Unhappy At Work? 8 Ways You Can Change That

By Perminus Wainaina

Are you unhappy with your current job?

When you are employed, you will encounter incidences where you will feel unsatisfied with your job from time to time.

As a Recruiter and a Career Coach, I notice that most people, who feel unhappy with their jobs, will often choose to quit or resign to fate before evaluating the other options available to them.

Every job has its own challenges and you can’t always quit or let things run out of control every time you feel unhappy.

That said, here are things that you can to help you cope better with difficult situations at work.

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1. Conduct a thorough self- evaluation

Start by asking yourself why you are unhappy with your current job.

Is this a new feeling or have I always disliked my work?  Is it the nature of my job, the company culture or the people that I work with? These are the questions you need to ask yourself to figure out the next step to take.

Do you stay put or do you quit?

When you conduct such an assessment, you will be in a better position to understand why you are so unhappy in your current position.

An honest self-evaluation can help you see the situation(s) from an objective perspective.

2. Figure out where the problem lies

Once you have conducted a self-evaluation, it is time to then decide whether your feelings are justified or you are just over reacting.

I have seen people call it quits just because they are not getting along with a certain employee(s) or their supervisors. You need to understand that sometimes these feeling may not have anything to do with the job.

For instance, when you leave your job because there is so much tension; the same will follow you even to your next job.

Understand, therefore, whether your feelings are justified and whether there is something you can do to correct the situation. Only when the reasons are more related to your job should you consider applying elsewhere but even then, consider other options within the organization.

3. Talk to your boss or supervisor

Sometimes you will feel unhappy in your job because of the responsibilities you are tasked with. Sometimes it will be because of certain projects you are given and other times the salary may be contributing to your unhappiness.

Instead of quitting, find a way of talking to your boss about these issues. Explain why you are feeling unhappy and see if there is anything they can do.

I will be more comfortable if an employee told me that they are unhappy with this and that about the job and then I can try to figure out ways of correcting the situation without losing the employee.

4. Don’t just quit

The grass will not always be greener on the other side. You may be leaving your current job because you are unhappy only to find that the situation in the other place is even worse. What do you do after that?

If you have a job that provides a good salary but the situation is unbearable, consider staying put at the moment and then figure out what to do next.

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5. A change in attitude will do you so much good

Maybe you had an experience with a colleague or a supervisor that left you feeling humiliated and unhappy. If this is the case, consider letting go.

Focus on those aspects of your job that make you happy instead. If however, you can’t find a single reason to be happy at your job, consider an exit plan.

6. Maintain your professionalism

In my years of practicing HR, I have met many candidates who burned bridges with their former employers only to find that the job they were rushing to was worse.

If you are planning on quitting, consider being professional. Keep doing your job well until that time you decided to hand in your resignation letter.

If it happens that within that time you get to love your job, then you won’t suffer the embarrassment of having burned your bridges too early.

7. Consider other opportunities within the company that might make you happy

Sometimes we are handed roles that we do not enjoy doing and that might lead to unhappiness in the work place.

What would you rather be doing? What role would you love to play within the organization?

If you can’t change your role within the organization, consider interacting with people who can mentor you and participate in projects that make you happy. Volunteer to help that colleague or volunteer to work in another department.

Sometimes working on projects that we love can end up changing your experience and give you a whole new outlook on your job.

8.Change your job without changing the company

Sometimes you will be content with the company but not the specific role you are playing. If that is so, consider applying for positions within the organization that you are interested in.

It will be much easier for you to apply for a job within than to start in another company.

Perminus Wainaina is a Certified HR Consultant, Career Coach and Managing Partner of Corporate Staffing Services, a leading recruitment firm in Kenya. As a career coach, Perminus works with experienced professionals in helping them determine and achieve what they want in their career  Click here for more on career coaching.