This week's article is going to be a little different. I pose a question to my readers, what should be the deciding factor's when taking a job? Money? Career? Opportunity?

The reason for bringing up this topic is I had an interview yesterday through a recruiter for a company that dealt with collections for cable companies. Now, prior to this, I had been warned by a couple of friends about the company, which I shall leave unnamed.

After I heard that this was the company that was looking for hires I was immediately turned off. In my own defense, I had my personal life to think about. Life outside of work and how being a "hate receptionist" would factor into that. No disrespect to the special people that can work those kinds of jobs.

As far as the most of you know, I'm a mom and a student at SNHU online. Plus, I write for the Odyssey, and currently, I'm going through the process of getting approved for bariatric surgery. My schedule is a mess, but of course, that would all change if I took a job.

I asked myself yesterday after I got home if I did the right thing; turning down a job that was offered? I mean, this is the first job that I have EVER turned down, and my reason was for the stress factor alone. I would be sitting for 8 hours a day listening to customers griping about them being in collections. I've been one of those callers, so I know exactly how it is.

My point being, I don't think that I could handle the extra added stress to go along with everything else on my plate. Should I feel guilty for wanting to take care of my mental health? I don't think so.

To my readers, is this something that you consider when looking for work? Is one's mental health a factor? If not, how do you keep yourself from being burned out a month or so into the job?

I have worked for call centers in the past and some of the clients you take calls for can be difficult, if not very challenging. It takes a special kind of person to stay in that field of work for long amounts of time.

Other fields of work can be just as grueling but to take being berated over the phone for 8 hours is a little much. It damages your self-esteem and makes for stressful work not only that, but their policies can be a little too strict such as, they don't allow cell phones on the premises. I'm a mom, I must have access to my phone for my child's sake.

At this point I have to think about the emotional stress that work would cause me, yes, it's good for mothers to work but I don't think that applies to the job causing problems outside of work. So, in searching for a job/ career do you take your mental health into account or is the money or opportunity motivation enough?