The first few months at your new job are over, and now work isn’t as attractive and meaningful as you would have hoped it to be. If you’re feeling detached or perhaps simply disengaged from your work, there are a multitude of reasons as to why that might be. Luckily, the answer is already in your head, and you might just need a little nudge in the right direction towards finding it. Whether it’s the career decision you’ve made, the specific company in which you’re working or perhaps the people who surround you, if you’re unhappy in your current job then it’s better to address the problem now rather than further down the line when you’ve poured even more time into this company.
Believe it or not, the reason you’re unhappy at work might not always be the job itself. You don’t necessarily need to jump ship and quit today. The solution might be much simpler, but if you’re failing to see any route towards a happier working life in your current role then here are some helpful pieces of advice which might help you finally enjoy your time at work.
Befriend your coworkers.
That may sound like an obvious piece of advice for anyone in any workplace, but if you have a long, hard think about your acquaintances from work you might find that you wouldn’t be able to call any of them friends. Perhaps you exchange the odd “hello” or short story about how your weekend went, but that hardly constitutes friendship.
The key to actually looking forward to going to work might lie simply in getting to know your colleagues as individuals, as you’ll probably find that some of them feel just as isolated as you. They’re probably friendly people with a heap of similarities to you, but you’d just never gotten to know one another. Much like making friends at school, having social connections with others can make an otherwise dull environment far more interesting.
Follow your gut.
Of course, perhaps you do have friends at work, but, whilst the atmosphere is electrifying and rewarding to them, you simply find the work dull, monotonous and uninspired (no matter how much effort you put into it). If you get this sinking feeling that you’re never going to feel motivated in your current working environment, then it’s probably not the right role for you.
You’ve got to trust your gut, and that might involve an entirely new direction altogether. There’s plenty of help out there if you’re considering a career change, and it’s never too late to do so. It’s better to start all over again and find a route through which you can truly progress, as it allows your talents to flourish, rather than slogging away for years in a role which doesn’t make the most of your abilities.
Give it time.
Perhaps you’ve only had your current job for a short space of time. It’s common to feel a little lost or uncomfortable with your new role if that is the case, and it might simply be a case of squeezing into your new shoes. If you’re patient and get to know people, that’s when you’ll come to find out whether you’re in a work role which will truly make you happy. At the end of the day, only you can answer that question, but there are more routes to happiness in the workplace than you might think.
Dedicate time to a side hustle.
You might have some passions that got sidelined as life brings in new turns and twists. Man studies indicate that you’ll find more satisfaction at work and life if you spend time to follow your passion. It could be a sport, some social activities or a side hustle that you always dreamt about but never got about it. Even small steps can get you to destination eventually. But don’t make ‘getting there’ a goal, enjoy the journey. Just do more of what makes you happy and satisfied. You might roll your eyes or shake your head and say ‘where’s the time?’
Well, we just have to make some.