How to Cope With a Hated Job

If you don’t feel good about your current job situation, don’t fret. You aren’t alone. Surveys show that 87 percent of Americans don’t like their jobs but feel they are stuck doing them.

But hating what you do could cause a feeling of hopelessness and depression. So turn things around and take action to improve your job situation.

 

8 Steps to Cope With a Hated Job

1. Identify why you hate your job.

Maybe it’s the actual work, the environment, the pay, your boss or the people or a person at work. Once you identify the cause, you can work toward a solution.

 

2. Communicate to your boss your issues in as positive a way as possible.

Think through your approach before you meet with her and be prepared to offer solutions. Don’t gripe or complain and don’t gossip about your coworkers–especially by name if you can avoid it. This will only cause you more problems and can come back to bite you.

 

3. Begin each day with a positive focus.

Change your can’t to cans and your complaints into compliments. A change in attitude will get you farther in your job and career and you may even see a promotion come your way.

 

4. Find something of interest on which you can focus.

Whether it be a hobby, going back to school, writing a book or trading stocks, you need something outside of your work that you can look forward to and feel good about. Find out what interests you and do it.

 

5. Take time to work out.

It not only makes you feel good, but it also gives you energy, fights depression, relieves stress and gives you great self esteem. Research has proven that exercise can actually boost your level of serotonin in the brain and stimulate endorphins that sometimes make you feel euphoric. So find even a half hour, three times a week, to talk a brisk walk.

 

6. Refuse to let others get you down.

Not everyone can get along and not everyone will like you. There are bound to be people in every job that could make going to work miserable for you–if you let them. Be hospitable and kind, avoid them if you can, but don’t let the trouble makers get under your skin. Imagine yourself putting on a shield that cannot be penetrated with negativity. This may sound silly, but some people find it very effective.

 

7. Make a plan for the future-you can’t expect to go anywhere in life without one.

Instead of dwelling on what stinks about your job, think about where you are going with it. Strive towards a promotion or think about what you hope to obtain by working at your current job. If you have no goals for your current job, think about finding a new job or career.

 

8. Keep your options open.

Get your resume out there and look for other work. You never know what you’ll find. Set a goal for yourself to send out a certain number of resumes a week and apply for a certain number of jobs. If you are offered a position, you don’t have to accept it. But at least you will feel like you’re taking control of your future. Life is too short to be doing what you hate the majority of the time.

 

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