I Hate My Job – Get Me Out Of Here!

I can’t tell you how many people I know who’ve come back from the Christmas break with the same realisation – they hate, REALLY HATE, their job!!

Perhaps there’s just a plethora of unethical organisations, unfulfilling jobs and hopeless bosses right now. Or perhaps it’s because we often need to step outside of something in order to get a different perspective – and a good holiday provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on how happy or unhappy we’ve become in our once dream job.

So before you dust off your CV, draft your resignation letter and plot your revenge on the boss from hell, take some time to really take stock of your current situation, and where you’re at in your career:

  • What are the good parts about your job?
  • What are you getting out of it right now?
  • What are the opportunities open to you if you stay?
  • What are the down-sides, and what can you do to influence these?

If you decide that the negatives really do outweigh the positives, and that leaving is the best (or indeed only) option, don’ just throw in the towel. If you do, you risk damaging your own health and well-being, as well as your reputation and possibly your future job prospects. It will be to your advantage in the long run if you remain as positive and productive as you can while you look for alternative work, so here’s a few tips to help:

  1. Choose your attitude – at the start if each day make a conscious decision to be positive towards others, grateful for what you have and hopeful about the future (you might need a clever way to remind yourself at key times during the day)
  2. Maintain your own standards of performance and behaviour – keep doing a good job, even if others are not
  3. Don’t feed the negativity around you – restrain the need to dump your issues on your colleagues, and don’t get caught up in other people’s whinging
  4. Remember emotions are contagious – when you’re miserable, frustrated or angry at work, this affects people around you – their negativity then impacts on you, and this can quickly turn the work environment toxic.

Unless you’re lucky, a new job won’t just appear before you, so if you hate you’re job, take some time to plan a good exit. That means staying positive and productive in your current role, and planning what you need to do to find something more fulfilling. If you need some ideas, get some advice or support from a career coach, a trusted mentor, your EAP or HR team. If you’ve reached the tipping point of dissatisfaction, make sure you take some constructive action before you end up making things worse for yourself and your colleagues.

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