28.11.2024

HOW TO LIVE WITH A JOB YOU DON'T LIKE - ADVICE FROM COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS

You hate your job. Eight hours five days a week is torture. But for some reasons you can't leave. Then the only thing left for you is to somehow try to hold on.

This is bad because it is scientifically proven: You love your work - you live longer. But your problem is not unique. Many people are in a similar situation and experts advise what to do.

The first piece of advice is to figure out what exactly bothers you and look around to see if there is another position or department in the same company where you will feel better.

If so, think about who to talk to. This could be your boss if the tasks you are performing have become boring to you. It could be another manager in the company or an employee from the Human Resources department. You don't have to dramatically admit that you hate your job. Tell him what you would like to do to regain your motivation and passion.

By sharing your career concerns and desires with the right person, you're taking the first step toward change, says cognitive psychologist Art Markman. State in plain text that you hope to change your position when an opportunity presents itself. Very often this turns out to be a useful move, because so far no one in the company has suspected that you no longer like your job. And by sharing, there is a chance that you will also receive valuable recommendations - what competencies you need to acquire and develop in order to achieve your goal. When you set out to achieve them, your daily tasks will begin to seem less unpleasant because you now have hope of getting out of them.

It's a rosy scenario. It is possible that there are no other suitable positions for you in this company or that you do not want them. Then try to make the time you spend in the service more bearable.

There is always at least one colleague with whom you will enjoy communicating. However, do not turn the contacts into drama - you complain to him and he to you. To some extent, this is relieving. But it will be much more beneficial for both of you not to deepen your dissatisfaction with the job by telling each other how bad everything is, there is no hope on the horizon, etc. If you have nothing nice to say about work, talk about things outside of it. The goal is to lighten up, not burden yourself.

In fact, maybe it's not the job you hate, it's that you don't like your co-workers and can't find any likeable ones. Learn to gracefully distance yourself from them and what they are doing.

Focus on your own tasks, stay away from anything you find unproductive and off-putting, such as gossip, advises career development consultant Loli Daskal.

Be very careful not to get depressed. One of the worst things that can happen to you in such a situation is to let negative thoughts take over your mind. Purposefully cultivate a positive mindset by focusing on your work and ignoring all the negativity around you, Daskal emphasizes.

An unconventional salvation can be to take under your patronage a newly arrived colleague and help him enter the work. Mentoring will be refreshing, especially if you have a youngster who looks up to you. That way you will have someone to communicate with. Naturally, don't show the new colleague how much you hate your job. You're ruining your mentor halo. Moreover, it is very discouraging for a young or newly hired employee to learn such a fact. It's like he can see his future.

The third tip is to be sure to find meaning elsewhere, outside of your immediate duties. You can devote yourself to civic causes or a hobby. Investing time in such activities will connect you with like-minded people. Communicating and feeling like you are part of something bigger will give you satisfaction. In addition, new contacts can open new doors for professional development, points out Art Markman.

However, both he and Lolly Daskal advise that you carefully consider how far your limits extend to endure the torture of the hated job. But first of all, admit the fact and look at it from all sides.

"When you analyze the circumstances that make you feel trapped in your workplace, you discover opportunities you didn't realize existed before. Instead of looking at a career change as some abstraction in the distant future, think about the concrete actions, that you need to take to make it a reality," says Art Markman.

"Prepare an exit strategy. It's never too late to look for a better environment that will allow you to do your job to the best of your ability. Then look at this unpleasant period of your life as a valuable experience that taught you to recognize the things you don't have to put up with at work," adds Lolly Daskal.

------ Company ethnographer or salvation to go beyond the job description

Any job can become boring or even hateful if you don't want to love it. You can always find someone else to blame it on - the nasty boss, the unpleasant co-workers, the bad corporate culture, etc. However, the bitter truth is that people very often have their own fault for not liking their jobs. This is how they predetermine their failure in their career and the bigger trouble - their unhappy life. Because no one lives happily if they spend most of their waking hours doing something hateful and at the same time find no opportunity or strength to get out of the trap.

Experts say that going beyond your job description will have a huge impact on both your job satisfaction and your success at work. In many professions, this document must be startlingly long if it were to list in detail all the rights, responsibilities, rules, etc. Often, in his professional daily life, the employee does dozens of things that are not officially in the so-called characteristic.

There are even cases where the basic duties described play a relatively minor role and are not particularly important to career success. What and how employees do is largely determined by their professional knowledge, experience and common sense.

You must, of course, perform your main duties. But if you find something else that fits into your work, matches your abilities and interests, go for it and you will feel much more satisfied. You'll even stop hating your job.

For example, you can enrich your job description as an accountant by not just registering invoices, but analyzing them. Thus, you will conclude that your company's sales are increasing in the Montana region, say. The managers of every company want their employees to give their best, and you will impress them. That you look below the surface will be a step towards a positive evaluation of you, towards bonuses and promotions.

Another useful strategy is to become a company ethnographer of sorts. Basically, ethnography studies the customs, traditions, lifestyle and culture of different groups, regions and countries. In this case, cognitive psychologist Art Markman uses the term to advise observing company culture and the relationships between individual employees, managers and executives.

It's easy to isolate yourself from your colleagues and not pay much attention to what they're doing, especially when you don't like them or are overwhelmed with your own duties. But the more you pay attention to the work of others, the better you will know which people in the office spend the most time working on tasks that match your skills and qualities.

When you develop a good understanding of the overall culture and structure of your workplace, you will be able to look for a position that will allow you to be successful and satisfied.

Also, identify the "stars" in the team - the people who have achieved significant success at work, enjoy authority and seem to be the happiest. When you talk to these people, you can find out what skills they use in their daily lives that have elevated them to their position and their self-esteem.