It is not a secret that many people hate their jobs.

For some people, it’s because of their boss or colleagues. For others, it’s because of the perceived lack of work-life balance.

And then there’s also the people who think having a job is like selling your soul to huge, nasty corporations. It’s as if rebelliously hating on having a job or submitting to capitalism makes them look cooler and better.

Regardless of the reasons, the prevalent theme is that the phrase “nine to five” is treated as hell that everyone seems to be looking to escape from– be it through early retirement or turning to entrepreneurship.

The Truth About The Alternative — Being an Entrepreneur

Society has this bias that self-employment or entrepreneurship holds greater glory than working for someone. Although the contributions of entrepreneurs in the economy can’t be disregarded as their companies create jobs for people, this is not to say that they should be held on a pedestal.

Here’s the reality: not everyone has the capacity, the connections, and access to resources, or the drive to become an entrepreneur — and that’s okay!

While many people are led to believe that being self-employed means sitting on a beach in the Maldives, sipping on a cocktail, and working from a laptop, this scenario rarely happens in real life. Most entrepreneurs and self-employed people spend more hours working than regular, full-time employees. Not to mention that taking this route involves higher levels of stress and more significant risks.

If you think you are not cut out for this, an alternative is to build your career working for a company. You might be lured into thinking that it doesn’t sound half as cool as being self-employed.

However, in this article, we will turn our focus on the 10 benefits of having a job that sometimes goes unappreciated.

Top 10 Benefits of Working A 9-to-5 Job

While everyone seems to be trying to avoid having a regular full-time job, there are also many benefits of working a 9-to-5 job that could lead you to think otherwise. Let’s have a look at some of them:

1. You’ll Get a Regular Paycheck

Okay, let’s get real. Unless you are a monk staying in a remote monastery or a hermit living in a cave, you need money.

For many, the main benefit of a job is it provides a steady stream of income. While people may argue that money can’t buy happiness, you’ll see some of the widest smiles from people who have just received their paycheck.

Why? Because money can provide that feeling of stability and security. It makes life easier and is essential in your survival.

By having a job, you will get to pay your mortgage or rent on time, buy groceries to restock your pantry, settle your utility bills, and fulfill your other needs.

As long as you add value to your organization and do your job – you will get paid. I love getting paid. It’s only twice a month – but I look forward to those days with enthusiasm.

Although this should not be your only reason for wanting to work, money can make your life more interesting. Aside from providing for the basic necessities in life, it can also fund the activities and hobbies you genuinely enjoy, such as traveling or photography.

The word “financial independence” has always been delightful to the ears. With regular paychecks as a significant benefit of the job, you will enjoy this delightful treat provided you spend, save, and invest your money wisely.

Unless you have decided to live life as a saint and disown the materialistic world, you need the money, and doing a job helps you generate this valuable necessity of being on regular monthly intervals via a paycheck or salary credited in your bank account.

2. Gives You a Sense of Identity

Have you ever been to a networking event, a business conference, or a simple cocktail party hosted by one of your friends? When meeting people for the first time, the first thing that you’d be asked is usually your name. The next thing they ask is you, “What do you do?”.

So you see, your sense of identity is closely tied to your job. It is an essential factor that shapes your definition of who you are as an individual.

People very rarely ask you about your interests, your hobby, your family, or other things about your personal life right away. Although your job is not an indication of everything about you, it is typically what people are interested to know about you first.

It serves as a starting point of conversation, but it is also a crucial part of you.

If it is nothing extraordinary, you wouldn’t care about living in a bigger city working for a company. If you didn’t care about what you do, you would probably be living in a secluded cabin and enjoying nature (although this is fun to do once in a while).

If you hate your job or your boss, this doesn’t mean that you are stuck. You are not a tree– you don’t have roots that are deeply embedded into the ground.

So if you don’t like where you are, the solution is simple: Move.

It may not be easy to make a significant change in your life, but no one’s ever stuck– people just make excuses. There are countless ways if you’re determined enough, and multiple options out there in today’s job market.

Some dedicated individuals are even willing to change companies and cities just to find a suitable job that they love.

Although this is another main benefit of work, it is essential to note that you shouldn’t let your sense of identity and self-worth revolve solely on your career. If you do, you’re in a lot of trouble, especially in the unfortunate event when your work collapses.

With this, it is essential to find a balance in your life by adopting hobbies and working on other projects that feel self-expressive.

