Giraffegirl2013

I'm looking for a job right now and I was wondering what it was like having a job while in early recovery.

Is it best to have a low key job that doesn't threaten to overwhelm or is it best to stay as busy as possible during this time? I'm on Day 42 of sobriety and I'm trying to figure what job is best to take.

Part of me thinks it would be good to have a demanding job (get my mind off of my estranged husband), but I'm also afraid of being overwhelmed and not handling my emotions well enough to be successful at a demanding job. Recovery has been a roller coaster for me, but I have also been unemployed during it and a little timid about entering the workforce.

Has anyone else been through this? What are your opinions on the subject?

Mizzuno

Do you have many options? I dont know what it is like to be choosy in this way.
If you do have options then go for the one with the least stress and gain a solid foundation with your recovery. We all could use less stress recovery or not.

Dee74

I don't think there's any one right answer - some people thrive on challenge and others do not.

I'm not sure what choice the majority of us have with jobs but if you have the choice of the best out of a few options, why not I say

good luck

D

Berrybean

Why not just see what comes up, apply for any that you think you are qualified for and take it from there.

To be honest the things I have always found most stressful about any job has not been the actual work itself. More just the social side of it all. The worst place for that was actually at the job with the least responsibility and task related pressure. In a packing oarehouse shoving stuff in boxes. Thankfully that one was only temping and I was very happy when that stint was over. The second worst was sandwich making in a bakery where there was a really nasty old lady working in the kitchen with me. She pretty much left me alone but was notorious for bullying and when she was in action I found it impossible to watch and eventually gave her a verbal blasting. Afterwards I realised I'd had a knife in my hand and had been waving it around the whole time I'd been going off at her, so no wonder she was uncharacteristically quiet. Oops. I handed my notice in over that. The guy said, please stay, she's only got x number of months til she retires, but I knew I just couldn't hack working with that level of bitchiness. Thing is, there's only one way to find out what a place is like to work for in reality, and that's just to try it out.

For me now, in recovery, I would always prefer to be doing something that involves helping others. At the moment that's in a special needs school, but there are loads of charities I'd love to work for. Also I'd love to work in ministry. For me 'worthwhile' or 'for the sake of good' is more important than whether its stressful or not. If I think something is important, helps others, and is worthwhile then I can always find more energy and enthusiasm to stick with it.

Whatever job you end up taking it doesn't have to be a forever commitment. And we always learn something from any job we try. Unfortunately when we job hunt, a lot of the applications won't even be acknowledged, let alone result in an interview or job offer. I'd suggest laying the procrastination aside and just getting on with those applications. Good luck in your search.

BB

Delilah1

I did not have any option other than to continue working in the job I had while in recovery. My job was high stress, and I needed to find new outlets for addressing the stress. I found that situations that seemed like a giant issue while drinking were not quite as crazy, or maybe it was just that I was able to deal with them differently.

I interviewed for several jobs this past spring, and was offered a great new position which I will be starting in July. I am a few days shy of 18 months sober, and I do not think I would have been in the right state of mind to interview for this position when I first got sober.

D122y

Girr,

Imo...

Are you a homesteader or do you hop around jobs?

No matter what, get a job. I always believed every day we are out of work we are hurting our future retirement potential.

I prefer working in an office environment. I like climate control and staying clean. I prefer to not work sales.

If you have a clean record, no felonies, you might apply for a government job.

They have a decent retirement plan. Working for the city or the feds might not pay as much, it depends, but it is a bit more stable all around in general.

Thanks.

aasharon90

All my jobs ive had before retirement
have been physical ones. Jobs that equired
me to keep moving instead of sitting or
being cooped up.

Id rather be outside feeling the sun, wind,
rain, all the elements that you cant feel
when working and inside job.

Working a physical job where when I
am done I feel physically worn out so
I can sleep better at night.

The most rewarding jobs ive had in
recovery have been raising my children,
working at an HEB store right across
the street from their high school where
I spent a many a days pushing in those
metal baskets from the parking lot.

Not just a few at a time but I'm talking
a sh!t load of them at once. Where I got
the strength to do that, little ole me, I'm
not sure. lol I enjoyed doing that most
of all because it was like them paying me
to exercise and I didn't have to go to the
gym.

Then I cleaned houses/apt. for a few
folks in recovery and that too was a
physical job, yet extremely rewarding,
esp. when I walked into a mess then
transformed their places into a clean
awesome home to return to after their
work.

I did that for others. My service work
that, no it didn't pay a lot, but the physical
and personal work was rewarding and
kept me sober one more day.

Working in a bakery shop and baking
for all my many meeting I went to over
the years was also a rewarding physical
job.

Today, I continue my physical work
by being outside tending to my garden
of paradise in my backyard. The work
I put into it is absolutely rewarding.

August252015

I think this is a great question and I was very fortunate to be able to put the kind of thought into this issue that you are bringing up.

I was VERY sick when I quit drinking - I was given a year, 18 mo to live if I didn't quit- and for the first 5-6 weeks I ONLY focused on starting to get well. My body went through a lot when I quit.

I had help from my parents so I gratefully had this time to start living again. I couldn't "stay home and get well" forever, so I got a job at Chick-Fil-A. For those of you not familiar with this Atlanta-based fast food company, it is Christian based- and operationally really resembles the principles of AA as well. The simple structure, time around people, known start and end of hours (I had been working as a server before, and I do now, again), positive focus on service to others (here, the customers and to each other)....it was perfect.

I had to move on to something that paid much more after about 5 mo sober time, and I have gone back to the restaurant world. That has turned out to be a huge blessing to me and certainly confirms my opinion that we can stay sober in ANY environment, if we choose to and if we want it more than anything else.

Good luck with the job decisions and take care of yourself.

NoahJ

I was very fortunate to keep and return to my job after only taking a few days off for Detox, so I am in favor of work.

For me, my job is a blessing, as it's a variety of tasks from physical to office work, and I mostly get to decide what to do when, including stepping out for meetings/Dr visits.

I would echo the other points people have made. Look for a job that you think fits with your recovery plan and avoids your usual triggers, if you can.

tomsteve

good on ya for gettin into jobhunting, Gg.
i could understand trying to find a low key job, but how are ya gonna learn to live life on lifes terms iffen ya try and shield yourself from things that could cause emotional and mental turmoil?
i was a carpenter for many years. laid off at the time i got sober, but got called back about a month or so in. there WAS a lot of mental and emotional turmoil for a while, but as i practiced what i was learning in AA, that mental and emotional mayhem subsided.

Anna

I think a job could be very helpful in boosting your self-esteem and giving you some satisfaction. Hopefully you won't have to jump right in to an extremely stressful, demanding job.

DontRemember

I was fortunate with my financial circumstances/self-employed when I decided I was 'done'. Although lately, I've been thinking about 'working' again, like I did when I started this company. I'm starting tomorrow morning,at a new job site actually. Going to have to dust off my work boots and trade in my slacks/dress shoes/climate controlled office for some manual labor.. I'm just bored lately and 'idle hands' are not good for alcoholics!