You just don?t love your job any more. Is it time to move on? Or is it time evaluate your attitude? Can you fall back in love with your job?
First, recognize that the job isn’t doing it for you any more. ?I recommend taking a hard look at the things that can really drive a person crazy at work,? explains Ben Brooks, founder/CEO of the tech startup PILOT, a career improvement startup which offers a product a The Job Renovator, which is designed to help find happiness in your current job. ?
Look at your situation. Among the warning signs, notes Brooks, are: ?Your manager sucks; your team isn’t supportive; you’re, frankly, embarrassed by your resources; you’re chained to your desk; you’re not sure what you even do there; you just don’t fit into the culture; and you’d kill for even a pat on the back as recognition.?
Look at your feelings and reactions in the office. ?I have noticed three key signs in myself and my clients who no longer love their job: They lose the passion and positive energy they used to share. Now they focus more on the negative aspects of the job rather than on the impact they are making. When it happened to me, I became a clock watcher..counting down the minutes till I could leave; they also show signs of burnout ? exhaustion, frustration, sometimes they have difficulty sleeping; and many find they begin to overeat or not take as good care of themselves because they feel like they are on a hamster wheel and not getting anywhere,? says Career coach Kennedy.
Look at your work. Is your work suffering? ?You no longer strive for excellence, thinking errors are acceptable; you develop Indifference, no longer care about the end results of the work you do; you find it difficult to get out of bed to go to work; menial work tasks seem cumbersome and unnecessary; co-workers and managers seem annoying and bothersome; and lastly you no longer receive joy from you efforts,? explains ?Enthusiasm and Engagement Specialist? Joshua M. Evans of Enthusiastic You!
Don?t throw in the towel if you don?t have to. ?Staying in your job is a smart and savvy move,? says Brooks. ?If you’re like most people who are unhappy at work, you’re likely doing one of two things. One, suffering and waiting for some miracle that your company or manager will make you happy. Or two, in the process of looking for a new job in hopes that your hunch was wrong and the grass is greener. While the latter may seem forward-thinking, it has the potential to be as fruitless as jumping from one romantic relationship to another. What if rather than seeking greener grass elsewhere, you watered your own right where you are??
But don?t fret, if you don?t want to leave your company, you can ?fall back in love with your job. ?You can absolutely fall back in love with your job, but being happy at work isn’t as easy as flicking a switch.? Brooks points out. ??Like anything else, it requires a little work. But here’s the good news: unlike many things on your to-do list today, you are the direct benefactor of this kind of work.?
So how do you do it? ?In order to address this, you have a take a holistic approach and assess how happy you are in eight critical categories: Department/Team; Development; Enablement; Flexibility; Job/Role; Manager; Organization; Recognition/Rewards. From there, it’s possible to devise a plan of action that will help you fall back in love with your job.?
Think of the good times at work and why you initially wanted the job. ?Revisit the reason you began working there,? advises Evans. ?List the things that you love about this job; make a list of things that you disliked at other jobs. Also, talk with your manager about rediscovering your passion. Reaffirm your enjoyment for the position every morning (tell yourself you love your job? until you do).?
Realize you create your own happiness–even on the job. ?Take responsibility for your own happiness at work,? advises Wilma Jones, author of ?Is It Monday Already?!: 197 Tools and Tips to Start Living Happier at Work. ?It’s not your employer’s responsibility to make you happy at work, although a happy worker is much more productive. ? And look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on the inconsequential things that irritate you. ?Remember the bigger purpose of having a job,? says TK. ?Sometimes you have to get down to the basics and be grateful for the small things in life. Having a good job that pays the bills, even if some things annoy and stress you is a blessing if you don’t have another way to make a living.?
