Are you happy in your work? According to the Conference Board’s annual Job Satisfaction Survey, half of you (on average) are not. REALLY?? Maybe it’s just that we haven’t yet recovered from the dark days of a broken economy – surely it’s improving? Yeah, a whopping 0.4 percentage points from 2012 to 2013. Back in the 80s, when I started my career, it was 61%.
Given that most people spend at least 40 hours per week at our jobs – arguably more time than anywhere else – why are so many content to remain in jobs that are unsatisfying? There are obviously many perfectly rational answers – chief among them the need to pay our bills. We all have responsibilities, but we also have choices. I loved this post (How to Recharge, Reignite or Reinvent Your Career) in HuffPost Biz by Caroline Dowd-Higgins. She challenges us to realize that, “Bad jobs, even bad bosses are a reality — but suffering is optional.” If you dread the thought of going to work every Monday (or every day), if your work prevents you from spending sufficient time on the things that are most important to you (your health, your family, your passions), or you do not have the opportunity to use your strengths and talents in your job, why not choose differently?
As I noted in last year’s New Year’s post, I’m a big fan of pausing at this time of year to reflect on what’s serving us well in our lives, and to think about what we would like to do differently (I’m a big fan of doing that on a much more frequent basis, but also realize that nobody does it frequently enough). Whether it’s time to lead a change or seek more challenging opportunities in your current job or company, or time for something completely different, even the process of thinking about new possibilities can do wonders for your mental energy.
Dowd-Higgins’s article provides not just a friendly kick in the pants but some great thought starters. Most of us have to work at something – why should you settle for something that doesn’t add positive energy to your life? Several of my current clients are working through the process of self-reflection, and developing a plan to find and market themselves for the next step that will lead them to a next step that is not just satisfying, but meaningful, rewarding, fulfilling and FUN. I’m finding it meaningful, rewarding, fulfilling and fun to help them with that journey.
Contact me if you’d like to discuss beginning that journey yourself.
Monica Hahn is a branding & marketing consultant & career coach based in San Rafael, California
Hahn Solo Strategy 
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