With 2015 already in full swing, no doubt you have made a number of New Year’s resolutions… only to have forgotten them as quickly as they were made! One of the most common New Year’s resolutions (alongside getting significantly hotter and fitter than the previous year) is to find a new job. With the average full time employee spending the better part of their week at work, it makes sense that this would be high on the resolution priority list (even more so than getting a Kardashian booty!).
So let’s have a look at some of the signs you need a new job in 2015.
1. You Genuinely Hate Your Job
Do you wake up every day dreading the thought of work? Does everything about the company irritate you? Then why spend another 12 months miserable; making everyone around you miserable? Chances are if you hate your job, your colleagues and boss know it too. Even worse, you may have become one of those awful people who spend more time complaining to anyone who will listen about how terrible the organisation is, rather than actually working. If you are fixated on the negatives of the role, view all organisational change negatively, and constantly feel the need to challenge the status quo simply for the sake of it - then it’s time to go.
2. You are Bored
If the very thought of work makes you want to lie down and take a little nap, then find a role that challenges and engages you. And if the idea of talking to your boss about ways to make your job more challenging seems like a chore, then it’s time to accept the challenge of finding a new job!
3. Nothing Excites You… Even a Pay rise
If you were given a $10,000 pay rise and would still hate your job (in fact you would be likely to whinge that you now have to pay more tax)… it’s time to move on. If your colleagues are excited by the work they do or simply excited to be a part of the organisation, don’t kill it for them.
4. You Have Become an Internet Fiend
Your day revolves around the internet… and never for work purposes. Facebook. LinkedIn (for stalking – never business). Every News site. Twitter. Personal Emails. Online shopping. YouTube. If you can Google it… You will… Between the hours of 9 and 5 of course.
5. Procrastination Is Your Middle Name
You are the last in, and the first out. And from the minute you get to work, you are looking for any excuse to avoid doing work. Making Tea. Cleaning up. Going to the toilet. Talking to your colleagues. Colour coding your stationary. Offering to do the most menial tasks. Taking ‘urgent’ personal calls. And on the off chance you are not procrastinating, you are staring at the clock, counting down the hours.
6. Increased Sick Days
You are taking full advantage of your sick days… and some. And when you are at work you’re tired. You are also the first to catch any illness that goes around in the office (willingly). If the thought of work is making you sick, don’t see a doctor for another medical certificate… see a recruiter!
7. You Don’t Like Your Boss or Colleagues
While you don’t have to buy a best friend chain, it helps to like and respect your colleagues, and certainly your boss. If you can’t think of anything nice to say about them, and find yourself avoiding any ‘compulsory social events’, or even having a water cooler chat with those around you, then find a job where you are inspired by your colleagues, and aspire to be more like them.
8. You Are Under-performing
Under-performance is demotivating in any case. But if you are not achieving your objectives and are not motivated to do so, then stop wasting your boss’s time trying to motivate you to do your job. Move on.
9. You Look Homeless
If you no longer take pride in your professional appearance as you once did – don’t iron your clothes, brush or wash your hair, and find yourself reaching for the clothes you wear to the supermarket on the weekend - then it might be time for an image makeover, and a fresh start.
10. You are reading this blog.
If you have mentally ticked off the majority of these points, then you need a career change in 2015.
Conversely, if you do like your boss, colleagues and the organisation as a whole, then you need to make time to speak with your boss and discuss what changes you can make to re-engage and motivate you for the year ahead.
Finding a job that will truly make you happy, and enable you to achieve your professional and personal goals is life changing, and will make everything in life seem a little brighter.
