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So, you come home from work and you let loose on your spouse or significant other. You spray venom and complain about everything from their hair to the shoes that have been at the door for 5 weeks. You don’t want to eat. You turn on the news and get mad at the anchor for reporting sad stories. You can’t seem to find any satisfaction in your day. You’re not sure why you feel this way but it turns out that the root of it all may be your job.

My job??  What about my job??

You hate it.  You can’t stand being there.  You grit through it every day but all it does is drive up your blood pressure.  Hmmm, why would any one go through that?  Well, pays the bills.  But, what is that worth to you?  Well, let’s start by looking at some reasons why you hate your job:

1.  You suck at it!
OK. You can be mad at me all you want. Go ahead. Tell me that my statement is not politically correct, harsh, dismissive or even disrespectful.  That may all be correct.  Or it may not be.  What it is, though, is true.  You hate it because you are not very good at it.  You are not meant to be in finance.  You are not meant to be a manager.  You are not meant to work in a hospital.  At one time, you thought you wanted to be a doctor, but now you hate and the reality is, the only reason you haven’t been fired is due to crazy office politics.  You know how to work the system a bit.

What To Do: This is very straightforward.  Quit.  Don’t do it anymore.  Really.  Stop it!  OK, yes, I get that you have bills to pay.  So, make preparations.  Take a career test.  Look up a college or continuing education course.  Talk to a counselor.  Ask about shadowing someone at another company.  Take a vacation day or two and then explore some other opportunities.  Seriously!  Do it!  You are making yourself and everyone else around you totally miserable.  Get outta there!

 

2.  You work too late!
There are some jobs where you have to meet deadlines and need to stay late. But there are some places where its just expected that you always work until o-dark-hundred! You might convince yourself for a little while that it is necessary to get ahead. But, you absolutely need to weigh the benefits. Well, you really only need to check one area really. Your feelings. You hate it! What else is there? If you hate it, why are you working late again? Oh yeah, those pesky doggone bills!

What to Do: This one is a bit more challenging.  This may call for a decision on your part.  Is it worth it for you to buck the “culture” in that particular environment?  Is this a company that is based on results (do they only really care about you getting your job done on time) or are they more concerned about seeing you physically there for as many hours as possible?  Does that really happen?  Yes, it absolutely does.  My wife can tell you!  Figuring this out will be helpful in determining where to go.  Ask a senior employee and then ask your manager about their ultimate concern.  You may be able to plan you week better if you create a list or targets for the week up front.  Some things may change but you can plan ahead.  You may need to compromise a bit if the job is a critical part of your success.  You may need to cop to a couple of late nights.  But, the reality is that you need balance.  You need family time.  You need social time.  You need alone time.  There is really no healthy way to sacrifice that.

 

3. You’re bored
You’re not challenged. You’re doing the same things over and over again and you have mastered them. You might even be to the point where you screw up intentionally sometimes JUST so you’ll have something to do. Ughhh!  You might even feel like there is no room for growth based on the fact that you have been bored all this time and no one has recognized your need for challenge.  You’re considering something drastic to get attention, like setting your desk on fire…….(I do not endorse or recommend that action.  This is my legal statement)

What To Do: You’re going to have to take the bull by the horns here.  You can either tell your boss/supervisor/person-who-tells-you-what-to-do that you need a bit more challenge or you can simply take it upon yourself to find something new and offer to do it.  Some people take on a non-essential job responsibility like suggesting and planning an event.  You can take on organizing a charity giving event.  You can organize an office gift swap.  Organize an office party or social event (the appropriate kind, please).  You have a whole lot of ways that you can WIN here.  Be creative.

 

4. Communication issues with your boss
Everyone has a different way of communicating. In some cases, those methods don’t mesh cohesively with everyone. For some reason, the way that you boss communicates doesn’t work for you…..to say the least. They tell you things on a need to know basis, which is fine except for the fact that by the time they tell you, you usually have other things going on. They don’t have a company vision or five-year plan. They micro-manage. They don’t tell the transparent truth about company dealings. I could go on, but you can also get more info here.

What To Do: Well, it’s always a difficult to say what to do when the BOSS is the issue.  You may or may not be able to help.  It really depends on your level of fear.  Yeah, YOUR level of fear.  On one hand, you COULD shoot the boss an email saying, “hey, can we chat honestly for a moment.”  This could possibly lead to an unpleasant confrontation if not done right.  Another option is to discretely place a copy of How To Be A Great Boss in their inbox or print out an article, like this one, and, again discretely, place it on their desk.  Your other option is also…..uhhh, just leave.  Of course, if your conversations don’t go so well or the boss finds out that you are the one who left the book, then the leaving might not be just a voluntary OPTION.

 

5. You’ve been there too long and it’s just time
Now, this doesn’t connect with everyone. Some people just love longevity and that is absolutely fine. But, I definitely believe that each of us, without new challenges or new enthusiasm, plateaus after a while. For some people, that is just fine. They are cool with this. Some people work really hard and then after a while they just want to ride the wave. When I was a teacher, there was a particular teacher that I knew who was ridiculously bored and didn’t even FAKE like he wanted to teach anything new. He was just riding the wave to retirement. Being at the school was more of a social visit than an actual workday. It was a reason to get out of the house and visit with friends. Now, that might be a bad example because I can’t really say that he HATED his job. But, that might be your case.

What To Do: This one is pretty straightforward.  Make a plan and then exit the premises as soon as you can….well, at least if you care about being productive and happy.  If hatred is more your speed, then it’s ok to hang around.

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