Unless you’re born into a moneyed family or have won the lottery, you probably have to work for a living.
And although you might pretend otherwise, the chances are that your job is deeply dissatisfying — according to an August 2017 Gallup poll, 85 per cent of people worldwide hate their jobs and their bosses.
But if you’re middle-aged and have family responsibilities, the thought of moving from a job you’ve held for some time can be daunting. However, the price for staying put could be compromising your physical and mental health.
If you need more motivation to get unstuck from employment misery, here are three reasons you should switch jobs.
1. Stress reduction
Clinical stress is more serious than things merely feeling a little hectic — if left unchecked, it can cause serious physical and psychological problems.
And too often, organisations aren’t capable of fixing the deep-rooted cultural and leadership problems that fuel mental health and anxiety in the workforce, and do little more than pay lip service to resolving the problem.
If your doctor’s diagnosed you with work-related stress on more than one occasion and your employer hasn’t made the appropriate adjustments, it might be time to move on.
In the meantime, reading this HSE advice on mental health at work provides food for thought.
2. Flexible learning
Earning a formal qualification is still one of the most effective ways of migrating to a more fulfilling career. But when there’s ‘nothing going on but the rent’ and family responsibilities are at the forefront of your mind, taking time off to study full-time probably isn’t viable.
These worries needn’t stop you using education to escape a mind-numbing job — because taking an online degree with Anglia Ruskin Distance Learning allows you to fit learning flexibly around your lifestyle. And the undergraduate or postgrad qualification you earn will be a passport that propels your career plans.
You might have to stick around in your current job while you complete the course, but it’ll probably feel more manageable knowing you’re implementing an escape plan.
3. Self-esteem
You might not be aware of it, but working in a toxic workplace for long enough can seriously erode your sense of self — leading to problems that impact other important aspects of life like relationships.
Over the years, self-esteem can reduce due to a lack of acknowledgement for good performance, increasing demands and supervisors who may undermine you to mask their own inadequacies.
This leads to a kind of ‘learned helplessness’ whereby you no longer have the confidence to believe you’re capable of better.
To combat this, step outside of the workplace mindset for a few minutes and honestly evaluate your strengths to remind yourself that you have everything required to seek more worthwhile employment.
And until you take the plunge, scanning this info on self-esteem at work from Psychology Today provides some perspective.
Grab these three reasons for switching jobs and get unstuck from your work rut — you won’t regret it.
How did you change careers? Share your advice in the comments section