I Hate My Job! Is it Time to Quit, Switch Careers, or Stay? 

I hate my job

‘I am an Electrical Engineer’. One man tells his friend.  ‘I love my profession but I hate my job with the company I work with. I hate my boss, he is a difficult person. And I don’t like my co-workers either. I am tired of going to the office every day. I am frustrated.’

‘How long have you worked with the company?’ His friend asked. ‘8 years the man replied. 

“I hate my job” is a typical phrase heard in the workplace. Employees like the individual above conclude that “I hate my job” due to a variety of circumstances.

Key Takeaways 

  • Putting up with a job that you hate is enough to bring anyone to their breaking point. And, as much as you’d like to pack your belongings and say goodbye to your boss, there are several questions you will need to ask yourself to validate the real reasons why you may want to quit.
  • You should leave if you find yourself in a scenario where it is emotionally, physically, or mentally exhausting.
  • You are ready to switch careers if you know the criteria and have the skills, qualifications, and credentials for the new job you are aspiring to have. 
  • If you decide to hunt for a new job, you should do so while you are still employed. This way, if you don’t find a job in time, you won’t have to worry about employment gaps or financial stability.

What The Research Says

According to Gallup’s global poll, 85 percent of individuals in the workforce hate their jobs.

Although it is common to find people who hate their jobs, it is not an easy problem to solve.

For example, Kelly Daubach, a business coach, conducted a LinkedIn survey to find out why employees continue to work in jobs they hate. The post was viewed 10,000 times. It was higher than the typical number of views on her daily posts, she remarked. The reason, according to Kelly, is that many people are trapped and, to make matters worse, believe they don’t have a choice. 

According to the survey, 58 percent of people claim they are stuck in a job they hate because they are frightened to change. Change is characterized by uncertainty.

What if you don’t get a new job right away, or if the new job isn’t as challenging as the old one, or if…? There are several “if” scenarios to consider.

The natural response to the question of what to do when you say “I hate my job” is to quit. However, you will need to conduct some soul searching before quitting. Before you put in your resignation letter, you may need to find some answers.

Find Out What The Real Problem Is

Your work life and your personal life are the same . Are things at home spilling into work and making work feel unmanageable?  Maybe, just maybe, it’s not your job” says Trevor Thrones, co-founder and senior instructor at professionalleadershipinstitute.com. Before you make any drastic changes at work, figure out where the problem is. It could be something related to your health, having insufficient sleep, or relationship issues.

Be Sure of  Your Financial Security 

A job provides a source of income. It provides you with sense of financial safety. Even if you hate some or all aspects of your current job, you can be confident that it provides you with financial security and peace of mind. Before you resign, look for ways to safeguard your financial security.

“The path you choose requires careful consideration of your financial position at that point in life. If affordable everyone could just jump ship. But most of us have to maintain the status quo since change does carry an element of risk with regards to one’s economic state. My advice is not to burn the bridges rather have a plan that carefully considers the risk/benefit ratio. Because on the flip side, you don’t want to leave a job you hate to land in the worst position. ” writes John Berkerton, an aspiring Healthcare Data Analyst in response to a LinkedIn connection that fled a job he hated. 

Consider If There Will Be Any Employment Gaps

Another consideration is the possibility of an employment gap if you do not find another job immediately after resigning. So before you say goodbye to the job, is there a job offer that you have accepted? Recently, someone told me that a job offer which she accepted and was waiting to collect her appointment letter was rescinded because she is pregnant. Luckily, she had not resigned from her current position.

More Questions Follow Employment Gaps

If you find a job long after your previous job, it will raise questions during your interviews. Employers often ask questions about employment gaps and that may put you at a disadvantage during interviews. 

You might also lose faith in yourself when you don’t find a job immediately. Loss of confidence can lead to poor interview performances, making finding work much more difficult. It’s often better to continue looking for ways to improve your job satisfaction while you look for more opportunities. There is an assumption that while you’re working, you’ll have a greater probability of getting employed. Some employers consider candidates who already have a job to be more valuable than those who are out of a job and looking for work. There’s always the possibility that unemployed people are unemployed due to a flaw in their skills, work ethic, or personality. 

