Should I leave my job?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

You feel butterflies in your stomach as you drive to work. You can't wait until Friday. You are bored out of your mind each day. Nothing you do at work seems worthwhile. Constant politics get in the way of any projects getting done. Every morning you wonder how many sick days you have left and if you can possibly afford to take a mental health day.

But then, how do you know if you can find something better? And how hard will it be to start all over with no vacation and no accrued benefits? What if you want to do something completely different that is personally fulfilling? Will you have to go back to school or start over at entry level? If you have a mortgage, a family to support, or any level of financial obligation, the options don't seem plentiful.

These are critical questions, and definitely worth asking. Many people who leave one job to find their passion end up changing jobs two or three times before they find something they like better. And often they do end up getting paid less, or in an office environment that is more stressful than where they started out.

Studies have shown that more than 70% of all employees remain in jobs they are not completely satisfied with, and this makes sense given what's involved in finding a better situation.

But the good news is, it is absolutely possible to find a job that is fulfilling, enjoyable, and lucrative as well. You just need to know how to look. Here are some initial pointers:

1. You have to know what is the cause of most of your current drain at work. In some cases the work is draining, because it isn't something you naturally excel at or enjoy. But in other cases specific relationships may be the only thing getting in the way of you enjoying your job. It helps to write down what you most dislike about your current situation, and ask yourself whether changing that one aspect of your job would make enough of a difference for you to want to stay.

2. Do some values work and rethink your life. Sometimes we feel miserable and the job is just one of many places where that misery is showing up. If you approach this as a life change instead of just a job change, you have a better chance of finding work that feels meaningful and in balance with your personal goals.

3. You don't know what's out there until you look. And looking doesn't involve going out to job websites. Looking is first about figuring out what kind of work you would like to do, and then finding some people who are actually doing it and learning about how they did it. Looking is about asking questions and having conversations with people - WAY before you go out applying for jobs. The biggest mistake people make when they hate their current job is blindly go out and getting the first opening that they fit. That's like jumping out of the frying pan without looking to see where the fire is. If you look first, you have a much better chance of landing in a place you'll enjoy.

I work with three other career coaches in a program specifically designed to support people who want to make a change, but do it right. If you'd like to learn more about the program, please visit http://www.thrivingintransition.com/.

We will all be writing our thoughts in this blog from time to time, to support you in finding work that you can truly enjoy and thrive in.

Keep reading - this could be your first step to a new life!