In one year, I had applied to maybe 550 jobs on LinkedIn, and I didn’t hear back from anyone…
Should You LOVE Your Job?
February is traditionally the month of love, so we’re talking about love and work, and how we feel about it.
Do you Love your job?
If your answer is yes, congratulations - you’re in the minority. Take some time to think about what specifically you love about your job; the challenge, your clients, colleagues, the actual work or tasks, exposure, benefits, or maybe it’s just the pay. Whatever it is, you should feel good that you have found something fulfilling that hopefully meets your financial needs. That’s a good use of your time.
If, like most people, your answer is no, then the good new is you’re not alone. But is not loving your job a bad thing?
Does your job have to be your ‘purpose’ or passion?
In my opinion, no. But it should be an enabler. By this, I mean, getting up every day and going to work, to do a job that you don’t love, should be moving you closer to or directly enabling you to do what you do love.
For those who don’t love their day jobs, it’s a means to an end, and should support the pursuit of whatever gives you purpose or makes you feel fulfilled. This might mean the money you earn is saved towards a personal project, passion or venture, or it could mean you’re using the skills and experience you’re getting from your job to prepare you for the next thing you have your mind set on. Perhaps your job helps you keep the lights on at home, so that you can work on the book you’ve been writing for a year each day after work. Perhaps you’re saving enough to start your own business. Perhaps you’re the bottom of the food chain, working with the boss from hell, but you know this bad gig will increase your exposure and get you a better one.
What should your job give you?
Your job should give you the time/money/other resources required to work towards fulfilling your ‘purpose’ or passion. Work for most of us is a transaction. That’s what it boils down to; someone pays you for your time, labour and skills in cash and/or benefits.
At the very least, here are a few things you should get from your job:
Money. To live. To pay for housing/accommodation (unless, you don’t need this because, for example, you live at home), food, transportation, etc. Sometimes you just need to make a living. Sometimes a job is just about survival.
Skills, development opportunities, and experience
Both.
If your job isn’t giving you one, two, or ideally 3, it may be time to re-think your current employment situation. Survival is ok as a short-term plan, but most of us want to do more than survive. I know I do.
Should you HATE your job?
The short and long answer to this is no - you shouldn’t hate your job, and if you do, and it’s at all possible for you to leave, then start planning your exit strategy (we can cover this in another blog post). If leaving isn’t an option just yet, then here are some tips:
Find joy: identify specific tasks, activities or interactions you genuinely enjoy, figure out what you like about them, and try to spend more time doing them.
Job-Shadow: observe someone in a position you admire, and see how they approach their work. Make note of what you like, and don’t like, and the behaviours or mindset it might be useful for you to adopt in the workplace.
Learn something new: pick up a task or responsibility that you think might be useful later, e.g. being the minute-taker in a meeting isn’t exactly fun, but it gives you an opportunity to develop and improve your communication and writing skills - it also teaches you to be accountable for something. There are also thousands of online courses you could take to up-skill yourself, making you more competitive for other jobs out there.
Talk to someone: A problem shared really is a problem halved. Find someone you trust and talk to them about work - get their perspective and see if they can share any coping mechanisms they have found helpful with you. If all else fails, talk to us!
Plot your escape: maybe you can’t leave right now, but at some point in the future, that could change, and you need to be ready. Make a list of things you need to do in preparation for your departure, and work your way through that list.
Conclusion
I’ve had roles I’ve loved, and roles I have hated, and the great thing about both, is that they steered me towards the people and things I like. A terrible job makes it easier to identify tasks, activities and work environments that you do not like, and a great job teaches you the opposite. Either way, you are learning, growing, and will become a more intuitive professional if you take the time to reflect on your feelings about your job or business. Even in cases where they might be limited, you do have some choices. You can move, and potentially miss out on something; earn less, or compromise on benefits, job security, proximity to your home, the field or sector, the people you work with, etc. But there’s also the possibility that you could make a career move, and find yourself in a far better position. Experience is a valuable, tradable commodity, as long as you know how to market and sell it. What are you currently doing with yours?
We can’t all love our jobs, unfortunately. Most jobs aren’t lifelong, thankfully. Make a change if you can, if you must, and if you can’t, make a way for yourself that leads you to better working conditions and better quality of life.
You don’t have to love every moment of your career, but you should have a vision of where you want to go, and you should love that!
Hello Fed Up: A Letter to a fed up employee
Hello Fed Up,
How have you been? I know today is your day to relax but I want to talk about disappointment and frustration at your workplace.
