I HATE My Job! Now What?

Okay, you hate your job – you have now joined the ranks of millions of employees around the world who wake up every day dreading going to work. These people seek a life that is free from the daily drudgery and toiling in a position that is life draining while providing them with no sense of accomplishment. And to make things worse, we usually surround ourselves with like-minded people who are energy vampires.

These are people who constantly complain about everything from the cafeteria food to their pay increase. Most of the time these people also are complaining about the rest of their lives (see a pattern here - alot of people complain about everything).

Some poor souls come home feeling drained after work and have no energy to do anything else at the end of the day. Their lack of energy and sometimes lack of purpose spills over into other areas of their life. We spend a lot of time at work and often, tie in who we are with what we do as employees.

Okay, now that we know you hate your job, what are you going to do about it? Most people, including me in the past, will just sit in one spot on a job we hate and continuously complain day in & day out about how bad it is. We spend all day complaining about the organization and our boss. Or we may be in management complaining about our employees and how the senior leadership in the company has set a poor strategic direction. If you fall into this category, hopefully you have a purposeful life outside of your job, otherwise if your life outside of work exists in the same realm as your job, you are at risk for just existing and not living an abundant life.

However, if you want to experience a more robust work life that is more fulfilling and life giving, there are two other options you can exercise that will assist you. These two options are working at improving your existing situation or looking for another job. These options require effort on your part to make a change.

One key point here, before any change can occur you have to want to make a change. Change occurs as a result of an internal decision to alter your compass to a different direction. The decision does not take energy at this point, it just requires a thought process that is willing to allow a different perspective to formulate within your mind. This mental shift allows us to see possibilities that we previously did not think about in our old way of thinking. This decision to change is sometimes hard and may require help from a career coach, friend or family member. Often, others see more of our potential then we can see within ourselves. However you get there, making the decision to make things better is paramount.

Okay, so now you have made the decision to make things better on your job or find another one, what is the next step?

If you plan on staying at your current job, you either have to change internally, change something externally or a combination of both. Internal changes can be as simple as a change in perspective. You may realize that you are working for a federal agency that finances healthcare for older citizens and lower income children. Rather than looking at your job as mundane, you realize it is an important piece of the organization that will allow it to be successful and help those children and older adults. In this case, you become mission driven.

Externally, you may seek another role in your organization or alter your existing role slightly to more closely align with your interests. Sometimes, we are bored at work and simply need to change our routine so doing a different task will sometimes alleviate that boredom. Another thing to do if you have decided to stay at your organization is to get out of your cube/office frequently and participate in employee events or sponsored activities. One of the most boring jobs I had in my entire life became interesting when I started playing sports and cards after work with some of the guys in the office. It built comradeship, gave me something to look forward to after work and helped me build friendships that were not based on just work.

Now, if you decide to leave your current role for another one, I would give you one piece advice before I go further. My advice is to make sure you are going to a position that is pulling you to it versus just running away from a job you hate. If you are just running away from a job you hate without thinking through your next steps and what you really would like to do, you may find yourself back in a similar position of hating your job.

My advice to you when changing jobs, aside from above, is to take some time to really dwell on what you seek in employment. Things such as job duties, commute, organizational culture and the like all should be thought about before making that move. As you think through what is important to you, just take your time to marinate on those thoughts and not be quick to move. As you really start to gain a clear idea of what you want, then you can begin a search for positions which meet your specifications.

There is a lot which can be written about the job search, but that is beyond the scope of this article. However, a successful job search usually has multiple channels of search including using your professional network including executive recruiters, talking to friends and searching the internet. Also, setting up informational interviews at organizations of interest can be of great value.

As you have read this article, I hope you have seen that change is possible and you don’t have to suffer another day in a position you hate. Your days can be filled with a sense of purpose and accomplishment as you go through your work day. Remember, you have control over this situation and changing it all begins with you.

Dave