You spend a lot of your life at work, especially if you work full time, so it’s important that you aren’t unhappy in your job. In particular, many people who have worked in the same place for years feel like they’ve hit a wall and aren’t sure how to move forward.
Luckily, many of the factors which determine how content you are in your job are within your control. The first step is to make sure that the job is right for you…
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If you find it difficult to get up in the morning and face the working day ahead of you, some of these tips might be worth considering.
Don’t beat yourself up
Everyone makes mistakes at work so don’t dwell on it. Instead, if you’ve made a mistake, treat it as a learning experience and move on. If you deal with the problem properly and professionally, you’ll feel much better about it as you move forward.
Get to know your colleagues
It can be really difficult to enjoy your time at work if you don’t get to know the people you work with. Socialising can be a really important aspect to your working life and can often help you make the most of your job.
Even something as simple as going to grab a cup of tea with a colleague can make all the difference. You might find that you’re more energised when you get back to work.
If it’s a little more difficult to socialise in your particular role, for example, you work from home, see if you can find some time to get into your local office every week. Alternatively, you could find a space outside of the house to work where you can socialise with others who work remotely when you need to take a break. There might be a shared working space near where you live that could provide a better working environment and more opportunities for socialising.
How can you develop?
You might find that your frustrations stem from a lack of progression in your role. Maybe you’re stuck in the same routine, completing the same tasks day in, day out.
Look for any opportunities that might help you out of this. You might find that starting a new project or mixing up your process could be just what you need to reignite your enthusiasm for your job.
If you’re feeling as though your days are getting a bit same old, same old, try mixing up your routine so you don’t feel like you’re just ‘going through the motions’.
Look to the future
Make sure you don’t end up harbouring a grudge against your company. If you’ve been at the same company for a while and haven’t progressed as quickly as you would have liked, this can happen quite easily. This will only encourage more negative thoughts about your employer and your role. Make sure you’re always looking to the future and how you and the company you work for can both improve.
Focus on your own career
In the workplace, it can often be the case that some employees aren’t happy that they weren’t the one to be awarded the promotion or that they feel they aren’t getting all the opportunities they deserve. If this sounds familiar, try and avoid wasting time on jealous thoughts. This negative thinking will only make things worse and this could actually hold you back.
Be happy for the successes of your colleagues and remember that part of working life is often about developing a team. If you continue to work hard and think positively, your time will come.
Don’t be afraid to ask
If there is a particular aspect of your job that is causing you to be unhappy at work, ask to change it. Having an open channel of communication with your manager is essential and being proactive about issues is always a positive.
If you are feeling stuck in routine, see if there is anything new you can try or any training open to you. If you think it’s about time you got that promotion, ask if there’s anything more you can do to work towards it. Are you due for a pay rise? Just ask and perhaps suggest that you’re ready for some more responsibility.
In all of these scenarios, the worst that can happen is that your manager will say no. Don’t pass up an opportunity just because you were too afraid to ask.
Change your priorities
You might find that a change of perspective might help. Make sure that happiness is right there at the top of your priorities and that you’re not sacrificing this for your job. If you can find a way of injecting a bit of energy and joy into what you do, you’ll find that your time at work will become much easier.
