DO YOU HATE YOUR JOB?

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling like you just cannot get out of the bed?  Not because you are tired.  Not because you are tucked cozily underneath your covers. No no.  Because you dread going to a job you dislike.

courtesy of indulgy.com

The more I talk to women about their jobs, the more I hear the word “Ugh!”.  I don’t know what the percentage is but it seems as if a lot of women are not very satisfied with what they are currently doing.  Several factors can cause these feelings, according to Dr. Katharine Brooks, executive director of the office of personal and career development at Wake Forest University and author of "You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career.” There might be a conflict between your interests and the duties of the position; the job might be too demanding or not demanding enough; lack of training for position; lack of job security; you may have a poor relationship with co-workers or a supervisor; you might be poorly compensated; you might be in bad or unsafe working conditions; or you’re burnt out.”

Why would anyone want to get out of their comfortable bed to go to a job feeling like that?? 

courtesy of thesite.org 

A lot of us feel this way. Why?  Because we kind of have to.  Bills must be paid. People often stay in these jobs because they don’t realize what else they can do and what ends up happening is they fall into a rut.  A rut that you feel there is no way out of.  After all it’s all about stability and security, oh and pure comfort, that keeps us at these jobs we don’t like so much. 

Do you remember my post the other day about burning bras? LOL.  Do you think we feel this way because really we should be home raising our children and pouring ourselves into them? 

Well…I don’t know about y’all, but my job is my getaway from the kiddies!  It’s Ok to admit it. I ain shame!  It’s probably your escape to. Don’t lie.  Yes the stress is there.  And yes I work hard (most times) when at work.  BUT somehow it’s not the same as two screaming children in your ear, pulling on our leg, asking for this and that….non-stop…non….stop!

As much as I would love to be a stay at home mom….at the same time, I know me.  I know what I can take from what I cannot.  And trust me a full day…EVERY, SINGLE, DAY?  With these children??…HA…not going happen.  And as I mentioned in my previous post…I need a child-sitter AND a housekeeper.  I ain playin’! LOL

So, back to the point; maybe it’s just that we never took the time out to figure out what makes us happy or figure out exactly what our talents are.

I understand we all have circumstances that don’t allow us to do the things we would like to do.  There is time and of course financial obligations; that is a big one. Hello mortgage! Geesh!

But what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?  What are you desires? What are your dreams?  Where is your passion?

 

I’m here to encourage you, you can do it! Whatever it is you wish to do.  You can.  It’s easy to feel stuck in the “box”.  It’s easy to be scared.  But this is your well-being we’re talking about! (I am writing this post for myself just as much as I am for you!)

We want to be happy. Not stuck in jobs we don’t like so much that take up the majority of our lives!  Now, I’m not telling anyone to leave their jobs.  Next thing you know I’m receiving a bunch of e-mails saying yada yada yada…you told me to do it!  Nuh uh!

So here’s what you do. I stumbled on a few tips from a Forbes magazine article titled “What to do if you hate your job” written by Jacquelyn Smith. 

Here are a few of them...

courtesy of quickmeme.com

1. You assess yourself.  Figure out how it is that you got to this feeling.  Is it a new feeling?  Have you always felt this way? Is it that you simply cannot deal with some of your coworkers/supervisor? Is it the tasks you are asked to do? Do you dislike the environment? Make a pros and cons list and what you would like in a job.

2. Figure out if it’s you or the job you’re unhappy with.  Determine whether the things you’re unhappy with have to do with you, or the job.   This should help you figure out if moving is the right move. 

3. Talk to your direct report. Let your boss know.  There may be ways you can improve the situation, Brook says.

4. Set your career goals.  Where do you want to be in the next five years.  Brooks asks, “will your current role help you get there? If not, what would? And how can you move toward that?” These questions tend to put things into perspective for you.

5.  Look for opportunities within the company that you can see yourself doing. Maybe there are other positions within the company that you may be interested in.  Involve yourself with projects or initiatives in the company that would make you happy helping to improve the working experience.

6.  Don’t take it out on others. It’s never OK to be miserable on the job and treat your colleagues and clients unfavorably.  No one likes a miserable gus.

So with that said…

Whatever your desires, whatever you wish to do, you can do it!  Get out there, figure it out AND JUST DO IT!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” - Henry David Thoreau 

Signed, 

Following my dreams, Candilaria

courtesy of liz-green.com