Pros and Cons of Working a Full-Time Job (Is 9 to 5 for You?)

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Working a regular day job is not for everyone. A lot of people find success in it. However, there’s also a significant amount of people who are miserable in it. At the end of the day, it depends on your circumstances, preferred lifestyle, and overall goals in life – may it be short-term or long-term.

If you are in the process of deciding whether or not the day job route is for you, you’ve come to the right place. Below are several factors you might want to consider in choosing your path. This is not an exhaustive list but it covers most of the things you can expect from holding a regular 9 to 5 gig, why they exist, and their advantages and disadvantages. 

Disclaimer: companies vary in many different ways, shapes, and forms in terms of how they operate and do their business. Below are typical standard practices.

INCOME

We’re starting with this one since this is the most obvious.

Pros.

Holding a day job means having a steady source of income. It’s a tried and tested way of earning a living. You work, you get paid. It’s a straightforward transaction. Your income is regular, you know when to expect it, you know how much to expect, and it pays the bills. No worries about tomorrow, unless you get fired.

Cons:

However, it also means that your income is not scalable. A day job is an active source of income. This means you are being paid by the number of hours you work. And since your hours are limited, so does your income. The only way for you to increase your income here is to either get a promotion or find a higher-paying job.

HOURS

Speaking of hours. The standard practice if you’re a full-time employee is to work 40 hours a week. You get a couple of quick breaks during your shift. Outside of that, employers provide a variety of paid time offs like vacation, sick, and holidays. 

Pros.

Schedules are typically fixed, or at least provided in advance. This fixed schedule allows you to plan your day, week, month, or even year. You get to budget your time offs and slate your vacations. Outside of work, you can also pursue other projects like hobbies, entrepreneurship, or other interests. If you are good at time management, hours may not be a concern.

Cons:

This means a lack of flexibility and spontaneity. If there’s a short notice invite or a spur-of-the-moment desire to travel, it’s likely not going to happen. It could still be possible, depending on the nature of your job or how cool your boss/company is. Generally speaking though, vacations need to be pre-approved. And “pre” is subjective because, in some places, a day or two of notice is fine. In other places, you need a week – which could be a complete bummer. Most office hours also coincide with government agencies’ hours so if you need to renew that driver’s license, you might need to use your vacation time.

HAVING A BOSS

This one could be a blessing or a disaster – depending on what type of boss you get.

Pros.

Your boss could be your mentor, your trainer, or your coach. Having a boss could mean having someone to guide you, point out your areas for improvement, and help you professionally grow. And these professional relationships sometimes grow into beautiful friendships.

Cons:

On the flip side, reporting to a boss could also mean being subjected to someone you don’t professionally or personally agree with on a daily basis. Which is hard considering you work 40 hours a week. Being told what to do, how to do it and everything in between by someone you’re not excited to see every day is enough reason to think twice about employment. 

WORKPLACE CULTURE

Perhaps the number one thing an employee should be considering in choosing a company. Workplace culture is the combination of values, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, methods of doing things, and other unspoken rules that a group of people shares in a workplace. 

Pros.

If you’re in a workplace that compliments your non-negotiables, then you’ve hit the jackpot. As they always say, “we are the average of the five people we spend the most of our time with”. So if your company culture promotes good leadership, integrity, continuous learning, respect and inclusiveness, social responsibility, and work-life integration, then you are most likely surrounded by people who observe these values. And then you get to carry these values with you outside of the workplace – which can bring an enormous amount of benefit to your personal life. 

Cons:

Quite the opposite, you can also bring toxic energy from your workplace into your home and personal relationships. This could mean stress, relationship issues, lack of boundaries between work and personal life, health problems, and bad habits.

STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT

Businesses would want to survive and one way to survive is to make things in the workplace predictable. They want things predictable to have some sense of foresight. They want foresight so that things are manageable. And when things are manageable, it’s easier to do business and scale. And how else to make things more predictable than by putting structures around people, systems are processes.

Pros.

That same sense of foresight, predictability, and manageability is also applicable to employees as an advantage. Structures set the expectations clearly, define the rules of engagement, and eliminate ambiguity. Structure gives you an idea of how your day is going to look like – which allows you to manage your resources like your time and energy. It’s easier to detect a problem too when there’s a structure in place because outliers or non-routine activities automatically stand out. 

Cons:

Structures could be limiting. There’s a good chance of feeling like you’re in a box with not enough empowerment to decide, experiment or make mistakes. It can stifle creativity as well. It can also be frustrating when it’s the very structure that restrains you from reaching your best potential. 

RULES

Another somewhat related topic to structure but this one is more geared toward people’s behavior. 

Pros.

I see this as everyone’s protection. You know how to conduct yourself in the workplace and you know what you’re supposed to expect from your co-workers. And if there’s a breach, you know your rights and you know your next steps. If you have no problem following rules, then you should be fine. It’s perhaps just a matter of choosing an industry or company with rules that better suit your personality.

Cons:

Rules can be outdated and some of them might not even make sense at all. However, in most of my experience, what aggravates (or gives rules a bad name) are the people implementing them. Some leaders could be too by-the-book, some couldn’t care less, and some are reasonable. And these inconsistencies are what create conflicts amongst teams. 

POSSIBLE ROUTINE WORK

And I say possible because there’s now a great number of day jobs that do not necessarily mean 100% repetitive work. This will depend on the role you pick. Say if you’re a job recruiter, then expect to be doing heavy routines of sourcing, interviewing, writing up recommendations, and scheduling. But if you’re in organizing events, then every day could feel different.

Pros.

If you’re a creature of habit, then this one is good news. Routines could be satisfying for some people. If it’s a task you enjoy doing, then maybe it doesn’t matter if it’s routine. This only means getting paid for doing something you love over and over again. Also, routine work is usually in place for people to gain expertise. As you move up, you’ll notice that routine tasks are getting replaced with varied / project-based work.

Cons:

If you’re not into repetitive work, then you might need to think twice. Entry-level work is most of the time repetitive. It can dull you after a while, and instead of gaining expertise, you can become complacent instead. 

Here are some other Pros and Cons of holding a day job:

Pros:

• Career Growth
• Medical, Retirement, Insurance benefits
• Training
• Access to top-of-the-line systems and technologies
• Industry knowledge
• Company discounts
• Working with talented people
• Networking
• Learning a wide array of skills: productivity, time management, project management, etc.

Cons:

If you need more, check out my other post: 9 Practical Reasons to Keep Your Job

If by the end of it, you choose to give the 9 to 5 grind a chance, here are some tips to be successful.

Otherwise, you can pursue other sources of income that better suit you. You may do part-time jobs, pursue a business, or pick up passive sources of income.

In summary, like what I always say, a job is a tool. It serves a purpose and we choose what that purpose is, and how we want it served to us. We should feel empowered to choose our path regardless of social expectations or external pressures. Our health and overall well-being should be our utmost priority. So all the best of luck, and thank you for being an ally!

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