Last week I made a special article for you if you have a difficult job and suffer from a lot of stress (How to avoid stress when you have a difficult job?). One of the most important keys to behavior and thinking is to re-discover what it is about your work that you love and enjoy, and that you have forgotten because you are up to your neck with day-to-day problems.
But, it may happen that when you do this exercise you discover that you no longer enjoy your work, that what you once loved is no more, or that you have changed and you no longer enjoy what you do. It can happen, it's quite natural, because we all change. Over the years our tastes change, our moment in life changes, our priorities change, and so does the context in which we live or work. There are people who are constantly looking for work. You know, those people who even when they have been in a job for a short time, do not deprive themselves of looking elsewhere in search of something better. But others don't. They prefer a stable job and make a career there. Maybe it is your case.And you definitely don't take a job change lightly. And then? What to do if you know that you no longer enjoy what you do but you don't feel like it? My advice is to prepare yourself. Wherever your fears and difficulties appear, we are going to fight them with these 3 triggering questions that will help you reflect and get going:
Are you needing a change of air or work? It may seem the same, right? But is not!. A change of air is, as its name implies, a change of context, of what surrounds you. A job change is doing something different. Sometimes you need both, but sometimes only one would already meet your expectations and improve your quality of life. Define what you need and then get going. If what you want is a change of air, how about asking to be transferred to another branch? That way you would not leave your current job and you would be gaining that "change of air." This is ideal if the fear of instability, of the job search (which takes time, of course), of adapting to a new company, paralyzes you. If you're looking for a job change, how about asking to be transferred to another area? You would do different thingsYou would have other colleagues and you would also learn different techniques that could help you develop your career and even find new tasks that excite you more than the previous ones. If what you need is both, maybe it is a good idea to start putting together your job change planning, which is much more complex than just making a Curriculum, a letter and showering your contacts and acquaintances with them…
What will change when you change jobs? (what will get better, what will get worse, the big picture). You have to know that all jobs have good points and bad points, so it is not advisable to think that “changing jobs” will solve all your problems (especially since some of them come with you, not with the context. That's right, you have to face it and better be now). Make a list of the things you will gain and the things you will lose. One of my clients began a coaching process with me because she did not tolerate her work environment, her boss, her collaborators. She felt that everyone made her life more difficult. Her ideal job was much more flexible, it involved traveling, meeting new people. We began to explore a different vein that she enjoyed, which is the design of exclusive events, aesthetics, clothing, everything.She had tons of ideas and was really an expert in many of these areas even though she had never worked on them (that's what a hobby does sometimes, it makes you an expert on something while you don't realize it's happening). So everything seemed to indicate that her profession would turn that way. But, by making the list of what they would gain and lose in their new profession, the instability of income or the loss of economic status that comes from opening and dedicating themselves to a new company, they became what North Americans call a “deal-breaker. ”. Which means that it is something that definitely invalidates the agreement, that it is not negotiable. She was not in a moment of her life to be able to afford that loss, and it is not an economic question, it is a personal question.So her process continued to define what actions she could take to improve communication and the work environment in her current job. Later, when he was at another point in his life, he could return to his idea of a more flexible and independent job. What are your "deal-breakers"? What are you not willing to risk?
What kind of person you are? It sounds like a general question, but it is not and I will explain why. Among the people who do not enjoy their work, in my opinion, there are two types: those who do not affect them, and those who suffer from it, get stressed, get sick. If you are of the first type, you can afford to decide to stay in a job that you don't like. You can decide not to stress out with a job change, have to adapt to a new company, new colleagues. In general, for this type of people, the positive of their work is much greater than the negative (that's why it does not affect them). So if you are one of these people and have decided to stay, but are still looking to enjoy your activity a little more, my recommendation is that you look for a hobby, a hobby. Define what you would like to do and do it on your own, in a foundation,in a group in your city. This will give you the satisfaction of doing what you like, and still have a job to "pay the rent" as they say.
Ahora, es bien distinto si eres del segundo tipo. Si padeces, te estresas y te enferma tu trabajo, la decisión que tienes que tomar no es QUE sino CUANDO. Claro que siempre puedes elegir el status quo (el estado actual) pero ¿sabes que estás cada día destruyendo tu propia calidad de vida? ¿Cuánto tiempo más crees que vas a poder “aguantar”?. Míralo de esta forma, cuando te expones al sol y este te empieza a quemar y sacar llagas en la piel, te mueves, ¿verdad? Si tienes una amiga que está con una persona abusiva, que la trata mal constantemente y le hace daño, ¿qué le aconsejarías? Que se mueva, ¿verdad? Yo sé que a veces no es sencillo, pero tienes que empezar a pensar en ello. Y si no puedes hacerlo solo, busca ayuda. Si el miedo te paraliza, busca ayuda.
I have no doubt that these questions have been ringing in your head and if you have felt identified with these situations, you have a lot to reflect on. Just remember, even the longest of roads begins with a first step. What first step are you willing to take today to improve your quality of life?
