Do mornings bring with them a sense of impending doom?

Do you often lie in bed sleepless, hating your life and yourself?

And would your rather have your teeth pulled out, one by one, sans any anesthesia rather than going to work?

If a really stressed yes is your answer, then it’s pretty clear that you hate your job and would go through anything to be able to send in a scathing resignation letter.

The thing is, practically speaking, most of us don’t have the wherewithal to be able to simply quit a job we hate, for there are bills to be paid. So what to do when you hate your job?

Why is it so hard to quit, and even harder to stay?

Moaning and groaning about your job on an everyday basis is not only making you miserable but also irritating everyone around you. And telling yourself that sticking to a known devil rather than trying out an unknown one is better is bad philosophy.

If you hate your job, you are probably not going to be very good at it in any case, and are setting yourself up for a big fall later; and frankly if it is getting unbearable – you need to find a way out, pronto!^[1]. That said, the five most common reasons people keep doing the jobs they hate are listed below, and they are pretty understandable too.

Fear of testing new waters

One of the main reasons people keep sticking to the jobs they hate, and probably end up hating themselves while they are hard at work is the fear of unknown waters. This is particularly true for people nearing retirement or women getting back to work after a maternity leave, or even employees who have stagnated in the company or at the same position for too long.

Monetary concerns

Yep, the cost of living, unpaid bills and rising debts can put the fear of God into anyone! Your rather rickety financial situation will be worsened with unemployment and so this is one reason people stay put in the jobs they hate, unable to see a way out, at least immediately.

A lull in the job market

Sometimes you stay in the job you hate simply because there seems to be a dearth of good jobs in any case. Your regular scouring of classifieds and job sites simply tells you that leaving now means you might end up unemployed for a bit

Being miserable is okay

So you hate your job. So what. There are so many people in the world who would shrug and say “what to do when you hate your job”? Its part and parcel of life, you don’t have to like what you do – and somewhere this homily has taken root in you. And if this job is giving your family a good life, then it is well worth the sacrifice, no? Is it, truly?

All jobs are the same

And the final excuse, somehow you think that all the jobs in the world are bad and would probably end up making you miserable one way or another. Bad bosses, jealous colleagues and a workload that feels like the entire world’s weight – all jobs are like that, only … well, they aren’t.

So what to do when you hate your job? Doing nothing is a bad option.

You hate your job, that’s been established. And if you are still reading this article, you not only hate your job very much, you also abhor, despise and detest it, and this is not a transitory phase for you – you have hated your job for a while. The problem being, staying put at a job you hate and not doing anything about it, isn’t good for you, your job and both their entwined futures at all.

As we said before, a job you don’t enjoy will, if it hasn’t already, turn into a job you are not good at it. You will procrastinate, avoid added responsibilities, and basically harp and complain about it all day long – much to the ire of your colleagues, and the boss. And if your whining reaches the boss’s ears, well, soon you will be out of the job in any case.

What to do when you hate your job. Assess and take affirmative action.^[2]

Frankly, as Maya Angelou put it, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

And this hold true for your “what to do when you hate your job” whining too. There are basically only two things you can do: either you change your job, or at least the things you don’t like about it; or you change your attitude about it ^[3]…

1. Is it the job, or is it you?

Being unhappy with your job, or hating your job may be an extrinsic factor, but it may arise from an intrinsic one. Are you unhappy in general and hate your life? Or is it just the job you hate? If it’s your life you are unhappy about, then decide to make small little changes every day and get all the help you need to make yourself happy, now.^[4]

2. Find out what you “hate” about the job

The first thing to do when you get stuck in a “what to do when you hate your job situation” is to find out why you hate your job. Is it the mean boss? Is it the sniggering and overly competitive colleagues? A new and added responsibility that you cannot handle or are not equipped to do well? Has the workload suddenly increased or decreased? Has your job profile been changed?

Make a pros and cons list of your current job – this will help you sort out a problem (if it can be sorted) and also, make sure what you don’t want in your next job if you are going application happy.

3. Discuss your woes with your boss

Sometimes bosses are the reason you hate your job. While sometimes they are just nasty pieces of work, mostly bosses are as human as you and I. Talk to your boss, and discuss what is making you unhappy. See if a solution, or at least a part solution, can be reached – and then try and compromise a bit from your end too. And if the boss is the problem, see if your company can move you to a parallel position, under someone nicer?

4. Unless unbearable, don’t quit

If your job is not driving you up a wall and is also compensating you decently for your troubles, quitting may not make you as happy as you thought it would, especially if you haven’t landed another gig. Being unemployed will make you miss that salary, overanalyze your behavior and perhaps think yourself as a quitter.

If you have to leave your job, make sure you have landed another one, preferably one that is your dream job, or has all the attributes your current job lacks.^[5]

5. Always be a good worker

So you hate your job and no compromise or new job is in sight, and you are not quitting either. That doesn’t mean that you will not work well or be unprofessional – hate your job as much as you want, but you still have to do it to the best of your abilities. Basically train your mind to be strong!^[6]

6. Try to look at the bright side

You cannot hate everything about your job now, can you? So if you are stuck in a what to do when you hate your job situation, try and concentrate on what you do like about your job instead and mentally block the negatives out. Think about the future, you may hate your current job, but if it’s just a stepping stone that allows you to reach your career goals a few years down the line, sticking to it makes more sense, no?

7. Do not overshare your feelings

Frankly, no one wants a gripe at the office. If all you do is moan, groan, complain and whine – no colleague of yours is going to like you and those friends you made at work will soon disappear into thin air. Being a person who always dissed this and that all the time will further alienate you at a job you already dislike and make it unbearable. So put on that game face and work, till you have another option ^[7].

So there you have it, if a job starts affecting your life in a bad way, maybe it is time to quit ^[8] But it is always good to have a good exit strategy beforehand, as in another job before you do up and leave. And till that time you can, well, grin and bear it and remember that this too shall pass!