For a certain percentage of the population, going to work derives the same level of pleasure as does dropping bowling balls on one’s own feet. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the wrong job, you know that the misery of it permeates your whole life, not just your working hours. Being unhappy at work can take its toll on your health, your relationships, and your future.
When you complain or try to improve things at work, you might even get the glib advice to quit and go work somewhere else if you’re so unhappy.
There are a lot of reasons we feel unable to follow this advice:
- Our qualifications level isn’t high, so if we quit this job, we’ll just have to take some crummy job somewhere else, so what’s the difference? Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know, right?
- There’s no time to look for another job. It’s too difficult to get time off to go to interviews. And it’s impossible to quit unless another job is lined up, because we can’t afford the gap in our income, nor the uncertainty.
- We feel as though we’ve made a commitment. There’s a sense of camaraderie among our fellow sufferers. We can’t just walk out on them.
- We feel as though quitting is “giving in.” Quitters never win. Winners never quit.
Therefore, we feel trapped. And when you’re in a job you don’t like, it’s many times worse to feel trapped in it.
The first step is to know you’re not trapped. Countless numbers of people have risen from the lowest ranks of the employment world into lucrative and rewarding professions. If it’s possible for them, it’s possible for you. Notice I didn’t say that it’s easy. But it is possible.
The second step is to own the situation. You can’t change the fact that your boss is a jerk or that the work is uncomfortable or that the pay is abysmal. But you can face the fact that you are the one who filled out the application and signed on, and you can also be the one to choose to leave. Again, not easy, perhaps, but within your power. Or you can also choose to change yourself. Become a better worker. Focus on the positive.
The third step is to make a decision. Living day to day, agonizing over whether you should quit or not, or fretting that you have no choice, is very wearisome. It wastes time and energy that you could be directing towards improving your situation. Make the decision to work towards something you would like better, or to stay and make the best of the situation. After all, things change. Bosses leave, work conditions change, and so on.
When you’re working in a job you hate, it’s tempting to get fed up and quit out of the blue. It’s fun to think through the drama of the situation. Won’t the boss be surprised? Won’t it be wonderful how the department would be left in the lurch, and wouldn’t it just serve them right?
However, I caution you against making any rash moves like this. Sure, it’s gratifying for the moment. (I know it – I’ve done it. It was exhilarating, but then I was hungry for about a week.)
Besides, when you’re stuck in a bad situation, it’s hard to see your situation objectively. It’s tempting to fly the coop and take any other job, just to get out of your current one. It’s also tempting to fall for those get-rich-quick schemes you see all over the internet. I urge you to recognize that you might not be in the most rational state right now, and recognize this when you have the urge to do anything foolhardy.
Before you make a move, consider what you’d rather be doing. Your next job change might not take you there, but it might take you a bit closer. And it’s a little easier to go to work if you know that your experiences are at least pointing you in the right direction.
