This article is written by Rebecca McFarland, Career Coach and Director of Pop Your Career, a Career Money Life Certified Supplier. You can read the original article here.
Do you wake up in the morning and dread going to work? Are your Sunday nights spent feeling stressed and anxious about the impending week? Do you wish you could be somewhere else…. anywhere else than at your workplace?
If this sounds like you, then you need to read on. I am telling you now in no uncertain terms. Living that life is no way to live. Holding onto so much negativity, anxiety and dread towards your job is not doing you any favours. It is both physically and mentally unhealthy for you to feel so battered and defeated by your role.
You might be thinking that it is time to look for another job? Well, maybe. But before you jump ship, you might want to consider how your own mindset and negative self-talk have exacerbated your current situation. I am not suggesting this will be an easy task, but let’s work together to help you fall back in love with your day job.
WHERE DO I START?
Most people in your shoes would be straight onto the internet looking for another job, but as I mentioned, your circumstances might be affected by your own mindset, which means that a career change might not resolve the underlying issue. This is why I suggest we work on your mindset first, uncovering the positive aspects of your current role and looking for opportunities to appreciate what you have.
In this post, I am issuing you with three very important lessons to work through, to rekindle your passion and make a considerable change to the dialogue that is running through your head currently on your way to work. Please, work through each of these lessons with intention and celebrate all of your wins, as even small moments of positivity can impact on your job satisfaction.
LESSON 1: THE WORK I DO HAS MEANING AND PURPOSE
Lesson 1 is all about finding the positives in your role and your workplace. What is it that you do? Who are you helping? How are you providing value to individuals, your organisation or your community? How does your role fit into the broader equation? What would happen if your role didn’t exist?
Almost every role has a positive. Let me show you:
- As a Real Estate Agent, you are helping families to find and secure their dream homes, where they can grow old together, creating and sharing memories.
- As a Retail Assistant, you are providing individuals with advice and support, and empowering them to make important purchasing decisions.
- As a Marketing Manager, you are giving businesses the tools to use their products and services in story-telling and engagement with their customers.
- As a Garbage Collector, you are providing a service to your community by facilitating a cleaner environment and you are allowing your neighbours to spend more time with their families instead of having to dispose of their own rubbish.
- As a Data Entry Officer, you are helping your organisation to collate and evaluate data so that they can conduct research, service their customers better and increase their profits, which in turn provides more job opportunities for people just like you.
By turning your role on its head and considering the positives, you are actively changing your mindset. Remind yourself of the meaning and purpose in your role on a regular basis and congratulate yourself for the impact you are making every time you go to work.
LESSON 2: I WORK WITH AN AMAZING GROUP OF PEOPLE
Do you have strong relationships with the people you work with? Now I know that not every place of employment has a brilliant team culture, but I also believe that things are what you make of them. If you don’t already have relationships with your colleagues, you should think about how this could develop. Have you deliberately prevented relationships from building with your workmates? Do you need to give your colleagues a chance? Are there any barriers that you could overcome? What simple acts could you do to reduce these barriers?
Sometimes planning a team morning tea or after work social function is all it takes to get closer to the people you work with, but here are a few other ideas to help you connect with people in your workplace:
- Identify your team mates’ strengths and ask them for help. “Hey Bob, I notice that you are really confident in creating pivot tables in Excel. This is something I am struggling with. Any chance you’d be willing to give me a lesson?”
- Offer to help your team mates when they are behind. “Hey Jolene, I heard you mention in the team meeting that you are under the pump. I’d love to give you a hand to get back on track!”
- Lift your colleagues to lift your team and organisation. Does your organisation have a reward and recognition program? Maybe you can nominate one of your colleagues for an award, or send an email to your manager recognising the hard work that your work mate has put in on a specific project?
- Pass on some very specific, positive feedback. “Hey Sue-Ellen, I saw your presentation and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I was particularly impressed with the worksheets you created – they were really helpful in understanding the subject matter!”
You spend more time with the people you work with than you do with your own family, so it is time to buckle down and make things work. You might find that your working relationships turn into unexpected friendships and this can make going to work a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience.
LESSON 3: MY JOB HELPS ME TO SUCCEED IN OTHER AREAS IN MY LIFE
In this lesson, you need to start thinking about how your job impacts on your broader life. Does your pay packet support your family and allow you to put food on the table or take your loved ones on vacation? Perhaps your role offers you the flexibility to pick your children up from school, to further your education through a formal study program or maybe your supervisor allows you to work from home on occasion? Are you gaining lucrative experience that will help you to achieve your long term career goals?
By thinking about the positive consequences your role creates in your home life, you will most likely be reminded that your role is not quite as bad as it seems, and even though it might not be your long term career dream, it could be a valuable stepping stone to help you get where you want to go. Think about what your life would be like if you didn’t have your job… I’d be willing to guess that you are better off with your job than without it!
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Well, my hope is that throughout this period of rediscovery, you will fall back in love with your role and have a new sense of job satisfaction. But obviously this is not always the case.
When you are struggling to feel love for your job, I would strongly encourage you to revisit these three lessons and remind yourself of the positives. You might try journaling or writing down your responses so that you can revert back to them when you need to bring things back to the positive. Sometimes the slightest change in your own mentality can lift the cloud of disappointment, frustration or unhappiness.
If you have worked through the three lessons above and you still aren’t able to lift your mood, it might be time to consider a change. In that case, use these points to evaluate possible job opportunities to ensure that you don’t move into another role where you will suffer the same fate.
If you are unhappy with your career or unsure of what’s next for you, take the first step. Career Money Life has an amazing range of career coaches who can help you discover the joy in your job or find a career that you love. Contact us to learn more.
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