Frassem

When To Quit Your Job...

The biggest sign that is telling you to search for your next job is that you dread going to work. Your job has flat-lined. You feel your work is not respected, or it’s monotonous. It feels futile. It’s demotivating to do the same thing again and again.

Other red flags: You’re frustrated by a lack of resources and support from your boss or colleagues. Or perhaps it’s a lack of growth opportunities for both pay and skills advancement. Your work no longer has meaning to you. (Employees who get meaning and significance from their work are more than three times as likely not to change employers.)

You feel, well, powerless.

Getting sucked into a mindless routine deadens you inside and puts you in jeopardy of losing your job if your boss notices. When you lose pride in what you do, your health, your personal relationships, and your sense of self-worth begin to diminish. And then perhaps the day comes when you can barely get out the door to get to the office.

Put simply, you tune out. You don’t tap into the energy that can come from your job, or you simply can’t begin to see where the hope lingers below the surface.

The truth is that when I talk to workers who are unhappy in their jobs the underlying issue is that they are bored. They don't identify it as that, but that’s the issue.

Just saying “take this job and shove it” is probably not the best approach to battling your boredom or pent-up frustration. Even in a tight labor market, quitting is generally not a good option, unless you already have a new position lined up elsewhere If you can make it work where you are right now, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble.

You can renew your working life by getting involved with special projects, mentoring, meeting new people, asking for new responsibilities, and adding skills, training, and education.

Start by doing one small thing that matters. When you move in small, incremental ways, you will have a fighting chance of getting your changes approved and set in motion. Truth is, sometimes all it takes to right your ship is that one special tweak.

If you want to be happier, you have to do something, to take action.

“Speak now or forever hold your peace,” as my Dad always said. In other words, get that hand waving wildly in the air and make some noise.

But finding ways to love your work entails taking ownership of your life. No one is going to wave a magic wand for you. You may have to take a risk.

Make a change — even a small one. Challenge yourself to look for one area that would give you more joy at work and then make it happen.

Check out possibilities for more training at work or online that will add to your skills. Fill in areas where you don’t excel, and make you more valuable to your employer. Find ways to add value to your current job. When you acquire knowledge, you notice the world around you. Your mind turns on.

Raise your hand and ask for new duties. Keep your ear to the ground to get the scoop on positions opening up or emerging projects — even if they’re short-term. Say “yes” to new assignments. If you’re worried you’re not up to the task, accept the invitation gracefully and with confidence and then get moving to figure out how to do it. The adrenaline will charge you up and when you succeed, the rewards will be internal and external.

Get up to speed on your industry. It’s easy to get complacent about staying current with the trends in your specific field. Just being in the know can inspire you to think of projects and tasks you might be able to volunteer for or to get involved in starting. At the very least, you will be able to engage in knowledgeable discussions with your boss and co-workers about your firm and its current and future challenges.

 Do some sleuthing. Dissect your current position to pinpoint a new responsibility you can add that will refresh your focus, and maybe even scare you a little bit. Keep your ear to the ground and try to get the scoop on positions opening up, or a new project that’s on the cusp of starting—even if it is just a short-term one.

Explore finding joy around the edges. Is there an activity outside of the job, you can do with coworkers such as volunteering together or a company team sport? When I ask people what they love about their job, it is often the people they work with they tell me.

Look into telecommuting. When it comes to what makes people love their jobs, this is a biggie. Telecommuting employees are happier, more loyal and have fewer unscheduled absences, according to a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In my own research and interviews with hundreds of workers, I’ve discovered that more flexibility in scheduling day-to-day activities leads to greater happiness on the job.

Laugh more. A Gallup poll found that people who smile and laugh at work are more engaged in their jobs. And the more engaged you are, the happier and more enthusiastic you’ll be.

That said, if you’re one breath away from quitting your job because you hate your immediate boss, drastic action might be required. (You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the main reason people quit is an unbearable boss.) At the very least, you need to pause, review, and try to get some clarity.

What would really make you love your job?

·     Begin a notebook or computer file for “My Future Job.”

·     Write down your career and personal goals and other information prompted in this chapter.

·     List dream jobs you would love to have.

·     Make a list of people you know who love their jobs.

·     Ask those people what they love about their work. It can inspire you.

·     Write down the times in your life when you loved your job, and why.

·     Ask people you know who have had setbacks at work how they navigated rough patches to create a job they love.

·     Look into opportunities for career coaching.

If you really are miserable, quit. But make a plan before you exit. Define what will make your own career path successful for you. We all have our own markers for what will propel us forward. It might be a more flexible work arrangement, a sweet salary bump, or a challenging new assignment.

The core message is that you can turn it around and rebound from your malaise, or a grim work environment. You have to own it. You consciously choose whether to continue being unhappy or pick an alternate path and work toward it, even if it’s in baby steps. Simply starting on a solution lifts your spirits.

Finding ways to love your job takes time, I know. Be patient. You never want to be rash and impulsive when you’re rethinking your job.

You may have to wait for the right opportunity to arise, but you can start laying the groundwork and preparation right now. At worst, during this initial building process, while you stick it out and still hate your job, you will learn how to work under tough conditions—a good skill to have in your quiver under any circumstances.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add this caveat: Do make your job one you relish, but don't become trapped by it. As the oft-repeated saying goes, “No one ever wished they had worked more at the end of their life.”

A life well lived is all about balance. Laugh and spend time with family and friends, travel, dance alone in your living room to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” when no one is watching. Look around you each day and find beauty—the bright yellow goldenrod in the field, the silent blue heron standing stalk-still on the shoreline, the floating cloud formation that looks like it was painted by an artist up there in the blue sky, the smile on a co-worker’s face when she gets a thumb’s up on her work project.

I frequently remind myself of the traditional Navajo prayer, “May you walk in beauty.”