How often do you say to yourself, “I HATE my job!”? Maybe it’s time to consider if you have what it takes to become and entrepreneur.
An article in Inc magazine suggests a whopping 70% of people aren’t happy with their job! My personal opinion is that the number is actually higher in reality. This bleeds over into one’s personal life. Life isn’t supposed to filled with disappointment over 70% of the time!
You find that your distaste for your job is occupying way too much of your thoughts. Your personal life is suffering from the negative energy being created by your work situation. You would really like a better way to earn a living. Something more fulfilling.
Gallup Poll Results Proof
A Gallup Poll shows that out of the billion + full time workers world wide, 85% dislike their employment. Taking this to the extreme is Japan, with a 94% rate of disappointed employees. This is for several reasons.
- The ratio between compensation and the cost of living is narrowing.
- It used to be that it required one spouse or the other to work in order to support a family. Now many times even with both spouses working, they can’t quite pay the bills.
- People are changing. The old corporate ways of management don’t work well with millennials.
- People are taking a position based solely on the paycheck vs their passion for that type of work.
- People are now strapped with massive student loan debt, adding to the stress of underpaid job positions.
- Social media. Reading about your piers who claim to be doing so much better. (usually a lie, LOL)
These are all reasons for feeling depressed about one’s employment situation. Many of these issues can be relieved by having success as an entrepreneur. The question is, can you be a better boss to yourself than the boss you have now?
Do I Hate My Job, Or My Boss?
I think most people dislike management more than the job itself. Most people aren’t working in the field of their dreams, but would be satisfied with their job duties if the management style was more from a positive reinforcement attitude. However most management style is still that of yesteryear, which is fear based.
A fear based management style forces the management to spread a negative feeling of consequences. But, having management work from a mindset of positive reinforcement provides hope and excitement.
Imagine working for a company that trains their management to recognize employees for a job well done. Perhaps even getting rewarded for going above and beyond expectations. In some work environments, the recognition aspect could be as simple as keeping a “employee of the week” plaque at there work station, and others could be a mini celebration.
Now how about a company that rewards an employee of the month who went above and beyond with their work. That reward could be as simple as an extra paid day off work, or a gift card to a nice restaurant. This type of management activity would cost very little to implement, but the productivity from having happier employees, would far outweigh the expense.
It’s Your Boss
Again, I think most people will find that they dislike the management, not necessarily their job description. Many (not all) managers feel as though they are above/better than the employees. As humans, nobody really wants to feel as though they are worth less than another.
However it’s natural to want to feel better or more important. You can’t fault anyone for this, but if a manager wants results from the team, they need to realize that their job is just different. The manager is just part of the system.
A manager’s job is to organize. It’s that simple. They’re to organize and monitor employee activity. In order to get results from a team of employees, the manager needs to make it clear that everyone is an important part of the “whole”.
Each employee’s position is pivotal to the success of the team. So while a certain level of performance is expected and required, there is appreciation, recognition, and reward for attaining higher levels of performance and success.
I prefer be seen as the good guy rather than the bad guy. If it’s know what’s expected from an employee, that takes care of itself. However when their actions are above and beyond (which makes the company more money), I want to be the good guy that shares the gift of appreciation.
If you want to make the company more money, have happy, motivated employees.
My Boss Isn’t Going To Change
You’re most likely correct if you think your manager isn’t going to change and become a better manager. But, if you’re doing your job correctly and showing up on time, you have to make a decision.
Life is way too short to be under the thumb of a bad manager and have a poor quality of life. It isn’t only you that’s affected. It’s the people that you care about most that are suffering right along with you, because they’re who you’re around the most (dragging your dissatisfaction with you).
Not just for you, but for your family and friends, you have to correct the situation. Nobody owns your whole life. Your boss only owns your time in which they paid for. It’s your choice whether you sell any time to them or not. First thing you should do, is consider if you want to sell any of your time at all. It just might be to valuable.
Who Do I Sell To?
You just may be they type of person who would rather trust your future to yourself instead of a boss. Would you prefer becoming an entrepreneur? We’ll look at that in a second, but if you’re needing to stay an employee for now, you still need to realize that you’re in control of who you sell your time to.
Your skills will be valuable to another company, so take some time and promote your skill set to other potential employers. Once you research the potential suitors and know your options, make an appointment to sit with your manager’s boss.
Before this meeting, be sure you list out the things that make your work life bad. You need to know what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.
It’s only fair to upper management that you provide them feedback on your direct manager’s management style. After all, the company provided you a job and support for your family.
No Different Than Selling A Car
You know that you have options. So when the day comes that you sit in that meeting, your attitude needs to be very neutral. Be appreciative of his/her time and get to the point. DO NOT BE NERVOUS! This is your show, so no quivering voice, lol.
You have nothing to lose, because if there’s no change, you’re leaving anyway. Just state your position on the way you feel in the workplace and any cause for it. Even if you hate your job, stay calm and be professional.
