Most of us have been there once or twice in our lives where we asked ourselves why do I hate my job so much?
But since you have asked that question, we better explore further.
Let’s look at the following:
– Possible reasons for hating your job
– Is this temporary or a long term feeling
– What can we do about it
Life is too short and we spend a lot of time at work.
Let’s not waste another second of our life in a job that we hate.
Let’s dig deep to see where this takes us.
Related: What Is Relaxed Productivity? – And How To Achieve It?
Reasons For Hating Your Job
“MOST PEOPLE WILL CHOOSE UNHAPPINESS OVER UNCERTAINTY.” – Tim Ferriss, Four-Hour Work Week
There are many reasons why someone would hate their job. Below are the main 5 reasons.
1. You lack the skills and knowledge to do your job well
If this is the reason why you hate your job. This is great news. Now one likes what they are not good at. But you can get good at anything as long as you are willing to learn, persevere, have patience, be open-minded.
I once ended up in a postilion in a completely different industry. I went from being a property manager to a colocation specialist in a highly mandated telecommunication industry. If you don’t know what a colocation specialist is, you are not alone, I did the job for 6 months and still didn’t know what that was.
But my point is, I entered a position that was so new and unique that no one knows it exists. I had no training because no one in the company new anything either, I was terrified because I knew that there were a lot of government rules but I simply did not understand them. The responsibly on my shoulders was huge and no one to ask for help. Two other people that were hired with me for the same position left within few months. I made a decision that I will not run away from this position.
It took a year, of crying, begging, extreme stress, sleepless nights but what emerged after that was a very beautiful thing. I learned so much, I became an expert in my field, I build amazing business relationships.
Once again, my point is, you can learn anything. Of course, it’s going to be very uncomfortable at first. We do not like being in a position where we do not know how to do thing.
Please don’t run away from this position, make a commitment to yourself that you will not leave until you learn to love this job. I could not possibly explain the sense of accomplishment that you will feel after overcoming this steel learning curve.
I have had many higher level positions since then, but guess what, every time I am asked about my greatest professional accomplishment, I always use that position because I do consider it the highest accomplishment. I went from hating the job to absolutely loving it within a year.
Related: Is An Entrepreneur Born Or Made?
2. You don’t feel motivated and inspired
Ideally you would rely on the company or your boss to ensure that you are motivated and inspired, but how many companies/bosses actually do that.
Furthermore, being inspired in motivated plays such a great role in your satisfaction with the job and life, why would you want to leave it in their hands anyways.
So, if the reason why you hate your job is because you do not feel motivated and aspirate, lets see what we can do about that.
You will have to do a little bit of work here.
you will have to start with asking yourself some general questions:
– what do I like doing
– what gives me satisfaction
– what inspires me
– what motivates me
Once you have the basic answers to those questions and you know yourself little bit better, think in therms of your job and your authority level,
– what changes can you make to incorporate some of the things
– can you get extra training if you enjoy learning new things
– can you suggest team meeting if you thrive in collaborative environment
-can you offer your help with extra tasks and projects to get a better send of achievement and get new skills and learn new things
Once you take the time to discover what you really like and want, I’m going to say that there is no job on this earth that will not be able to provide you some opportunities to be proactive.
I’m going to say it again, do not leave your job satisfaction and happiness in your bosses/companies hands.
Be proactive
Go find it yourself.
Related: I Just Lost My Job, What Now? And Why That Might Be A Good Thing
3. You don’t see your future in this job/company
you don’t think there is a future for you in this job or company.
Well, the truth is that things change when least expected.
Having said that, I do not recommend sitting ideally waiting for the unexpected change.
Again, you will have some thinking to do.
Do you know what you want your next step to be: (specific position, specific company, specific responsibilities, specific remuneration).
Once you your wish list for your next position figured out, you need to make an objective decisions whether you have the necessary skills/qualifications/ abilities.
If you do, well, what are you waiting for. While still working in this job, start doing your research and applying for your next dream job.
However, chances are, you are still lacking some skills/ knowledge/abilities.
Well, then get to work.
First see what can you do in your existing position to expend on them”
– can you volunteer to participate in some additional duties/tasks/projects that will give you the missing experience?
– can you enroll in some training whether through your existing company or on your own?
– can you get a part-time job in addition to your full time job to develop the missing skills/experiences and abilities?
– at the very least there are tons of free course from the best universities
And many, many other ones.
Stay in this job for as long as it serves you and allows you to prepare for the next step and then start planning your exit strategy.
One final point, ensure you will have great references from this job.
Related: What To Do When You’re Bored At Home
4. You feel trapped
It is possible that you hate your job because you know this is not the right job for you, you don’t feel appreciated and motivated but you feel trapped in it as you cannot find another job.
Step number one: you have to drop the “I’m trapped” mentality.
This is not doing you any good. It is keeping you in a victim mentality and as a victim you are powerless to do anything.
This is simply not true, you could get up right now and announce “I Quit” and walk out the door.
