Do You Hate Your Job? Really?

According to Deloitte’s recent Shift Index survey, 80% of people are actually dissatisfied with their job. They hate going to work most days. If you’re reading this article I guess that includes You.

What a way to live - I should know, because I was in that situation for the best part of a decade.

I felt like I had no options, like I was trapped. And even if I did find another job I’d be worse off. This sucked all the enjoyment out of my work and I spent my days watching the clock whilst juggling 101 urgent things that needed to be done.

I also fell into the trap of hardly ever getting away from it - and even when I did take a holiday, I felt obligated to stay in contact whilst I was away. Crazy I know - but I bet this happens to a lot of people.

Were you as shocked as me by the 80% statistic I mentioned above? I might have been one of them once, but I was seriously surprised by how high that figure was. It might go a long way to explain why as a nation, we’re more unhappy now than we were 20 years ago but what we have to remember is there is a way out. You can choose to be one of the 20 %. That might mean getting another job or it might mean looking at the one you already have in a different way.

Be assured, you do have opportunities – probably staring you in the face - I’m going to help you identify them. And believe me when I say you can live the lifestyle that you want. It’ll mean making some changes, but as hard and as uncomfortable as they may seem – they sure beat where you are, and how you’re feeling right now.

Mind Over Matter
When I reflect on my time running a busy print factory, the overwhelming memory is of feeling stuck. I thought about my predicament all the time, running hopeless scenarios over and over in my head which all ended with me being in some sort of financial Armageddon.

I complained. I cursed and I continued on the hamster wheel of thinking the same thoughts and hitting the same imagined barriers of fear and doubt. It was only when I started thinking about my situation differently that I was able to step off the wheel and take a truly objective look at my options. And that was a momentous day.

Are You Engaged?
A lot of large employers are quite obsessed with ‘employee engagement’. They measure it and set targets for how engaged their people are in the belief that an engaged employee is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_engagement

So the good news is that many companies are actively going out of their way to engage you. They want you to feel good about your work and will likely be trying to do something to make that happen. Whether they’re succeeding is another matter, but knowing that the intention is there is at least a start.

According to a recent business survey here are the top two reasons an employee ‘feels‘ engaged with their company:

#1 The extent to which employees believed that their
senior management had a sincere interest in
their well-being.

#2 The extent to which employees believed that they
had improved their skills and capabilities over the
previous year.

So, whether you are a manager, leader or an employee of your company this gives us a useful first clue to understanding what most people (including us) want from a job.

If you can’t say yes to either of the two points above, bring it to your manager’s attention. If your company has a target around employee engagement, then they’ll want to know when things aren’t working. And just like you, your manager will no doubt be grateful for someone offering up a solution. The old saying ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’ is pertinent in the workplace as much as anywhere else.
Try to engage your colleagues in this process and you may well find you become a lot more fulfilled at work.

If none of that inspires you or doesn’t work when you try it, read on, it may well be that you have to change your job or at least change the company you work for.

But first, ask yourself this question:

Have I Got Less Working Years Ahead Or Behind Me?

I read a blog post by Stephen Edwards recently and this line in it inspired the question above: “The truth is I have probably lived more days than I’m going to live.“ Wow! That focuses the mind, right?

We’ve all heard of Peak Oil – it’s the point when we have burned more oil than is left in the ground, we’ve gone past the halfway mark – there’s less left than what we’ve used. Trouble is, we’re using it faster every day so it won’t last as long as we’ve been using it already.

This is much like life – it goes faster the more we live it. The older we get the quicker it goes! The big question is – what are you going to do with what’s left?

Nobody knows how much time they have, so let’s make each and every day a step towards who we really are and who we really want to be. Let’s show the world our unique selves, let’s offer the gift of ourselves to everyone.

If you’re a man of 38 or more, you’re probably halfway through your life - shocking right? The same if you’re a woman of 40 or more. I don’t say that to depress you but rather to spur you on to consider what you want the rest of your life to be like - work or otherwise.

And that is largely down to what you DO.

Every day is a new opportunity to change your mindset and change your life.

“All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that’s been given you.”
~ Gandalf (Lord of the Rings)

SUMMARY

Before you start thinking of quitting your present job identify if your dissatisfaction stems from your lack of engagement. A lot of companies these days, big and small, understand the importance of engaging their employees. If yours is one of them they may well address some of the issues that make your job less than satisfying. Talk to colleagues about ways to engage more effectively - solutions to most problems often start with ourselves.

If you are approaching or maybe past the middle of your life - get focussed on whether what you are doing for a living is even fulfilling to you. Any change starts with a shift in Mindset.