If you spend most of your working day thinking “I hate my job” then you’re not alone.
An extensive survey carried out by the Conference Boards Consumer Research Center a couple of years ago suggests that more people are unhappy with their jobs than at any other time the last twenty years.
Most Americans Hate Their Jobs
The statistics vary according to age group, with older people generally being happier in their work. Maybe we’re more likely to have found a job we like as we grow older, or maybe we have just learned to accept our situation for what it is.
The shocking figures are as follows:
- Less than 39 percent of Americans under 25 are satisfied with their jobs
- Less than 45 percent of Americans aged 45 to 54 are satisfied with their jobs
- Less than 50 percent of Americans over the age of 55 are satisfied with their jobs
However, twenty years ago when the survey was first conducted 61 percent of all Americans said they were satisfied with their jobs. It looks like things are getting worse.
The Problem of Unhappy Employees
If so many employees hate their jobs then this isn’t good for anyone, including their employers. How is an unhappy employee going to be motivated enough to be productive and produce quality work? The answer is that they’re not.
Unless we’re happy, inspired and fulfilled by the work we do then it just turns into drudgery and this is what so many people are experiencing on a daily basis.
Spending 8+ hours a day doing a job we hate isn’t going to make us into happy productive people. It’s turning most people into bitter, unhappy people who dream of quitting their jobs so they can spend time doing something they enjoy, but they don’t know how.
So What’s the Answer?
The answer isn’t simple I’m afraid but we do have a number of choices. We can continue to look for work which we might find more rewarding and many people are happy to do this. However, I don’t believe this is a real solution for most people.
Some people might eventually find a job which they find bearable or even enjoy sometimes, but that’s about as good as it gets for most employees.
Others dream of winning the lottery, this being their only hope of ever quitting their job. They call the lottery a “poor peoples tax” and that’s all it is. The odds of winning are shockingly low and it shouldn’t even form part of your plans for quitting your day job.
The Most Powerful Solution
The most powerful of solutions is to find something you’re passionate about first and foremost. It could be a hobby, interest or just something you’d like to pursue.
Then you need to turn it into a side business with which you can test the water in your spare time when you’re not working your day job.
Don’t expect it all to work out at the first attempt, it most probably won’t. Be persistent, try different things, learn all you can about your chosen business, learn all you can about your customer demographics, find out what they actually want before trying to sell them anything, change your mindset away from being an employee, develop a business mindset.
Most importantly have dreams of doing something you’re passionate about for a living, write down those dreams and take action to make those dreams a reality.
It’s Within Your Capabilities
If I were to tell you that all this is easy then I’d be misleading you, it isn’t. However, neither is it beyond your capabilities, you can do it and many people do.
I truly believe that the first step to freeing yourself from a job you hate is by learning that there is another way. Remove yourself from your old ways of thinking, after all it’s those old ways of thinking that got you into this situation in the first place.
Develop a business mindset and you’ll see things differently. You’ll see opportunities that you previously didn’t know existed, you’ll make your own opportunities and you’ll act upon them. It’s at this point that life becomes exciting again.
Too many people accept a job they hate as a way of life. Don’t be willing to accept this. Your day job is something temporary you need right now to pay the bills. But that’s all it is, your energies should be focused on something more productive, making your dreams a reality.
What Do I Think of all of This?
As you may have guessed by now I’m quite passionate about this subject. I follow the #IHateMyJob tag on Twitter and it’s surprising how many people out there really do hate their jobs. If you use Twitter, try it yourself.
It’s also clear from my web stats that a large proportion of people who find this website have typed something like “I Hate My Job” or “Quit My Job” into Google.
I don’t want non business owners to be put off by the term “business mindset” thinking it’s not relevant to them. As I wrote in a post a few weeks ago I believe it’s more important for employees than it is for business owners. Unhappy employees have far more to gain from developing a business mindset than anyone.
If you’re an unhappy employee then maybe you should think of the term “business mindset” more as “get me out of this job and doing something I enjoy, mindset” because that’s what it should really mean to you.
What Do You Think of all of This?
Feel free to comment if you have any thoughts on this article which you’d like to share.
Wishing you every success,
Jason
