Does the thought of work fill you with dread on a Sunday evening? Does your dislike for your job impact your personal life? Well if this is the case then maybe it’s time for you to make a change.
Before you make a knee-jerk reaction it’s always a good idea to understand why you don’t enjoy your job. Even if the things you dislike can’t be changed in your current role, at least you know what you want your new job to look and fell like, so you can make your work situation more enjoyable.
Below we have listed the five most common reasons why people become unhappy at work and get in touch with us to help them with their job search:
You’re not being challenged
Sometimes it’s good to have a period where you’re not overly stretched, it helps you get your admin in order and tick off the smaller tasks on your to do list. However, if this is a common occurrence and you regularly feel like you’re not being challenged then this is an issue. Not being challenged can lead to boredom and boredom can have a huge impact on your drive and enthusiasm and can lead to your quality of work to drop.
Have you asked your manager for additional responsibilities? This is usually the first step, but if you have or you know there just isn’t enough extra work for you to take on then you have two options… suck it up or look for another opportunity. For the sake of your career and your love of your job we strongly suggest the latter.
You’re bored
We discussed how not being challenged can lead to boredom in the first point, but feeling underwhelmed about the projects you are working on can also lead to feeling bored.
Is it just a one off project and in the next month or two you will be moving onto a more exciting project? If yes then great, there are always parts of our jobs we don’t like doing, but just have to do it. If not then maybe it’s time to speak to your manager to see if there are other projects you could be involved in. If the answer is that there aren’t, then maybe it’s time to make a move to a company that work on projects that would get you excited about.
The company culture is wrong
It’s surprising how many people don’t consider company culture before they move jobs, but believe us company culture really does have a huge impact. Most of us spend five days a week at work, working with the same people and if the culture doesn’t fit with your values and personality then it really can start to grate on you, making you feel uncomfortable and ultimately unhappy at work.
Company culture is a difficult thing to change, as it is made up of so many different factors. So if you do feel that it’s not the right fit for you then we do suggest that it’s time to start looking at other opportunities. However, before you make a move it’s important to ask yourself… ‘What do I value?’ and ‘What type of culture would I want to work in?’
You don’t get on with your colleagues
We don’t get a job to make friends, but it really does help to get on with your colleagues. If you don’t get on with some colleagues in the business that’s ok, you’re never going to be everyones cup of tea. If you don’t get on with anyone then there’s a problem.
Like any relationship they take effort from both sides to build. So if you feel you haven’t made an effort to get to know your colleagues then why not try and spend some time over a coffee to have a chat with them.
You don’t get on with your boss
Not getting on with your boss is a big one. To try and change this you have two options, if you feel comfortable enough you could speak to them and discuss the issues that are making you feel unhappy, or you start looking for another opportunity.
The worst thing you can do in this situation is to do nothing. It’s likely that the situation won’t change in the future if you don’t address it and the negative feeling towards your boss will only get worse. We don’t mean to sound negative, but it is one of those situations that can severely impact your overall happiness and the quicker you can do something about it the quicker you can feel better about your role and career.
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Get in touch with our recruitment specialists
If you are keen to discuss your current situation and want to find out how we can help you make your next career step then get in touch with our team of recruitment experts. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you and your career progress.
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