Work Rut

Bored or Comfortable

Are you in a work rut?  Are you bored or are you comfortable in your current job? 

I talk with potential job candidates all the time who are searching for something else.  They don’t always know what they are looking for, but they have a feeling they should just be looking.  If you are feeling like this, you are not alone.

It is not completely unheard of, but it is rare for someone to wake up every morning excited to go to work.  Somedays there are specific challenges or projects or problems that you are looking forward to tackling.  Some people wake up with a brilliant idea for something they’ve been mulling over in their sleep and can’t wait to get to work to try it out.  Maybe you even want to get into work to talk with your co-workers about a specific issue and know that you will, as a team, solve whatever it is and things will be wonderful.

How Often Are you Wondering…

Sometimes, some days, once in a while…or never.  That is one of the questions to ask yourself.  Do you wake up every morning dreading the very thought of going to work?  Do you lay awake at night thinking about how horrible the next day is going to be?  Does the thought of seeing your co-workers make you want to crawl under the bed? 

While those are extreme thoughts and feelings, if there are more of those negative indications than positive, you may be stuck in a serious rut and you are most likely bored.

On the other hand, if there are just some slow times when you are feeling antsy but mostly you are content, you may want to stay put for a bit and see how it goes.  If this lasts too long, it may be time to search for a new opportunity.

What is Holding you Back?

If you are not happy at work, what is keeping you from look?ng for something else?  Is it a lack of self-confidence, laziness, sense of importance where you are or possibly even guilt about leaving your current employer?   

Change is always difficult, but some change is good.  I have seen people leave a job where they have been low-level unhappy for a long time and within two weeks of a new job, they appear to be younger.  They feel like they have more energy.  They are more engaged and have gained confidence as they realize they can learn new things and their opinions and skills are valued somewhere other than where they have been for years.

It is always difficult to make the decision to seek a new opportunity, but so worthwhile when you find a new role where you are happy and looking forward to going to work.