I Really Hate My Job…Now What?

If you’ve been in your career for awhile but don’t really dig it anymore, or if you simply haven’t found that perfect niche yet, you’re not alone. In fact, according to Gallup, only 15% of the workforce worldwide, are engaged in their job. In the US, it’s around 30%…not great.

That leaves over 70% – 85% of the workforce not happy with their current job or career! If you fall in the latter category you know what I’m talking about.

Reasons Why?

There can be a variety of reasons you hate your job, but it often boils down to one or more of the following reasons…

  • Boss – If you work in a place where your boss doesn’t appreciate your hard work or is overly critical, it can make getting out of bed in the morning a real drag!
  • Pay – If you earn a salary and aren’t happy with it, it’s easy to feel stuck. Many companies will offer merit raises, cost of living adjustments etc., but if you don’t feel your base salary is adequate, it’s easy to develop a feeling of resentment.
  • Work Environment – If you work in a toxic work place, it can be extremely uncomfortable…backstabbing, cliques, subtle demeaning comments and the like will make anyone cringe!
  • Little Opportunity for Advancement – If you’re planning to move up in the company as time goes on but are never offered an opportunity, it’s easy to become resentful.
  • Unreasonable Work Demands – If you are barely able to keep up or have to stay late to get work done, you know the pain we speak of. It’s exhausting!
  • Boredom – For those who’ve been in any career or job for a long period of time or who aren’t adequately challenged at work, you may feel like things are always stagnant.
  • The Job or Career Is Not A Good Fit – The career you thought you really wanted? Well as it turns out, you don’t like it after all…and now you’ve gotten established and are unsure how to start something new.
I really hate my job
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

What Can Be Done About It?

Find Ways To Make Your Current Job Better – There are times when it’s possible to breathe new life in your current job. For example if you do shift work and just can’t get up early for your assigned shift. You talk to the boss about switching to a swing shift instead and she approves it. Or maybe you finally get up the courage to ask your boss for a raise and you get it!

However, for a lot of people, once they tire of a certain job or career, it can be very difficult to change that dynamic.

Find A New Job – When you hate your current job (or career for that matter), the most natural inclination is to simply find a similar job but in a different company.

This can work – some people go on to get the pay raise, promotion, better schedule etc. and find the kind of satisfaction they were looking for.

But others find themselves in a similar state of misery after a few weeks or months. If this has happened to you, it may be time to consider a new career or going into some type of self employment. We discuss what to consider if you’re thinking of self employment in this article.

Go Back To School – This may be a good option if you truly know what you want to do but simply don’t have the credentials needed. Many people who have been in the workforce for a long time enjoy going back to school. It gives them hope and excitement that better things are on the horizon.

For others, the thought of going back to school (and possibly accumulate more debt) sounds dreadful. This point of view is completely understandable as well because if you’re fully entrenched in a career, have a family and stable income, it can really cause some upheaval in your life!

Open Your Own Business – Since we love writing about self employment, this option is near and dear to our hearts. But it’s not for everyone and that’s ok. There is a lot of safety and security in getting a regular pay check!

But for some folks getting out of the usual grind is what they truly desire. They have a product or service they love and really want to go out and make it happen!

It can totally be done, but be aware of what you’re getting into before taking the plunge. We talk more about who is cut out for self employment here.

How To Make The Switch

  • Discover What You Like To Do – This can be difficult if you’ve been in the same career for a long time. Write a list of ALL your interests, passions, hobbies etc. and see if you spot a way to make a living out of those. For example, you love fishing and know how to catch just about any kind of fish…maybe opening up a tackle shop is in your future…or starting a website about fishing and monetizing it by selling products on it. The possibilities are endless but you’ll need to get creative – and that’s what makes it fun!
  • Research Research Research – The beauty of the internet is that it has a wealth of information to really delve into, whatever type of business you may be considering. Of course there are still book stores around too, magazines that cover your business or hobby in depth etc. Also, let’s not forget that nothing is better than talking to someone who is already successful at the business you are thinking of trying. They’ll know all the pitfalls and can provide you with a lot of wisdom before you take the leap.
  • Ease Your Way Into It (don’t be impulsive) – When you really hate your job, it’s so easy to jump into something…anything, to get out your current situation. But by not having patience and a solid plan – you may make your situation worse. Take time to plan it out, whether it means going back to school, starting a new career, or searching for that new job.

Consider Working From Home

People are working from home in greater numbers than ever before. Employers are realizing that employees are often more productive when working from home, and also rate job satisfaction higher than their counterparts who work in the office, fighting traffic etc.

It may not always be feasible to work from home, depending on the type of product or service you want to specialize in. For example, if you want to build or offer something on a mass scale, you may need a large warehouse (and budget) for added space and employees.

But if you’re planning on running a small business, creating one from home is a great way to start. Working from home will save a lot of money upfront and you can always scale it out at a later time when things take off.

So get creative! Think outside the box about things you’d like to try from your home office. For many people, it doesn’t really matter what they do from home – just being their own boss and setting up their own business the way they want to run it is reward enough.

A few popular ideas can be and Uber or Lyft driver, running a cleaning business, pet sitting service (or dog walking), handyman, sales jobs from home, affiliate marketing/blog, accountant and ____________ you fill in the blank.

Also – don’t feel like you have to lock yourself into just ONE option. A person could easily string together 2, 3, or more part time businesses to get started!

For example, you could start a blog and run a pet sitting service at the same time. You’d have to schedule appointments with your customers for the pet business, but a blog can be written whenever you have the time (which is a big draw for me!) You could even blog about your pet sitting adventures and sell a few products on your site.

A few ideas on starting out as self employed on a part time basis can be found here.

It’s not a bad idea to hang on to the security of your day job while starting your side hustle. It takes a lot of work on the front end but if your desire is strong enough, it’s totally possible!

Create A Website

Regardless of what you decide to do, creating a website can really get your business off the ground, whether you decide to run a brick and mortar business, or offer a service.

Think about it. Where do you start searching if you need a plumber, a therapist, a massage etc…online, right? The yellow pages are all but gone (well, the paper version anyway) and establishing an online presence is key for any industry these days.

“But I don’t have the first clue as to HOW to set up a website or what to even put in!” you say. Well lucky for you (and me?) is that you don’t have to. There are plenty of pre-made templates and hosting options available for free or nearly free. All you have to do is pick a hosting provider, find a template, and add your content.

We talk about how to start and grow a business online here.

If you have a business idea in mind, check to see if there is a domain available below. SiteRubix allows you to set up two sites for free!

Closing Thoughts

We hope you’re feeling more hopeful about your future job or career prospects after reading this. It’s hard…painful really, to get up and go to a job you hate. No one signed up for that.

We also hope the information provided here can help steer you in a direction that YOU want to go. If you need more information on getting started in the wonderful world of self employment, please poke around our site. We cover a lot of different ways to become self employed.

We pride ourselves in helping people discover their real passions and develop businesses around those passions. In order for this to happen, though, it can take some training. We may not have all the answers about your specific business, but we do know what it takes to make a business grow!

And that is by being visible to as many people as possible. And like we spoke of earlier, creating a website (the right way) can make any business explode into a thriving full time gig!

The program we recommend to make this happen is reviewed here. It’s a comprehensive platform that has taught over a million people how to create a successful website for their business that will attract more customers.

Please leave a comment if any of the information here resonates with you. We know how hard it is working in a job you don’t like, and would love to help. Thanks for stopping by.

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