Are you disappointed and frustrated?
Does thinking about work, and being at work make you feel tired? Have you had it up to here with your job? Work leaves a lot of people in one of the categories. To add insult to injury, sometimes you have the worst boss as well. Recently, a Lady said to me;
“My boss is always giving me work to do on the weekend”.
“What about your co-workers? Don’t they help out?” I asked her.
“No, they never pick up her calls, respond to emails or do the tasks given on the weekends properly. So now she only contacts me!”
The lady was angry because she was receiving the same pay and did more work than her colleagues. One possible upside is that when there is a promotion or or a better work position available, her boss might remember her.
Now, in situations such as the one described, you have some options, and the choices you make will really depend on your work environment, the work culture, your boss and colleagues.
Some practical suggestions
Before making a choice, think about your organisation/ team dynamic; is it hierarchical, or flat? Do you have freedom to speak your mind directly, or do you need to find more diplomatic ways to ask for what you want?
Stop answering work calls outside of working hours - This seems like a tough one, because it is far easier said than done. But your time and labour comes as a cost, and you determine what that is when you accept you sign a contract, and accept your salary. Work can’t be your life, and it’s important for your employer(s) to understand this and respect boundaries. You also need to consider what this interrupted time stops you from doing at home, e.g. socialising, resting, hobbies, other interests and business opportunities. If you feel this time is valuable and you can’t enjoy it, then stop answering the calls.
Re-negotiate your terms and conditions - If you’re consistently spending time on extra work-related activities that others in your team do not and this is not reflected in your remuneration and/or benefits, then it may be time to re-contract. This might be a conversation with your boss, or it might be one with other members of your team. If you agree to split the extra work, you can all take credit, and come together as a group to make a request/suggestion for changes or improvements to your working conditions, benefits, or whatever else you might want to change. E.g. there are four people in your team, and each of you works an extra Saturday every month. You agree who is ‘on-duty’ every weekend, and let your boss know who to call if anything urgent comes up. At the end of two or three months, you highlight what you have contributed/delivered/achieved, and ask that this be reflected in a team social evening, an extra day off, or free lunch on Fridays.
If in fact, you’re the only one re-contracting, then it may be time to discuss your pay/bonus with your employer.
Direct: Ask for what you want. Make a list if necessary, but make sure you have work/examples you can use to support your demands for more money, better benefits, or time off. If this isn’t possible, agree on times during the weekend when you may be able to accommodate the excess workload. Always follow up with an email summarising what has been agreed.
Indirect: Explain how the extra work affects you and lay out some changes that help you to be as effective and productive as possible.
Do the extra work but increase your visibility - If you have been working overtime, make sure your boss takes note of it. Write down the additional things you’ve supported/achieved/delivered, and ensure they’re all included in your appraisals. Don’t focus on the process or tasks, but rather the outcome of your activities. E.g. thanks to your support chasing a client on the weekends, you landed a new account for your employer. Make sure you know how the additional activities are adding value, and if they are not, then limit the amount of time you spend on them. You want your boss to notice your work that leads to high-profile outcomes!
Suck it up while you look for something better - You spend too much time at work to be miserable, overworked and stressed out. Spend 30 minutes every day working on your CV, looking for jobs that you would like to apply for and begin accumulating those skills. Note the things you do well and think about how to market them in your applications. Look for things you can do in your current role that will make you more marketable. Perhaps that does involve some of the extra/unpaid work you’re doing.
I had a job where used to get frustrated. My boss used to insult me and the one time I walked out of the office. I could not stand the verbal tirade, she reported me to the head office for insubordination!
I hated that job but it taught me a lot. It taught me how to manage people and relationships. It taught me how to work under pressure and it taught me how to work with difficult people. These are things I never would have learnt if I had not worked with this employer. Today we still keep in touch and she is always willing to give me great references.
I am a strong advocate for doing your very best at work. I know work can be tiring and sometimes you feel unappreciated. You feel like you do the most and you are not acknowledged. You probably are being noticed, but is it for the right reasons? You are probably thought of as someone reliable, and someone who works hard - so how do you best leverage that? When you do eventually move on to another job (if that’s what you want) your recommendation should be fantastic!
In summary, we all go through frustrating times at work. Sometimes the right move is to leave, and even then you need time to plan what’s next, but sometimes you can and should hold on. Try to look at what you are gaining from the experience and opportunities (because they could leave you more qualified and resilient for something bigger and better).
Do your best, be smart, hang in there.
Best Regards,
Kofo GT.
