How to Make Your Current Job Work for You, If You Are Unhappy

Are you feeling increasingly unhappy about your job? Do you find yourself daydreaming about other things you could do with the time you spend at work? Do you dread the thought of Monday mornings?

Then, it may be time for you to quit your job. Or address the issues that you dislike about your current job. Without leaving your job, you may be able to solve the problems and make your current job - work.

Take a look at these six common reasons why people often leave their job. These will help you determine whether it's time to quit your current job or take action to make your current job - work. With a little work, you can identify changes that will re-invigorate your job and career.

Do you dislike the work you do day-to-day on the job? Or, are there other problems that affect how you feel about your job? If you like the work and pinpoint other issues as the problem, consider what you can do to resolve these problems before you quit your job.

Good jobs are difficult to find. You don't want to make a hasty decision or burn any bridges until you've thoughtfully considered your options. You may be able to make your job - work.

Following are six common problems that prompt people to want to quit their job. See if you can find your reasons and use the advice provided to turn your work situation around. If you make your best effort and it doesn't work, see the top ten reasons to quit your job.

Are you feeling stuck in your current position with no hope of promotion? You look around your organization and don't see any job you'd like to do next. You may want to explore options with your boss.

• Talk to your boss to make sure you're right. Ask about opportunities for lateral moves and for more interesting, skill-stretching assignments. Most workplaces value initiative and people who want to continue to learn and grow.
• Consider swapping assignments with a coworker who feels like you do about trying something new. (Ask for your manager's agreement, of course.)

You work hard every day, but you don't feel your boss or your workplace recognize your efforts. You can't remember the last time anyone thanked you for your contributions.

• Tell your boss you would like her input about how she views your work. Tell the boss you'd like to sit down with him regularly to obtain feedback, both good and bad so that you can improve.
• Offer to chair an employee recognition team that can develop a process for recognizing the hard work and efforts of all your coworkers. After all, if you're feeling unappreciated, you can bet others are, too.
• Sometimes, feeling unappreciated has to do with money. Ask your manager for a raise or ask when you can expect your compensation review. Follow up to make sure it happens.

You probably are overworked. Employers have cut back on hiring and are expecting employees to do more with fewer resources.

At a local university, a customer service counter was staffed by five people until recently. Now, one person staffs the counter. Is she overworked or was the counter overstaffed in the first place? You will never convince her that the answer is anything but the first - overworked.

• Talk with your employer, after collecting good data and evidence, if you find that the job is indeed more work than one person can comfortably handle. Brainstorm options that include these:
  --hire a new employee,
  --assign a part-time employee or intern to work with you,
  --identify tasks you can stop doing, and
  --determine the value-added tasks and eliminate non-critical job components.
• Take time to flowchart your work processes and see where you have waste in the process. Are you doing rework? How does extra time or steps make your work processes more difficult and time-consuming than they warrant?

Sometimes, people discover that they have chosen the wrong career or field of work. They dislike the activities and the actual content of the job.

When I was twenty-one, I taught special education. While I loved the young people, I disliked the school setting and had little in common with many of my coworkers. I was not challenged for long by the content of the work either. Now, it's thirty plus years later, and I'm still teaching, just not in a public school.

You may experience something similar. If you fundamentally don't like the work, consider these actions.

• Spend a year exploring your career options and needs.
  --Meet with people already working in the fields you are exploring.
  --Determine education or credentials necessary to move on.
  --Read books by authors such as Barbara Sher and Annie Gottlieb. Wishcraft and other recent career and job search books are good choices.
• Make a careful plan with a timeline, and move on.

Maybe you like your work but dislike your current employer, coworkers or customers. Explore your options to move to a different employer.

Make sure that the unhappiness isn't inside of you, however, and that it really is due to the actions of others. (Perhaps your employer is unethical in his treatment of the customer. Maybe your coworkers are all miserable and constantly complaining about their work.)

Look carefully for a pattern in your o