Changing Jobs Too Quickly Raises Red Flags

Employers may also want to know why you quit your past job and if you would do the same if you encounter a similar challenge while working with them. Also, analyze yourself. Do you quit your job more often than not? If you do, that will raise a red flag. The job or work environment may not be the cause of your job dissatisfaction. 

Six Common Signs That Reveal It’s Time To Quit

1. A Toxic Work Environment 

Physical attacks, verbal abuse, harassment, physical trauma, high stress, and threats are all signs of a hazardous workplace. It will be unhealthy to remain in an organization that promotes a toxic workplace culture.

2. When You Sense There Will Be Layoffs

While leaving the company, an HR manager suggested to his mentee that he transferred to a different department because it would be beneficial to his long-term career. There was a lot of downsizing in the HR department shortly after the mentee moved. His previous position was affected, but he had, fortunately, moved to another department. Another employee, feeling the economic swings in her company, began upskilling and preparing to leave. Fortunately for her, she had fully prepared and found another job when she was called in to be relieved of her duties.

Many organizations go through periods of highs and lows, you should consider quitting if you perceive your organisation as drastically underperforming and/or in real danger of folding up. 

Signs that your organization may be folding up include a poor company’s financials, massive staff layoffs, a decline in client base, salary freezes, and the closure of select operations.

3. If you dread Monday mornings

Even after you’ve had the most wonderful weekend of your life, it never seems long enough. 
That’s fine, though. What matters is how you approach the idea of going to work. If you get sick to your stomach as soon as Sunday evening arrives, and the prospect of returning to work the next day makes your heart sink or fills you with dread, and this has become a Sunday night pattern, it’s time to take action.

4. You Lack Motivation 

Apathy at work can manifest itself in a variety of ways. maybe you feel disconnected and don’t care about achievement or advancement. You don’t want to go above and beyond what is asked of you because you feel powerless or your boss is over-controlling or there is a lack of community.

5. Workplace stress is affecting your health

You wouldn’t be able to do much with your life without your health in place. So if your work demands are leaving you feeling stressed, or affecting your health physically and mentally, then you will have to quit the job.

6. You Are Not Progressing On The Job

In your current position, you are not only stuck, but you are also undervalued and passed over for promotions. Your job is enjoyable, but it isn’t challenging any longer. You want to take on more tasks and have a bigger influence, but you’re finding it difficult.

I Hate My Job, Is It Time To Switch Careers?

When you ask “is it time to switch careers”? you are talking about a career change. 

Perhaps you work in a completely uninteresting industry or field and are unable to make full use of your abilities, as one professional mentioned. She switched from technology to consulting so she could fully employ her writing, speaking, and advising abilities. Another one left a teaching job to pursue a career as a bank examiner after becoming dissatisfied with the underutilization of her skills.

The Role of Talent in Choosing a Career

Ben Carson’s “Big Picture” is a book I re-read. Ben Carson detailed how he went from being a dummy at school to becoming a well-known and skilled neurosurgeon. He did it by assessing his abilities and gifts. “It’s a crucial step in deciding on a career,” he explains. Selecting professional paths that allow you to develop your natural talents and abilities helps you find fulfillment. 

A thriving HR executive said she has changed careers about four times. This may be a good signal for you to go ahead to switch careers, but you should know switching careers means you are moving to a completely new industry where you are not familiar with the career pathway.

As result, it should be approached with caution and well-thought-out strategy.

Before you make the move, check the following:

  • Have you researched the new industry you are looking forward to belonging to?
  • What are the job role requirements? Are the skills you’ve garnered at your present job transferable to this new role and if not, what professional certifications and qualifications do you need to qualify for the role? 

For example, an acquaintance hated her job as a design engineer. She wanted something more. And she noticed one of her senior colleagues feeling overwhelmed at his job. She offered to help. She was reassigned to his department not long after. “That was the shift I needed”. She said. 

 “I thought deeply about what I needed to do to advance in the new position. I transitioned from a technical Engineer into a bid proposal role. In this role, I have to write and research. Having learned from my previous experience, I needed to take the steps that will help me keep advancing rather than being stuck at the entry-level position. I looked at my age including my years of experience. I knew my experience in design engineering might not help in the future but it helped move me into the new role. So I did some  certifications that were relevant to the new role.”

