Why you hate work
By TRISOFT team
“What do you do?” — this is a question that comes up within the first ten minutes of meeting someone. Work defines us as people, and we want the answer to be something impressive, remarkable and maybe a bit exciting too.
But what if you are almost embarrassed to open your mouth and respond? What could be happening deep inside? Do you dislike your job, even hate it, or is there something less serious at play?
It’s just a bad day, not a bad life
The first thing you need to do is assess the situation. Take a deep breath. Do you really hate your job or are you just going through a difficult period? Most people don’t resent everything about the job, but rather have a problem with a specific part of it. Do you like what you do, but realise you’re involved with a company that is heading toward bankruptcy, are you surrounded by toxic managers and coworkers, has the workload increased and the deadlines shortened?
Get to know exactly what is getting on your nerves, so that you can make a change afterwards. Is there something you can do about it? Maybe you can make things more bearable: transfer to another team or department, change shifts, work for a promotion. If you find that nothing will improve the situation, you can eventually change your job and workplace, but be sure that’s what you want and need.
Not the only one
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called everybody, and they meet at the bar.” — comedian Drew Carey
In studies conducted across the world, results have shown that the proportion of employees who actually like their jobs is only 13 percent. For the rest, work is an exhausting, unbearable experience, which often leads to depression and burnout.
The leaders of organisations and companies are aware that if their employees feel more valued, focused, determined and energised, they will undoubtedly perform better, yet they don’t seem to do anything in this regard. A truly human-oriented organisation has to put its people first, since they are the key to creating long-term value. One option would be to reward those managers and leaders who exhibit empathy, kindness and care, and hold accountable those who rely on fear and punishment to obtain results, while creating a toxic environment. Surveys have shown that one in two people have left at least one workplace to get away from a terrible manager, who was making their life a living hell.
However, we mustn’t forget that while it is the boss’ job to support, supervise and encourage us, it is surely not his duty to read our minds, therefore we must express our concerns, complaints and grievances and work together toward solving them — it’s a tough conversation, but it can lead to life-changing results.
Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life
Most people don’t feel satisfied with their career choices, because they are focused on all the wrong things. Seeking prestige, admiration and money is not the path toward job satisfaction. Pursuing a profession simply because the salary is good or your parents directed you toward this domain ever since you were little will prove to be the wrong choice.
The purpose is to love the process as well, not only the results: actually doing the work, rather than earning the money, success, title, etc. Search for something that brings you happiness, inner peace and satisfaction, and you will be halfway on the path toward personal and professional fulfilment.
We work to live, not live to work
Staying in a bad situation for too long can lead to burnout, especially if we’re talking about such an important part of someone’s life as their career, and it may be time to move on.
If you feel like there is no room for growth in your company, there is too much office gossip or complaining, you are undervalued and underpaid, people around you seem to be randomly getting fired, the job description has changed, it means you are working in a negative and unstable environment and something must change, for your own mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.
If absolutely every Sunday night, you dread the beginning of a new work week, if you seem to be having a lot of physical pains lately (loss of appetite, problems sleeping, aches), you find it difficult to concentrate, you don’t have any time or energy left for hobbies or unrelated activities, you aren’t as efficient as you used to be, your job doesn’t get you excited anymore, and you seem to have taken up new vices (smoking, drinking, binge eating), you might be on your way toward a serious depression, which will affect every other aspect of your life. Get ahead of things and change something!
Back up plans
“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one” — Oscar Wilde
If you have assessed the situation thoroughly and have decided that you must go down a different career path, try to take things slowly. Don’t quit right away, without having a back-up plan or researching future opportunities. After all, you don’t want to be jumping from the fire pan straight into the fire.
So try to be careful who you vent and complain to: don’t do it with colleagues in the office, at lunch or even on social media, as word can get around and you might find yourself fired before you’ve had the chance to prepare.
What do you see ahead?
All in all, you must know that the main reasons why people seem to leave companies are: the salary, benefits, job security, stress in the workplace, a long commute to the office, no flexibility with regard to the work schedule, they’ve reached the top of the professional ladder or they feel unappreciated by colleagues or their manager.
If many of these sound familiar to you, you might want to consider ways to improve your career or even change it.
At TRISOFT, we believe in bringing commitment, passion, enthusiasm, focus and energy to the workplace. We strive to promote an environment that supports, encourages and empowers employees, thus ensuring that they like every bit of the job they do.
