One of the most morale-defeating aspects of any job is when it slips into daily drudgery. You may have fellow jaded employees telling you that no job is perfect or ideal, but you should not persist in a job that is making you miserable. There is a key difference between low points or slow months and a career that feels like a dead end in terms of satisfaction and progression. If you want to break free from this type of career monotony, then here are a few considerations.
Find Shared Values
If your co-workers value a composed, corporate and predictable work environment — but you personally feel stifled — then you may not share the same goals and ambitions. This can be quite daunting if you actually get on well with your employees. However, there is a key difference between respecting and enjoying the company of those you work with and sharing fundamental beliefs about how a workplace should be run. If your company is making you miserable with its ethos, then it’s time to consider a position elsewhere.
What Lifestyle Do You Want?
Just because you feel you ought to have a clock-in, clock-out job doesn’t mean that this is what you are suited to personally. Finding a lifestyle you resonate with will be more conducive to workplace happiness. For example, hunting for taxi driver jobs, but with a company who pride themselves on their work environment, could help you find a lifestyle that feels right in a place that shares your values.
Push Upwards
It’s very possible that you actually quite enjoy your current workplace, but are currently dissatisfied with your daily input into the company. The best and most practical way to break this habit is to expand your horizons within the company. Talk to your line manager and ask if you can start to stretch out into new areas and gain some more leadership skills. Ask to be sent on training courses and remind them that this is because you see a future within the company — on the provision that they invest in you too.
Find Co-Workers You Can Relate To
It might sound petty, but part of your dissatisfaction with your job may be due to the people you work with. If you enjoy being around your co-workers every single day and you feel you have a supportive boss, then finding enjoyment in your field of work won’t be so difficult. It’s true that a sense of drudgery often comes from lack of job satisfaction — and only you can really remedy this by deciding what your real ambition is in life. But when it comes to day-to-day enthusiasm, this has to be shared with those around you.
Ultimately, the best way to break the nine-to-five drudgery is to assess what you really want to do with your life. However, your boredom might not be because deep down you want to change careers. You may be dissatisfied because of the company you keep at work, or because you feel those lines of progression are cut off from you. Before you throw in the towel, ask your boss for more support in expanding your horizons.
