Many of you are in a position now where you are in a job, you were looking for a move, and now it is not happening. There are many reasons why you were moving from your current role into another one. It may be for promotion, it may be for more experience, it may be for a different experience. One of the reasons that people are moving from their jobs it’s because there has been a structural change, a personal change or management change, and this does not fit with them for future satisfaction and happiness.
If you are in the position where you have to stay in your job but you want to learn to be happier the following coaching tips can help you reframe how are you see your current company and work surroundings,
1. Change your thought process relating to your Manager
One of the main reasons people leave their jobs it’s because of their senior leadership team or Manager. This may be a clash and management style, it may be a clash and personality, it may just be a change that you are not enjoying. Some of my clients find it useful to reframe and understand better the thought process of their current Manager. What is their model of the world and what do they need in order to gain their job satisfaction? Why are they behaving like this? It can be difficult to think about this from somebody else’s point of view, but if you can understand the other person's behaviour patterns relating to their “why”, then you may gain a better ability to control your response to this. Eg. They are controlling and micromanage. Why? Is it because this is how management has asked them to be? Is it because this is the ONLY area of life they have control? Is it because they have not had the training to become a better Manager? This may not change the way they behave, but can encourage you (in the short term until you can make change) to be more forgiving of the circumstances and this in turn can reduce your stress within the current situation.
2. Notice which tasks you enjoy doing the most
Instead of just going to the daily grind on autopilot, especially if you’ve been at the company for a long time, start noticing what you love doing and write it down. Notice when there is a pattern forming. Is this something that you can take forward to your next job when/ if you decide to leave? Or alternatively is this task something that you can further develop/ do more of within your current company?
3. Start doing something you love as a hobby
Think about what you really love doing, choose a new leisure pursuit to follow, reward yourself at the end of the day or at the end of the week for doing a good week‘s work. This new hobby could become something bigger in the future. Can you turn this into a full-time job all monetise this it one day. You just never know what is going to happen in the future as we have all just discovered!
4. Step away from your desk and out of the office at lunchtime, during breaks and do something meaningful
If you are working from home let your team or Line Manager know you are out of contact and turn notifications off. Don’t just step away from your desk and go to the shop and buy a sandwich. Step away from your desk and go and do something that you really love or find exciting/ helpful interesting. That might be going for a walk. It might be reading a book. It might be choosing a new podcast to listen to for 30 minutes. It may be planning for a wonderful weekend or planning for something positive that you can look forward to that evening. Alternatively you could go and practice mindfulness on a walk or sit on a bench and be present with yourself and the surroundings just focusing on what is happening in the here and now. Alternatively focus on your breath and your body and relax from head to toe. This will help you with a positive reset in the middle of the day and will help you go back refreshed.
5. Finally remember that this is not permanent
This too will pass. If you do have a job at the moment you may hate it, but you are also one of the lucky ones which is able to have an income to save to live to take care of themselves and their family.
One of the toughest things you can do is stay in a job that you don’t like and you feel is unfulfilling. At the moment there may not be a choice for you to move. However taking care of your mental well-being is important and all of the techniques above will help you through this short stage while we move through these challenging times. You can change the way you think about your job, about your life and create something that is more fulfilling albeit temporary. It’s your choice to focus on the good, potential, and possibilities.
If you would like to learn how to become happier in your job over the next few months please connect with me. I can help you refocus, start looking for coping strategies in your current role and also start working on your promotion or exit plan if needed. Message me at caroline@successCL.com