Do You Know the Dangers of Staying too Long in a Job You Hate?

This morning, too many women woke up full of the Monday morning blues and dragged themselves out of bed to go and do a job they no longer enjoy. 

They stay in these jobs because they think they don’t have the skills to do anything else, or because the thought of leaving fills them with fear, or because it pays the bills. They even stay because it is ‘convenient’.

Were you one of them? 

Is this a good reason not to do something about it?

But is this really a good reason to stay in a job that you don’t enjoy?  Are you trying to kid yourself that you are happy or that you are fulfilled with your work but deep down the feeling of unhappiness gets deeper and deeper as time goes by?

If you feel so unhappy about your job, why don’t you do something about it? You might say, this is easier said than done because when you are stuck in a rut, deep inside your comfort zone, the thought of doing anything about it can be scary. And this fear can prevent you from moving forward and making changes to your career.

One client told me that each day she went to work she felt that she was losing more of who she really was.  She’d had a dream for the past 5 years of doing something different, something that she totally enjoyed, was good at and was passionate about.  But she was holding on to the fears and insecurities that had been fed to her by other people and was too scared to make a change.

Growing up she had been told that she would never amount to anything.  As an adult this left her constantly feeling that she was not good enough because she firmly believed that this was true.

But it wasn’t true at all.  By helping her to see that in the 20+ years since she had been working, she couldn’t even think of anything that she had failed at, she recognised that she had achieved some amazing things in her career.  She was unhappy and preventing herself from moving forward to pursue a fulfilling and rewarding career without any evidence to substantiate her belief.

It can impact you mentally, physically and emotionally

She was going through the motions day in day out but she was not getting any satisfaction in what she was doing.  It reached the stage where it was impacting her health. She was constantly stressed and anxious, which caused a chronic medical condition she suffered with to constantly flare up.

Whilst you may think that you are ok doing a job that you hate, over time it gradually starts to affect you.  Here are some of the ways in which it can do this:

• Stress and anxiety
• Lack of confidence
• Low motivation
• Low moods
• Relationship issues
• Procrastination
• Becoming overly emotional

 Sounds dismal doesn't it? 

Imagine what it will be like 5 years from now if you continue as you are and get further and further stuck in your comfort zone.

Only you can do something about it

In everything in life you have a choice and this includes what you do about your career.  You can choose to stay doing a job you no longer enjoy, getting more and more miserable as time goes by, or you can choose to do something about it.

Even if you are not in a position to change your job because of personal commitments, you can make your job more enjoyable.

How can you create more autonomy in your role? What aspects of the role do you enjoy and how can you do more of this? What new initiative can you develop that improves on the service delivered?

If you need to stay in your job for the immediate future, look at how you can get enjoyment from your current role.  What can you do so that you are adequately stretched and challenged and that allows you to develop your skills?

What are your skills?

If you recognise that it is time for you to move on, what is it that you want to do?  If you are unsure, do an inventory of your skills, identifying all the skills that you have and that are transferrable to other roles. What skills do you most enjoy using?  What skills would you like to develop and what do you need to do to develop these?

Identify possible new roles

Brainstorm possible roles and search job vacancy sites to identify roles that will enable you to utilise your skills, the things that you enjoy and are good at.  Look for roles and organisations that align with your values.

If you want to start your own business, identify the kind of business you want to start.  Create a business plan and do your research so that you are clear as to whether it is a viable idea.

Develop your personal brand

Just as a business needs to work on its brand if it is to remain current and relevant, you too need to work at developing your personal brand.

In a competitive market, what makes you stand out from the crowd?  What makes you so special that someone will give you the job you long for or the promotion you desire?

Developing your personal brand will enable employers to see what you stand for, what your qualities are and what difference you can make to the organisation and the position that is being offered.

Give your CV a revamp so that it is up to date and accurately reflects your personal brand.

Test the waters if necessary

If you are moving into new areas of work, look at ways in which you can get practical experience and insight in to the role.  Ways in which this can be done include voluntary work, job shadowing, networking and talking with those who work within the industry.

Go ahead and make it happen

 You owe it to yourself to do work that you enjoy, that you find fulfilling and rewarding, whether this means you making a career change or learning to love the job that you are in.

Only you can do something about it, so what are you going to do to make it happen?

If you are fed up at work and want to make a career change or you are facing job

loss, download Reignite Your Career, a career change training session. The learning and exercises will get you challenging and addressing your fears around changing your career; help you to start identifying the opportunities that exist for you and get you planning your next steps.   

ABOUT ME:

I am a Personal Development, Career, Business Coach, UK top 50 Business Adviser and the founder of Abounding Solutions. I am also the founder of the Ladies Business Brainstorming Club, a place for women to come together and support each other with their personal, career and business aspirations, whilst developing friendships and forming collaborations.

I write here, on my website and on Huffington Post on subjects to help women achieve optimal potential in their careers and businesses.