Money, money, money. We all need it to survive, and it’s a common occurrence for people to be stuck in a job they absolutely despise with the needs of housing, bills, and living expenses prioritized over career satisfaction. Being in a toxic workplace is extremely draining, both physically and mentally. You’ll feel exhausted as soon as you wake up. You’ll feel exhausted as you get into your car. You’ll feel exhausted walking through the doors of your office. And it’s so much easier said than done to try and stay positive, but sometimes it’s difficult to remain optimistic when you quite simply hate your job.
A small piece of advice to make you hate your job a little less is this: You need to find something small that you like or tolerate about your job and fixate on it.
Look, if you’re really scraping the barrel to find something positive, you’re in the wrong job. But you probably already know that. By approaching the situation differently, you won’t necessarily like your job, but you’ll hate it a little less. And that’s what it’s all about. You’re not going to waltz out of the doors at the end of your day skipping and smiling, but you might not feel those feelings of dread, or at least, not as intensely as you currently do.
Is your job primarily on the phone? Are you constantly getting headaches because of this? Maybe look at it from a different angle and try to be thankful that your communication skills have and are improving every day on the job. Are you used to serving really rude customers? Appreciate the kind ones with such warmth and respect that they leave with a smile on their face. Is the walk to your workplace your least favorite part of the day? Take a more relaxed approach on your walk instead of pacing nervously to arrive on time. Listen to podcasts, create a relaxing playlist specifically for those mornings and see it as a refreshing way to begin your day with a clearer mindset.
Look for the small glimpses of appreciation wherever you can find them. And if all else fails, try to adopt the mentality of being thankful that you have a job, despite it not being your favorite or permanent career choice. It’s easy to show up to work feeling agitated, angry, and irritable. It’s even easier to allow these emotions to spiral to the point where you dread waking up to an even more intense level than you already do. If a job makes you feel this way, I’m sure you know it’s not meant for you. But unfortunately, sometimes you’ll have commitments that you must sacrifice your comfort for. So, by changing your thinking in more ways and looking at everything with more appreciation, you can better tolerate the bad parts of a job until a new, more well-suited opportunity comes your way.