Are you working like a slave? Think about it, as harsh as it may seem. A slave can be described as “someone who works hard, in bad conditions, and for low pay.” So, now answer the question. 

If you work in a place where they rely on you to handle a myriad of responsibilities for only a fraction of what that job position is actually worth, if the job begins to depress you because the base pay is not really adequate enough for you to survive, and you have little hope of getting a raise, if your employer puffs the deal with promises of a bonus that results in only a pittance after all the deductions, if your employer openly states that they don’t want to offer you the benefit of a day off or allow you to take a vacation day before you’ve put in at least one hundred and eighty days of hard work in a stale environment and the stench of it all makes you sick to your stomach, if your employer sounds like this, then you might be a slave. But, you might also be one of the millions of us out there who will work very hard for any employer regardless of who they are because you take pride in your job position no matter where it falls on the flow chart, you might be one of those people who know how to make every paycheck work for their maximum benefit despite the minimum pay, and there are those of us who make the workplace as enjoyable as possible by way of our joyful interactions with other workers making any condition feasible.

If you take a detour on your career plan by way of taking on an hourly job, then take it with a sense of adventure. Once I was on my way from San Jose to LA and I came upon a major detour caused by a forest fire. The alternate route was an off-road journey to remember. Road trips lead me to super-interesting people, historic places and some really, really, great food finds like fresh lobster sold from the roadside to bushels of fruit and vegetables colorfully displayed beneath a worn wooden sign.

So, what if you’re one of those good, hard-working people working for a bad employer? You might have to fire the boss! Resigning from a bad position can be the best decision (notice, I didn’t say “quit”) by putting an end to the misery and starting anew.