I do not, again, I absolutely do not recommend you ever do that but I want your mind to acknowledge the power that you have that you could make that happen if you wanted to.
ok, now that we have taken some power back and stepped away from being a trapped victim, let’s see what we can do.
There are endless possibilities:
– continue looking for another job, It might take years but it will eventually happen
– try to make your stay at the current job as pleasant as possible, make a list of positive aspects about the job, at the very least be grateful for the steady income because trust me, if it was gone, you would miss it very much
-try getting a part-time job in a place that you would like to work to get the chance to prove yourself and develop new skills/ abilities/ experiences
– try taking courses part-time, if you can upgrade your knowledge and skills, new opportunities will open up
– in today’s world, many people are trying their luck in internet marketing, blogging websites, affiliate marketing. If all of that sounds overwhelming, do not worry about that right now. Ask yourself, do you passions, do you enjoy sharing your experience and ideas with others, do you enjoy writing?
If you have said yes to any of the questions, blogging and internet marketing might be for you.
Do not get overwhelmed, there are platforms out there that not only will teach you how to do it all step by step but you can also try it for free and only then join the full membership if you like it.
I know it should scare but I did it. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging, websites, internet marketing, but I knew that I liked helping people. Look where I am now. I am writing this post, trying to help people that hate their jobs because I was there myself.
Related: Are Blogs Still Popular? – Should I Start Blogging?
5. Toxic work environment/job
wrote about toxic work environment and a toxic boss previously. In this case, use the above strategies as much as you can with caution but start planning your exit strategy. If you have a toxic boss, and the work culture supports him/her this will eventually take a mental and physical toll on you. Stay for as log as you can to get what you need out of that job (experience, references, skills, abilities, relationships) but start planning your exit strategy. If you don’t, someone will do it for you. In a toxic environment basic human qualities are removed and in the name of preserve their jobs good people do really horrible things.
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Why Do I Hate My Job So Much?
“AT SOME POINT, MOST OF US REACH A PLACE WHERE WE’RE AFRAID TO FAIL, WHERE WE INSTINCTIVELY AVOID FAILURE AND STICK ONLY TO WHAT IS PLACED IN FRONT OF US OR ONLY WHAT WE’RE ALREADY GOOD AT. THIS CONFINES US AND STIFLES US. WE CAN BE TRULY SUCCESSFUL ONLY AT SOMETHING WE’RE WILLING TO FAIL AT. IF WE’RE UNWILLING TO FAIL, THEN WE’RE UNWILLING TO SUCCEED.”– Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck
We have explored the main reasons for hating your job. If there is anything else that was not covered above, please make sure to point it out in the comments section below.
No matter what, you will have to dig deep and find out the reasons for yourself.
No one can do that part for you.
Once you know exactly the reasons for hating your job, now you are in a position to do a lot about it.
What Can We Do About It?
“Quitting because you do not want to be uncomfortable will prevent you from growing.” – Amy Morin
There is a lot that you can do about it.
It starts with acknowledging your power.
You have value; you have skills, knowledge, abilities, experiences, you just need to find a good match for it.
I know, I said to spend some time thinking what the perfect next job would look like for you.
What responsibilities would you have?
What authority would it give you?
What kind of people would you be interacting with?
What problems would you be solving for them or what solutions would you be providing?
This is a great start, but also keep your mind open.
The next amazing opportunity could come from somewhere where you least expected it.
Don’t say no to anything without first exploring.
And don’t be afraid to dream big.
You don’t need to know the how today.
Today, your only job is to find our the what and then every day take little steps to get you closer to the dream job/career.
I really hope you have enjoyed the article. I hope you have found some useful information or technique. I strongly urge you to remember that where you are right now is not forever. If you are in a job that you truly have, it might feel like you will be there for ever. But remember, this is impossible. Nothing lasts forever. The second thing that I would like to urge you to do is to try t find some aspects of the job that you like. I promise you, it will not make you stay but it will make your every day much easier to cope with.
I would love to hear back from you. Do you have any questions? Any suggestions? Any opinions? Please leave them below.
Greetings! You shared a great article there. I must agree with you that sometimes you end up hating your job because of fear of failure and then decide to quit. This is not good at all in my opinion. I also think that failure is a step to success. If you find your job challenging and difficult, you have to try harder so that you conquer in the end. This can be a great motivation. Thanks for sharing this amazing piece of writing with us.
Thank you Kokontala, I agree with you. Being afraid of failure is usually not a good reason to leave a job but this is an individual decision. There are many things that you can try doing to improve your job before making the final decision to leave. But there are also situations where there is not much one can do to improve the conditions of one’s job, in that case, planning your exit might be your only choice.
I once worked in the finance sector and hated my job. Everyday I woke up with guilt and feelings of been trapped in a wrong organization. I continued until the organization downsized and I was laid off. While others complained, I felt relieved of my chains. Now, I harness my potential a do what I love and am happy.
Hi Parameter, I am glad to hear that you love what you do now. I think most people had the experience of working for a terrible company or a boss. It gives us a good perspective on what we are looking for. I’m glad you were able to leave that job.