- There’s nothing new about people complaining about their jobs.
- But do they know exactly why their job is eating at them?
- If you’ve come to your wit’s end regarding your job, it could be helpful to know the exact cause for your displeasure with the aid of these 19 signs of job dissatisfaction.
Your job sucks! But why does your job suck?
Do you hate your manager (or managers)? Is the work no longer challenging? Do your coworkers irritate you?
Despite the necessity of work and the need to be paid for the work we do, there still is no denying the fact that all of us at one point will dislike something related to our daily 9-5 occupation.
The real issue with that is it can be helpful – whether you want to save your job or legitimately quit it – to know what has put you on the outs with your employment.
If you’re not sure what the exact cause is of your work dissatisfaction is, the following 19 signs of job displeasure, first published on Bustle, can help you find the source of your workplace negativity.
1. Your Boss Has Poor Leadership Skills
Sometimes toxic work environments are derived from how the boss treats their employees. Supervisors can take advantage of their power, and make their staff feel inferior by bullying them.
This is equally true for bosses who are too hands off and lets the “lunatics” so to speak “run the asylum.”
Absentee or disinterested bosses can have the same toxic effect as those who are on site but provide less than adequate leadership skills.
2. Your Colleagues Are Unprofessional
If your fellow employees don't take their job seriously or they love to spread rumors, it might be time to hit the road. It can be difficult for you to properly work in an environment if you don't feel supported or if you are singled out by your team.
Quitting can be especially poignant if you’ve already gone to H.R. to complain/inform them of your colleagues’ unprofessionalism, but they have done nothing about it.
And if your place of work has no H.R. department to address this issue, then leaving that job can ultimately be necessary.
3. Your Work-Life Balance Is Out of Whack
Having an adequate work-life balance is essential to a worker’s job satisfaction. Without this balance burnout can ultimately occur, which will make you even more disenchanted with your job.
Sure, it may be nearly impossible to have the perfect work-life balance, but some sort of balance is needed in order for employees to stay mentally, emotionally and physically healthy while on the job.
4. You're No Longer Excited About Going to Work
The rush-hour drive and burned-up gas money is only exacerbated when you’re no longer excited to go to work.
Simply put, there are just some days when you don't feel up to working. And while those days are completely normal to have every once in a while, it's a huge sign that you might be working in a bad work environment if you're feeling this dread all the time.
5. You Started to Become More Aware of the Red Flags
When you first start a job, it might be hard to see the red flags because you're so excited. But as time goes on, you may begin to realize that once you take off your rose-colored glasses, things aren't what they seem.
You see the truth for what it really is in your workplace and to that end, your options are to either deal with it or hit the road. Which will you choose?
6. Your Boss Doesn't Support You
Working for an unsupportive boss can be demoralizing. You might feel disrespected, underappreciated and not regarded seriously. If that is the case, it’s time to leave.
Granted, your boss doesn’t need to be your BFF – not that you would want that in the first place – but good leaders support their workers’ dreams and ideas rather than just using those dreams, ideas and yes, employees for their own purposes.
What is unfortunate is bosses who make work environments worse is not at all uncommon. According to a recent Monster poll, 32 percent of participants described their boss as horrible, and only 15 percent said their boss is excellent.
7. Your Boss Is Preventing You from Growing
It's hard to imagine a work environment where your boss doesn't want you to grow, and instead, controls your career path by preventing you from getting a promotion.
To the contrary, most of us would like to work with someone who sees our potential and wants us to grow.
This of course will never happen with bosses who are jealous of your performance and as a consequence start blocking opportunities for you to advance to the next level.
Or your boss may take credit for your work, undermining you, and giving you 'busy' work even though you’re capable of so much more.
Keep in mind there are a variety of bad bosses that can contribute to a toxic work environment such as a bully, someone who plays favorites, someone who’s unethical, or a micromanager, to name a few.
8. You're Not as Happy as You Used to Be
Sure, there will be bad days at work due to stress or your workload. But honestly, that should be all the stress you experience at a job; anything more can eventually affect your overall outlook toward your 9-5.
Don’t let a lousy work environment steal your happiness. Conversely, your job should fuel you because you're doing work that you're proud of, not sucking up your energy and preventing you from enjoying life.
9. Your Gut Is Telling You to Leave
Thank goodness for our hearts, minds and in particular, our guts. They know us and we know them, and more often than not, our “internals”, especially our guts, are great indicators that can direct us in ways that are most beneficial to who we are.
You might second-guess your gut for a number of reasons, but if you find the same thoughts happening over and over again, it might be time to examine why that's happening.
10. You're Constantly Getting Sick
So today is the fifth day this month that you’ve called in to say you’ll be out. That has to say something to you.
