Not too many things suck as much as being unhappy at your place of employment. What makes it worse is when you can’t quit. For whatever reasons, you are currently stuck, and it doesn’t make sense to quit. So how do you deal with this situation? You don’t want to be miserable day in and day out. Here’s what you can do to make your time at work bearable and dare I say enjoyable:
1. Make the best of it
Go into work every day with a good attitude and the intentions of giving it your all while maintaining a positive mindset. You should also make an effort to socialize with co-workers. Getting involved in your work community will help make your day enjoyable because you are not left alone to your devices. Throughout the day, check in with yourself. Consider your mood, what is causing it and what you should do differently.
2. Update your resume
Be ready for opportunities by having your resume ready. Review your resume and update it. Get rid of outdated phrasing. Change the format. Add positions, skills you’ve acquired, and keywords to the resume. It wouldn’t hurt to have a general cover letter prepared that you can tweak later before submitting.
3. Keep looking
Don’t stop looking for those new opportunities. You never know what lays ahead. Maybe, a position opens up that works for you. It also can’t hurt to apply for jobs that interest you. The worst that could happen is nothing. The opposite could happen and you receive an offer. Keep your options open.
4. Improve upon your skills
Your skill-set is what makes you valuable to a company. Use the time that you have available now to improve or add new skills. Not sure what that would be? Do a little personal review. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Target your weaknesses as an area to improve in. What department do you work in? For example: If you’re in customer service, think of what you could do to make the customer’s experience better. Another example would be to learn a new computer software if you work in IT. Are there any goals you want to accomplish like learning a language? There’s no better time than now to make these adjustments.
Reaching Goals: Slow & Steady Wins the Race (bloomselfstudio.com)
5. Life outside of work
An absolute must if you want to keep your sanity and enjoy yourself is to get your rest, but also have a life outside of work. Do the things that make you happy. Don’t forget to have those lazy days too! Your mind, body, and soul needs these moments more than you know.
Whatever the situation, don’t let it overtake you. Control your moods and actions to control the situation. If you go into it with a bad attitude, then of course all of your experiences will be negative. The same is true for the opposite. You also have to learn how to put yourself first and take care of your needs. Otherwise, it will fall of your radar until one day you realize how unhappy you are. Remember that you may not be where you want to be, but it will eventually happen for you. Hang in there and keep putting your best foot forward.