Former accountant Karren explains how she quit a job she hated

LEAVING work at 2:30am during Christmas party season was the last straw for Karren. She quit her 60 hour a week job and has never looked back.

Karren said quitting her job in the finance industry was the scariest and best thing she ever did. Picture: Supplied.

FOR anyone who's ever hated their job, the daily commute to work might feel like this: an inmate on death row heading to the electric chair for a crime they didn't commit.

This was the punishing sentiment I faced going into my corporate accounting job each morning (and every other weekend).

I despised fervently not only the work itself but also the working conditions. I averaged 60 hours on a good week but the end of month deadlines exacerbated this. No one in this lean team went home until every single cent the company was owed was tabulated to perfection. There was no support or sympathy from my manager we were each working three people's jobs. It pained to the core to analyse the company's ballooning profits because they could easily afford to hire more resources - many times over.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said the key to his success was to arrive at work early, be the last to leave, eat lunch at your desk, take minimal vacation and if possible, do your best to "hold it in."

Evidently this advice works. Just look at the Bloomberg empire. This was my unfortunate daily reality, only I wasn't trying to build an empire. It was a normal day's work. I didn't delay my toilet breaks by pure choice, I was simply too busy to go.

On the rare occasions I left work and the sun was still dimly lit, I felt alive. Some nights we weren't provided a cab charge voucher and God forbid we should ask for dinner. Perhaps the biggest slap in the face was performance review time when I was reprimanded for my mediocre performance and how inefficient I had become. I was therefore not entitled to a pay rise or bonus that year.

For years I feared I would never land another job, I functioned mechanically like an android. When a mortgage is prime financial responsibility, bills need to be paid routinely and a certain lifestyle needs to be maintained, the mere thought of leaving becomes a paralysing paradox. It's difficult to walk away when this is all you've known for so long.

No other aspect of my life was dedicated that much time, energy, effort and magnitude. What's regrettable is the amount of unpaid overtime could have been circumvented to something else worthwhile - more time with family and friends, exercise or even volunteer work.

The 2013 Australia Institute report found Australians contribute an equivalent of $110 billion of unpaid overtime to their employers. What has the world come to when our affluent employers become our biggest charity case?

The lowest point dawned when one month we finished at 2.30am. My manager and I strained for a taxi dangerously aware it was almost time for changeover. It was also Christmas party season. One hour later, we shared the back seat of one taxi that drove her home first. Conversation dribbled. It was at this space and time I realised what an absurdity my chosen career path was reduced to. The term "chosen career" taunted as cruel irony. To be fully cognisant you're in a job that you hate but would continue to do until retirement or until the job itself might kill you. And I chose to be there.

One month later I resigned without another job to support me. It was the scariest and best thing I ever did.

The greatest encouragement anyone who wants to change careers can give themselves is the mere thought of mortality. Every morning for 33 years, Steve Jobs looked in the mirror and asked himself, "If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"

For many the answer is "No".

Then Jobs advises, "You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for work as it is for your lovers."

Do you work in a job you hate? Share your experiences in the comments below or continue the conversation on Twitter @newscomauHQ

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