When I was in college, I worked as a Hostess for a popular restaurant that would get insanely busy on weekends. There were many things I enjoyed about the job – the lively atmosphere, fun co-workers, a short commute, and perks such as free food and tips. Looking back, it was a pretty decent gig.
After a few months on the job, I could predict with near-perfect accuracy the issues that would arise during my shift. Customers would complain about the long wait and ask every five minutes “Did you call our party yet?” I’d walk patrons to a table, but they’d say, “Can’t we have that booth?” The Servers would get peeved at me for triple-seating them, and I’d protest, “But the customer wanted a booth!” Uhg!
Weekend after weekend, it was the same, and it didn’t take long before I started to anticipate the frustration, so my buttons were easily pushed. A job that used to be great transitioned into misery. I became curt with customers and counted the hours until each shift ended.
What had changed? It wasn’t the job. It was me – my attitude to be more specific. I had lost sight of the reasons I enjoyed this job in the first place, and began focusing on the negatives. And I’ve seen this pattern again and again in myself and my coaching clients.
If you’ve fallen out of love with your job, before jumping ship, consider these:
- Has the job changed or have you changed? Either way, it may be time to move on, but before resigning, do some soul-searching to get to the heart of the problem. Otherwise, you may end up back in the same place a few months into your next role.
- Does the job still have the core aspects you want in a role? If fun co-workers, a flexible schedule, a hands-off Boss, and a great commute are also what you’d want in a new role, maybe you need to focus on those parts of your current job that are awesome, rather than the ones that are annoying. Every job has frustrating aspects. Every job. You must determine which ones are worth tolerating.
- Would another job/company be that different? After becoming frustrated in my role as a new-ish Manager years ago, a wise Boss said, “If there were no problems to manage, we wouldn’t need your role as a Manager.” Bam!
- Are you “running to” or “running from”? You’ll be much more successful (and happy) if you’re making a conscious choice to move into a new role versus running from a bad situation.
Final thoughts: The grass isn’t always greener on the other side and either way, you take yourself (and your attitude!) with you.
Happy hunting!