Job causing depression - can't afford to quit

[jslou67]

My job is becoming more and more detrimental to my mental and emotional well-being. I apply for new ones every week, but haven't had an interview yet. The main problem is that I work full-time (37.5 hours per week), but 90% of the time I have absolutely nothing to do--and for someone with ADD, that's pure torture. I've asked for more tasks, but all I ever get is something that may take me a few minutes to a couple hours to complete--and that's about once a month, or twice if I'm lucky. I've been here 2.5 years now, only because I can't afford to quit, esp. with the current economy, due to debts I'm paying off and having someone else who depends on me. Plus, the benefits here are better than anywhere else (it's a university), and I definitely need the medical coverage for my medications.

Any suggestions on how best to cope in a situation like this?

I do know I need to revamp my resume. Have any of you had any luck with skills-based or functional resumes? Given my work history, I believe that type would be best for me.

[Davies]

I signed up for this forum specifically to answer this post, so I hope you're still around here somewhere.

If you're experiencing symptoms of depression – not just unhappy, but depressed – please think further and deeper than just getting another job: the job itself may not be the problem, and moving to a new job can entail a host of emotions and problems that it's easy to overlook when all you want is a way out. I speak from experience here; you may be get more than you bargain for.

If you're experiencing anything like over or under sleeping; lethargy or persistently low energy levels; difficulty in concentrating or making decisions; loss of interest in activities you'd normally enjoy; and a persistent low mood, feelings of hopelessness or despair, then consider talking to your doctor. Failing that, at least talk to a close friend or family member, or even PM me… whatever you feel comfortable with.

[jslou67]

I know all about depression, since I've been through many cycles over the years. But the reason my job depresses me is because 90% of the 40 hours a week I'm there, I have nothing to do. And I'm the kind of person who needs to stay busy. With that kind of daily unending boredom, I can't help but go from extreme restlessness to depression. Some days I can handle it better than others, if I bring something from home to work on, but I don't always have something, so I end up just surfing the Web all day--which gets very tiresome and tedious after awhile. I've talked with my boss about needing more to do, and even with our HR director. But nothing has helped. I put in for other jobs every week, but am usually competing with at least 150 other applicants (both on-campus and off), so I haven't had any prospects. Sigh...it's very frustrating.

[guile42]

Originally Posted by jslou67

I know all about depression, since I've been through many cycles over the years. But the reason my job depresses me is because 90% of the 40 hours a week I'm there, I have nothing to do. And I'm the kind of person who needs to stay busy. With that kind of daily unending boredom, I can't help but go from extreme restlessness to depression. Some days I can handle it better than others, if I bring something from home to work on, but I don't always have something, so I end up just surfing the Web all day--which gets very tiresome and tedious after awhile. I've talked with my boss about needing more to do, and even with our HR director. But nothing has helped. I put in for other jobs every week, but am usually competing with at least 150 other applicants (both on-campus and off), so I haven't had any prospects. Sigh...it's very frustrating.

you are lucky enough to be depressed with your lite work activities, somehow i feel the same too here in our work, i just make myself busy not surfin on the net but finding ways on how to earn profit on the net. Maybe we are not the same but you will really get busy once you earn while surfing.

[Rosendo_Gonzalez]

Hi,

A few quick questions:

- to feel satisfied, do you need to have interaction with others, or do you find that activity that involves working alone is adequate, or even preferable?
- what kind of work do you bring from home to work on?
- even if you were kept busy at your present work, is there another kind of job you would rather be doing?