What to do if You’re Unhappy at Work

I know people who love their jobs, I know people who hate their jobs, and I know people who are somewhere in the middle of those two extremes…

Often people in the category of hating their jobs or being in between, wonder if they should talk to their boss about the things that would improve this situation and make it better for them.

And I advise three checks to do before you have that conversation, to make sure it’s worth having.

The first check is see if you believe the company’s values and your values are aligned. If they are, that’s a very good thing. If the company is really devoted to helping people and that’s a strong value of yours, that’s an important piece of alignment.

Second, does the job in some ways fulfill your purpose in life? If you feel very strongly about doing something for others, and the job provides that, it could be helping people solve problems or get a better job, then that alignment over purpose is extremely important.

The third area is, as you look into the future at the lifestyle that you want, does the job fit that lifestyle? If you want to spend a little more time in the future volunteering for charitable organizations and the job has flexibility for you to be able to do that, that’s an example of alignment around lifestyle.

If you find there’s good alignment and values, purpose, and lifestyle in the long term, then, it may very well be worth going to your boss and discussing the things that you feel if they were changed, would move this from that sort of middle-ground category, into really loving where you work and loving the job that you do.