It’s a Monday at 9am, you get into your office (maybe is not 9am, more like 9:30ish…)you get to your workstation, set up you stuff, go to the break room, make a coffee, get a snack maybe, go back to your desk, see the list of tasks you need to do, then your boss interrupts you, adds more stuff to your list, leave and now you are stressed out for all the stuff you have to do and so little time!
You need to finish that by the next day! No one explained how to do it but you need to do it. they seem to only think of what they want but never asked you about you so you start questioning why are you there? The company don't seem to appreciate your efforts, there are definitely other companies that will do and pay more! You start thinking of one of your friends that told you that they make 10K more than you working only 4 days a week! You feel undervalued, you feel you are not making an impact in this company, you are not inspired to come to work anymore, you start watching the clock every few minutes to wait for the work day to finish.
Suddenly its 4:45pm, you start getting ready to leave, close all windows in your computer, start thinking about your evening plans, watching Netflix? Maybe just go home and chill? while trying to look busy for the last 5 minutes and as soon as the clock hits 5:00pm you leave for the day!
Sounds familiar?
After more than 5 years working as an HR manager and volunteering in a non-profit that helps professionals find jobs, I’ve heard this story many times, I myself have gone through this process and I’ve unfortunately have seen signs of this in some people in my team at work.
I have listened to many of my friends complaining about their current job situation, but for some reason they stay in that same company for months or even years and every time when I aske them how is it going? they just reply “It’s fine, it pays the bills”… a little sad no?
So, as an HR manager I have simplified what for me are the 3 options we have when we don't like our job, so here we go:
Define what exactly you don't like, write it down, come up with one or two possible solutions, get all the courage you have and schedule a meeting with your boss or supervisor to talk about it. That simple but very hard to do… Why? Because it requires action and facing the reality that you dont like and that you choose everyday to ignore by looking at the other side but that is only hurting you and crushing your soul every second you stay on it, is time to face it and change it so you can grow and a person and enjoy the work balance life that you know you deserve.
2. Write down the pros and cons of staying at your jobjob, andand if the pros are more thatn the cons, then choose to stay gladly and happy, maybe the communication is bad but the commute is convenient for you, or the company has good perks that you enjoy, or they just want you to work 40hrs a week and you have time to do other things afterwards without stressing out and havig to to stay late, etc.
Think of the good things you have there and at the end maybe is not so bad, if so, then do your best with what you have to do your job and when they come to you and ask you something that usually upset you, do it gladly because thanks to that company you can have those good things you listed and that made you choose to stay working there and since it’s YOUR CHOICE to stay, do every assignment with the best possible mood you can!
3. Leave. That simple, if you are not willing to face your situation or to take time to write down what you like and make a choice to happily stay, then why are you staying? There are many companies hiring all the time, for sure you can find one that fits your expectations. So wish good luck to your current company and leave.
Now, those are the 3 options we have when we don’t like our job, please nore that any of those 3 options is: “Stay where you are and complain everyday”; we need to pick one of the 3. I understand some people have major responsibilities and can’t just leave their job right away, well…then isn’t this job you hate giving you the change to take care of those responsibilities? Great, that’s option 2, YOU are choosing to stay, so stay in a good mood!
If we do this, if we can see our job situation that way, we can start taking responsibility for our situation and change it for the good of us and everyone around us!
As a manager I can assure that there is nothing worse than an employee with a bad energy going around the office with a terrible attitude but that is not able to put in words their frustration and when we ask them if anything is wrong (because they have usually lowered their performance) they just answer: “No, all is good” and keep their sad days going. Sad for them and sad for everyone around them, since an upset employee is like a vibe of not so good energy that infects others around them and at the end affect the whole wellbeing of the company.
So next time we start feeling that we don't like our job anymore, why not trying any of these 3 options and escape having that feeling of bad days have due to our “bad” job? It’s all and only on us to change it.
Good luck!