3. Gives You an Intellectual Challenge

Acquiring new knowledge is one of the most fun and enriching parts of life. Not to mention that a healthy dose of the intellectual challenge is good for you.

One of the main benefits of job training and holding a full-time position itself is the constant stimulation of your mind that will allow you to grow.

However, it is important to keep in mind that each job is different. For people who love being challenged cognitively, it is essential to find a role that is not monotonous. Otherwise, you will get bored easily and will tend to go job-hopping.

Also, not everyone is hard-wired this way, and an intellectual challenge is not the main thing that everyone else wants to get out of a job. With this, it may take a while to find a position that will allow you to work with like-minded professionals.

Working in a nine to five with such colleagues fosters a culture that promotes team-based learning. You will be surprised by how much you will learn by being around people with varying levels of experience, diverse sets of backgrounds, and skills who are willing to share what they know.

For instance, you will learn from the wisdom of a seasoned professional with years of practice. At the same time, you will adopt creative approaches and fresh perspectives from a younger peer.

This goes to say that there are things that you can learn from direct personal interaction, which no blog post, online course, webinar, or tutorial can teach you.

So when finding your place in the job market, remember just to be patient. Do your research to determine if the company has a positive culture with a strong set of core values that boost employee morale and promote growth.

With patience and effort, you’ll surely land a job which involves duties that perfectly suit the level of challenge that you want, and allows you to become a part of a work environment that will contribute to your learning.

4. Hone Your Skills and Learn New Ones

Aside from providing an intellectual challenge, another benefit of work experiences is that it helps you upgrade your skills and continuously learn new ones. This is vital for your career as it will act as a stepping stone towards achieving your greater professional and personal goals.

Whether you want to become a jack of all trades with a wide range of competencies or would instead want to master a specific skill set, having a nine to five will allow you to achieve this.

If you work at an organization, you will be provided with all the resources and tools that will allow you to accomplish your tasks.

In many cases, this includes training on using such tools and learning new skills, which may range from technical to administrative. Some companies even train their staff on soft skills such as leadership and persuasive communication.

Usually, employees’ training is a part of an organization’s budget. A certain amount of money and resources are allocated to their employees’ growth. This is because many companies consider their people as their greatest assets.

From their perspective, it is an investment as a well-trained staff can add greater value to the organization. On the other hand, you will benefit as an employee because you learn new skills at someone else’s cost.

If you have the means, you can always return to school to get another degree in the hopes of learning everything you need to know to function well in the real world. However, this is rarely the case. Textbook learning can only take you so far.

The reality is that not everything you need to succeed in your profession or reach your career goals is taught in school. Doing an actual job helps you attain practical knowledge and skills in your particular field of interest.

When you have a job, you are forced to learn new things. This is good as it helps you grow as an individual and increases your marketability. By having various marketable skills, you will have higher chances of getting a higher-paying job.

Meanwhile, if your longer-term goal or ambition is to establish your tech startup, a restaurant, or any other business, working for various companies can serve as a good training ground. By working for someone, you will have a better idea of what is involved in the day-to-day running of such businesses.

As part of an organization, you will get an inside scoop about the pros and cons of different business models or strategies that you will encounter. With this, when you choose one day to strike out on your own, you can draw from these past work experiences and develop your approach.

5. Chance to Meet New People

Even in a remote work setup, you will get to meet new people if you have a job. It gives you the chance to foster new relationships and friendships with people you otherwise would not have met.

Most people (including myself) stay confined to their peer groups or friends. Unless and until we are forced to get out there and interact with new people, we don’t have the motivation to do it.

However, when you get employed for a job, you will have to interact with all sorts of individuals and expand your horizons. You will meet people with different personalities, backgrounds, and skillsets that will add spice to your life in different ways.

While some have a lot of opportunities to form friendships through their hobbies or groups of friends, others mainly get along well with people in the same field of work, as they share a lot of things in common, including everyday experiences.

For many people, their closest friends are the ones whom they have met at work. This is because you spend a significant portion of your day at work, and you get to interact with them regularly. In a way, your work friends will feel like your tribe.

6. Allows You to Gain Access to a Work Community

You are not expected to be close friends with everyone from your company. There are even some cases wherein you will be surrounded by professionals who can make you feel intimidated.

Despite this, the advantage is that you will learn a lot not only in terms of performing your job but also in the ways of the trade from these people in the workplace.

