1 – Choose Your Attitude
You may not be in a position to choose whether or not to do your job, but you can choose your attitude towards it. Going to work feeling angry and annoyed is not going to make you love your job again.
Yes – some days being all happy and cheerful will be forced and some days all you may be able to muster up is a neutral approach but either way, you’ll feel a lot better about your job than you would if you allowed yourself to be angry.
Even faking a smile can make you feel better.
2 – Remind Yourself Why You Are Doing Your Job
We all have a reason to work. For some it may be because they love the ability to have their own career, for others it may be the social interaction they get outside of the house, and for some it may be for financial reasons. Whatever your reason, remind yourself of it each day.
Tell yourself in the mirror each morning “I am going to work today because…” and above all make it positive. If you are going to work for financial reasons then say to yourself “I am going to work today so I can provide for my family and save for our holiday in October.”
You can also surround yourself with little reminders. Put a photo of your ‘why’ somewhere you can see it at work or even have it as the screensaver on your phone or computer. The little reminders throughout the day will definitely help.
3 – Give Yourself Something to Look Forward To In Your Workday
We all want something to look forward to, even if it is an awesome lunch. Make sure you have something each day that you can work towards and remind yourself of. Perhaps you go to the gym after work and love it, maybe you could organise a lunch date with friends during the week or it could even be as simple as getting up at 3pm, making yourself a coffee and having a cupcake to go with it.
4 – Set Goals and Reward Yourself
Based on the same principle as above, set yourself goals around your job and reward yourself when you achieve them. It could simply be ticking off your to-do list at work for a whole week or having a positive attitude about your job for a week. Then reward yourself. The reward doesn’t have to be huge – it could be a magazine or a book, it could be that you get to spend an hour sitting at a café you love having some time out from the world.
5 – Eat Healthy and Avoid Alcohol
As tempting as it may be to turn to food for comfort or a glass of wine at night to relax after a stressful day, neither of these options are going to help you when it comes to your feelings towards your job.
Eating CRAP (Carbonated drinks, Refined sugars, Artificial sugars, colours, and flavours and Processed food) makes us feel like crap, and while it is okay on occasion, when you are in a position where you hate your job and are overly stressed it can be easy to resort to eating these kinds of foods for comfort.
As for alcohol, it reduces our quality of sleep and as we all know, makes us feel sluggish the next day (that’s putting it nicely). This is certainly not going to benefit you when it’s time to get ready for work in the morning and you’ve had a bad night’s sleep and you’re nursing a hangover.
I’m not saying you have to totally give up your nightly glass of red wine, after all that can help reduce stress and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone). Just be mindful of how much you’re consuming. If your nightly glass of wine is more like a nightly bottle of wine you may need to rethink your approach.
6 – Vent When Needed to Appropriate People
While having a good old fashioned whine at work might not be the most appropriate, getting things off your chest to friends or family outside of work may actually make you feel better. Keep in mind, it’s easy to get caught up in all the negativity and if you only talk negatively about your job, then your only thoughts towards your job will be negative.
Hot tip – set a timer and whine away. Once the timer goes off, shift the focus to saying more positive things (even if it’s as simple as ‘I am grateful for being paid this week’). This helps keep a reign on the amount of venting and negative speak you have about your job.
7 – Get a Side Hustle
Everyone loves a good side hustle! Not only do they give you an opportunity to earn more money, but it can also give you something to focus on outside of your job.
You’d be amazed at how much more tolerable your work environment can be when you’re dreaming about the next move you’re going to make in your own business. And never underestimate how motivating hating your job can be when it comes to growing a new business.
8 – Talk to Your Boss About Alternative Working Arrangements
Being stuck in a job you hate is not ideal, but is there anything you can do to modify your work environment that may make it more enjoyable? A lot of workplaces have flexible working conditions if you just ask.
Perhaps working different hours in the day (starting early and finishing early), working from home for a day or two during the week or even reducing your hours to part-time hours are just some ways that may help you love your job again.
Be sure when approaching your boss about it you don’t mention that you want to change things because you hate your job – remember you need to sell it to them as to how it would benefit the company.
9 – Ask for Help
For the majority of us, hating our job is just a phase we go through. All things in life have their ups and downs and it’s impossible to expect to love your job every single day. This can be even more of the case when there is conflict within the work environment. However, for some, their unhappiness in their job spills over into the rest of their lives and they can’t separate themselves from their job anymore.
For those who are finding it difficult to differentiate between job dissatisfaction and general unhappiness with their life, seeking help from a medical professional can assist in regaining this balance. This may be your doctor, a counsellor or psychologist or even calling a helpline. Just talking to someone can help you work through any problems you’re having.
Have you ever had to work a job you hate before? How did you cope?
Source: Project Hotmess
What's your reaction?
