1307: [Part 2] 4 Signs You Hate Your Job & 5 Things You Can Do About It by Kristin Wong with Get Rich Slowly

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode 1307. Four Signs You Hate Your Job and Five Things

[00:00:06] You Can Do About It, Part 2, by Kristin Wong with GetRichSlowly.org.

[00:00:11] And I'm Dan, I am your host here and welcome back to the show that is all about sharing the

[00:00:16] best work and entrepreneurship content on the web, and we do that every day in about 10 minutes

[00:00:21] or less. So now let's finish up the post that we started yesterday as we continue hearing from

[00:00:26] Kristin and Optimize Your Life. Four Signs You Hate Your Job and Five Things You Can Do About It,

[00:00:36] Part 2, by Kristin Wong with GetRichSlowly.org.

[00:00:41] 2. Transition Unless your job is weighing on your health, which does happen, it might be

[00:00:47] best to gradually unstick yourself from a sticky situation. You can definitely take the plunge,

[00:00:52] and that might work for you too. But the other option is getting your feet wet and

[00:00:56] gradually easing into unfamiliar waters. Easing in might mean finding part-time work

[00:01:01] somewhere else until you can let go of your job completely. It might mean searching for

[00:01:05] another job in your free time. 3. Change Your Job Without Quitting

[00:01:11] Can your feeling stuck be remedied by working from home? Would you be happier with a

[00:01:15] different schedule? If there are simple changes that could drastically improve your work life,

[00:01:19] it might be worth negotiating them with your boss before deciding to quit altogether.

[00:01:24] There's also the option of applying for a different position. If what you hate is

[00:01:27] something specific – your boss, your work environment, a project – perhaps it's not

[00:01:32] a bad idea to simply change your position at your current organization. Especially if

[00:01:36] you haven't been there long, staying at the same company might also be better for building

[00:01:40] your resume. 4. Communicate

[00:01:44] There have been at least a few times in my working life where I felt overworked and

[00:01:48] underpaid, only to realize this was easily fixed with a simple conversation. Asking for

[00:01:53] a raise can be awkward, but many times you won't get one – at least not for a while – unless you

[00:01:58] ask. Lately I've been working on speaking up about my frustrations. I don't throw a fit,

[00:02:03] but I'm learning to make issues known in a polite and diplomatic way.

[00:02:07] A few things have helped in airing my grievances effectively.

[00:02:10] First, don't get personal. I make the situation the issue,

[00:02:15] not my boss or the company. If I'm not getting paid enough, for example,

[00:02:18] I'll bring up the issue of those darn budget cuts rather than blaming my supervisors

[00:02:22] or their decisions. And second, be honest. Your boss is a human being, so he or she can

[00:02:29] probably relate to why something bothers you. It might not hurt to simply be honest about the

[00:02:33] issue, but avoid talking about how it makes you feel and instead focus on why, logically,

[00:02:39] the situation doesn't work for you. Not getting a raise affects your budget.

[00:02:43] Tackling another project keeps you from spending time with your spouse.

[00:02:47] I was once honest about a time issue with my boss, and he responded,

[00:02:50] Yeah, come to think of it, don't send me anything after 6pm. My wife's been complaining that I work

[00:02:55] too much. And third, emphasize your work ethic. I try to remind my boss that I enjoy my job and

[00:03:02] that I'll continue to put in loads of effort. I feel like this eases any concern that I'm only

[00:03:06] interested in what I'm owed and not what I can contribute. Of course, I understand that

[00:03:11] talk to your boss might not be a viable option for all of us because some bosses are not open

[00:03:16] to hearing what you have to say. And five, change your outlook. My mom has a story about

[00:03:23] the power of changing your outlook. She realizes this isn't the best option for everyone,

[00:03:27] but sometimes it is. I asked her to write about it. Quote, I used to work in retail,

[00:03:33] a job that was supposed to be a stepping stone. But before I knew it, I was there

[00:03:37] for seven years and growing increasingly dissatisfied and ungrateful. So I asked myself,

[00:03:42] do I change my environment or my outlook? At that moment, I realized I had overstepped this stone.

[00:03:48] So I chose change my environment. I went back to school to improve my chances of getting a better

[00:03:53] job. And that's how I ended up at my current office job. I was excited about my new job

[00:03:58] and I enjoyed the work. But a year later, a new supervisor and new coworkers changed the

[00:04:03] atmosphere. It got so bad, I allowed it to affect my home life, which I regret to this day.

[00:04:08] So I found myself asking the same question. Do I change environment or outlook? I felt

[00:04:14] unappreciated and ignored by the new supervisor and taken advantage of by coworkers. I chose

[00:04:19] this time to change my way of thinking because I liked the work I was doing and I had to think

[00:04:23] about providing for my young family at the time. I did my best to not allow my coworkers

[00:04:28] or environment to get to me. I did my work and went home. Eventually, things got better.

[00:04:34] Looking back, choosing to change my way of thinking not only helped me to overcome that

[00:04:38] work environment, but also to grow as a person. End quote. My mom weighed the pros and cons of

[00:04:44] staying versus leaving and decided that staying was the best decision financially and career wise.

[00:04:50] At work, she shifted her focus to her family. She says it's a decision that's served her well.

[00:04:59] You just listened to part two of the post titled Four Signs You Hate Your Job and

[00:05:04] Five Things You Can Do About It by Kristen Wong with GetRichSlowly.org. You don't need me

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[00:06:16] you're going to love Gusto. Get started today. And thank you again to Kristen for this great

[00:06:22] post and we also have to thank JD Roth, who's the owner and founder of GetRichSlowly.org.

[00:06:28] He considers himself just a regular guy who's learned about money through the school of hard

[00:06:32] knocks. By 2004, he had acquired over $35,000 of consumer debt through credit cards, personal

[00:06:38] loans and a car loan and was living paycheck to paycheck on a salary of $50,000 a year.

[00:06:44] He didn't have savings and in October of that year, he hit rock bottom and then drafted

[00:06:49] a three-year plan to get out of debt and never looked back. In less than a year, he

[00:06:53] had set aside a $5,000 emergency fund and had increased his cash flow by $750 a month.

[00:06:59] He put that into debt reduction and in December of 2007, just three years later, right on schedule,

[00:07:05] he became debt free for the first time in his adult life. And now he's an early retiree.

[00:07:10] So come by GetRichSlowly.org for a lot more. Plenty of articles and resources there for you

[00:07:15] to check out. But with that, we have reached the end of another episode and I thank you so

[00:07:19] much for joining me for this two-parter from Kristen. We couldn't do this show without you,

[00:07:23] of course, and I really appreciate you being here and listening every single day.

[00:07:27] And I'll see you right back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.