Let’s be honest, no one loves their job 100% of the time. There are always elements you like more than others or things you’d rather go without. But hating your job is different.

Waking up dreading the day ahead, falling asleep trying to forget it, and living only for the weekend are all signs that your job is taking almost everything from you. It is a harsh reality to face, and unfortunately, it is a common one for so many people worldwide.

Before diving into the advice for what to do when you hate your job but can’t quit, first consider whether you might actually be experiencing a period of burnout. This can often manifest in feelings of dissatisfaction and apathy and requires intentional steps to overcome it.

Click here to read my guide to recovering from burnout while still working.

When Quitting Isn’t an Option

I don’t need to explain anymore what it feels like to hate your job – you’re on this page already so probably know that feeling all too well. The obvious advice is “If you hate your job then why don’t you just quit?”.

Sometimes quitting isn’t an option.

There are infinite reasons why having a stable job takes priority over our current personal happiness or fulfilment: financial responsibilities, a fluctuating job market, or completing the necessary experience to move to the next step are all real and valid reasons not to leave a job. Even if you wish you could.

The good news is that there are things you can do to change your experience at work without quitting. From mindset shifts to actionable change, you still have control over so many areas of your professional life to improve your overall satisfaction and work/life balance.

What Exactly Do You Hate?

It might sound simple, however, using the blanket statement of ‘hating everything’ isn’t the most helpful when it comes to changing your work experience.

Try to pinpoint the thing (or things) that you truly despise about your job. It could be the workload, hours, people, commute, or the work itself. What do you wish was different?

Not to dwell on the negatives, but locating those elements that you truly hate can create space to recognise the parts of your job that are more tolerable…or even enjoyable?

What’s more, once you know what is causing your work lethargy, it might be possible to implement changes that target it more accurately.

For example, if the work you are doing is mind-numbingly dull, perhaps you could approach your supervisor for some variation in your day-to-day tasks. Or, if that’s not possible, rearrange your tasks to start with work that feels comparatively more engaging, sandwiching in the worst tasks so that they feel less oppressive.

Look for the Fun

One of the strange things about being human is that having just a few moments of joy to look forward to in a day can change everything. There is most likely something you like about your job – there must have been a reason you took it in the first place.

Try and prioritise these positive moments so that you get to enjoy them every single day. This might be as simple as making time during your lunch break to walk to your favourite nearby cafe for a lovely coffee.

Beyond just locating the more tolerable elements of your job currently, try looking inward for what you consider to be your personal strengths (that might be getting overlooked in your current position). Next, explore the ways you can adjust your daily work to emphasise these strengths, instead of ignore them.

Find Your Growth Mindset

Start by reading my deep dive into Why It’s Time to Define Your Growth Mindset.

Growth Mindset refers to the idea that your potential is unlimited and every challenge in your life is not a blockade, but an opportunity to learn and grow. In other words, instead of viewing your job as a source of frustration or limitation, you can adopt a Growth Mindset to find your curiosity and resilience in the workplace.

Your current hatred for your job can be used as fuel to explore ways to use your identified strengths to reaffirm your worth to yourself and the people around you. Think ‘dress for the job you want’ except more ‘just do the job you want’.

What does that mean? If you dream of working in sustainability and are stuck in a soul-crushing corporation that couldn’t care less about environmentalism, consider starting a green initiative for your office.

What opportunities don’t currently exist that you can create?

Suprisingly, sometimes the way to escape hating your job is to invest even more time and energy into it.

Making Lateral Moves

So you can’t quit…but can you shift? Many corporations would much rather relocate their workforce than lose them so consider whether there might be other positions in your company that might interest you more than this one.

Now that you’ve considered your likes, dislikes, and personal strengths, it should be obvious exactly where you would best fit within your current employer. There might even be potential to ask for a promotion if you feel truly ready for the next step.

A lateral move could be as large as across teams and departments, or simply a job title shift and new tasks to take on. It might be that boredom is a large contributor to why you hate your job and all you need is a fresh new challenge.

Don’t be afraid of lateral moves that don’t necessarily impact your compensation, hours, or workload. Job satisfaction is an extremely valid aspect of work and it deserves to be appropriately considered.

Choice Mentality

In reality, making any changes in your work life might not be realistic or possible. Luckily, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.

Think critically about the reasons you are staying in your job. It might feel like you have no option except to stay, but in reality there is always the option to leave. Choice Mentality is the concept of taking the areas of life you feel trapped in, and giving you agency in choosing to be there.

In other words, instead of thinking of yourself as having to stay at a job you hate, take. agency in the idea that you are choosing to be there to enable freedom in other areas of your life. There can be a markable difference in our attitude to work when we start to view it as something we actively do, not a chore we are forced into.

Choice Mentality empowers you to take ownership of your decisions and challenges as a part of the journey to create the life you want. This mindset encourages a sense of agency, resilience, and personal responsibility, leading to greater satisfaction and fulfillment in both professional and personal endeavors.

The Time Outside of Work

Let’s think about the ‘life’ part of work/life balance. When we’re powerless over everything within the workplace, we still have control on what we do outside of it. This is the most valuable resource for refueling and finding satisfaction outside of the workplace.

We’re told the story that we need our job to be and do everything: Pay well, challenge us, provide a social life, and be our source of fulfilment. The reality is, our job does not (and possibly shouldn’t be) everything.

It is okay if your 9-5 isn’t your dream job, but does provide your dream life.

You are allowed to mentally check out of giving everything to the workplace and refocus on how you can find satisfaction from life away from your desk. This could be through your hobbies, relationships, or even home.

How can you cultivate your personal life to overfill your cup so that your day job doesn’t feel so bad?

Is It Time For Something New (without quitting)?

Provided you have the time and bandwidth outside of work, you could consider looking into side hustles to start building a new professional future. Most side hustles take a long time to build and grow to be profitable, let alone replace your current income, however, the sooner you start, the sooner you can reach that point.

Research Real Side Hustle Ideas and see what stands out to you, or, perhaps you already have a hobby that you’d love to scale into providing an extra stream of income. Even when your goal is not for your side hustle to become a full-time job, having a new personal project can easily provide a sense of fulfilment and motivation that spills over into your full-time work.

Consider Outside Assistance

In 2024, there are coaches for everything. From Creative Coaches like myself to Career Coaches and Life Coaches, there is someone out there ready to hear your workplace frustrations. Coaches help guide you through the motions of shifting your mind and career so that you feel sustainably better faster.

Read more on What is a Creative Coach to see if working with one is right for you.

Let It Out!

When all else fails, there’s still one option left to battle hating your job face on: RANT! Phone your friend, grab a coffee with a sympathetic colleague, or open up your journal to let out all your feelings (and I mean all of them)!

Holding your fear/anger/sadness inside only works to strengthen it, and it is amazing just how much better letting it out can make your situation feel.

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