It’s been a tough year, hitting targets, making clients’ dreams come true, commuting and standing closer to strangers than should be legal, watching tat on the box to unwind, sleepless nights because of work stress and now….to top it off there’s Christmas coming up with presents to buy and Slade on a loop.
Take heed for this is the perfect time to re-evaluate your life and how to make it a whole lot better….and we say don’t wait until after Christmas to start looking around because wouldn’t it be great to be sitting behind your new desk in the New Year?
From our recruiting experience, there are seven reasons that people love or leave their jobs and if you are nodding your head in agreement…well….need we say more?
1. Your boss
Like a good teacher, this is the person who should mentor you, protect you, acknowlege your potential and above all encourage you to meet your goals. If you feel that you’re not getting any help or, worse still, you actively try to avoid your superior or meetings with them, then you might need to move on.
2. Your pay
Whether you believe money’s the key to a good life or you’re not that fussed, we all deserve to be rewarded for the work we do. Of course it’s not all about the loot but, the minute you feel that you are working overtime again without a whiff of thanks or financial recognition then it could be time to see if there’s a company that acknowledges its profits should be distributed a little further.
3. Your commute
Sometimes there’s nothing nicer than sitting on a train and reading or driving in the car and catching up with radio banter but the reality is that trains can be torture and driving is a nightmare if you leave a minute later than you meant to. If you find that your journey into work is upsetting you then you should move to an area where commuting is delightful or you’re just so darned excited about getting into work you don’t even see the other people around you (let alone smell them).
4. Your colleagues
Now we’re not suggesting that you have to be best mates with everyone you work with but there should be an element of happiness when you see their faces every day. Granted there will be at least one person you don’t particularly adore (even if it’s just because they eat their sushi too loudly) but when you start wanting to avoid eye contact, short conversations and company emails you might yearn for a place with like-minded peeps. Friday night drinks are supposed to be fun after all…
Obvious of course but if you’d rather spend your day shopping online, looking for jobs and checking out social media then you probably should start finding something that taxes your brain a tad and gives you a feeling of satisfaction. To our knowledge, no-one ever got a pay rise for the highest Angry Birds score in history.
6. Your health
If you find that you’re finding solace in the bottom of a bottle, not looking after yourself, are constantly exhausted, feel the weight of the world at around 5pm on a Sunday or that you just keep feeling unwell, you need to look at whether it’s work that’s causing you to feel weak.
7. Your future
Everything you do at work should matter to your firm or they’re just throwing money down the drain. Every single person in that company has felt what you’ve felt, they’ve wanted their talents to be recognised, to be renumerated fairly and have their ideas listened to. If no-one is helping you on that journey, and you’ve mentioned it, then it’s time to find those who will take your hand.
So put a hold on counting how many mince pies you’ve had already, count the number of times you’ve said ‘if only’ and take a moment to work on getting that job you jolly well deserve.