Career Hell

Career hell. It's more than a coined phrase or another micro-managed Monday. According to the Rockport Institute¹, a facility leading in enabling professional and non-professionals to choose well suited career paths, it may be an actual condition over 60 percent of the population suffer from.

You recognize this condition every day. The less than helpful cashier at your local grocer who despises the relativity of a coupon. The fast food attendant who shoots a look of blame for forgetting your side of fries. The groaning that rises out of the cubicle from the office employee when a ranting disgruntled customer is placed on hold. The seething grin from the co-worker leaving the directors office.

Money makes the world keep turning, and income is vital to survival. You owe, you owe, so it's off to work you go.  Whether you are holding a summer job, grandfathered 20 years of service, or stuck somewhere in the middle, that 8 to 5 shift spent day-dreaming of all the places you wish you could be instead of where you are, may be dangerously impacting your wellness, vitality, and self esteem.

Remarkably, it may even shorten the span of your life.

What may not be recognized, is "career hell" is more than another bad day at the office. If you find yourself dreading the thought of another work day, it may be affecting not only you, but also the others around you.

Career stress and friction between who you are and what you do breeds the potential to destroy the professional environment. If you find that there is no link between the tasks that you complete at work on a daily basis compared to your personal passions, values, and beliefs, you may be laying the ground work for a toxic professional environment.

Discontentment with your job, resentment against co-workers, burn out, and days of watching the clock slowly make its way around the hours, can lead to feelings of entrapment, a dead end, boredom, poor concentration, affect judgement, and the ability to do nothing more than survive the Monday through Friday grind.

A toxic work environment exhausts energy levels, leaving you feeling physically and mentally unable to give your best to not only business situations demanding your attention, but to the family waiting for you to come home at the end of the day. Feelings of helplessness towards your career can construct the same perception in other areas of your personal life.

Under stress, depression, and discontentment, the immune system can not provide ample power to help the body recover from illness as quickly. When teetering on the brink of being unable to support your self in a balanced, healthy way in your professional life, you have very little energy remaining to be a support to others who are in need of you. If exhaustion at the end of the work day leaves you unable to spend time with your family, enjoy recreational activities, or maintain an active life, you should heed the caution signs. Eventually you may find yourself in a sinking state of being unable to give your best both professionally and personally.

A working adult will spend over 90,000 hours working over a lifetime.  It would make sense that if investing this much time into one thing, it would be something that you actually enjoy doing.  If you find that the work you do on a daily basis is not tapping into your personal passions or unique talents, here are a few things that you could do to cure the disease without quitting your day job.

Look inside yourself.  Get to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are.  Learn what your personality traits are.  Once you understand these foundations, make a commitment to applying these to your work day.  Enjoy being a social butterfly? Consider planning or participating in a team building event.  Gain experience in coordinating or party planning. Like to be the first person awake in the morning?  Use this time to tackle the procrastinated pile of reports that have collected the dust bunnies.  Completing the dreaded tasks early in the morning will set you up for the rest of the day being a breeze.

Look to others.  That hobby that takes up your weekends could be pointing you to a more satisfying career in the future.  Find yourself being the one who is always snapping pictures?  Consider getting connected with others who are already in that field and find out exactly what it takes to become a photographer.  Do you volunteer in your community in places like an animal shelter or a pet adoption service?  Take a step to network with those in your group and move yourself in a position for becoming a veterinarian.

Look to the future.  You may not be able to quit your day job just yet, but your income may be the tool you use to support yourself through college courses or purchase the equipment needed to begin a new fresh path.  Take serious stock of where you would like to be in five, ten, or fifteen years from now.  Dream big.  What would your life be like if your work looked more like play?  Once you get your head out of the clouds, start building a solid foundation under those big ideas.  Write out goals, a timeline, or action plan is a great way to start creating a successful career path.

The answer to the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?", has endless possibilities.  Matching your talents, your passions and seeking education to be a catalyst for them will get you one step closer to reaching the opportunity to live life to its fullest both professionally and personally. 

 

 

 

¹The Rockport Institute, founder Nicholas Lore, www.rockportinstitute.com; The Pathfinder book, author Nicholas Lore