Full Of Surprising Facts & Results
You have a good work life balance
Having a good work life balance has been reported by a Hudson study as the single most important thing a job seeker is looking for in a new job. If you can achieve this while also working a full-time job, then you will be much more satisfied personally and professionally.
According to the OECD, in the US, women clock up 243.2 minutes a day or 28.4 hours a week completing non-paid work, e.g., household chores. In comparison, men were recorded as completing 150.2 minutes a day or 17.5 hours a week.
Having a flexible working policy such as annualized hours along with a good holiday allowance and reasonable work hours are all factors that are conductive to achieve a good balance in your personal and professional life.
The compressed work week, such as the highly sought after 4 day work week, is another work model which allows full time staff to complete their work in a shorter week. This equates to fewer working hours and more time to spend doing as you wish.
Related: Part Time Work Pros And Cons – The Ultimate Cheat Sheet!
You enjoy the people and company you work for
The title speaks for itself here. If there’s a good vibe in a company, you enjoy the people and the culture, then it can be the fundamental difference between staying and leaving a job.
Even something as simple as swapping the department that you work for can change your satisfaction levels. How often do you hear at a going-away event that the leaver says they’ll miss the people?
If it’s quite often, then it’s a credit to the place.
A positive culture involves a myriad of concepts and is something that is built over time. Examples include:
- Good benefits and fair pay
- Rewarding and recognizing staff efforts
- Enabling a work life balance
- A culture where everyone can safely voice their opinion
- Honesty and communication
- Opportunities for socializing and team bonding
Encouraging such traits in a business is often a leading factor in employee retention. As people become more concerned about a balanced lifestyle, merely paying staff more is no longer having such a strong hold on them.
Related: Casual Work v Full Time – A Guide & Which Pays You More?
Conclusion
How challenging or easy a full-time job will be dependent on the job itself, your personal circumstances and your perception of the role.
If you are someone who is highly career driven and motivated to climb the corporate ladder, a full-time job may not feel like hard work.
But if you’re someone who works to earn a living, you dislike your job or you have a family to look after, then working full time may not be for you.
Fortunately, full time work isn’t the only career option. If you would like to further enhance your knowledge on alternatives to full time work, then you’re in luck…
Here are some other useful articles I wrote that you should go check out:
- Casual Work v Part Time – 6 Remarkable Differences!
- Is Full Time Work Worth It? – 10 Pros & Cons!
- Full Time Job V Freelance – Surprising Benefits of Both!
- 4 Day Work Week V 5 Day – Full Of Surprising Facts & Results
- How Unlimited Holidays Work – An Insider Guide + FAQs!
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- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (link on Amazon)
- Top quality L-shaped desks with lifetime warranty and free shipping (link on OfficeFurniture2Go)
- CoolMesh Pro Multi-Function Chair (link on OfficeFurniture2Go)
