5 Ways To Learn To Love Your Job

5 ways to learn to love your job

Given that you spend roughly one third of your entire day at work, you want your 9-to-5 to be something enjoyable that you look forward to. While your job satisfaction may ebb and flow throughout your career, there are some tricks to help you when it starts to feel like something to be endured. Rest assured that you have control over how you feel about your career.

1. Make Friends Out Of Colleagues:

Despite your less-than-thrilling job functions, the workplace will become much more fun to be at if you’re working with your friends. Besides synchronized lunch breaks and post-work happy hours, you will gain allies and personal cheerleaders to help you through the most challenging workdays. And as your friendships deepen, you will also gain some excellent confidants outside of the workplace, which is particularly important when it comes to handling stress.

2. Ease Your Workload:

It is possible to be fulfilled by your job, but have a work-life balance so awful that it makes you question your career. If that’s the case, try to get some tasks off your plate by delegating or simply learn to say no to taking on more work than you can handle. You can even enlist the help of project management platforms, like Zendesk, to efficiently assign tasks to your team. And take notice if other employees are feeling overworked, too. It may signal the need for your company to expand its hiring.

3.Practice Positivity And Gratitude:

It can be easy to get in to a negative thinking pattern when you dislike your job, but that can snowball in to deeper feelings of dissatisfactions that are hard to shake off. Instead, try to maintain a positive attitude and focus on the aspects of your job that you do like. Gratitude is an important part of this, too, as it will help you build relationships with your co-workers. Plus it will encourage them to return the gratitude, giving you a confidence boost while fostering a motivational atmosphere.

4. Change It Up:

Sometimes hating your job comes from the monotony of your day-to-day. The repetition can really drain your enthusiasm for what it is you’re doing, even if your tasks were pleasant to begin with. If you can’t change your tasks, you can restructure your tasks to make your days look a little different. If you can change your tasks (whether through delegating or a department switch), take on something that is challenging and can offer more personal growth and development. Changing your working hours is another option if you find that work-as-usual is cutting in to your personal life. For example, employees who prefer to get their exercise fix in the mornings may benefit from a later start and finish time. You can also seek change in your workspace décor, which will give you an energy and creativity boost even on the dull days.

5. Take A Sabbatical:

After years in one career, it’s natural to experience burnout. This is where vacation time comes in handy, but sometimes you just need a little extra time. Sabbaticals are a great alternative to vacations, and can vary in length. Many employees who take them choose to use the time to develop new skills or travel, though employers may ask that you choose an endeavor somewhat relevant to your career (especially if you get paid while you’re away from work!). Check with your employer to find out if sabbaticals are available and if you qualify.

While it is certainly possible to start loving your current job, you may still find that to be a tall order. And even if you do love your job, you may still find that you are seeking something more personally fulfilling or higher paying. If that’s the case, there’s no shame in going back to the job boards, like Gumtree, in order to find a better fit for you. Don’t settle for a career that you aren’t passionate about.