Are you happy in your job? Chances are, the answer is No. Research shows that more than 50% of us are miserable where we work. Some experts even claim that job dissatisfaction rates are as high as 70%. That's just astonishing. Imagine what this means! We're a nation run by people who'd much rather do something else - anything else - than what they're being paid to do from 9 to 5, or whatever your particular hours may be.
There are reasons for all that misery. Countless professional and management employees complain of feeling overworked and underappreciated. Some of them are also underpaid and trapped into a so-called salary compression situation. That only adds insult to injury. As you watch everyone hired after you make more than you do, it's hard not to feel resentful. And yet, that only makes you more miserable. And the ever tightening cash flow situation doesn't help.
All that is getting even worse in an imploding economy. People are let go, and the ones that get to stay are expected to pick up the slack. They're supposed to feel relief at still having a job, but they're not. Harried and stressed, they're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's a recipe for burnout.
Yet stress because of too much work and not enough reward is only one reason for the general job malaise. Another, even more important reason seems to be simply a poor fit with the employer.
Many employees find that they have philosophical or personal differences with their employer, director or company. Some find that their jobs have suddenly changed due to mergers or internal shifts, and they're not happy with how things have turned out. In this day of accelerated change, the sad reality is that a job you loved at one time can easily become a job you have grown to hate.
And the reason you've grown to hate it may well have to do with personnel issues. A new director or supervisor whose management 'style' is different and no longer compatible with yours can make your life miserable.
Finally, there are those who are just plain bored by a job that may pay well but no longer be a challenge. What's worse, some of us don't even have the benefit of a paycheck that actually meets our needs, and we find ourselves constantly trying to rustle up a part-time gig in addition to our main job - but we find we don't have the energy.
So why not just quit? The thing is, leaving a job is hard. In fact, sometimes we stay in such jobs long past their 'best before' date. I call that the 'golden handcuffs' syndrome. Whatever your particular reason may be, changing jobs can be a difficult decision and a difficult process. Most of us hate looking for work even more than we hate slaving away at a job that sucks all the joy from our lives.
All of that only adds to the stress of our already stressful situation, takes precious time away from what is left of our free time, and offers no guarantee of a positive outcome, i.e., an improved employment situation. If there's a guarantee, it's one of more of the same.
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