Love the work you’re in

As career coaches, we’re often supporting clients to quit their jobs and move on to something new. Those clients are the ones with one foot out the door.

They’re dreading getting out of bed in the morning, clock-watching, feel cranky and unappreciated, and generally can’t wait to get out and move on to the next thing. We’ve all been there, and can relate to being ready for a completely fresh start.

But what about when your job is just kind of “meh”? When you don’t hate it, but you don’t love it, either. Lots of folks are living in this limbo-land of uninspiring work. The paycheque is fine, there are pieces you like, and you don’t really want to quit, but you’re wondering how to make it work when you feel so uninspired.

Quitting isn’t the only option. Sometimes being brave means giving your current career another go, because it is possible to shift the narrative, heal relationships, let go of patterns that don’t serve you, and thrive in your current job.

Here’s how…

Remember Your Why.

Connect back to your purpose. There was a time, way back, that you were super excited (or at least feeling optimistic) about your current role. Why was that? Thinking back on what made you interested in your job in the first place can be the first step in reconnecting to the purpose. We all want to have an impact at work. Remembering that your contributions are part of something bigger (even just within the org you work for) can be helpful to clarifying just how important your piece of the puzzle Is to the larger picture. Find a connection to your values.

Maybe you’re serving members of the public, and that service makes them happy. Maybe you’re an essential worker who helps people when they are going through something tough. Or maybe you’re entering data into a computer, and that information helps decision-makers make more informed choices. If you follow the threads of your efforts, you may realize how much your contributions actually matter. 

Unplug. 

It is so easy to just keep working away on automatic without taking stock of whether we’re keeping up with the work-life balance basics. Burn out is real, and it’s a big reason people quit. If you’re feeling tired and stressed and unenthusiastic at work, it could be the job, or it could be that you need a time out. Especially during the pandemic, many people have stopped taking regularly scheduled holidays, or forget to switch off in the evenings. With working from home and the blurred lines between work and life, it can be hard to establish a healthy rhythm that incorporates enough off-the-clock time.

The details of what that healthy rhythm looks like will depend on your work style and what you need to recharge. The basics are the same. Developing a healthy routine, actually using your vacation entitlement, taking the day off if you need a break, and shutting off your notifications at the end of the work day are all good places to start.

Keep Growing.

Sometimes when we feel stagnant in a role, it’s because we’ve fallen into a routine, we’ve stopped using our Pro D benefits, and our brains are bored. When we aren’t learning and being challenged at work in healthy ways, it’s easy to feel like there is something wrong. Our invitation to you: Pick one course, class, or interest this quarter, and sign up today. Or stick your hand up for a project you wouldn’t normally gravitate towards, or ask a colleague to show you how to use that new software or tool or system. Right now. It doesn’t have to be hard, or big, or a long-term commitment. It could be directly related to your work, or tangentially, or not at all. The important thing is to give yourself continuous opportunities to re-engage, develop new neural pathways, and step outside of your comfort zone.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Most people fall out of love with their job at some point, but that doesn’t mean it’s irreversible. We love collaborating with clients to help them find a new job, and we love working with clients to help them find more meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in the job they already have.

Bottom line: You want to be happier, and we would love to help you develop a roadmap for thriving at work.