How to Not Hate Your Job

We all have those moments where we can’t stand our job.

Whether it’s a difficult boss, an absurd deadline or terrible coworkers, we’ve all been there.

But what to do when the stress of the job begins to infect the rest of your life?

There’s nothing worse than leaving the office only to carry around the burden of your job all night long.

It’s time to cure the 9-to-5 blues before they put a damper on your entire life.

1. You Are More Than Your Job

This is a difficult concept to follow, but it’s the most important. In the past I’ve had trouble letting work issues go once I leave the office, and it’s done nothing but made me feel worse and ruined my free time.

Keeping work stress at the forefront of your mind when you leave the office accomplishes nothing. Preoccupation with a work-related stressor means you need to confront the issue once and for all.

Do this during regular work hours. See if a resolution can be made. If not, start seriously looking for another job or just let it go.

It’s so important to have hobbies and activities you look forward to during the week. If your weekday schedule consists of travel to/from the office, work, watching television, dinner and sleep, you’re going to let work stress affect you more, because it’s the main defining activity in your life.

Instead sign up for language or cooking courses after work. Throughout my employment history, I’ve taken several classes including French and pottery-making. Taking classes is also one of the best ways to meet new friends as an adult.

When you have topics other than work to discuss with people, it really makes a difference in how you see yourself. Next time work gets you down, you’ll just breathe in and think about what you’re going to do in your next painting class.

2. Use Your Vacation Time

I am completely guilty of not following my own advice here. I was at my first office for almost three years without taking an actual vacation.

The office had a rollover and payout policy: You could accrue two years’ worth of vacation time, and when you left the position, any unused vacation days would be paid out to you.

For some reason I thought it was a good idea to accrue my vacation time to the maximum so I could cash out when I left. This was misguided thinking and it gets worse.

I actually ended up wasting vacation days by not using them and allowing them to expire. In the end, I did get a month’s worth of vacation payout, but it was hardly worth it. I was constantly stressed, depressed and my blood pressure was deemed high for my age group.

If you’re not a vacation person, that’s perfectly ok. Staycations work just as well. A coworker of mine goes on a more extravagant vacation every few years and takes a week off around her birthday every year.

She uses that week to explore her local area, hang out with friends and pay more attention to her hobbies. It doesn’t matter if you spend your days doing nothing more than sitting around reading or going to the movies – as long as you’re not in the office, you’re doing it right.

3. Keep Your Dreams Alive

This may be clichéd, but seriously do this. When I have a bad day at my job, I always go home and try to write at least four pages of a play I’ve been working on for the last year. My co-workers in the past have been up-and-coming comedians, actors and singers.

Your dreams don’t have to be about the arts either. Your goal can be volunteering with animals or at a hospital. Help paint a mural in an urban garden or tutor a child in math. Do something that makes you feel like you’re accomplishing more than just your job.

Dreams and hope obviously makes you feel better about your current circumstances. It can be as simple as buying a lottery ticket to a draw with a huge jackpot. Write a list of the top five things you’d do if you won the lottery.

Then to balance it out, write a top five list of things you can do to realistically improve your life now. Then whether the ticket you bought makes you a lottery millionaire or not, you’ll have goals to work toward.

4. Keep Yourself Informed

This piece of advice might sound strange, but hear me out. I’ve worked in offices where my coworkers only talked about work; even when we went out after work, it was the only topic available for discussion.

This is a problem for several reasons:

• People aren’t following my first piece of advice and are making their job the defining characteristic in their lives;
• Talking about work too much leads to complaining about work, higher-ups, and coworkers – depending on who you speak with, this can be a job-killer;
• It makes life incredibly boring, and you basically become a shell of your former, more interesting self.

I don’t mean to say that you need to read three newspapers a day and watch cable news (don’t watch cable news), but know enough about current events to realize that you’re part of a bigger world and when work is stressing you out, there is a whole world outside your bubble.

Keep up with current best-selling books, popular films and go to concerts. Even with your up-to-date knowledge, remember that it’s never a good idea to talk about politics at the workplace unless your office is on 10 Downing Street or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

5. If All Else Fails, Find Another Job

If you feel like you’re at the point of no return when it comes to stress, then the best option is to start looking for a new job. Make replacing your job your new job – put as much energy and time into the job search as possible.

It’s always better to stay at your job until you find a new position, but if the job is causing physical or mental health problems, then quitting may be an option you need to consider. Take some time to recuperate, then go back to the job search.

Part-time work and freelancing, depending on your field of expertise, is also something to consider. Consult with your family, friends and finances before you make a major change.

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Even a dream job can have flaws. No one workplace is perfect. Hopefully these tips can help you learn to get through a tough day and help you to not hate your job.

(Photo by Unsplash / CCO Public Domain )