Do you hate your job? Do you work for an idiot boss who doesn’t know what they are doing? Does your company not care enough for its employees and constantly make bad decisions? Are you tired of all of the poor communication and incompetence around you? Do you often complain about your job to your friends and sometimes to your coworkers?
You might be right. Your boss might not be an effective manager. Your company may not do enough to show gratitude to employees or to celebrate wins. There probably are lots of opportunities to improve communication and to make better decisions.
But you are also wrong.
If you often complain about your job to friends and coworkers, you are not only not helping the situation, you are likely contributing to it.
Not that I blame you. Heck, I’ve done it myself.
It’s natural when things aren’t going well with a job to feel powerless. When we feel powerless, we tend to want to look for ways to use what power we do have. This sometimes means complaining to coworkers or even people outside the company. This does little to make the situation better and often makes it worse.
If you hate your job, I recommend a novel approach. Do it better.
I once had a job that I really didn’t like and when I decided to leave, I knew I had a choice. Either I could coast to the end or I could lean in and make sure that I was the best employee I could be before I left. I chose to do the latter and it put a bow on what was otherwise a bad experience. Plus, my employer was sorry to see me go and willing to serve as a positive reference for me.
If you feel powerless in your job, focus on the one thing you actually do have power over– your own performance. Make sure you work hard, have a great attitude, and go out of your way to find ways to do what your bosses need you to do. Then if you still dislike the job, feel free to leave, but sometimes, this change in your own attitude will change your own perspective on the job and you might find it’s not as bad as you thought.
