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Career Q &
A
 By Mitchell Stephenson
February 16, 2009
I really, really don't like my job - what I do, the people I work with, the office environment, the commute. There's nothing good about any of it, except that I know I won't get laid off. I am having a harder and harder time finding the will to go into work every day, but I owe a lot of money, so I have no choice but to work here and be trapped. I almost wish they would give me a package, but now is not the time to be looking for work, is it?
It sounds as though you are trying to convince yourself to take action about your unsatisfactory career. There are few things that can have much more impact on our overall happiness than a job that fails to provide happiness. As the saying goes, you are making a decision when you decide not to decide. Inaction can heighten your frustration, but making a wrong decision can be more harmful, at least in the short- to mid-term. We are seeing more and more clients who have your concerns; They know they aren't happy, but they don't have the prescription for change in order to fix things. Let's look at some fundamentals to help you.
The value of your values
Inherently, we all have internal value systems, with a list of values that we personally find important - love, health, laughter, hard work, money, etc. Usually, we have a natural priority of these values, based on our life experience, education, influences, and other personal factors. For example, some people assign more importance to the value of "helping others" than the value of "making lots of money." Values help define who we are as individuals, for better or worse.
You do have choices
Career and life unhappiness and stresses most often develop simply because we are not living our lives according to our internal values. In other words, our values have been "hijacked" by friends, family, coworkers, or even society as a whole. With the huge consumerist lifestyle advertised everywhere these days, it can be very difficult not to be swayed, and to want to buy things we can't afford, requiring us to work at jobs we don't enjoy in order to pay for these things. The glossy magazines and TV commercials are influencing our values evaluation system, often without us realizing it. You need to ask yourself whether you are living your life according to your values, or whether your life is the consequence of employment and other decisions you have made in the past.
We all need a balance
In your particular case, you appear to be valuing job security very highly, to the detriment of some of your other values. There is certainly nothing wrong with job security, particularly in difficult economic times. However, you do need to balance your other values against it. An enjoyable, engaging job, talking with the more stimulating coworkers in the office, or enjoying friends and family more could be values that might need more prominence in your life. The key is that you are making these value decisions whether you consciously choose to or not. Right now, your choice appears to be financial security above all else.
What are your choices?
While it is helpful to know that your values may be misaligned, and that you can choose alternatives, it still doesn't tell you what those alternatives are. This is where you need to spend some time thinking about your values - what's most important to you in life - both personal and career-based, and write them out on a list. Then prioritize what is most important on your list and rank them. If you find, for example, that job security ranks very low on your list, you may have some insight into your current level of frustration.
Create an action plan
Once you have outlined what your value priorities are, you can start creating an action plan to start aligning your values with your career and your life (rather than the other way around, which is what you are doing now). Finances are important for all of us, and quitting your job tomorrow (however appealing that may appear), may create other stressors in you life, so you should focus more on your mid- to long-term career objectives during this process, while still making your current situation as enjoyable as possible. These plans can include education or retraining, moving to a new organization, and many other possible options. You need to weigh your future options as objectively as possible, while still managing your current finances. Many times, having this level of control can help alleviate your feelings of helplessness.
See a credit advisor
Book an appointment with a credit advisor to get your finances more in order and lift some of the financial burden that is feeding the job security fears you have. Prepare a budget, and determine how much you actually need to live on. You may need to sacrifice some financial compensation or job security for more career and life happiness, but it can be a very worthwhile investment - as long as it is well planned out. You don't need to assume career happiness comes at the expense of salary and perks, but be prepared in case it does.
Enlist the help of friends and family
Make sure that you are working through this process with the significant other(s) in your life. Spouses, life partners, children, and many others can have a vested interest in the outcome, and can be your biggest cheerleaders (or detractors - you might need to do some negotiating, depending on their value systems).
Fear itself
Don't let the fear of change hinder your happiness. You certainly don't want to do anything too radical, but take steps now to find out more about yourself, your options, and how you can change your current situation into a future reality that is more in line with who you really are. It is a proven recipe for success.
Good luck!
Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.
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