Next Steps…

Now that you’re aware of what it takes, you can start planning your next moves. You can begin looking for chances once you’ve decided on a career path. Modify your professional online profiles to explicitly declare your plan to shift industries, as well as specifics on the talents and expertise you have that will be useful. Remember to review your resume and cover letter to highlight the adjustments made.

Also take into account that whenever you leave a job, you may lose touch with your social circle. Obtaining recommendations from former colleagues and employers may be tough. Given the importance of connections in employment, it’s important to maintain a professional and optimistic attitude when exiting a job. Make sure you don’t alienate anyone in your network.

In conclusion, it is advisable to leave a job where you are not progressing in your role despite your efforts, where the work community is toxic, or a workplace where the demands are putting a strain on your health. Nonetheless, resigning too soon in other situations might not be the best option. Whatever you choose, take your time to consider your options. 

Recommended Resources:
 

Uncover your strengths and weaknesses with our complimentary assessment. Boost your effectiveness at work and with your team.

Free Resource Library: Access our extensive collection of valuable resources for instant support in your personal and professional growth.

Explore Our Course Library:

Enhance your leadership skills with our diverse selection of courses. Take your abilities to the next level and become a more effective leader and team player.

Testimonials

Our Clients Love the Professional Leadership Institute

Your team will, too! Check out some reviews from our students.
The PLI program was invaluable to our network.
The range of topics delivered, the open dialogue, experience, and examples that PLI brought to each session were outstanding and provided a path for our Franchisees and Managers to look at leadership, coaching, and connecting with their teams in a new light. Many have implemented these strategies in their bakeries and have seen immediate results.
Michelle C.
COBS Bread
Highly recommend to help your team move forward
We have locations around BC and Alberta, so getting people on the same page can be very difficult... Until now. Our entire management team and location managers take the same great courses and then meet monthly online with our coach to apply it to our situation. People are engaged, the courses are excellent, we love our coach, and we are all learning together!
Jason Fawcett
President, Kelson Group
The result has been a transformation of our culture. 
We decided to implement PLI's strategies across the country in over 150 locations and over 3500 employees.  The result has been a transformation of our culture.  People's lives have been positively impacted - professionally and personally.  Morale is high and sales and profits are up as a result.
Daryl Verbeek
Daryl Verbeek
We’ve learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all
The roadmap laid out set our business up to quintuple in sales.  We've learned how to fix ongoing personnel issues once and for all, attract top talent, and spend our time focused on results, not internal staffing problems.  I highly recommend PLI to you - it's worked for us!
John DeJong
Satisfied Client
I had no idea that running a business could be this fun!
In less than 18 months of working with Trevor, he has transformed my business from being average to exceptional, where mediocrity is not acceptable, where being great is standard.  Working with PLI has allowed me to realize my dream of not simply owning a job, but owning a business.
Justin Bontkes
Principal, Caliber Projects
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year
Our culture has taken major steps forward this year with Trevor’s help.  He is funny, relatable, and his tools are very very practical and have helped us focus and upgrade our teams throughout our retail network. Trevor recently spoke to an employee group, and one person remarked, “I could listen to Trevor all day.”   We would highly recommend Trevor.
Stan Pridham
Founder, KMS Tools
The results have been remarkable
At first, we resisted, “This just won’t work with a law firm.” But we persisted and the results have been remarkable: our client base and profits have steadily improved, and staff engagement and morale is the healthiest its ever been.
Doug Lester
Partner, RDM Lawyers
Helped our fast-growing business become what it is today
I've experienced PLI's approach first hand and it's been crucial to sustaining our growth.  I can't imagine a business that wouldn't benefit greatly from his help.
Brian Antenbring
Founder, TEEMA
Provided practical ways to make positive changes
Trevor was incredibly well-received by the entire organization. He was able to articulate people issues that many of our franchisees were experiencing and provided them with practical ways to make positive changes. We have implemented the Star Chart tool across the organization and see it as vital to building happy, effective teams.
Aaron Gillespie
President, COBS Bread
Scroll to Top

Start Learning Today

For Individuals

Unlock your potential and accelerate your career with sought-after management and leadership skills.

 

Transform Your Organization

For Teams

Book a consultation to discuss your challenges and discover how we can help you build a winning team.

 

Sign Up For Weekly Tips!

Get Weekly Coaching Tips Straight To Your Inbox Every Monday.