5 signs you hate your job

by Aderonke Adebayo

Do you constantly feel like you are living for someone else? Do you feel like slamming your alarm clock into the wall every morning when it rings? Do you constantly fantasize about what your life could be like if only you worked another job? Those feelings are natural, so don’t think of beating yourself yet.

Indeed, we sometimes endure miserable or unhappy circumstances and/or career choices because it makes people who are close to us happy. And, some of us stay at jobs we hate just because it pays the bills and funds the luxurious lifestyle that our family members are accustomed to.

We may need to stop doing that, and start putting ourselves first, as we cannot afford to live on other people’s terms.

Our career choice is one of the most important decisions of our lives. It is just as important as choosing whom to marry because just like marriage, you would either be happy or miserable for the rest of your existence.

So, you can quit your job before it quits you. Here are a few unmistakable hints that you need to change your line of work:

1. You are miserable every morning: Listen, baby girl or baby boy, I don’t know about you but when I wake up to go to my place of work, I want to be happy. I want to have a big smile on because I know that I’m going to solve a problem or I’m going to make a difference. I want to be glad that I’m alive and going to work. If you don’t feel that way every morning, darling you have missed road o. Don’t get me wrong, there are days  you are just in a bad mood and nothing seems to cheer you up, I understand but the thought of going to work should make you want to get up on your feet and give it all it takes.
2. You are always complaining: You are that friend who comes to our hang out with loads of complaints about a lot of different things, ranging from your colleagues to your boss and even the clients. I know everything can’t be all perfect and there are times that you are just so fed up and you want to rant but madam, it can’t be every time nau. There should be times where we hear good reports from you, so if you are that friend who is always complaining about his/ her job, it might be time for a change. Maybe tailoring is your calling, don’t be doing event planning o, kolewerk dear.
3. You are not putting in so much effort: Omo, if you have gotten to this point, just turn in your resignation letter. Why? This just means that nothing about that job excites you anymore, you just wake up in the morning, bless the Lord for the day and just try as much as possible to live through it. You come back and tick your calendar, “another day gone, few more days to go”. You are counting every second of every day that passes miserably. You have stopped putting in the effort at work, you just want to come and go, you don’t care what happens at this point. You start acting out and taking out your frustration on other people around you. Just quit, please.
4. You don’t have friends at work: “I’m anti-social”, we know that you are not a very nice person but it’s not as bad as not having anyone at all at your workplace with whom you reason or compare notes. You don’t want anyone to know you, you don’t associate with them at all. That’s not good enough, you are not being fair to yourself. Get you some friends at work or quit because it’s obvious you hate it and hate everyone there as well.
5. You feel underrated or underappreciated: Once in a while, as humans we like to feel about our work or even our ideas, we like to be appreciated or even rewarded for it. It’s a sort of motivation for us to do more and better. Nobody likes it when their work goes unnoticed or their ideas are not taken into consideration. So you have put so much effort into helping the organisation grow but your application for promotion or a raise has been ignored for the umpteenth time, dear they don’t rate you. It might just be time to move on because you can’t continue to be stagnant. You know you have what it takes to thrive somewhere else, do it. Take that leap of faith, quit your job for a better one though.

So, if you have noticed any of these signs, or a combination of two or more of these signs, I think it’s time for you to get on another bus, one that would take you to the right destination.

However, do not quit your job without a plan. You have to make plans, set goals for yourself and don’t set unrealistic goals. You could even start applying to other places before turning in your resignation.

Also, employers usually always know each other, they are connected in one way or another. Your new employer is going to speak to people about you, so don’t leave your workplace on a bad note. You could even get a recommendation from your boss, to show that you are reputable.

Finally, your new job has to be an upgrade from the previous one. Apply for a higher position with a better paycheck and other benefits if there are. If you decide to start a business, that’s good too. You don’t have to rush, you can do it at your own pace. In any and everything you do, Level up baby!