As you climb the corporate ladder, you will get to grow your professional network and build connections that you can benefit from in the long run. Besides serving as an excellent platform for networking, your workplace can allow you to practice your social, communication, and people skills.

7. Helps You Understand Yourself and the World Better

As mentioned earlier, your job is closely tied to your sense of identity. When you work for a company and get assigned to different projects and roles, you will learn more about yourself.

For instance, a socially awkward person wouldn’t expect himself to enjoy leading a project as it involves collaborating closely with different team members. However, when the boss who sees and believes in his potential assigned him to spearhead the project, he will have no choice but to step up and take on the role.

Until that person started performing the duties of a leader, he wouldn’t know that he enjoys being in charge and has innate leadership skills that resulted in projecting success.

Additionally, having a nine to five puts you in close interaction with professionals and allows you to encounter situations that can help you understand the world better. You will be exposed to different (sometimes opposing) views, thinking styles, ways of getting things done, and behavioral approaches that you can take as learning experiences.

This more in-depth understanding of yourself, other people, and the world can help you in other aspects of your life outside work.

8. Ensures Work-Life Balance

There is a wrong notion that owning a business or being self-employed gives you more freedom.

Have you ever seen those stories of entrepreneurs who travel the world, sit on the beach with their laptops, and rake in millions without putting in much effort? Although few do this, the reality is that not everyone who tries their luck on entrepreneurship gets to experience this.

If you think being an entrepreneur means you have more free time, you are in for some real shock. I have owned a business, and I noticed I had to work longer hours to make ends meet (forget about enjoying the beach). And there are countless times I found myself staying up all night thinking about making money to pay my bills. And that did not last long.

I have a lot of respect for entrepreneurs – they have shaped the world. Their companies create jobs that help communities and the economy. However, the cold hard truth is that not everyone is wired to be self-employed. Sorry to burst your bubble – that is just the reality.

On the contrary, having a job provides you with a more structured life. You will be required to work a set number of hours a week and get your days off. You can then spend that time doing what you genuinely enjoy and gives you satisfaction.

9. Gives Your Life a Greater Meaning and Purpose

Although this might sound odd, having a job gives you that deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

Sometimes, it may seem like other people’s jobs are more meaningful than yours. However, it is essential to remember that no matter what your job is, what you do is necessary and can contribute to the public good.

When you do your job, it will feel like you are fulfilling a purpose, and it does affect someone else’s life, be it in a small or big way.

Also, a company’s success is always a result of collective effort and not just the big bosses’ works. If you didn’t turn in that critical report on time, they would not be able to craft that kickass proposal supported by accurate data from your reports, and your company will not close that massive deal with your client.

So you see, you are adding value to the organization. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting there on that desk.

From a much broader perspective, you contribute to the greater good as part of your paycheck goes to taxes. The government then uses the taxpayers’ money to invest in social services and your community in the form of schools, roads, and other infrastructure.

The rest of the money you spend on clothes, food, rent, travel, among other things will benefit others by giving them jobs– and this is how the economy keeps moving.

10. Health Benefits of Being Employed

As long as your work conditions are fair and the nature of your job isn’t risky or life-threatening, you will enjoy the various health benefits of working.

Employment is good for your mental health as it allows you to meet people, boosts your self-esteem, and gives you a sense of purpose and identity. The thought of contributing to something bigger than yourself can make you feel happy and fulfilled with your life.

In terms of physical health, getting a steady paycheck will prevent you from falling into debt and save you from the stress of trying to make ends meet. Stress has major health implications, and people who have satisfying jobs in a healthy workplace are less likely to develop such stress-related illnesses.

There is Pride in Working a 9-to-5

Although full-time jobs get a bad rap in society, it is impossible to discount the financial benefits of having a job. As you think about the future and how you want your retirement to look, this career path can’t be ruled out.

Beyond money, it is also important to emphasize that there are non-monetary advantages of being employed, which can enrich your life. For instance, the benefits of job satisfaction that you get from fulfilling nine to five can enhance your life satisfaction and overall well-being.

And then there’s the benefit of job training in boosting your personal and professional growth.

No matter what profession you choose, always keep in mind that every job is important and contributes to keeping the economy afloat.

So before you let yourself become influenced by society and the media that a regular job makes you dull, think twice, and review this list of the benefits of working.