You work eight hours every day, come home in the evening and hate yourself for doing that job. You wake up the next morning and leave for the same office, do the same job, complaining and cribbing all the way. But have you ever sat down to wonder why do you hate your job so much? And if you hate it so much why you did take it in the first place and are still doing it?
1. Don’t know what else to do
When you were looking for a job and were going around interviewing, chances are you didn’t have any much of an idea what you really wanted to do in life; you studied something and then began working. And then you never really thought you believed in switching jobs, and you got into a comfort zone so you stuck to it. But that doesn’t stop you from hating it. It is absolutely OK to have a phase in life when you didn’t really know what you want to do and what you want from life. But you still need to keep thinking about it, and once you realize it, act upon it, otherwise that growing resentment won’t let you live in peace.
2.For all the wrong reasons
There are certain psychological theories of motivation of work that describe what exactly could drive employees to work. One of these theories says that employees are motivated by money they are paid to do the work. So if you are one of those people who is working just to earn money, or out of some obligation, or for the heck of it because you need to do something with your time, or for any other unsatisfying reason, chances are you will never love your job, no matter how interesting and full of challenges and opportunities your work is. Get your reasons right first.
3. Not in sync
Each employee has a certain potential of being able to certain things at work. When the work they do is in sync with their potential and abilities, they will tend to enjoy their work. But if the employee even vaguely feels that his full potential is not being utilized at work, it will lead to dissatisfaction and resentment. You need to know your potential and then have your job duties accordingly; talking to your superiors might help here.
4. Power distances and feeling exploited
Do you feel powerless and feel that you have no responsibilities and do not have much to be accountable for? Do you feel the power to make decisions, etc is concentrated among a few in your company and you are left more or less out of it? Do you feel you are putting in more hours of work than your work or your position required, more than you need to? All these reasons contribute to resenting your job. Though a lot of this is not in your hands or control, however, it affects you.
5. Security in the trash
Are you working on a particular project at the organization? Is your employment contract only for a limited term based on how long the project lasts and how long the company needs you, or are you a permanent employee? Research says that contractual employees show greater streaks of dissatisfaction than permanent employees who know their hard work would be suitably rewarded at the end of the year. May be you should keep looking for permanent position with proper benefits. Contractual employment comes with a lack of certainty and security in the job, because you never really know when you will be let go, and you can’t plan your life accordingly. Uncertainty is generally always unsettling.
6. Too much commute
Do you have to drive for more than an hour or two in order to be able to reach your office and then a similar long tiring commute in the evening when you go home? The travel portion of your day can be exhausting and may not always be something you would look forward. This can make you start hating to get up and get to work. You start dreading the commute and want to avoid it, if only you could. This brings resentment to the job, which actually has no basis in your actual problem. Does your work involve you to travel a lot, may be even living out of a suitcase? This could also add to the resentment because it in a way finishes off your life out of office, doesn’t give you enough time to spend with your family and friends.
7. No after office activities
Do you pursue a hobby, may be gardening or dancing or reading or anything and cultivate a passion towards it, working on it whenever you can? Do you go out with friends and family to catch the latest movie or just to some concert or hanging out at the pub or going to some party? Go out with friends and family, spend weekends and after office hours wisely to do something that makes you happy. If you just come home eat and go off to bed or kill time watching the telly, chances are you will feel empty and dried up and would not like the way your day goes, eventually blaming your work for it.
8. Shifting paradigms
Some people always feel dissatisfied no matter how good their job is, and how well they are paid. They always live in the fear that the person sitting next to them earns more than them and their best friend has so much better a job then he himself does. They try finding faults in anything and everything and can never digest the fact that there are actually no faults. This requires a shift in the paradigm of the person and a change of the mindset.
9. Disliking employees
Do you have to deal with an 800-pound gorilla at work every day? Your bossy is too bossy and never gives you credit for anything you do? Your colleagues steal your ideas and are always plotting to bring you down. Initially you feel you are just being paranoid, then you try ignoring it and you even try to talking to some people about it. But such negativity in your office will never make you like your work. It will get on your nerves and it is actually difficult to manage. This is one common reason for hating jobs for a lot of people.
10. Lack of commitment and focus
Do you have any specific aims in life – things you want to achieve, things you want to buy or gift, etc.? When you have plans for your life, you will have a focus in life. This focus should ideally bring about a commitment, because it is your work that makes you who you are and keeps you alive. If you don’t feel a sense of fulfillment and pride for your work, you will never be able to focus on it and get that commitment. The same could also happen if you do not have a long commitment span too.
At the end of the day, it is your work that not only earns you your daily bread, and makes you the person you are. Your position in the society and the way people know you and talk about you considerably depends and is defined by the work you do. It should be respected and admired. But if you don’t like your work and hate every minute of it even when you are just thinking it, either you can find a solution for it or find a new job that will not make you feel the same way.
Image Courtesy: ShutterStockPosted In: Adult Education, Career Advice, HR Tips, Positive Psychology
Tagged: hate job, hating job, job hating people, reasons for job hate, why people hate job.