Sometimes people get sick not because the flu is going around, but simply because they are feeling stressed.
And if you find you’re continually visiting doctors for ailments you’ve never previously experienced, such as exhaustion, then the first source you should consider is your work environment and its toxicity.
11. Your Personal Life Has Taken A Nose Dive
Is your marriage on the rocks? Have you lost a boy or girlfriend? How about friends in general? Are you losing them as well?
Career expert for Monster, Vicki Salemi states: "Take stock of your mental and physical health and look at your personal life — what are your nutrition, sleep and exercise like? Has anything changed significantly? And are you spending time outside the office? If you never feel like doing anything after work and on the weekends, that’s definitely a bad sign,"
In order to do the best job possible, your mental health should be top notch. Constantly feeling guilty or stressed because of your job or boss is a huge sign that you need to make some changes.
12. Your Friends & Family Are Noticing A Difference in Your Character
Your close friends and family usually know you the best. If they start expressing that they're noticing a difference ever since you've taken a particular job, it might be a good idea to listen to them.
Query those closest to you as to whether they have noticed a change in your personality, such as your attitude and behavior.
If you find your gut feeling alone isn’t enough to convince you, rely on your friends to counsel and warn you about any changes in your attitude socially and in how you talk about your job.
If they say you’re constantly complaining and seem to dread going back to the office on a Monday, that can speak volumes.
13. You're Not Feeling Respected
It's important for you to be taken seriously when you're working at your job. Your boss shouldn't be ignoring your thoughts or disrespecting you when you're giving 110 percent.
Workplace respect, especially from a boss, shouldn’t have to be demanded, but sometimes it’s necessary to do so. It is your responsibility to be respected. If not, you’re dropping your own ball.
Experts suggest that you come to a mindset in which you believe you deserve respect. With that noted, act on that respect with others, requesting that they honor your boundaries, limits and the lines you draw in the sand.
14. Your Employer Encourages Competitive Conflict
What do you do when your work environment becomes something reminiscent of an MMA cage fight, and the only one cheering in the stands is your boss? You consider other work options, of course.
Sure, a little bit of competition can be healthy, but at the same time your employment can be quite difficult if your employer allows or encourages a knock-down-drag-out fight situation in which backstabbing, rumors and angry conflicts are the day-to-day norm.
Such is an atmosphere that is not conducive to good production, not to mention a healthy work-life balance. If your work environ involves continual conflict with your co-employees, it’s best you leave ASAP if only for your own sanity.
15. Your Time Boundaries Are Not Being Respected
In any work environment, delegation is a key component. So, to that point, it can be disheartening when a good employee is taken advantage of because the boss doesn't know how to delegate the workload or is not willing to hire another employee when that workload becomes overwhelming.
As the Bustle article highlights, it is important to work in an environment where your time is respected, meaning an employee does not work 20 hours on the weekend in addition to their 40-hour work week.
Your time is as important as anyone else’s. And that includes your time off. If your boss constantly demands extra hours due to his or her inability to lead, it very well be time that you look for a new source of employment.
16. Your Boss or Employees Communicate Poorly
A lack of communication – any kind of communication – particularly clear communication can lead directly to a poor work environment.
If bosses don’t interact with workers, and workers don’t interact with each other, any number of work-related details can slip through the cracks that a noncommunicative atmosphere can foster.
For your own sake, if you feel communication is lacking where you work, you should ask those around you to be more vocal, and in a clear manner. Poor communication is a deathtrap for a business that can eventually bring a huge amount of stress to you.
17. Your Boss Encourages Bad Behavior
Hearing your boss talk badly about another employee will never benefit you. It's toxic because it will show that your boss isn't being a good leader and may even make you wonder if they are doing the same to you.
Plus, it can bring more negative energy into an already stressful environment, and no one who values their own work effort wants that.
18. Your POV Isn't Heard or Appreciated
Your opinion and ideas are just as important as anyone else, and it especially sucks when you don't feel appreciated at your job when you put your whole heart into your work.
When you’re not listened to, or opinions and ideas aren’t asked of you, your worth is effectively that of a tool. And tools can be replaced without a second thought.
Remember, you’re not a tool. Your abilities have value and should be respected for that value.
19. You Begin to Question Your Own Worth
If you get to this point with your job, you have effectively hit rock bottom. No one should feel their self-worth has lost its worth. Employers and the jobs they offer should magnify a worker’s ability to do that job, and with that, substantiate their value to the company.
If a poor work atmosphere causes you to feel a lack of self-worth, you first need to assess who you are as an employee, and then the value of the job itself to you as a human.
You may find that it is, in fact, the opposite; you as an employee have an immense amount of value. What is worthless, truly, is your job.
