If you’re really miserable at work, it’s time to get out now, writes Vanessa Raath.
|||Johannesburg - Working in the recruitment industry, we generally only hear from people when they are so desperately unhappy that they are looking to leave their current employers ASAP.
They are truly ‘gatvol’ and you can see by their body language that they are mentally, physically and emotionally defeated. What always amazes me about this scenario, is how long people sit in jobs that make them incredibly unhappy before they actually do anything about moving onto a better opportunity.
Not wanting to sound too much like ‘Pollyanna’; I am one of those irritating people who has loved every job that I have worked in. Be it from being a waitress during my student days, to teaching primary school children to being an IT talent acquisition specialist. I am a firm believer in the mantra that you ‘create your own happiness’.
I do however understand that some people are in situations where this is not possible as your boss is complete tyrant; the company’s values are not the same as your own or the role is not in line with your career aspirations. By all means, I then encourage you to get out as soon as possible. Do not delay as the situation is probably not going to improve and the longer you postpone your resignation, the more difficult it will be.
I have highlighted some key indicators that may help you to realise that you are not happy where you are working:
Clock watching
People who enjoy what they are do, and the environment that they are doing it in, are not your typical clock watchers. They do not have time to keep watching the clock as they are too busy making a success of themselves.
If you find yourself calculating how many more hours you still have at work it is an indication that you would rather be somewhere else.
Procrastination
If you have passion and a desire to succeed, you will find yourself embracing new tasks with gusto and enthusiasm.
A lot of people have been labelled procrastinators, either by themselves or by others, but in reality, they are just not excited about their jobs. Are the majority of your daily tasks falling into the ‘tomorrow is another day pile’?
Do you object to everything?
Do you find yourself objecting to every new idea and debating any minor change brought into the business? You may be losing faith in your employee and what they are trying to achieve.
Maybe it is you and your goals that have moved since you joined the business?
Monday blues
You spend your whole weekend dreading Monday morning as you know you have to go back to work. This is like having the typical ‘Monday Blues’ but on steroids - so much so that you start thinking of how you are going to get out work and what excuse you are going to use at the doctor this time.
Family life
You leave work in a bad mood and your family bear the brunt of this as you walk through the door. You find that you are short tempered with the family and are reluctant to do anything exciting and fun on the weekends as you are just interested in recovering from the previous week.
If you feel that you can identify with one, or more, of these indicators – you need to reconsider how happy you really are at work. Make the move and you will be surprised about how all aspects of your life will improve.
Vanessa Raath is general manager at Its About People. The views expressed in here are not necessarily those of IOL.
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