When to change the job and when the approach

Question

Everybody knows that after some time of stereotype work can become boring and productivity goes down. You can get even disgusted with your job. (Sometimes we see only the negative things, not that positive one.)

Every coin has two sides: there are positives and negatives of every job. Often it's sufficient to talk to somebody with a positive approach to life, or to read motivation books, and you can have better approach to your job again. It's an issue of approach: when I repeat to myself how bad my job is, I won't be in a good mood to go there and to be productive. But when I remember the reasons why I applied for that job, and what is positive about it, I can once again be in a good mood, satisfied and motivated to be more productive.

Some people can change jobs all the time and they won't be happy anywhere.

Sometimes it is because of things we repeat in our head, like:

• I hate my job
• 8 hours of sitting again
• everybody wants something from me all the time
• I have to try to solve that boring issue, it would waste my time...

Instead of:

• I like my job, I like computing - this is why I studied it, and I want to show my knowledge
• I can make my job comfortable, sitting down in a warm room, after work I'll go play a sport
• It is exciting, everybody comes to me to ask questions, I can help others, it is great
• I will definitely solve that issue today
• I look forward to talking with my colleagues, they have great ideas

But in some cases, I can have a job which really does not suit me. And the best thing would be to change my job, not just try to change my approach.

When is it time to change the job, and when is it sufficient to only change the approach? How to find the border between these two cases?

Answer 1

Make a list of things that you like and dislike in your job and include everything that makes you feel good and bad: work tasks, people, cooler water, good chair, bad desk, slow computer, fast network, and so on. You may want to factor in the ease of finding another job in the list as well. Then assign weight to the factors, and calculate the sum of negatives and positives. Add those up and see where you end up. If the sum is significantly below zero, then you would probably be better off leaving. If the sum is on the positive side, you can try to adjust your approach to work (and the list of positive items should help you adjust the attitude towards the job).

All that is the rational analysis. People are not always rational. If your hate the guts of the job, or you are getting bored with it, then it is probably time to move on. On the other hand, if you absolutely love what you are doing and you feel like you make a difference in the world but everything else sucks, you can get headphones to tune out people, bring your lunch to work, ask about telecommuting and so on to add the enjoyment to the work environment and keep doing what you love without the distractions.

Answer 2

I came up with two different options - a combination of the two would probably work best.

1) If you're having trouble making the decision, the simplest method might be to just try changing your approach, and if that doesn't work, then look for a new job.

It seems that you have a very good idea of how to change your approach, so you shouldn't have trouble with that - just give it an honest try for perhaps a month. If you're still unhappy with the job after that time, it doesn't really matter whether you "should" just try changing your approach - if it doesn't work, then it doesn't work, and you need to try something else. That something else being either changing the job, or at least talking to your boss about changing some of the things you dislike about it.

Of course, this method runs the risk of ending up in a job you could be better off leaving, if you're exceptionally good at seeing the bright side of a lousy situation.

2) It might help to get an objective opinion as to whether, in your field and country, the things that you really dislike about your job are common or uncommon. If it turns out they're very common, you'll know it may be difficult to find a job you'll be happier in, so it may be a better idea to change your approach to your current job, or see if you can talk to your boss about changing some aspects of it. On the other hand, if it turns out that your job really does have a lot of negative features people in most other companies don't have to put up with, it may be worth looking for another job even if you think you could adjust to the drawbacks of your current one.

This won't necessarily make the decision for you - even if the things you hate about your job are common, you still probably shouldn't stay in a job you hate - but it should give you additional information about what to look out for in new jobs, or, in extreme cases, whether to consider changing fields to something you may find more rewarding.