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       2 Do You Hate Your Job?

      Let’s assume you hate your job and you have no choice but to stick with it. No – let’s go back a step. If you hate your job you should change it. You can’t? Then you are in the same situation as a lot of people, stuck in a job they loathe so that they can pay the bills.

      Trapped

      Of course you should still look around the jobs circuit, because knowing for sure that there is no escape from the routine you’re in could just send you over the edge. Job ads are fascinating because they allow us to fantasize. Keep trying, though. Someone has to get each job. If you give up applying you know you’ll do no better.

      Back to the job you’re in. Why do you hate it? Possibly one, some or all of the following reasons:

      1 It’s boring.

      2 You hate your boss.

      3 You’re overworked.

      4 You’re taken for granted.

      5 The job’s too easy.

      6 The job’s too difficult.

      7 The job’s too repetitive.

      8 You hate your colleagues.

      9 The journey’s too demanding.

      10 You feel unfulfilled.

      11 Your pay is too low.

      12 You hate work.

       Boredom

      Being bored can induce stress, inertia and irritability. You may feel your life passing before your very eyes. Boredom can make you want to scream with frustration. It can occur through being both over- or under-employed, although many people fail to recognize the symptoms when they’re busy.

      Long-term boredom has a flattening effect on the brain. When stimulation reaches a zenith we become docile and dull. We forget we used to be interesting people. Some of us even get interested in the terribly boring things we have to do at work.

      This failure to differentiate the dull from the fascinating is a disease that leads to suffering at home, too. This is where you are most likely to inflict your Tales of the Expected on your nearest and dearest, rattling on for hours about someone from Audit who took the wrong mug from the kitchen to water his desk plant and the ramifications thereof, without ever once realizing that your partner and kids lost the will to live two minutes after you opened your mouth.

      If you are bored in your job look around – is there anything a wee bit more stimulating in the offing? Avoiding the options of alcohol or an office affair, is there any work to be done that you feel you might find a challenge?

      Or is there anything you could organize among your colleagues that might make the day go with a bit of a buzz? (Again – preferably not sex or boozing.)

      If your feeling of frustration, boredom or being unfulfilled is long-term, try compiling an action plan to get yourself out of a rut.

       ACTION PLAN:

      1 Look around for another job.

      2 Look around at your own job. Is there any promotion you might apply for? Are there any other duties you could volunteer to take on that may relieve the boredom a little?

      3 Can you work flexi-hours? Could a change of timetable make any difference?

      4 Is there anything you could organize with your colleagues? Team sports against groups from other companies? Charity events? A company magazine? If the job is dull some external stimulation like this may make things a tad more interesting.

      5 Sandpit. Allow and plan for several times in the day when you do something you would like to do.

      • Do you work alone? Could you play music as you work?

      • Take time out for a good cup of coffee or treat yourself to some exotic flavoured tea.

      • Eat a snack that you’d otherwise think of as a treat.

      • Take a break to go window shopping at lunchtime.

      • Swim in your lunch hour.

      • Paint.

      • Sketch.

      • Play with stress balls.

      6 Develop an exciting prospect outside your job. Do something that could make you rich or famous one day. Join your local dramatic society. Take guitar lessons. Write a novel or a cookery book. Sketch out a TV sitcom, based around the tedious characters you have to work with. Turn your colleagues into comic stereotypes in your mind. This will help you enjoy their little idiosyncrasies, rather than loathing them. Buy a metal detector. Learn about antiques and visit car boot sales – involve yourself in anything that leaves the door to a better life ajar.