It can be embarrassing to feel that you don’t measure up, and that your job is not working out. It’s also why many of us stay in jobs we don’t enjoy. We tell ourselves and those around us: I’m not a quitter! I can take a lot of pressure and don’t burn out easily! But, in the long run, it can be extremely costly. Unfortunately, most people don’t realise this until “the damage is done”. I recently conducted a range of interviews with former and current clients, in an attempt to understand what happens when you spend your energy staying in a job that is no longer good for you. Three clear patterns emerged:
- It can make you ill
- ‘I often find it difficult to concentrate and breathe, because it just gets too much’
- ‘I have headaches every day and I have to take a lot of painkillers to get through my workday’
- ‘It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with hypertension that I realised that continuing in a job that I no longer enjoy could make me seriously ill’
- Your mental well-being deteriorates
- ‘I feel like I’m teetering on the brink of depression’
- ‘I’ve reached the point where going to work is a matter of survival – every day’
- ‘I constantly feel inadequate, and I have difficulty holding it together’
- Your close relationships suffer
- ‘I’m so unhappy at work and it’s beginning to affect my family’
- ‘I’ve pretty much stopped seeing my friends because I just don’t have the energy anymore’
- ‘Keeping fit used to be very important to me, and I ran 5 km every other day. I’ve stopped doing that as I’m just too tired when I get back from work’
All these examples are proof of how unhealthy it can be to remain in a job, and at a workplace, that no longer makes you happy. This is the reality for many of the managers and specialists I talk to every week. Do you notice the same trends in your sector and in your network? I’d love to hear your observations in the comments below. And if you are in this unhappy situation, you are very welcome to contact me to hear how I can help you move forward. Give me a ring on +45 4026 2022 or send me a message here on LinkedIn. I look forward to hearing from you.
‘Don’t let the distance between where you are and where you want to be, scare you out of simply moving forward’
