by Jo Davidson

Source: http://gettingbalance.com, November 2, 2014

So you don’t like your job, but hey, who does? And, it pays the bills, so you can’t complain, right? But what if your job is making you miserable, negatively impacting your health, wellbeing, relationships and more? Maybe it’s time for a rethink. Here’s ten signs that indicate you should consider a change…

1. You have a burning desire to do something else                                                                                                                       You might know exactly what you’d what you want to do, but just don’t know how to turn it into a reality. It could be that you feel you don’t have the qualifications or the experience to go after it. Or maybe you’ve decided that you’re not ready, or the risks are too great. Alternatively, you may have some ideas about what you want, perhaps to work in a particular field, or to run your own business, for instance, but haven’t figured out the specifics of what you’d do.

2. You’re not challenged enough                                                                                                                        You don’t feel like your skills are properly utilised or that you’re given enough autonomy. Or perhaps, the things that you’re doing are just plain boring, and don’t inspire any of your passions. You spend 8 hours a day doing things that mean nothing to you, just so you can pick up a paycheck.

3. You feel uncomfortable with the tasks you’re asked to complete                                                                                                              Your boss demands you handle things in ways that you disagree with, or you’re asked to operate in ways that don’t meet your standards of integrity. You feel like you’re being used as a pawn, or perhaps you question the ethical practices within the organisation or even the products or services you provide.

4. You take things really personally                                                                                                                If your boss makes a suggestion you get defensive. You feel she’s attacking your capabilities or your judgments. Every email you read seems to have an offensive tone, and you might even type rapid fire responses which end in tit for tat email tennis. It almost seems as if everybody is out to make your life difficult.

5. You feel like you’re stuck on a treadmill                                                                                                                              Life just feels like a never ending hamster wheel of putting one foot in front of the other. You feel like you never have any time for you, as you fit in the needs of your family and friends, around the demands of your work. You’ve already spent 8 or more hours of your day stuck in a job you hate, and now you begrudge the time you have to spend sorting things out for everyone else, when all you want to do is rest. Every day feels like groundhog day.

6. Sunday night blues are like a black cloud of overwhelm                                                                                                            You’ve managed to relax a bit during Friday evening and Saturday, but the dread of Monday is already looming when you open your eyes on Sunday morning. You push it aside and get through the day trying to be chirpy for your loved ones, but you’re becoming irritable and withdrawn. By teatime, you’re checking emails and worrying over the week ahead, and all the chores that need doing before Monday morning become a huge headache. You might even turn into Mumzilla!

7. You long for illness or accident                                                                                                                         In the mornings, you find your mind is transfixed on circumstances that might give you the opportunity to not go to work. You hope the nausea you feel will turn into a full on bout of salmonella, or wonder if you might pass out. Perhaps your child will be sent home from school poorly, or maybe your car will breakdown, or you’ll be in an accident. At least, if nothing else, you hope the building will be a smoking pile of ashes when you get there.

8. You don’t look after your health                                                                                                                        You rely on vending machine coffees, crisps and sweets to get you through the day. You struggle to motivate yourself to cook dinner or to go to the gym or even out for a walk. Perhaps you’ll have a glass or two of wine, and it might be becoming a 7 night a week habit. You stay up far too late, trying to make your evenings last as long as possible, even though you know you’ll be shattered in the morning. The things you spend those last precious minutes on are meaningless, as you surf social media or flick channels on TV in an attempt to shut off your mind.

9. You don’t sleep well                                                                                          When you finally do hit the sack, you’re over-tired. Your brain doesn’t want to pipe-down and you lie awake dreading tomorrow. Things you forgot to do suddenly show up to point out where you’ve failed today. Any situations that didn’t play out as you’d have liked, are re-enacted in your mind as you slowly torture yourself for not handling things better. When you finally do get off, you find yourself plagued by dreams about work, or sleep fitfully, waking up every couple of hours. The only time you seem to hit deep sleep is the last 10 minutes before your alarm sounds, at which point you are completely exhausted.

10. You’re always tired                                                                                                                      From the minute you get up you’re knackered. You regularly hear yourself saying, or thinking, I’m tired. The workday feels like one long, hard slog, as your tired body and mind aches to curl up and sleep. You go home and exhaustedly make food, spend time with your family, get chores done, and so on. In fact, the only point at which you can go and lie down and get your rest, is the only time you don’t want to.