How to Survive a Job and Workplace You Hate

At first everything seems so great. After landing the job interview and acing it, you got the job along with a great salary and benefits package. You couldn’t be happier!

But after awhile once that high has passed and you start working at what you originally thought was going to be your dream job, reality sets in. You finally realize you dread even thinking about having to go into work and deal with your job and all of its stresses. After thinking you finally landed your job dream, you are now completely disillusioned and are starting to dream about the exit door.

It is hard to find a person who has not had a job at one time or another that they hated — whether it was their boss, the work environment, the work itself, the pay or their job duties.

Usually when you complain about your 9–5, most of your well meaning friends or family will you tell you should quit ASAP and you deserve better! Go and find your passion and a better job that appreciates you !

Although saying these things comes from a good place, this is not always useful nor beneficial advice.

In the current economy, most people don’t have the luxury to just up and leave their jobs to find their passion and greener pastures. Those bills don’t just pay themselves.

So what is a workerbee to do that needs to stay put, at least for now?

Take a step back mentally

At work, being a team player by always being the reliable, consistent one that always gets the job done, is usually what many people aim for because it is rewarded and we all like to be praised and validated in some way.

This is normally fine and not a problem as it helps you position yourself for promotions, bonuses, and having a good reputation at the company.

This becomes a problem however when you start being taken for granted. When your boss starts constantly burying you with work, and you are always staying late and picking up the slack with no reward. Or if you boss is poorly managing things and instead of ensuring your co-workers are doing their fair share of work, they give you all the work to do because you are their reliable go-to.

If you’re constantly twisting yourself into a pretzel to make things work especially when you’ve been given the work of 3 people, now is the time to evaluate and maybe take a small step back.

You will burn yourself out and it will start to affect your health and your relationships outside of work if you continue down this path without making any changes.

Emotional Detachment

Unfortunately it is going to come to the point where you are just going to have to stop caring so much.

Apathy is going to be your best friend and coping mechanism when you are getting to the point of no return at work and are getting emotionally charged.

Hard working, conscientious employees always have the most difficult time with this and letting go emotionally at work.

Start to think of work as solely a business transaction. You provide services and in return you are compensated as such.

When stressful work situations arise such as a co-worker does you wrong, your boss talks to you in a condescending way, your department reorganizes, or any number of upsetting work situations, just maintain your composure and remind yourself it is just a business transaction. It is not your life or your family. It is just work, it is a means to and end, and you are just there to collect your paycheck.

This may sound cold and harsh but detaching emotionally will give you space and some perspective. It is actually going to feel refreshing and therapeutic to take a step back and not care so much. It takes a little to get used to at first, but once you focus on thinking of work as solely a business transaction and kepr your emotions out of it, you are going to feel significantly better both mentally and physically. You will notice a difference in how you approach work and how you feel Sunday nights before the work week starts.

Pamper yourself daily

When many hours of your day are taken up by work and especially at a job and workplace that drain you, you will have to relalybe intentional to take care of yourself and your well-being. Focus your time and efforts to do something nice for yourself daily.

If you are are caregiving for others, children or elderly parents, or pets, you especially need to do something to refill your own cup, if this is on top of a difficult job.

You could yourself out for a latte, take a refreshing walk on a nearby trail, or do a 5 minute meditation to calm your nervous system.

Find joy outside of work

Unfortunately with certain jobs, bosses, and workplaces, they are just never going to be fun or all that enjoyable.

Whoever coined the phrase “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” was very lucky, but the majority of us have not always had that experience.

Unfortunately our bills and other financial obligations are likely going to dictate otherwise for staying where you’re at and not be able to just follow your passion like a starving artist.

So in the meantime while you stay at your current job that is keeping a roof over your head, what will greatly improve your outlook despite a job you hate, is cultivating activities and events that you look forward to doing after your work shift is done.

Having something you enjoy and to look forward to is going to completely change your life and your outlook. Your mindset will change positively for that better because it will take the focus off of your work and refocus on things that you love.

Another way to do this is to plan a future trip. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, it can be a day trip or a local road trip. The anticipation alone in the trip planning will improve your outlook before you even leave your house.

Focusing on something you enjoy or look forward to outside of work will do wonders for your how you feel during the day when you are dealing with work, and put your job woes in perspective.

In my own life I have had to do all of these at one time or another in different jobs over the years. There was a point I was so depressed and dreading work I could barely get up in the morning. At night I felt like I was having anxiety attacks thinking about going into work the next day.

But after seeing a therapist and making some major changes using some of the above strategies, I was able to regain my life and joy without quitting my job.

So if you can’t make an exit from your current work right this moment, all is not lost. There are ways to not just survive but thrive and enjoy your life even if you are not exactly fulfilling your fantasies at your dream job.

Have you had to stay in a job or workplace you dislike? Let us know in the comments.

Thank you for reading,

Harlyn