After stating your case, end by asking if he/she feels that a change is in order for the benefit of the company. If they agree and want change, know that it will take time, but ask them if it is OK if you keep them posted as to how the changes are going.
If they don’t seem like they will take action, just thank them for their time and go back to work. When you get home, it’s time to go with one of your other options you explored earlier. After you make a deal with your next employer, give notice at your current job that you’re moving on.
You see, selling your time is no different than selling your car. You have something of value and if a deal doesn’t work out with one buyer, just move on to the next buyer.
It’s 100% true that once you’ve sold your time on contract, you have an owner. That new owner OWNS your time and actions during those hours. So be sure you respect your owner. You can terminate the contract if things don’t work out, but so can your owner.
Personal Example
When I was 21 years old, I did this process. The only thing is, I did it a bit backwards. I worked for a company as an automated machine builder. I was very good at it and ran my projects without the need for management to organize for me. I also came up with improved designs over the company engineers.
The owner could see this, and I traveled with him a few times to customers that were out of state. This made the shop manager/foreman quite nervous. He knew I would end up with his job at some point, so he made work life suck for me.
I dealt with this out of fear for losing my job. My dad was a working man and I know how disappointed he’d be if I lost a job. I put up with this for a few years and then one day I got so angry, I almost went after the manager.
Realizing that I didn’t want to hate going to work any more, I researched and found a management position in another shop. The next week, all of the company management was out of state. I grabbed all my personal effects and went home! I took a week off before reporting to my new position.
This was by design, because much of the design of the machine I was building was my own. The manager didn’t have a clue what was going on with the machine. I truly was a great asset to the company.
I received a call from the company owner asking me for a meeting. I took that meeting out of gratitude for having given me a job in the first place. I explained exactly how bad the work environment was and the cause of it.
He asked if I would come back and that he would take care of the issue. I declined and said I would never work under management like that ever again. I provided an update and design ideas for the machine I was building so another builder would be able to finish it. I thanked him and left, back to my week long vacation.
Two weeks later, that manager was out of a job.
I could have kept the job by going in for that meeting before accepting the other job. I was just young and bitter about how I was treated. Everything worked out, because I was completely free of any employer by age 27.
I Hate My Job (Is It Time To Break Free?)
Have you been through several employers and keep saying “I hate my job!”? Maybe it isn’t as extreme as the word hate, but you always feel discontent. Maybe if you looked closer at the difference between an employee vs entrepreneur you may find you’re on the wrong side of the fence.
I went down this very path and knew I had to make the leap. I actually liked my boss/owner. However I could feel that I was selling myself short by allowing someone else to determine how much I can earn, when I have to work, or if I could go to my kids school event.
You should look at more articles here on Profit Vs Wage, because this is exactly what we focus on. It’s the transition from employee over to entrepreneur and all the decisions that need to be made.
Everyone who goes through the school system, is trained to be an employee. However there’s a percentage of us who just know that we’re supposed to go beyond employment. We want more out of life than mediocrity and the repetitive, robot feeling that goes with it.
When I took that leap over to full Independence, I had a wife and a 1 year old son. I know what it means to have responsibilities and people counting on me. That was actually a big motivator for me. I needed to provide a life of more money and time freedom.
Fast forward 3 decades. I have lived a life with my family traveling whenever we wanted and providing countless experiences for our kids. Could I have made even more money? Sure, but at what point do you sacrifice the important things in life for money? I haven’t needed more money anyway.
You made it this far down the page, so I know you need to start creating a plan for independence. Do we all make it on our first attempt? NO. BUT:
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Besides, you can always fall back into employment to regroup with the lessons you learned from your attempt. You are one giant step closer to independence than any of your coworkers at that point. Now devise a new plan considering your new lessons. You have nothing to lose, but your employer/owner.
Am I Trapped Hating My Job?
Absolutely not! But if you decide to become an entrepreneur, you have to move out of your parent’s house (so to speak). Basically, you need to want to be on your own. Willing to accept the consequences of the decisions and efforts you make.
Employees, in a sense, live in there parents house. They trust the parent/boss to run the household correctly so they can continue to get fed. If the boss runs the business in a way that you lose your job, you blame them and move on to another parent/boss.
The way to break that cycle is to go it solo. Trust yourself and live with the consequences. Adjust as you go to reach success. Anyone who does this can succeed. Trust yourself and NEVER stop learning about your business and people.
Remember, it’s great to gain the confidence to become an entrepreneur, but use your head. You need money to open and support your new business, so don’t kick your boss to the curb just yet. Even if you hate your job. You’ll be working on your living with your boss, and then you’ll get home and work on your dream/business. You’ll be tired, but it will be worth it!
No matter what anyone says, keep going. Don’t worry about any “naysayers”. This is your life. Nothing shuts people up, like success. Besides, the naysayers aren’t paying your bills, so who cares what they say!
Employee or entrepreneur.
Either way you choose, it’s your decision and your consequences.
