All the signs are there…
You hate your job!
Hating your job is not a good place to be. On the contrary, some days diving right into the middle of hell sounds like more fun than going to work.
I get that… I have been where you are.
However, if you can’t just jump right off your job tomorrow, no matter how hopeless the situation might feel, there is always a way (or ways) to improve your situation if you take your time and play things smart.
But how could you possibly do that?
Well, here are 8 Things You Can Do If You Hate Your Job.
1 • Find Out Why You Hate Your Job
The first thing that you need to do if you hate your job is finding out why you actually hate it.
Knowing why you hate your job won’t improve the situation by itself but it will help you determine what you need to do in order to improve it.
For example, if you hate your job because your manager is unworthy of being called a human being, but your company pays well and on time, then you could always consider applying for other job positions within your current company.
On the other hand, many people enjoy their work but hate their employer. In that case, it might be a good idea to start looking for similar opportunities elsewhere. A bad employer can ruin even the most exciting and fun jobs.
As per CareerAddict, sometimes the reason behind hating your job might not even be the job at all but rather you. For example, if you’ve always wanted to be a chef but you’ve spent the last three years as an actuary “because it pays better”, then the root of your unhappiness shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
If this is your case, you should seriously start considering what you really want in life, do your research, and find out ways to make it happen even if that means enrolling in classes and seminars, reading books, sharpening specific skills, etc.
2 • What Do You Really Want to Do?
Most of those who hate their jobs want a way out, but they have no idea what they want to do with their lives (and no, not working ever again is not an option except if the idea of going homeless feels compelling to you).
However, if you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never get there.
This is exactly what happened to me. I was so desperate of leaving my job that I was ready to grab the very first opportunity out of there. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and I didn’t really care. I just wanted to get out of my current job ASAP.
Things wouldn’t work out this way though.
Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new”!
But how can you build something if you don’t even know what to build right?
So, I asked myself, “What the fuck do you really want to build?”
The answer didn’t come right away but it eventually did. And once I was crystal clear about what I wanted, my life became so much easier. I felt immense amounts of pressure taken off my shoulders.
Now that I know what I want, all I have to do is find out how to go and get it.
3 • Make a Plan
So, now that you know what you want to do, all you have to do is find out how to actually do it.
Maybe you want to find another job or maybe you’d like to start a side hustle just like me and patiently phase out your current job. Maybe you just want to quit and rest for a couple of months before you start looking for another job or maybe you want to attend some seminars and take some classes in order to upgrade your resume and be able to apply for a more fulfilling position at the same or another company.
Whatever the case, you need a plan.
For example, if you want to find another job similar to yours here is a plan off the top of my head
- Research about ways to improve your resume (1 hour a day for 1 week)
- Start improving your resume (1 hour a day for 2 weeks)
- Look at job listings and bookmark your favorites (1 hour daily)
- Start sending your resume (1 hour daily)
It doesn’t have to be the greatest plan in the world. A lousy plan will do as well. My plan was actually awful.
- Had an online business in place for a few months
- Calculated how much time it would take for this online business to start bringing in money
- Saved money for about 6-8 months
- Got demoted to a part-time worker, which means that I cut my salary in half while having bills and rent to pay, in order to be able to invest more time and energy towards developing my online business
Spend 1-2 weeks to plan your “gameplay”. Don’t try to make your plan perfect because you’ll be wasting your precious time. You can always improve on your plan later on.
4 • Keep Taking Consistent Action
Okay, let’s assume that you have figured out what you really want and that you have a plan already in place.
Now what?
Well, now you have to start taking action. But acting once or twice is not going to get you anywhere any time soon.
In order to increase the likelihood of reaching your goal, you have to make sure that you stick with your plan, keep your eye on the target and never stop acting.
Keep improving your resume, keep going to interviews, keep attending classes and seminars, keep working on your side hustle.
The more you act, the faster and more likely to see any results. The more you procrastinate, the less the chances that you’ll see any results.
Consistent action is the key to any achievement.
4 • Save Some Money
Setting some money aside is a smart move for those who hate their job. Even if you don’t know what you are going to do with it and even if your plan doesn’t require you to set some aside, do it anyway.
Working a job you hate is like a ticking bomb which might go off at any point in time.
You might get up one day, say “fuck it… enough is enough” and never set foot at work again. Something at work might drive you crazy, smashing your way out of your office. Maybe hating your job has affected your performance and behavior so much that your boss has no choice but to fire you himself.
