Letting the Job Get to You
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

Do you often find yourself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about a work problem? Do you take work home frequently or work when you’re supposed to be off? Do you rarely take a vacation?

If those things happen often and on a consistent basis, then you’re letting the job get to you. In other words, you’re having a bad day and it’s becoming a bad month – or worse. It’s gotten to the point where you just don’t know how much more of the job you can take. Customers are unhappy with their installations. Sales figures are down. The boss is on your back. Service calls are piling up, installation deadlines are looming and both workers and managers are complaining.

If you are a worker or manager, you probably want to quit and find another job somewhere else with less headaches and that’s just not as stressful. If you’re the boss, you probably want to sell the company and retire to Hawaii or some other tropical paradise.

Hold on – wait a minute. Don’t do anything rash. Think back to why you’re there in the first place. Depending on your position, You wanted to own your own company - you wanted to be a manager or you wanted to work as a technician, salesperson or maybe receptionist. If you never really wanted to be where you are now, then it’s time to see "where you want to be when you grow up." Otherwise, understand that what you’re going through is normal.

Everybody goes through difficult times where we just don’t feel like getting up in the morning. We just don’t feel like another day like the one we had yesterday. On the other hand, maybe, you haven’t had any real problems and headaches at work but the job has gotten boring.

That happens off the job too in people’s personal lives. Marriages lose the excitement they once had and friendships grow apart. Most of the time things get better. If you give up now, you will probably have many of the same problems at your next job and you might not realize your full potential.

First, figure out what the problem is by stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Could it be that it’s not the job? It might be that personal problems at home are having an effect on your attitude. Maybe your personal life is not going well and your attitude along with the problems carries over into your work life.

Sometimes it is the job that’s the problem. You’re at the point where you are overwhelmed either from the amount of work, or you aren’t ready to deal with these kinds of problems. Maybe, you have the opposite problem and feel that the challenge has gone out of the job and you’re ready for something new and exciting.

If the problem is at home, quitting the job won’t solve that problem. If the workload is too much, talk to your boss. Don’t complain. Point out the problem and suggestions solutions.

If you are bored at work, think about what excited you in the past. Many jobs are what we make of them. See how you can take the things that excited you in the past and get excited again.

Of course, you don’t have to have an extra heavy workload to feel overwhelmed. Normal workloads can feel overwhelming when you take every problem and criticism personally. Remember that it’s just a job. Many people have become so stressed out that they put themselves in an early grave and yes, the world is still turning. So lighten up. Take time just for you. You’ll do a better job at work if you are physically and mentally fit.

Put some distance between the job and you. When you leave work every evening, don’t think about it all night. Once in a while is okay, but if it becomes a habit and envelops your time, you’ve got a problem.

What if nothing you do helps and you’re still unhappy? Then it’s time to move on and time to look for another job. You may be able to deal with being unhappy for a while, but not for long. Eventually, your attitude will affect others and the work that you do as well as the company itself will suffer. Now it’s time – without any hard feelings and without burning your bridges – to look elsewhere.