Assess yourself (and your current job) by answering the following questions.
These questions, which also serve as signs or indicators of job satisfaction, will help you examine your current career in a way that will affirm the things you want in your next career.
1. Do you feel like your job is trying to hold you back from other important things?
Ask yourself how many times have you postponed your plans to take your MA or how many years have passed since you had a real family vacation because your job won’t allow it. What significant aspects of your life have you sacrificed in the name of being an outstanding employee and are they even worth it? If you feel like your job is getting in the way of your own happiness or in achieving your full potential, then you know that work is holding you back.
2. Is it increasingly difficult for you to stay motivated?
Things used to be interesting, but after quite some time you have already lost your drive to do anything work-related. You’ve reached a slump, but not just a minor one. This makes it increasingly difficult for you to get out of bed and go to work every day. You know all too well that enthusiasm towards your job is at an all time low and you find yourself constantly distracted at the office by things other than work.
3. Do you often feel stressed/exhausted/depleted after a day’s work?
You may be earning more than enough money with the work that you have but you really hate how you spend your life making it. The long hours at work are taking its toll on you and even if you don’t want to admit it, your body is slowly showing signs. After exerting too much energy at the office, you end up feeling physically and mentally exhausted that you become almost incapable of doing anything at the end of a long work day. The kind of stress and exhaustion you suffer goes well beyond your workplace. It has come to the point where the personal ties you maintain with family and friends are also indirectly affected.
4. Is your salary too little to cover your spending or financial needs?
This is an obvious one. Even if your work isn’t easy, it should be financially rewarding.
5. Do you often find yourself compromising your integrity/values because of your job?
Work requires compromises. There are times when you may need to make tough calls in order to become successful in your chosen career path but every decision you make should still be consistent with the integrity and values you uphold. Otherwise, you will end up feeling pain and remorse.
6. Are your efforts often devalued by your boss or colleagues?
You are afraid to be intellectually honest with your boss or colleagues because you know for a fact that your ideas are bound to be rejected or taken for granted. It also becomes increasingly difficult for you to value your work because the time and effort that you put into doing it is never appreciated. These will cause you to slowly draw back from your job and your colleagues until you eventually become disengaged. Your boss either fails to notice your disengagement or may notice it but chooses not to act upon it – both of which will make you feel even more devalued.
7. Have you developed apathy towards your job?
Losing your drive is one thing, but apathy towards work is on a whole ‘nother level. You no longer care about your work or the outcome of the things you do. While you are still able to accomplish whatever your job requires from you, you find yourself working with no real energy or passion for what you are doing.
8. Do you no longer find opportunities to develop professionally?
The advancement of your career should always be on top of your checklist. Of course, this advancement only happens when you challenge yourself to do more, to exceed expectations and, to get out of your comfort zone. Career growth should also be reinforced by various training and professional development opportunities provided by your company. Any kind of work that limits your perceived potential or hampers career growth needs to be reconsidered.
One thing that you need to know about having an unfulfilling job is that you have all the power to change it. You are in charge and so there’s no excuse for you to stay unhappy. But before deciding to make a career change, it is essential for you to understand what’s making you unsatisfied. Take some time to assess the situation so you won’t end up with the same problems once you decide take on a new career.
1. Do you feel like your job is trying to hold you back from other important things?
Ask yourself how many times have you postponed your plans to take your MA or how many years have passed since you had a real family vacation because your job won’t allow it. What significant aspects of your life have you sacrificed in the name of being an outstanding employee and are they even worth it? If you feel like your job is getting in the way of your own happiness or in achieving your full potential, then you know that work is holding you back.
2. Is it increasingly difficult for you to stay motivated?
Things used to be interesting, but after quite some time you have already lost your drive to do anything work-related. You’ve reached a slump, but not just a minor one. This makes it increasingly difficult for you to get out of bed and go to work every day. You know all too well that enthusiasm towards your job is at an all time low and you find yourself constantly distracted at the office by things other than work.
3. Do you often feel stressed/exhausted/depleted after a day’s work?
You may be earning more than enough money with the work that you have but you really hate how you spend your life making it. The long hours at work are taking its toll on you and even if you don’t want to admit it, your body is slowly showing signs. After exerting too much energy at the office, you end up feeling physically and mentally exhausted that you become almost incapable of doing anything at the end of a long work day. The kind of stress and exhaustion you suffer goes well beyond your workplace. It has come to the point where the personal ties you maintain with family and friends are also indirectly affected.
4. Is your salary too little to cover your spending or financial needs?
This is an obvious one. Even if your work isn’t easy, it should be financially rewarding.
5. Do you often find yourself compromising your integrity/values because of your job?
Work requires compromises. There are times when you may need to make tough calls in order to become successful in your chosen career path but every decision you make should still be consistent with the integrity and values you uphold. Otherwise, you will end up feeling pain and remorse.
6. Are your efforts often devalued by your boss or colleagues?
You are afraid to be intellectually honest with your boss or colleagues because you know for a fact that your ideas are bound to be rejected or taken for granted. It also becomes increasingly difficult for you to value your work because the time and effort that you put into doing it is never appreciated. These will cause you to slowly draw back from your job and your colleagues until you eventually become disengaged. Your boss either fails to notice your disengagement or may notice it but chooses not to act upon it – both of which will make you feel even more devalued.
7. Have you developed apathy towards your job?
Losing your drive is one thing, but apathy towards work is on a whole ‘nother level. You no longer care about your work or the outcome of the things you do. While you are still able to accomplish whatever your job requires from you, you find yourself working with no real energy or passion for what you are doing.
8. Do you no longer find opportunities to develop professionally?
The advancement of your career should always be on top of your checklist. Of course, this advancement only happens when you challenge yourself to do more, to exceed expectations and, to get out of your comfort zone. Career growth should also be reinforced by various training and professional development opportunities provided by your company. Any kind of work that limits your perceived potential or hampers career growth needs to be reconsidered.
One thing that you need to know about having an unfulfilling job is that you have all the power to change it. You are in charge and so there’s no excuse for you to stay unhappy. But before deciding to make a career change, it is essential for you to understand what’s making you unsatisfied. Take some time to assess the situation so you won’t end up with the same problems once you decide take on a new career.
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