Whatever the case, having let’s say 1 year’s worth of expenses on the side will take a lot of pressure off your shoulders if for one reason or another you end up without having an income.
You could also invest some of that money towards creating and scaling your side hustle if you’ve decided to go down that road.
5 • Start a Side Hustle
This is actually one of the most legit courses of action which more and more people seem to be taking.
Creating a side hustle is a great idea because you can develop it on the side of your regular job. This way, you won’t have to worry about your next paycheck while working your way to eventually completely replacing it.
Moreover, your side hustle could be something which brings you joy, gives you purpose, and makes your awful job way more tolerable until you kiss it goodbye.
In addition, creating a side hustle is actually way less risky than going for another job because you can’t possibly know that you won’t grow to hate your new job as much or even worse, more than your old one.
The unsettling reality is that even if you do everything right in screening your jobs, you can still end up in a work situation that makes you unhappy. The great boss who you were so excited to work with could move on a few months after you start, and her replacement could end up being a disaster. Your office could have budget cuts that leave you with an unmanageable workload. You could be assigned a new client who turns your dream job into a nightmare. Or, if you’re like a lot of people, you might just end up in a job that sounded amazing in the interview but fell drastically short of your expectations once you started. – AskaManager
Lastly, if done the right way it could set you free from the corporate way of life once and for all, enabling you to enjoy all the awesome benefits of being your own boss just like all those success stories we are reading about all the time.
6 • Play it Cool
While still working at your job, try to keep your not-so-subtle “I fucking hate you” vibe to yourself.
Also, stop telling your colleagues all about it and for God’s sake stop posting images, articles, and quotes about hating your job all over your social media accounts.
Believe me that you don’t want everyone at your company to know how much you hate your job because guess what? News travels fast and before you know it your boss will be telling his children about that guy he had fired (you) for a bedtime story.
Moreover, make sure that you keep doing your job as if nothing is bothering you. Put in 100% of yourself and complete your tasks as best as you can. Don’t let your performance drop in any way because this can definitely hurt your reputation…
Bear in mind that if you are after another job at another company or another position at the same company you will likely need a reference from your current boss…
And you don’t want your current boss telling your new boss that you are lazy, underperforming, and having an “I hate my job” look all over your stupid face.
7 • Stop Complaining That Much
While complaining about the job you hate is kind of normal and even helpful in small doses, complaining all the freaking time gets you nowhere.
In fact, constant complaining robs you of the energy which you could as well use to actually do something to change the situation about which you are constantly complaining.
Not to mention that most people around you will get sick of your overall negative attitude and start avoiding you.
Stop being a baby, shut your mouth and wipe your tears, pull yourself together, and do what you have to do.
I literally can’t stand people who are constantly winning about their work and do nothing about it.
8 • What is Your Job Teaching You?
It is inevitable that your job is teaching you some things despite you hating its guts. It might be a skill, a way of behaving, patience, coping with bad situations, etc.
For example, my job taught me how to be customer oriented which is actually a skill extremely useful for my online business, how bad management can ruin an entire department of 50 people, how money and material possessions truly don’t bring happiness, how working a job you hate can fuck up your entire life, and how important it is to work a job you like because you are spending HALF of your waking hours there.
WikiHow suggests keeping a “lessons learned” inventory. This way not only you’ll be able to use those lessons again and again on your professional and personal life, but when a new job opportunity shows up, you’ll have all these strong points of yours at the ready.
Bad situations are the best learning opportunities.
Final Thoughts
For me, the only legit option when I hated my job was to start hatching out my escape plan. As I’ve stated earlier, I started my own online business, this website, I saved some money for a few months, I asked to be demoted to a part-time worker, and I am now devoting most of my free time and all my energy towards working my way to freedom.
It took months of thought and planning until I found out the right course of action for me. The decision to start acting wasn’t easy but I just couldn’t accept wasting my time for years to come working a job I hate.
For me, working a job I hated was one of the worst experiences in my life. I hated so much that it started negatively affecting my overall health.
I wouldn’t stay there even if they were paying me thrice as much.
Whatever costs my well-being is simply way too pricey.
If this is the case with you, then it’s fairly obvious that you have to get out of that job better sooner than later.
- Find out why you hate your job
- Figure out what you want
- Make a plan
- Start and keep taking action
And good riddance!
If you have any questions or need any further help or guidance from me, please email me at harry@dearboss-iquit.com or drop me a PM on my Wealthy Affiliate Profile.
I will be thrilled to help you out.
Harry,
dearboss-iquit.com
